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Speaking of "order of cars", on most passenger train setups (in real life now) what is the order of cars on say a 8 car passenger train?What I have is a Great Northern 8 car Empire Builder passenger set. Looks to me that I have a baggage car, a mail car, a combo car, a sleeper car, two passenger cars, a vista dome and the observation car. How would they have set that up "back in the day"?
Baggage, RPO, dorm (if it's a Walthers car they did a baggage dorm, not a combine) chair cars, diner (or dome) sleeper, observation. Generally speaking, the more expensive seats were towards the rear of the train
Also the galley (kitchen) in the dining car was generally placed towards the front so that higher class passengers coming from the rear didn't have to walk past it. Learned that from an old dining car attendant!
Also remember that the cars in the set may not be typical of the cars in the train, so the real question is what order would my cars be in.
If you Bing "Empire Builder" and look on the GN historical society there are several brochures about the train:
1949 Empire Builder
Baggage -RPO
60 seat Coach
60 seat Coach
48 seat coach
48 seat coach
48 seat coach
Coffee shop car
Diner
Pullman 16 roomette-4 dbl br
Pullman 16 roomette-4 dbl br
Pullman
Obs-Lounge
Thanks guys. I was watching a couple of videos and I stumbled on one that had a pretty good view of an Empire Builder. So with that and the info you have given me I should be able to get at least "close" to authentic. At least having them in the right order I would think is kind of important.
IIRC, it was standard practice, at least on most roads, that the RPO, was directly behind the locomotive(s). The Post Office didn't want non-postal employees, like the conductor or baggage handlers, porters etc. walking thru their cars. The doors to the rest of the train were generally locked.
Depends on the road Carey, and on what was in the baggage car. If there was mail to be sorted en route that was stored in the baggage car, access would have been restricted. I've seen it both ways. As with any model, it's best to check your prototype data and photos!
OH Geez! Now I'm WAAAAAAAAY over thinking this deal. Here's what I've got. Based on what Dave said my order should be,
R.P.O.
Baggage Car
smooth side roomette
smooth side diner
smooth side sleeper
smooth side vista dome
smooth side coach
tail car
I'm guessing the diner is what I thought origionally was a combo car but it's got two smoke stacks coming out of it so I'm guessin' that's the diner. As you might guess, I took all the cars out of the boxes without lookin' to see what they were so now I'm surmising what each one is. Let's just say I'm doing my share of googling. Yet another rookie mistake by yours truly. ha ha.
OH Geez! Now I'm WAAAAAAAAY over thinking this deal. Here's what I've got.
R.P.O.
Baggage Car
smooth side roomette
smooth side diner
smooth side sleeper
smooth side vista dome
smooth side coach
tail car
I'm guessing the diner is what I thought origionally was a combo car but it's got two smoke stacks coming out of it so I'm guessin' that's the diner. As you might guess, I took all the cars out of the boxes without lookin' to see what they were so now I'm surmising what each one is. Let's just say I'm doing my share of googling. Yet another rookie mistake by yours truly. ha ha.
It's an IHC set Alan. And that makes more sense. Why would someone want to go through sleeping cars etc to get to the bar.
That link is just what I was looking for, Alan. Thanks!
The very question I just decided to research and based on the posts here I would imagine a reasonable order for my set of Pullman Heavyweights would be:
I believe the Fancy Chair cars would officially be called Parlor cars.
That question is loaded. The "single" type that is missing from the list is a lounge car. Then there are the obvious combination cars RPO/baggage, baggage/dorm, baggage/coach, lounge/sleeper, sleeper/observation, etc.
But it is not even that easy. There are many many types of Pullman sleepers. A Pullman sleeper will be identified by the number of the different types of rooms are contained in the floor plan of that car. So a 12-1 has 12 section rooms and 1 drawing room. An 8-1-2 has eight sections, one drawing room, and two compartments. I believe Pullman had over 100 different floor plans. The 0-6-3 with no sections or simply 6-3 (Pullman floor plan #3523) was very popular on long haul trains.
Here is a list from a Pullman brochure
Sections The classic Pullman accommodation, the “section” of a sleeping car was an open area with seats for daytime travel which were converted by a porter to an upper and lower berth. Later they were modified to have curtains for privacy. This was the most common way to travel on an overnight train during the heavyweight era. Drawing Rooms The elite paid more for “drawing room” accommodations, which featured an enclosed room with a small couch opposite a seating section. At night the seats were converted to upper and lower berths and the couch became a bed. These rooms were equippedwith a private lavatory. Compartments The “compartment” was smaller than a “drawing room” and didn’t have the sofa/bed. Single Bedrooms These were small rooms with a single bed. Later versions had a sofa which converted at night. Double Bedrooms By adding a berth over the convertible sofa, the bedrooms evolved into double occupancy.
I am not seeing the head end power in this list. Perhaps I'm dumb and just missed it but on the trains I've worked, Head end Power was usually right up behind the Loco, then RPS, then diner then the self loading baggage.
I am not seeing the head end power in this list. Perhaps I'm dumb and just missed it but on the trains I've worked, Head end Power was usually right up behind the Loco, then RPS, then diner then the self loading baggage.
Head End Power (HEP) is a modern thing. There was no such thing in the heavyweight era. Trains got steam from the locomotive for heating. Any electricity came from batteries charged by generators turned off the axles of each individual car.
Head End Power (HEP) is a modern thing. There was no such thing in the heavyweight era. Trains got steam from the locomotive for heating. Any electricity came from batteries charged by generators turned off the axles of each individual car.
Almost, but not quite! Thre were dynamo cars in the City of LA and San Francisco, as well as a few other applications. "Head End Power" is just a more modern term for this, but it's been around since the thirties.
I see. When I spent time with the American Orient Express, which was a collection of heavyweights matched, it had head end power behind the Amtrak engines which were not exactly vintage either, but the folks who can afford to ride the AOE all over creation seem to want power in their compartments when they're parked for a few days. I wonder why?
Almost, but not quite! Thre were dynamo cars in the City of LA and San Francisco, as well as a few other applications. "Head End Power" is just a more modern term for this, but it's been around since the thirties.
I see. When I spent time with the American Orient Express, which was a collection of heavyweights matched, it had head end power behind the Amtrak engines which were not exactly vintage either, but the folks who can afford to ride the AOE all over creation seem to want power in their compartments when they're parked for a few days. I wonder why?
