Product Review: Walthers Pullman-Standard 64-Seat Coach

Back in 2006, Walthers came out with a model of a Long Island Railroad 28-1 heavyweight parlor car, and I wanted one. However, I didn't buy one, saying I would wait until they came out with another run. It's been 6 years, and they haven't done that yet. First they went out of stock on the Walthers website, then they disappeared from ebay and discount train websites, and the pile of them at the train store I go to on Long Island slowly got smaller and smaller until they disappeared there too. It's been a few years since I've seen one now, and at this point I'll buy the first one I come across. When Walthers announced a model of Long Island Pullman-Standard coaches, I knew I would have a very small amount of time to get my hands on one. I never pre-ordered one, and as soon as they were delivered they went out of stock. However, I was on Long Island recently, and the train store there had three of them, and I am now the proud owner of one, which sits proudly in my display case.

This model may be out of stock, but I am going to review it anyway. Other paint schemes are still in stock, and they are identical models except for the paint scheme applied to them. I'm not breaking our rule against reviewing out of production models, I'm only bending it.

This model is a great example of all the newest and best features of Walthers passenger cars. In past years, their passenger cars were great, but recently, the quality has gotten better. This car has all the staples of a typical Walthers car, with an accurate paint scheme, a full set of number decals, working diaphragms, a fully detailed interior, Proto-MAX knuckle couplers, and free rolling trucks. However, this car also features a chrome-plated exterior to give it a metallic shine, and all the wire grab irons come factory applied and painted where applicable, saving the modeler the trouble of installing and losing them himself.

The car weighs in at 6.35 ounces, a little short of the NMRA recommended 7 ounces for this car. However, if it is run with identical passenger cars, the weight should not be a problem as long as all the cars are the same weight. The trucks are free rolling, but a little graphite on the end of the axles goes a long way with all Walthers passenger cars. The interior is correct for cars of other paint schemes; however, the Long Island rebuilt these cars to carry 144 passengers, so the interior is not correct for this particular paint scheme. The car features full underbody details, and because of this Walthers recommends not running the car on any curves tighter than 24" radius.

Overall, I like this car. It is a great model of a Long Island passenger car, and I am glad I added it to my collection. I wish I had the money to buy all three they had in the store, but it is an expensive car, and where I don't model the Long Island Railroad, it really is not worth having more than one. If I did model the Long Island, I would most likely not model the era this car ran in. However, it still looks great in the display case, and I can use it as a private car on the end of an Amtrak train.

Manufacturer: Walthers

Price: $69.98

Available Road Names: Louisville & Nashville, New York Central, Northern Pacific