Product Review: Walthers Excursion Skytop Lounge

I recently purchased an HO scale Skytop Lounge, made by Walthers, and I thought I would talk about that today.  This model has been available for some time, and represents a unique and famous lounge observation car which was once operated by the Milwaukee Road, on their Hiawatha trains.  Several of these classic passenger cars still exist today, in various states of repair, but one, the Cedar Rapids is in operating condition and can periodically be found on the rear end of Amtrak passenger trains.

Over the years, the Milwaukee Road had a few different paint schemes for these cars.  Their first paint scheme was the Milwaukee's famous orange and red paint scheme.  Several years later, when the railroad was struggling financially, they found it was cheaper to paint their cars in Union Pacific's famous yellow.  Eventually the entire fleet, including the Skytop Lounge cars, were all repainted yellow.  This was the last paint scheme the Milwaukee had for them.  Several years after that, Amtrak took over passenger operations nationwide and the Skytop lounges were retired.  Some were sold to private ownership and some were scrapped.  The model I purchased represents one currently in service, in which it received another paint scheme, which was a variation of the original orange and red scheme used by the Milwaukee Road.  The prototype of this car sits at the St. Paul, MN, Amtrak station when it is not being used.

Exterior:
This model has the typical features of Walthers passenger cars.  The paint scheme is accurate and the lines are crisp.  It even features the small numbering to identify it as an Amtrak certified private rail car.  The model also features prototypical accurate trucks and a working diaphragm.  The model comes with Proto MAX couplers, which Walthers uses on a lot of their models.  Also included with the model are all the grab bars for the model.  They are installed by the user, and come in a little plastic bag behind the model.  I prefer to replace the couplers, although at the writing of this I have not had a chance to do so yet.  Eventually this car will get AAR type H couplers, by Sergent Engineering.

The trucks feature prototypical metal side frames which allow the car to pick up electricity, which is then routed to the interior for lighting.  Also, in the lighting department, there is a clear lens where the marker light should sit.  Disassembling the car reveals a small space where a red light could be placed to serve as a marker.  The electricity comes through two metal plates under the floor, running the length of the car, and a marker light could potentially be connected to those.  (If you are interested in this project, check out www.miniatronics.com for some lighting solutions.)  The under body of the car features typical equipment found under passenger cars for electrical systems, climate control, and braking.  Having never carefully examined the prototype, I cannot say if they are an exact match, although they certainly are convincing enough.

Interior:
Walthers passenger cars typically features a complete interior, and this car is not an exception.  The interior is accurate in the placement of seating and other features, although, as usual, Walthers uses a plain beige plastic molded parts.  The level of detail is satisfactory, although taking the time to paint the interior would significantly improve the appearance.  It is easy to see inside this car, because, as a lounge car, it features some large windows, especially at the rear.  An accurate interior color scheme would really do a lot for the car.  The interior does even features the details in the bathrooms.

As previously mentioned, the trucks are designed to pick up electricity from the rails.  That is then routed to the interior of the car.  On the door end of the car, there are two metal posts hidden in one bulkhead.  Walthers manufactures interior lighting kits that fit on the metal posts, and then light the car up.  The lighting kit has to be purchased separately.  Installing a lighting kit is a simple matter of removing the roof, and dropping the lighting kit right in.  While the roof is off, you might consider adding people too.

Operation:
The car operates well right out of the box.  It is a good idea to periodically lubricate the axle ends.  Made sure to use a conductive lube so that any interior lighting will still operate.  Walthers recommends operating this car on a minimum of 24 inch radius curves, although I have found it operates well enough on curves as small as 21 inches.  Because of its length, the car looks pretty goofy going around a curve with a radius even as small as 24 inches.

Suggested Uses:

If you model Amtrak later than the mid 1990's, this car would make a great private car to add to your Amtrak trains.  Additionally, it can be used with a full length dome car, also produced by Walthers, in a matching paint scheme.  Both of these cars can often be seen operating on excursions and at the rear of Amtrak trains on special trips.

Overall, I am satisfied with this car.  It is a classic railroad car and represents a piece of history preserved for us to enjoy today.  It is a very unique car, and it is nice that someone produces a model of this car.

Manufacturer: Walthers
Retail Price: $69.98, Excursion scheme $74.98*
Available Paint Schemes (Model Numbers): Milwaukee Orange (932-9206), Milwaukee Yellow (932-9261), Excursion (932-9263), Undecorated (932-9260, 932-9262)
Scale: HO