Photo of the Week: 4/6/2012

Last spring, you may remember that the entire Midwest seemed to be flooded.  While the Forsyth Sub and the Glendive area did experience some flooding, it was minor compared to what was experienced in other areas, such as Minot, ND.  Various washouts kept things moving slowly on the Forsyth Sub.  I was still in training, and I decided to take advantage of all the time off we were getting between trips.  I decided to visit my grandparents, who live in a Long Island suburb of New York.  Being a last minute trip, flights could not be found for even a slightly reasonable price, so I decided to take Amtrak.  When I arrived at the depot in Williston, ND, the ticket agent began to explain that there would likely be delays because of the flooding, and then started a surprisingly elaborate description of how all the water was effecting the railroad.  I stopped her and explained that I was employed by the BNSF, and I understood exactly why Amtrak would be delayed.  She looked relieved that I was not complaining to her!  A few minutes later the Empire Builder pulled into the station, and I boarded.  The next morning, we had a service stop in St. Paul, MN, and I decided to step off the train and take a look around.  I had been there before on a few occasions, but they were all after dark.  This was my first daylight visit.

What I found in St. Paul was a former Milwaukee Road Skytop lounge car, coupled to a full length dome car.  I knew they were there, but had never gotten a good look at them, so I took the opportunity!  The Skytop cars have always intrigued me, because they are so unique, and an icon of the Hiawatha trains that the Milwaukee Road once ran across the country, between Chicago and Tacoma, WA.  These care are available for charter, and one day I'd like to do just that!  Here they are, with another private car, idling at the St. Paul depot.  The Empire Builder was behind me.



I think some preparations were being made to move the car, because there were some people working on and around it, and it was connected to power.  I do not know what the plan was for it though.  I do regret that I did not ask one of those people if I could see the interior of the car.  I keep telling myself that someday I will get to charter and ride these cars, although that day may be a while in the future still!

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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

Photo of the Week: 7/22/2011

Today's photo is from Montana. James and I were doing some exploring in and around Miles City when we came across this dirt road and an old railroad bridge. You can drive over the bridge. It is, of course, very stable, but it certainly doesn't sound like it when you drive over it! Anyways, here is the photo:

This is the old Milwaukee Road right of way. The Milwaukee Road, or more formally the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, & Pacific came through southern Montana on its way to the Pacific. The Milwaukee Road was known for its skytop lounges and extensive electrification through western Montana and Washington. In the 1970s, the Milwaukee Road chose to take down the wires and purchase new diesels instead of buying new electrics. The diesels ended up costing more than the railroad could afford, and they ended up tearing up most of their transcontinental route. What was left was later bought by the Soo Line, which was more recently bought by Canadian Pacific.

Through Montana, most of the tracks are gone. BNSF owns a few branch lines and spurs. This part of the line, however, has been turned into a dirt road called Milwaukee Road. You can drive on it if you have the time. It doesn't really go anywhere though. But it's kinda cool to say you drove on the old Milwaukee Road right-of-way!