I M Centralia Observation cars new schemes

[Nato]

       I just received three boat tailed PS observation cars from IM Centralia in their latest paint scheme releases. They as usual are very nicely modeled with free standing detail and road specific details. Two Northern Pacific paint schemes, the original as delivered 1947/48 Pine Tree colors dark green car body with yellow striping and lettering. My model is named "Arlington Club" all these cars were originally named ,features chromed (silver) hand rails and the original rear tail sign found on these cars. Roof top details are correct including the type of radio antenna (think Kato model) that is arranged in a rectangular pattern. Rear side marker lights, but no large rear roof mounted back up light or Mars emergency red signal light. My second Northern Pacific car is in the later Lowey paint and is numbered 390. This was a unique car the only one to feature a white painted rear end strip that veed down from the white side stripes and wraped around the rear end. The "Vista Dome North Coast Limited" lettering and Monad logo on the car sides  is very nice along with the car number and "Pullman" on lower car sides next to the vestibule doors. The rear tail sign is correct NCL one for cars in this paint scheme. Now I hope Centralia does other cars in the Pine Tree colors that I can run with my three Pine Tree black and green passenger F-3 diesels.                                                                                                                                                                                                               The third car I received is a Union Pacific car. While the roads two 1937 cars built for the COLA and COSF trains looked similar they did not have platform loading doors and SP later added extra lights on either side of the rear roof light on "KNOB Hill" COLA car "Sun valley" never was modified. The model feature railroad specific roof detail, the radio antenna is in a single straight line and roof vents differ. The grabs next to the side doors are yellow, most UP cars used stainless steel (plated) . The rear tail light is red painted  (non working). The car is numbered 1575 a number applied to one of the 1937 cars when they lost their names and the rear tail sign is a generic UP shield emblem which was applied when the cars were no longer assigned to specific streamliners. My only big gripe (complaint) is the battery operated lighting system used by Centralia on the N scale cars. You are suppose to pull out a small thin clear plastic (cellophane) tab that sticks out the end door window on one end of the car. Then using the magnetic hand held wand (you assemble) waving it over just the right spot on the car roof turns on or off the interior lights. A good theory, but on 90% of the cars I have bought I cannot make this work. Maybe the battery is loosened up in transit or dead from sitting (I doubt this) the battery can be viewed through the end door window on most cars. Rapido of Canada uses a similar system, but you carefully remove the roof and install the battery, this works better, but the Centralia roofs with their delicate free standing grabs and other details were really not meant to be pried off.                                        I know "Pictures please !" Maybe soon. Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah.

[CBQ Fan]

I got one of the np Lowry scheme to finish out a train of the centralia cars. I think the colors are off and like the colors of the Lowell Smith and Rapido cars better. The LS and Rap cars also match the Intermountain engines I just got much better. I hated the pine tree scheme when I got the coaches I cancelled the observation car in the same scheme.  The pine tree colors look closer to NYC than the real cars.  Just compare them to the IM pine tree F units.  Cars are nice, but most likely will be boxed up as I run my mix of LS, Rapido, WOT cars.

[Nato]

       I agree about the colors of the Lowey scheme. Lowell Smith has used colors matched from paint chips provided by the NP Historical Society. Search the archives here for a thread about correct NP two tone colors in that I provided color comparison photos of various manufacturers cars and some that were custom painted that I bought off a Texan Rails Auction. The Smith cars win hands down although the Rapido come close and Con Cor in third place. My Pine Tree passenger F-3's were custom painted for me in the mid 1980's by a gentleman in Michigan "Richmond's N Shop".                Nate Goodman (Nato).

[Cajonpassfan]

Nate, how's the colors on the UP car?
Otto

[Nato]

        To me there is really only one good looking UP Yellow color, now remember I grew up viewing and riding UP Passenger trains including seeing sun faided weathered cars in storage. That yellow color is Scale Coat, which Con Cor switched to 20 years ago atleast after running some cars in horrible canarry yellow. Kato has tinkered with their yellow over the years their current shade is not too bad. Micro trains yellow is nice, but their gray is far too light too late to change it now, all future UP realeases from MT will have the gray wrong. Scale Coat Harbor Mist Gray looks good to me. Life Like did gray that was almost black on their early releases, they got it right on their last run of E Units, walthers passenger cars look pretty good. Now for the IM Centrailia cars. The yellow is a bit light,but looks like weathered cars, their gray in not bad looking. I have been modeling in N so long late 1960"s that I can remember  the easy color match with old Testors paints to match Atlas Rivarossi locomotives and cars also Con Cor, just mix a drop of red in with the stock yellow.Then there were the Aurora / Trix  Postage stamp pasenger cars just silver with a yellow window band, I repainted mine into yellow and gray and fired off a nasty letter to Aurora asking them to correct the mistake. They never did, Chinese made versions of these cars to this day are silver with a yellow window band. Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt lake, Utah.