Modeling PRR 580/581

[dougnelson]

@randgust:
Here is my N scale P70Kr:

This was built from East Wind Mfgr. acrylic etched sides and American Limited core kit.  Check with Des Plains Hobbies.  I believe they had some (very) old stock of the EWM P70Kr sides, and maybe they are still there.

The P70Kr was rebuilt from heavyweight P70 coaches, however they were extensively modified including car ends and removal of one vestibule.  When first rebuilt in 1940, the P70Kr had full-width diaphragms. 

[apudelek]

I think the cars themselves were close to 80 Ft but the PRR was looking at the passenger compartment, which was 70 Ft, and then the two vestibules.  You might be able to get away with repurposing an MTL coach as your core if you swap the trucks out, but they were 78 Ft in length per design.

[Sokramiketes]

I think the cars themselves were close to 80 Ft but the PRR was looking at the passenger compartment, which was 70 Ft, and then the two vestibules.  You might be able to get away with repurposing an MTL coach as your core if you swap the trucks out, but they were 78 Ft in length per design.

Ah, good note.  Shorter than the ~85' cars being suggested, but not ~70' short!

[randgust]

I'll probably draw a chorus of 'booooo' on this one, but for now, I'm done.

I found used stuff on FeePay, plus the baggage-RPO that I got from Lee Weldon, plus the used MicroAce (Life-Like) PRR E8 I found in Altoona..

That E8 was dirt cheap and very nice looking after the initial shock of "Micro Ace" with a PRR locomotive .   Only mod is going to be taking off the Rapido coupler.

Then Lee Weldon's baggage-RPO that he sent me, I'm not sure where that came from but I think it was a Hell Gate, it's all resin, and a very nice and distinctive clerestory roof car, and looks identical to the photos I have.   I do have a B60B already.

Then the Rivarossi "Huron Rapids" pullman car I got secondhand.  Looks good, very cheap, mechanically a mess, original Atlas, rolled like a brick.  Wheels coated with grime.  And even after the wipers removed, wouldn't roll at all.  Wheel treads actually dragging on the truck sideframes, never saw that before.  After that mod, rolls 'well enough' and it already had Red Caboose couplers on it.   Big surprise was it's apparently the right car, never knew.

Then.... the Con-Cor smooth side coach.   No, it's not a P70KR.   But the window pattern is so close to photos I had to admit that you'd have to lay it beside a photo to prove its not.  Still had Rapidos on it, but the surprise was that original owner both apparently dullcoated the car and either painted the roof flat black or dullcoted it.   Either way, other than the side skirts that need to come off (easy for me) it's a good looking car and a dirt-cheap solution for now.

The surprising part for me, after struggling with all manner of 'Pullman Green' on ATSF heavyweight cars, is that everything from the E8 to the coach match in Tuscan Red color.   I'm personally more sensitive about color than windows, and it looks good.   And for the eventual museum display, the E8 and 3 cars 'just fit' on a Ttrak wide curve module that will hold the scratchbuilt station from the blueprints I've now got.   And a photo of the actual train will tie nicely to what's assembled.

So if John or anybody else come up with a nice printed P70KR I'd still do that down the road, but for 'scrap value' on a Con-Cor coach I'm good for now.   What still gets me looking at all these photos and diagrams that came up here was the coach shots on the actual train show a  fairly nice looking car.   Not faded paint, clean windows, mild gloss to the paint, right before discontinuance in 1965.   But like the consist says, with that window pattern, a rebuilt P70 for sure.

The station model, however, has no shortcuts, and it's proving to be more of a challenge than I anticipated.

[Mark5]

Sounds good to me, this is a labor of love on your part. The train will have the right "look" and I expect that your model of the station will dominate the scene anyway.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Pics!

[randgust]

This will get crossed over to a layout engineering thread as I make a little more progress on the actual module.   Plywood and track at the moment.

The breakthrough on all of this was discovering that the PRRTHS had original station blueprints in Lewistown.  The original station was demolished in 1986, even though it was on the National Register.  Penn Central wanted $50K for a building with the roof deteriorated and not used for 21 years, no takers.  The local historical society didn't even have copy of the register application but I found that was well preserved online (many, many detail shots), and had no idea that the building drawings existed either.   So they already have a binder of everything I've discovered - blueprints, register, train photos, all the personal photos I've found, etc.    Now for the model, which really lends itself perfectly to a Ttrak wide curve and makes for a manageable size display that also serves as a Ttrak function for my "Salamanca Branch" themes in the interim.   Target completion is next year for Altoona.

The fact that the 3-car train fits EXACTLY on a Ttrak wide curve module was a side discovery, yeah, I could do the entire 1964-5 train too.

[davefoxx]

Randy,

I’m late to the party, but I just checked.  I have an N scale Walthers #932-55044 PS Plan 4140 PRR 10-6 Sleeper.  As good as new.  I never decaled the car name or number, and the decal sheet is in the jewel box.  Yours for free, if you want it.

DFF

[nkalanaga]

Kato trucks will fit the Rivarossi car, using the original screws, although you may need a thin washer between the car and truck to get the right height.  And the couplers will be at the right distance to match Kato/Railsmith passenger cars.  I've done it, including on a PRR 10-6.

If you want lights, the easiest way would be to cut holes in the floor and solder wires to the Kato pick-up tabs.  No lights, just cut the tabs off.