MTL July - Business Car Roof

[ljudice]

http://blwnscale.com/mt-new.htm

Of note:   undec business car,  3 pack of balloon roofs

Still using CSX YN2  "loco blue" for boxcars, unfortunately...

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Noticed that they are also finally offering undecorated Business Car models for $21.25 retail, Item #144 00 701.  This may be an opportunity for some to finally add some business cars to their fleet of passenger equipment, though it is not actually based on a specific prototype.  Previously they have only been available through Lowell Smith.

[reinhardtjh]

Noticed that they are also finally offering undecorated Business Car models for $21.25 retail, Item #144 00 701.  This may be an opportunity for some to finally add some business cars to their fleet of passenger equipment, though it is not actually based on a specific prototype.  Previously they have only been available through Lowell Smith.

Are the business cars close to anything current?  I'm thinking of the NS OCS cars.

[Ngineer]

They are offering the 10-1-2 and 12-1 heavyweight sleeper Cars in Tuscan red.

Does Microscale offer decals for turning these models into cars used by PRR? Does anybody know the correct order number?

The runners pack for the PRR is quite disappointing as I was hoping for a three car runners pack with the paired window coach. Just like they did with the 10-1-2 and 12-1.

It would be easier on my wallet, too. As always, YMMV.

   Javier

[Ed Kapuscinski]

This release makes me so sad that they're still using that awful 50' boxcar model. That Berlin Mills car is beautiful, but those cars look so dorky when sitting anywhere near cars of the proper proportions.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Are the business cars close to anything current?

No.  Not even close.

I hate that this is true... a little research could have provided them with an idea on how to do them right (there are common detail that could have been used to make the cars look at least half-way decent without following a specific prototype), and the so-called "Ferdinand Magellan" heavyweight is the same way... way off from common practices that were used by the railroads in creating their business car fleet.

Sad really...

[chicken45]

No.  Not even close.

I hate that this is true... a little research could have provided them with an idea on how to do them right (there are common detail that could have been used to make the cars look at least half-way decent without following a specific prototype, and the so-called "Ferdinand Magellan" heavyweight is the same way... way off from common practices that were used by the railroads in creating their business car fleet.

Sad really...

Can you go in to detail, Jerry? I'd love to know those sorts of things.

[thomasjmdavis]

I note that on the BLW site, the photos of the diner and business car are incorrectly labeled. 

The business car appears to be a smooth side (ie, no rivets) unless my tired old eyes are deceiving me.  There were, of course, cars like that.  The windows on the side shown look like they might be appropriate for some rebuilt parlor cars, but I assume this body is the same as the one used by Lowell Smith for his generic business cars, and if so, pattern on the other side will be different. So it would take some cutting and pasting to come up with a modernized parlor obs.

I think it is an interesting car with some possibilities for kit bashing into other modernized cars.

This one is a balancing act for me.  I agree with Jerry that it would be nice to see more research done and accurate models produced.  On the other hand, at $21.95, a "generic" car does not bother me the way it would if it was $60.

[Dave V]

Looks railroady enough for me...   

[Catt]

What I would like to know is will the "balloon" roof work on the other heavyweights? Does anybody know?

[nickelplate759]

From looking at it, not without modification.   The platform end is different from the vestibule end.  You could probably splice two roofs together to make one that would fit one of the other Micro-Trains heavyweights.

George

[jmlaboda - RIP]

The business car appears to be a smooth side (ie, no rivets) unless my tired old eyes are deceiving me.

No rivets to count...

What I would like to know is will the "balloon" roof work on the other heavyweights? Does anybody know?

Only the observation car as molded but it may be possible to splice two halves to create two ends for the parlor car as well.  Other cars have a narrower clerestory so these roofs will not work except that the ends be changed to match.

[Lemosteam]

What I would like to know is will the "balloon" roof work on the other heavyweights? Does anybody know?

@Catt Keystone Details will be offering some for the MT cars, all of them, very, very soon.

[Catt]

 @ Lemosteam
  How about a version for the Bachmann shorties? 

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Can you go in to detail, Jerry? I'd love to know those sorts of things.

Most Business Cars dating back to the late-1800s have several things in common which really isn't well defined on the MT model, that being that they were intended to be like a moving "Classy" hotel for railroad executives and wealthy individuals, quite often with fancy woodwork being found in nearly the entire car.  While there have been a small number of "Day" business cars that offered parlor seating and often included a dining room of some sort, the vast majority of business cars were broken up into sections with each serving an important purpose within their design.  When discussing these features it is always best to start at the rear of the car, which is, honestly, the most important room in use.

At the tail end of the car adjacent to the platform is the observation lounge which often had plush furnishings where the executive or individual would not only observe the right-of-way as the car travels along but also quite often would be used to entertain guests of the person the car is used by.  Often there would be individual chairs as well as a sofa (which could double as a crew member's sleeping birth) though exactly how such would be laid out really depended on who it was for.  Some cars had a fairly small observation room roughly 10' in length though most were more than 12'.

Next on most cars would be the bedrooms which could be as small as a typical Compartment (6' 2" in length) on some sleepers but could be rather large to provide for the comfort of the user.  On rare examples the dining room was adjacent to the observation room though most had the bedrooms adjacent to the observation room.  On later cars a bathroom for a bath or shower was often included for the passengers to use and on some cars the bedrooms themselves had individual or shared bathrooms with showers.

The dining room could vary in length but one thing remained constant, matching windows on the vast majority of the cars were used on both sides of the car, so as to provide for passengers' viewing pleasure while they eat.  A dining room would typically seat 8 or more passengers and would feature "China Hutches" for place settings and utensils.  Dining rooms could also serve to entertain guests.

Next would be a crew room (usually around 6' in length) that would feature an upper and lower birth for crew members and the kitchen, which typically was rather small but large enough to prepare great meals though size was not really a priority.  The kitchen and crew room typically would be adjacent to the front end of the car.

One thing I have found to be of interest in researching business cars is that things such as the observation lounge and the dining room remained fairly constant even from some of the earliest examples of business cars and private cars, with early open platform cars having the observation lounge on one end while the dining room would be at the other.  In between would be the kitchen, bedrooms and crew room.

The drawing below should help to display the various parts of business and private cars...

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