PRR Diner in the house

[Ngineer]

The model is designed to use MTL 1016

Can you please tell me what couplers (what number) Micro-Trains uses on their sleepers (10-1-2 and 12-1) and parlor car (28-1)? I assume that these are not 1016s?

The incorporation of the stirrups is well thought out

Is one stirrup missing under the kitchen door? Why is that? Clearance issues?

Nice interior

As this was a 36-seat diner: How were the tables arranged? 2 - 2 - 2 - 4 - 4 - 4 - kitchen area? If that is the case, should the 2-seat tables be smaller if the interior is to be detailed?

What was the room with a window behind the diner area? A restroom? Or some kind of storage?

Javier

[skm]

<snip>As this was a 36-seat diner: How were the tables arranged? 2 - 2 - 2 - 4 - 4 - 4 - kitchen area? If that is the case, should the 2-seat tables be smaller if the interior is to be detailed?

What was the room with a window behind the diner area? A restroom? Or some kind of storage?

Javier

I don't know the answers to your coupler questions, but the following may be of some help.....

The floorplan below for a class D78BR has a slightly different window arrangement on the aisle side of the kitchen, but the rest of the windows match the MTL model, as does the pic of #4400 in the the Dining Cars book by Liljestrand.

The model has the correct layout of tables, so detailing should be much easier. I have not popped the roof off to see if the kitchen is detailed, but a little silver paint should bring out any details?

[bbussey]

The design questions would have to be directed to Joe.

The kitchen is not detailed.  But if I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere recently that the windows were frosted on the prototype, so you wouldn't see the kitchen interior.

The RPO uses MTL 1023/25.  The other heavyweights use MTL 1015.

[Ngineer]

Scott, Bryan,

thank you very much for your help!

Javier

[brill27mcb]

Now that I have my diner in hand, the limited swing of the truck at the "tables" end of the car, which I had read about somewhere, looks like an issue to me. It might require some trimming...

Rich K.

[thomasjmdavis]

Let me know when you are finished so I can schedule runner packs of them 

How about a runner pack with a diner, 2 coaches and a parlor car? [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[jmlaboda]

Has anyone gotten a good pic of the trucks on the PRR car yet?  This was asked earlier but so far nothing has been posted.  Would be good to know what the trucks are so that other applications can be determined!!!

Thomas, that Wabash diner looks good!!!

[chicken45]

I hope that sweet Walbash diner wasn't donated with Pennsy organs

[jmlaboda]

Josh, thanks for those shots... might be possible to use them to represent Pullman 242 top-equalized truck, though it might be a stretch.  And I agree with your comment about the use of the PRR truck, looking at several dozen shots of Wabash and former Wabash heavyweight cars I found only one car, former Pullman City of Peru, that had top-equalized trucks... everything else were 3410s.

Compare the shot of the MT PRR trucks to this shot of O fine scale 242 trucks and you can see the similarities...

http://www.protocraft.com/images/256a.jpg

Hopefully we will get some when the ERIE baggage car is released since this is the truck shown on the prototype car shot.

[peteski]

The trucks look good but.... why oh why most (but not all) model companies place the brake shoes in a totally unrealistic location way outside of the wheel thread)?!  I would rather see them in a proper location (even if they had to be slightly further away from the wheel thread then they are on the 1:1 trucks.  I don't get it.  The only time these look realistic would be if they were viewed from a single vantage point, dead straight-on.  Viewing from even a slightly offset angle (like the above photos show) shows the brake shoes in a way off location.

[garethashenden]

The trucks look good but.... why oh why most (but not all) model companies place the brake shoes in a totally unrealistic location way outside of the wheel thread)?!  I would rather see them in a proper location (even if they had to be slightly further away from the wheel thread then they are on the 1:1 trucks.  I don't get it.  The only time these look realistic would be if they were viewed from a single vantage point, dead straight-on.  Viewing from even a slightly offset angle (like the above photos show) shows the brake shoes in a way off location.

I'd imagine that it was originally an issue of installing the wheels and tool cutting, now it's a habit. I agree that it is less than ideal. After having mostly modelled British prototypes for the past few years I've paid more attention to brakes in general and N scale trucks are bothering me. Almost, but not quite, to the point of doing something about it.

[Bobster]

Thomas,

I like the Wabash Diner.  I'm waiting to see if they will do a Wabash or I will buy the undecorated when it comes out and paint it myself.  I think yours shows off the details quite nicely.   I'll be doing mine somewhat darker to match the rest of my already painted Cannon Ball.  I already have the old Rivarossi Diner painted dark blue and un-decaled but I can always repaint it for something else.  It looks like you may have done some interior painting.  I like the idea.

Chicken, I believe for a time Wabash was a Pennsy organ up to about the time N&W got them.  That's why every now and again I stir up the idea of a Pennsy Queen Mary heavyweight parlor off the Detroit Arrow.   A good thing for Pennsy modelers and a good thing for Wabash modelers. And most of them still exist.  Last I heard all 5 Wabash were still around (3 in New Orleans, one in Virginia, and one in Monticello, IL) and CSX still runs the number 30 car off the New York Central.  JM might be able to help me out with the CSX number.   I'm pretty sure Clinchfield had one of the Wabash cars, as did the Keokuk Junction.  I believe Queen Mary was lost in the last year due to shopping center remodeling in Wayne, NJ.

All for now,
Bobster

[thomasjmdavis]

I will let Shipsure confirm, but when I bought my diner, I bought one  in ATSF paint (a couple bucks less expensive, and more in stock- I figure the Pennsy fans were buying up the PRR ones- and I was repainting anyway), which came with the standard MT PS 2410 drop equalizer trucks.  Well, unless something got mixed up in the parts box while I had it apart.  In any case, currently the same as the trucks under my 12-1s and 10-1-2s.

I would not be surprised if the 1568 received roller bearings at some point, but that may have to wait (along with some ATSF heavyweights I am working on) until someone produces modernized truck frames.

Tom D

[thomasjmdavis]

Thanks for the kind words from several folks.  I did do a basic paint job on the interior- found a color drawing online done in the 40s of a Wabash interior and used the closest colors I had.  Gave me something to do while reading through emails on night.

"I'll be doing mine somewhat darker ..."

Actually, I did mine darker- between my camera and the flash, the photo reads several shades lighter than it looks in real life.  In real life, it is close to the color of my WoT baggage car, which is next to it in the photo (and yes, I need to backdate the baggage car with a black roof for my timeframe).

Anyway, I am grateful that MT produced the car, it is a nice to have an alternative to the Rivarossi ATSF diner, and this one is sufficiently generic to stand in for a lot of roads- and makes a nice spare time project.  And I am sure the PRR fans are very happy.

Now, on to the Erie baggage car, and (hopefully) the 242 truck (which I will buy many of, if they make them available separately- well, maybe I will buy a ton of Erie cars, repaint them to other roads, and swap out the trucks).

Tom D.

[BeastofTheEast]

Got one on order. Also to repaint.