Lowell Smiths American Freedom Train question

[up1950s]

http://www.lowellsmith.net/freedom.html

So just how prototypical to body type should we expect for 99 smackers for 2 cars ? I am not very fond of the choice to do a pair of coaches first . If you miss the boat on these I imagine they will be harder to find and more expensive down the road . Then if you buy into them and then later on the body types or details are too far off to make us satisfied for the cost it will hurt . I am thinking if I wanted to sell these and I knew the body types were copied so close as to have special body runs fore them I would have said so in my ad . That lack of claim in his ad makes me feel uneasy . Having said that these will be collector priced as time goes by IMO .   

[Sokramiketes]

The artwork shows the Walthers 64 seat coaches.  I don't know too much about the Freedom Train consist off hand, but I'm guessing they're not the right cars. 

If it helps, Release #1, the two coaches, is already sold out.

[jmlaboda]

The entire consist of the AFT can be found at the link below... and for the most part none of the cars are correct for the train...
http://www.freedomtrain.org/american-freedom-train-home.htm

Considering that it is not likely that prototypically accurate cars will ever be produced beyond custom runs by special order individual modelers will have to decide whether they would want to represent it accurately or simply run stand-ins.  To accurately model the AFT would require a lot of work and resources.  A good thread to the building of the AFT in N can be found at the link below...
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?96833-American-Freedom-Train&highlight=American+Freedom+Train

[BCR 570]

I asked Lowell about these some time ago because several of the AFT coaches were also on the Provincial Museum Train and are thus of interest to me.  He replied that his offerings were not new and prototype specific tooling; rather existing models in appropriate paint.

Tim

[rogergperkins]

The postings on this topic all seem to use the word "train" instead of "trains" which is more accurate because there were different trains and locomotives used in this project.

Some of that history is outlined in the links to this post.

I had the good fortune to come to Peoria, IL from Urbana, IL with friends from an n-scale club to see that train.  In must have been early in the spring of 1975, because near the end of August 1975 we moved to Minnesota for what turned out to be a 30 year residence there.

There were several special exhibit cars in the train we visited.  Some were displays of copies of historic documents and visitors went abroad to view, but other cars had large window panels to display larger object of historic interest and these were viewed from outside.  To accurately model the latter would be a high priced venture.

[jmlaboda]

Roger, with respect, there was only ONE American Freedom Train, though three different steamers were used.  The earlier train from the 1940s was simply called the Freedom Train.  This is all well documented on the website I linked too.

[up1950s]

The postings on this topic all seem to use the word "train" instead of "trains" which is more accurate because there were different trains and locomotives used in this project.

Some of that history is outlined in the links to this post.

I had the good fortune to come to Peoria, IL from Urbana, IL with friends from an n-scale club to see that train.  In must have been early in the spring of 1975, because near the end of August 1975 we moved to Minnesota for what turned out to be a 30 year residence there.

There were several special exhibit cars in the train we visited.  Some were displays of copies of historic documents and visitors went abroad to view, but other cars had large window panels to display larger object of historic interest and these were viewed from outside.  To accurately model the latter would be a high priced venture.

At 49.50 a car it already is . I now will not bother as it would be like using a buck and adding a zero and passing it for a sawbuck .

[Puddington]

With due respect for the Railwire bent towards fidelity and accuracy, I think this project is one where the goal is strictly a graphic representation of a famous train and not an attempt at a  prototypical consist. This is kinda on the edge of the 'collector product" gendre...... I mean, we don't complain about using the wrong cars for the annual Santa Claus boxcars now do we... everyone knows Santa never bought from Pullman Standard, he was a dedicated PC&F guy.........

[Bob Bufkin]

Beg to differ Pud but everyone knows he liked ACF.

[Puddington]

Beg to differ Pud but everyone knows he liked ACF.

No Bob, that is the Easter Bunny who likes ACF........

[Bob Bufkin]

Yeah, and the tooth fairy liked PS.

I still get a little pissed when I read anything about the Freedom Train.  It carried a few military personnel for some of the exhibits and I came within a hairs breath of being selected to ride this train.  I was stationed in the Pentagon at the time and just missed out on what I considered the trip of a lifetime. 

[Sokramiketes]

With due respect for the Railwire bent towards fidelity and accuracy, I think this project is one where the goal is strictly a graphic representation of a famous train and not an attempt at a  prototypical consist. This is kinda on the edge of the 'collector product" gendre...... I mean, we don't complain about using the wrong cars for the annual Santa Claus boxcars now do we... everyone knows Santa never bought from Pullman Standard, he was a dedicated PC&F guy.........

I think it's a little different since there was a prototype AFT.  There never was a Santa Boxcar, so those holiday specials slide.  Unless it's the BNSF Christmas locos that FVM did, when again, there's a prototype to compare to.

[wm3798]

Given the era the train ran, isn't it safe to say that the consist was a mish mash of whatever surviving "heritage" equipment was available at the time?  The Chessie Steam Special ran in the same time frame, and the consist was likely to change based on equipment availability.  You know, the tag at the bottom of the excursion poster "Equipment may be substituted without notice"

I agree with Pud.  The AFT was a specialty train, and outside of the intensely anal retentive, most buyers won't give a rat's patoot about the window arrangements or if the air conditioner is on the wrong side of a car.  Most of them, I'll bet, won't ever see rails, but rather be displayed on a shelf or just stowed away.

You lose sight of the fact that the object of the game is to sell trains, and do so at a profit.  While it would be nice if they extended the effort to "do it right", the cost differential of tooling all new cars, or otherwise modifying existing equipment to meet the needs of a tiny slice of the potential market is frankly an absurd expectation.  If you're desperate to achieve 100% accuracy, perhaps you should be commissioning the project with your money rather than bellyaching about how someone else is doing it.

Just my $.02

Lee

PS, I always figured Santa got his cars from Bethlehem!

[Roger Holmes]

Lee--If I collect and save your $.02 opinion some day it might be worth $2.00

Like the other Roger, I, too, had a chance to tour the 1975 AFT which came to Springfield, IL pulled by the ex-Reading (IIRC) steam loco.  The most significant memory that I have is of the picture window display cars which were probably converted baggage cars which were viewed from the outside.  I recall one had a lunar rover and  another a Liberty Bell replica.  It wouldn't be the AFT without these.

That said, I have too much invested in the MT Ringling set to embark upon another set.

[up1950s]

Given the era the train ran, isn't it safe to say that the consist was a mish mash of whatever surviving "heritage" equipment was available at the time?  The Chessie Steam Special ran in the same time frame, and the consist was likely to change based on equipment availability.  You know, the tag at the bottom of the excursion poster "Equipment may be substituted without notice"

I agree with Pud.  The AFT was a specialty train, and outside of the intensely anal retentive, most buyers won't give a rat's patoot about the window arrangements or if the air conditioner is on the wrong side of a car.  Most of them, I'll bet, won't ever see rails, but rather be displayed on a shelf or just stowed away.

You lose sight of the fact that the object of the game is to sell trains, and do so at a profit.  While it would be nice if they extended the effort to "do it right", the cost differential of tooling all new cars, or otherwise modifying existing equipment to meet the needs of a tiny slice of the potential market is frankly an absurd expectation.  If you're desperate to achieve 100% accuracy, perhaps you should be commissioning the project with your money rather than bellyaching about how someone else is doing it.

Just my $.02

Lee

PS, I always figured Santa got his cars from Bethlehem!

Just wanted the very unique cars to be dealt with for the 1250 bucks . That's a bunch of money to invest in something we can't see even an artist rendering of what to expect Lee , especially for a paint job otherwise useless . Sorry I posted .