Concerning Kato's newest Metra cars...

[w neal]

Please educate me. Concerning Kato's newest Metra cars, you know, the ones with the blue & red stripes. What era is this paint job? 80s? 90s?

Thanks.

[Virginia Atlantic]

Please educate me. Concerning Kato's newest Metra cars, you know, the ones with the blue & red stripes. What era is this paint job? 80s? 90s?

Thanks.

Presume you mean these:  http://www.katousa.com/N/Bi-Level/index.html

METRA's Nippon Sharyo Gallery Bi-Level were built between ~2002 and 2005, if I recall.

The scheme itself may be a little bit older (not sure if they applied it to their older Pullman bi-level cars, most of the cars we bought from METRA were in the older RTA orange-brown scheme), but the specific model Kato produces was purely a post-2000 time period, same as for VRE's fleet of N-S Bi-levels.  With that said, I do believe Pullman cars got the scheme in that same era as well. 

Hope that helps. 

[Virginia Atlantic]

OK, here is proof they definitely applied it to Pullman's as well, since we clearly got some in that scheme as well.  Funny how quick the memory goes.

[milw156]

I am pretty sure that both C&NW & Rock Island PS cars were repainted into the Blue, red & silver scheme when RTA was formed (Which then morphed into Metra)to consolidate commuter services "under one roof". Milw & BN both had the Budd  stainless cars that were never painted, they just lost the plates over the doors that carried the Burlington, Milwaukee, or Burlington Northern of the original operators. So, only the PS cars were painted in this scheme. All of the N-S cars were fluted stainless steel and never painted. Even today, it is not uncommon to see a metra train with N-S and PS or Budd cars in the same train. Compare the size of the windows on the last car in the above pic to all of those ahead of it and notice how much larger the N-S windows are 5 PS plus 1 N-S.
rick

[jagged ben]

Presume you mean these:  http://www.katousa.com/N/Bi-Level/index.html

...

That link contains links to both Nippon-Sharyo Gallery and Pullmans.  I presume the latter were repaints of old CNW cars.  Currently the large photo at the top is of a Pullman.  That is also the latest release to so far hit the shelves.

[Peter Amling]

Only the Pullmans were painted in this scheme and it dates from the mid-90s. It replaced the earlier white red and brown RTA scheme. Never saw a whole train full of them in this scheme. They were mixed in with the earlier RTA scheme initially and then eventually with the later Nippons.

[CBQ Fan]

I am pretty sure that both C&NW & Rock Island PS cars were repainted into the Blue, red & silver scheme when RTA was formed (Which then morphed into Metra)to consolidate commuter services "under one roof". Milw & BN both had the Budd  stainless cars that were never painted, they just lost the plates over the doors that carried the Burlington, Milwaukee, or Burlington Northern of the original operators. So, only the PS cars were painted in this scheme. All of the N-S cars were fluted stainless steel and never painted. Even today, it is not uncommon to see a metra train with N-S and PS or Budd cars in the same train. Compare the size of the windows on the last car in the above pic to all of those ahead of it and notice how much larger the N-S windows are 5 PS plus 1 N-S.
rick

Some of the Burlington cars had their name plates reinstalled.

[mcjaco]

Only the Pullmans were painted in this scheme and it dates from the mid-90s. It replaced the earlier white red and brown RTA scheme. Never saw a whole train full of them in this scheme. They were mixed in with the earlier RTA scheme initially and then eventually with the later Nippons.

This.

There's still a few floating around in the system. I see one daily on the NCS Service.  So anytime from the 90s to today, these cars fit the bill.