A heavyweight champ. The cars are based on a prototype built to Baltimore & Ohio specifications, designated by Pullman as plan 2882-B. The car has been offered in HO scale by other manufacturers, and brass car sides have been offered in N scale, but this is the first ready-to-run N scale model of the coach.
Thanks to steel rationing in World War II and the booming demand for passenger service after the war, many of these cars saw service long into the steam-to-diesel transition era. While some were relegated to branch lines or commuter service, others were modernized with smooth sides, closed vestibules, and streamlined roofs.
The models. Our samples are painted for Southern Pacific and Pullman pool service. The SP version has lettering for subsidiary Texas & New Orleans, as well as car no. 403, and is painted what Micro-Trains called “SP Daylight Olive Green.” The Pullman-decorated car (shown above) is painted darker Pullman Green. Both paint jobs were smooth and even, and both cars bore gold lettering that was straight, crisp, and opaque.
I wasn’t able to put my hands on a copy of Pullman plan no. 2882-B. But the cars resembled a photo of a B&O paired-window coach in an advertisement for Pullman passenger cars that I found in the 1931 Car Builders’ Cyclopedia of American Practice (Simmons-Boardman). Though the number and position of the vents on the roof differed, the model did feature a molded drip rail above the doors, as on the prototype. The six-wheel trucks in the prototype photo were a match to the model’s, down to the brake shoe hangers.
The models include Micro-Trains’ new medium-profile wheels, which means they should have no problem on code 55 track. All the wheels were in gauge. Likewise, the Micro-Trains magnetic knuckle couplers were mounted at the correct height. The cars tracked well around the 11″-radius superelevated curves on our Salt Lake Route project layout in spite of the cars’ length.
A welcome addition. These new cars are a great supplement to Micro-Trains’ recent releases of Pullman heavyweights. The common, versatile coaches will let N scale modelers of the 1930s through 1960s easily expand their passenger consists.
Find more N scale product reviews, track plans, and videos at the Model Railroader N scale page.
Price: $22.70
Manufacturer
Micro-Trains Line Co.
351 Rogue River Parkway
Talent, OR 97540
micro-trains.com
Road names: Canadian Pacific, Pullman, Southern Pacific (Texas & New Orleans), Union Pacific
Era: 1930 to 1960s
Features
- Body-mounted magnetic knuckle couplers, mounted at correct height
- Detailed underbody
- Molded plastic interior
- Plastic wheelsets, in gauge
- Weight: 11⁄2 ounces (Correct per National Model Railroad Association RP-20.1)
For more N scale product reviews, track plans, and videos, visit the Model Railroader N scale page.
