I Received my first "Rail Smith Passenger Cars

[Nato]

                :|I received my first "Rail Smith" passenger cars yesterday. Notice I sail "Rail Smith" not "Lowell Smith" or "Lowell Smith Executive Line." This is Lowell's new line using the former Walthers cars. My two cars are Union Pacific sleepers with names for use in his upcoming Golden Spike Train,"Promontory Summit" and "Last Spike". Let me say that as a rivet counter this 10-6 smooth side sleeper is a model of a Pennsylvania Railroad "Rapids Series" car some of which were built by Pullman and some by American Car and Foundry ACF. When Walthers offered this car in UP paint it was nicely done, and came with car name decals for "Pacific Series" cars which were fluted Budd cars. The trucks were Gray representing a late 1940's to about 1950 era paint scheme. The Rail Smith cars are further improved the Yellow and Gray colors look spot on to me who has ridden on UP trains and viewed their cars over the years. The trucks are silver, not bright aluminum silver,window frames are all aluminum and look great, the road name and the micro sized car name lettering ,close to scale both have the correct black outlining around the red letters. How did they do that in a micro size. Car wheels are metal as they were on the Walthers versions. Now how about one of these cars painted in Union Pacific Colors but lettered for Pennsylvania with the correct Rapids name to run as a through car on UP trains instead of the car KATO did using the wrong configuration car. I'am really looking forward to the Texas Special Sleepers which should be out soon on a much more correct fluted side car. Nate Goodman (Nato). 

[Mark5]

Thanks Nato!

The Walthers smoothside 10-6 is correct for PRR (18), N&W (3), and RF&P (3).

N&W's McDowell County:
http://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=168795

Mark

[thomasjmdavis]

L&N also had 3 smoothside 4140 (or 4140-?) cars that were used in pool service with PRR, and painted in Pennsy colors, and lettering style, but lettered for L&N. The roster I have lists them as plan 4140, but I will yield the floor to folks with more expertise if a bathroom window is off by a couple inches or something. In addition, also had 2 of the 4140F fluted version that matched PRR and SR cars- and is either the Walthers/Rail Smith fluted version, or very close.

[CBQ Fan]

My NP units look fantastic!