WOT bi-levels VRE

[Mark5]

Looks like one of the RW alumni had some input on this:


http://www.wheelsotime.com/bilevel-commute-coach

No MARC though.

(cool, though I don't model this sort of stuff)

[John]

I don;t think these would be accurate for MARC .. IIRC their bi-levels have doors on the end

[Mark5]

I don;t think these would be accurate for MARC .. IIRC their bi-levels have doors on the end

Up until recently I rode MARC daily. I saw them at Union Station every day. You won't see these on the Penn or Camden lines, but they do run on the Brunswick line:

http://narail.awardspace.com/marc17.html

I believe the MARC and VRE cars came from the same source.

[conrail98]

I believe the ones operating on the Penn line are similar to NJ Transit's as they aren't as high as these due to the tunnel clearances. Since I've only seen a few pictures of them so I'm going off of memory,

Phil

[John]

Up until recently I rode MARC daily. I saw them at Union Station every day. You won't see these on the Penn or Camden lines, but they do run on the Brunswick line:

http://narail.awardspace.com/marc17.html

I believe the MARC and VRE cars came from the same source.

Thats good to know .. I used to ride the Penn Line, but stopped in 2001 ...

[Puddington]

Hmmmmmmmmm.....?



Montreal urban transport - CP Rail ran em until the regional authoirty took em over.......

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm........?

[lock4244]

Not the same, Pud. The CP cars have six equal sized windows on each level on each side of the door, while the WOT car has five and one little window. Also, vent above the door is different. I was thinking the same thing this morning, but the differences are too stark.

[John]

well, in that case the WOT won't work for MARC either .. the MARC cars only appear to have 4

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1564108

[CBQ Fan]

I would love for WOT to do the corrigated Bi-Levels so I could sell off all of my Con-Cor stuff.  I may have to grab the CNW cars.

[Mark5]

well, in that case the WOT won't work for MARC either .. the MARC cars only appear to have 4

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1564108

Ah, it makes sense now. VRE also has (or had) cars just like the MARC ones:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=80696&nseq=11

They appear to be gone (to MARC?) now:

http://www.vre.org/about/equipment.htm

[Puddington]

Not the same, Pud. The CP cars have six equal sized windows on each level on each side of the door, while the WOT car has five and one little window. Also, vent above the door is different. I was thinking the same thing this morning, but the differences are too stark.

Ok.but:

I see the CP car in the front ( a power car I assume) with five on one side and six on the other.... albeit the windows appear to be slightly higher, and I'm not sure if that's a window or vent on the top at the front end but it looks like a 90% match with kitbashing potnetial.... can't se enough of the second car...... you might be right about that one....

No matter: I am modeling BC...no bi-levels thet in 1973..........

[jmlaboda]

"They appear to be gone (to MARC?) now:"

They're listed... V405 - V456.  Some have been sold but most are still seeing use.

The paint scheme of the MARC cars should give away their last owner.  An interesting fact about these cars is that VRE and MARC paid less for them than what we will pay for the models.  Its true!!!  They bought the cars for $1 each because they were purchased with Federal money.  If they had been sold to a non-commuter operator they would have paid fair market value but because they were financed at the Federal level they could be sold for simply a token payment, plus shipping and rehabilitating.

"The CP cars have six equal sized windows on each level on each side of the door, while the WOT car has five and one little window. Also, vent above the door is different. I was thinking the same thing this morning, but the differences are too stark."

Indeed, especially if you take a closer look and realize that the CP Rail cars were corrugated.  The sad part is that the former fleet that AMTL acquired from CP have now (recently) been retired and it looks like they are going to be scrapped.  Here is AMTL 924, awaiting its disposition...
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2311319

The scheme used on the WoT models, if I recall correctly, was designed by a modeler, though a number of them remain in their old colors.  Hmm... maybe someone in Illinois can tell use who that owner was...

[Nato]

              The Wheels -O- Time Bi Level car is an accurate model of Southern Pacific cars delivered to the railroad in the 1950's . These were built by Pullman Standard and originally were painted in the Two Tone Gray scheme used by SP on other cars like the Harriman Sub commute coaches. This included an extra stripe below the upper level(deck) to create a letter board area for the road name lettering.These cars had a rather distinctive look with with long nerrowish windows. C.& N.W.'s first Bi Levels also built by Pullman had a similar look. I would guess that WOT has decided to finally get some milage from the tooling for these cars since they can be used as foob stand in Bi Levels. Rapido did this with their muich newer design PS Bi Levels that included a cab car which were models of Northwestern Cars but were offered in SP later gray scheme. Then of course we have the Con Cor Bi Levels both smooth side and Budd Flutted. SP never had later design,look Bi Level cars. These cars were all retired by CAL Trans(current commuter operator) replaced by fluted side cars some with cabs built by Sumionito in Japan.                                 Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah.

[mcjaco]

well, in that case the WOT won't work for MARC either .. the MARC cars only appear to have 4

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1564108

They have a small window on the side with a bathroom. 

[bobcat]

When would the Alaska RR used these bi-levels and what would have pulled them?