N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[DKS]

$15 with free shipping...
It's funny.  Most of the stuff I'm buying is going for about what the original price tags from 45 years ago say. 
You don't have any PRR or B&O units do you? Oh, and maybe a B?
Lee

Got PRR units out the wazoo, and I have some B's. B&O's are rare, especially cosmetically good ones, because the grey paint flakes off and the gold lettering turns black, but I do have a few, A and B.

[wm3798]

If the B&Os are in reasonably good shape, do you think a shot of clear coat might preserve them?
Thoughts?
Lee

[Point353]

A set of Atlas/Rowa fluted passenger cars in Penn Central to trail behind the F (I'll have a baggage/rpo combine, two coaches and a round tail observation.  After Atlas imported these cars I think Con Cor did, and I always liked them.  I think I read somewhere that the tooling from them was lost in a fire or in the shuffle of a bankruptcy or something, so they became sort of mythical beasts for a long time.  Apparently the wave of hoarders has started dying off because they're now all over ebay at reasonable prices.

Didn't know that Rowa made passenger cars for Atlas.
Are you certain that they weren't made by Rivarossi?
See items 2666, 2667 and 2669 listed under passenger cars (select it from the drop down menu and click on 'Go'): http://www.irwinsjournal.com/a1g/

[DKS]

Didn't know that Rowa made passenger cars for Atlas.

Not sure about Atlas, but Con-Cor surely did resell Rowa cars. This whole era was a serious muddle. And the Rowa tooling, AFAIK, was lost amidst a shuffle of bankruptcies.

[Doug G.]

Not to be railroady pedantic but, all of Atlas' passenger cars were made by Rivarossi.



Doug

[learmoia]

Instead of thr Bowser N5, you could have gone with the Con-Cor Brass N5.

Not super old, but Pre-Bowser.

I've got the Royal Blue Combine (and a few others)

~Ian

[wm3798]

It's likely that they are in fact Rivarossi, because the truck mounts and the lighting rig are identical.  But the "R" on the bottom is different on the fluted cars, it's more of a script R, and not the blocky "double R" of RivaRossi...  Both are noted as being made in Italy, though.  Not sure what Rowa's origins were.

You have to keep in mind that as a not so serious collector of the things, and really, just an old dude trying to remember what was out when I was a kid...I'm not some hotshot millenial type who bothers to research such things!

From the looks of what I see being sold, the Atlas fluted cars bear a striking resemblance to the Con Cor fluted cars...But alas, there are significant differences.  And the Con Cor cars look to have nicer detailing...

Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh man... so, if you're up for some fun. @Bob Bufkin gave me a brass N5 that is likely from your "era" and that needs some TLC.

It's yours when I find it, if you want some vintage brass to go along with this effort.

[learmoia]

It's likely that they are in fact Rivarossi, because the truck mounts and the lighting rig are identical.  But the "R" on the bottom is different on the fluted cars, it's more of a script R, and not the blocky "double R" of RivaRossi...  Both are noted as being made in Italy, though.  Not sure what Rowa's origins were.

You have to keep in mind that as a not so serious collector of the things, and really, just an old dude trying to remember what was out when I was a kid...I'm not some hotshot millenial type who bothers to research such things!

From the looks of what I see being sold, the Atlas fluted cars bear a striking resemblance to the Con Cor fluted cars...But alas, there are significant differences.  And the Con Cor cars look to have nicer detailing...

Lee

The Atlas car I believe is the same as the Con-Cor car that came in the 5 car corrugated sets.  (Same with the heavyweights)

Con-Cor also imported the Rowa/MRC cars. As single cars and used some in the collector sets..

Thirdly, before the RR HW tooling, Concor imported Kato heavyweight cars which are shorter Japanese prototypes.

I'll post some pics tonight.


~Ian

[wm3798]

I actually have a vintage Key Brass RS-3 and an S-2, I think from Sunset... don't quote me on that, I'm presently 200 miles from the layout.  Both are in a million pieces, the S-2 needs new gears, which I believe I have (from Bob no less!) I've been watching Randy's Jamco thread with a great deal of interest... these are nowhere near as complex as the steam engine, but they are definitely products of a different age and will need some creative thinking to put back together.

To run them on the retro rig will remove the step about dealing with decoder installation in a frame where everything from the horns to the handrails are actively engaged in the electrical circuit...

So yes, I'd be very interested in that caboose!
It might look pretty good in Jade Green... eh?
Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I dig that!
It's yours.

Now to find it...

[learmoia]

I'll be curious how you attach rapido couplers to it.. : )  (or are you sticking with MT conversions?)

[peteski]

It's likely that they are in fact Rivarossi, because the truck mounts and the lighting rig are identical.  But the "R" on the bottom is different on the fluted cars, it's more of a script R, and not the blocky "double R" of RivaRossi...  Both are noted as being made in Italy, though.  Not sure what Rowa's origins were.

When Rivarossi used the entire word as a logo, they used a somewhat "scripty" typeface.  So that "R" could be just the first letter of that word logo.  Just another variation.

[wm3798]

I'll be curious how you attach rapido couplers to it.. : )  (or are you sticking with MT conversions?)

Are you talking about the brass caboose or the locomotives?  I'm keeping the Rapidos on the passenger stuff, and I have a small consist of early freight cars that will remain so equipped.  I'm in the process of negotiating for a proper vintage freight engine to work that, and have an appropriate vintage caboose in mind for that service... 
Interestingly, the newer Bachmann stuff that comes with the McHenry style knuckle coupler, as well as the earlier Atlas Accumate cars come with Rapido couplers in the package that have a mount that adapts well to an MT style box draft gear...  I'll have to take a look at it see what I'll do.

I don't have a lot of "switching" designed into the layout per se, so the retro train would be pretty much a loop runner.  As such, I might mount a Rapido on end of the caboose and a knuckle on the other... or not.  I do enjoy running my newer stuff, and have converted my two small steam switchers to knuckles...  But now that I've reprogrammed my newer Bachmann dual mode switchers to work DC, I might put Rapidos back on the steamers...  I dunno.  The calculus on this is starting to make my head spin!

Bottom line is, the "staging" is in a box in the desk drawer under the layout... so it's not really necessary to worry about standardizing couplers.  When I want to run old stuff, I'll pull it out of the drawer and put the new stuff away.

At least until I build a yard...

[learmoia]

Are you talking about the brass caboose or the locomotives? 

The Brass Caboose.. (I think it's designed for an MT screw in), so, either something creative for Rapido or throw in a conversion car.

~Ian