What PRR equipment (passenger) ran on the NH in 1955?

[thomasjmdavis]

Union Station Products makes sides for 11 fluted and 1 smoothside NH prototype, plus of course many others for PRR, NYC, and many other roads from the Maine Central to the Florida East Coast.
https://unionstationproducts.com/new-york-new-haven-amp-hartford
such as
https://unionstationproducts.com/-46613-nh-ps-fluted-side-36-48-seat-diner.html
note that is you select "N scale" in the scale box on that page, you get a $7 discount from the HO price.

 Plus the cars available from Eastern Seaboard Models.  Such as
http://www.esmc.com/3110/Item3138.html
which is a perfect car for a Boston to Florida train and as of when I write this, still listed as available on the ESMC website.  Actually, that is so perfect, I may search around to see if it ever showed up in a New Dixieland or Dixie Flyer for my own use...

You could even repaint some old Walthers plan 4140s, or hunt up some PRR ones on eBay.

So, it is not like NH is not represented in the world of Model Railroading, it just requires doing some modeling- just like it was the Santa Fe or the PRR. 

Just looking at the NH Baggage-Mail, I would speculate that a "pretty close" replica could be achieved by bashing a pair of MT mail baggage cars and adding some Keystone Models vents, and either WoT doors laid in or cut some from styrene.  That is how I am planning to get a similar double door Wabash car. 

[OldEastRR]

Actually I'm modeling the NH just before the McGinnis scheme. As it is, I think that's a pretty ugly one, as color schemes go.
I've done the ESM 14-4 sides on a KATO BL 10-6, it works out perfectly (and runs excellently). I've rearranged windows on the MTL RPO to match the post-1908 version, and for a while I was determined to make the NH streamlined cars out of KATO RDC shells -- that curved-in roof end was workable (Thank you Rapido!!). I've repositioned the door openings on a WOT C&O prototype 70' baggage to come close to an NH version. Then there's the converted troop cars for baggage. Also rebuilt the roof and sides of the stock versions of the DL109 to what they looked like in the '50s.
The acrylic sides thing I tried and wasn't pleased with (AMB) -- completely flat exteriors with no detail. Same reason I'm not keen on etched brass sides. Mixing those cars in with modern models and their highly 3D sides looks lame.
But all I was interested in here was seeing what PRR stuff I should save to run on the layout. Of those I have quite a batch of kitbashes, too.

[bbussey]

7800 and 8600 series coaches were the first equipment to be repainted New Image.  Don't know how many if any remained in the Dumaine scheme in mid-1955.

New Image sells better than Dumaine scheme, so most likely MTL will be leading with that when it releases NH.  There's always the option of undec/unlettered and Micro-Scale decals.  Having the model available is the only impediment.

[Wardie]

Union Station Products makes sides for 11 fluted and 1 smoothside NH prototype, plus of course many others for PRR, NYC, and many other roads from the Maine Central to the Florida East Coast.
https://unionstationproducts.com/new-york-new-haven-amp-hartford
such as
https://unionstationproducts.com/-46613-nh-ps-fluted-side-36-48-seat-diner.html
note that is you select "N scale" in the scale box on that page, you get a $7 discount from the HO price.

 Plus the cars available from Eastern Seaboard Models.  Such as
http://www.esmc.com/3110/Item3138.html
which is a perfect car for a Boston to Florida train and as of when I write this, still listed as available on the ESMC website.  Actually, that is so perfect, I may search around to see if it ever showed up in a New Dixieland or Dixie Flyer for my own use...

You could even repaint some old Walthers plan 4140s, or hunt up some PRR ones on eBay.

So, it is not like NH is not represented in the world of Model Railroading, it just requires doing some modeling- just like it was the Santa Fe or the PRR. 

Just looking at the NH Baggage-Mail, I would speculate that a "pretty close" replica could be achieved by bashing a pair of MT mail baggage cars and adding some Keystone Models vents, and either WoT doors laid in or cut some from styrene.  That is how I am planning to get a similar double door Wabash car.

Have you used any of the Union Station Sides? Kind of curious as to how they build up and what else you would need, as I see they have the B&M/MEC fluted stainless steel sides.

[thomasjmdavis]

Have you used any of the Union Station Sides? Kind of curious as to how they build up and what else you would need, as I see they have the B&M/MEC fluted stainless steel sides.

Yes and no.  I have a couple partially complete ACL cars, that were set aside before our last move a couple years ago, and I haven't gotten to yet.  But did get them to the point of having the basic shell together. 


Basically, with USP and most other sides, you need the rest of the car.  USP includes "windows" and material to reinforce the sides.  The options are core kits or a scrap car for floor, roof and ends. Underbody details, trucks and some wire for handrails, grabs, etc.

The USP sides build up in layers.  The base layer (the side reinforcement) is a piece of clear styrene the same size as the side, that the window material has been laser cut from.  The instructions that came with mine had you remove the windows from this piece, spray with spray glue, and attach the side. Spray glue is then applied to the back of the fluting, and the fluting attached to the side.  The fluting will require some precise cutting to get the size right,, and the gluing is a sort of 1 shot deal- you need to get it right on the first try.  I've read that others have used various ACC type cements to assemble sides, and you might check with USP on what their current recommendations are.

[OldEastRR]

Looking at the NH lightweight plans, I see the coaches had a different window arrangement from the parlor cars from the baggage-chair cars -- 3 separate window patterns. So even if Rapido makes a parlor car it still couldn't be modified into the baggage-parlor easily.

[bbussey]

Yes it can.  But you would need two bodies to make one car if you choose not to scratchbuild a new windowband.  The large window dimensions and spacing are the same on all of the bodystyles.  The bathroom windows are smaller on the 8600 but the same size on all the other variants (other than the grill car and obs).

It takes two 8600 bodies to make any of the other variants regardless of whether the windowband is scratchbuilt or kitbashed, because one end of vestibule doors must be eliminated.  But all of the variants become much easier to kitbash if Rapido releases a parlor car, because the hardest work of making the non-vestibule end is replaced by simply using the existing end of the parlor model.

The only difficult kitbash is the observation, due to the tubular shape of the body that technically has to be continued around the boat tail end.  But I'm not worrying about it because the two observations didn't run as end-of-consist observations for very long, as they had diaphragms added to the back end and were used as mid-train parlor-lounge cars most of their service lives.  So I can run a Merchant's Limited without an obs and be prototypical.

[OldEastRR]

But the window band must be moved slightly with regards to the 8600 to the other cars. I'm looking at the dwgs in Doughty's "New Haven Railroad's Streamline Passenger Fleet 1934-53" and tho the windows are the same size and spacings (except for the DR-Parlor) I see they line up differently to the truck wheels and centers on different cars. Seems like the etched brass window band is the only way to go.

[bbussey]

Which is why it requires two bodies, because you have to remove the windowbands fully and create the new ones from a donor body. Or scratchbuild them. While the window positioning in the center of the car are consistent among all the variants, it’s easier to replace the entire windowband. If you don’t want to wait for an N parlor model that may or may not come, you need two bodies regardless because you need to remove one end of vestibule doors.

One huge plus is that the fluting and placard positioning is the same for all of the bodystyles. However, while the herald placards are centered, the others are offset from center to aesthetically align over the windows. So you have to pay attention on which vestibule you remove if starting with the coach.

You also have a harder task than I because you want Dumaine-era cars with lower skirts. Not worrying about lower skirts makes the kitbash far easier - particularly with the baggage-lounge because even the corner lower skirts were removed.