Missisquoi
- Some Hints for Better Pullman Heavyweight Modeling
- Sources for Heavyweight Pullman Information
- Resource: Conversion Kit #318
All of our conversion kits come with detailed instructions, telling you exactly how to use our parts and modify your Pullman Model.
Some Hints for Better Pullman Heavyweight Modeling
Over the past two to three years we have seen many improvements in our hobby, particularly in HO scale, as a result of the demand for greater accuracy in the models we construct or purchase. At New England Rail I've noticed that we receive more questions from modelers than ever before seeking information to enable them to more accurately portray whatever they are modeling. Thus I'll present a few tips here for Pullman heavyweight modelers that have been offered to others in clinics and such over the years.
If the Pullman Co. was known for one thing it was standardization in the way things were done. While it is true that there were a number of variations in the way different Pullman facilities might have done some things, it was still one of the most standardized firms in the world during the heavyweight era. Take a standard Pullman car, for example, and compare it to a home. Once the size and shape of the home is determined the interior arrangement can be determined and, lastly, the location of exterior doors and windows. Pullman chose a standard length car that it could mass produce easily and economically. The width of the car was determined by normal railroad clearances. It then reviewed the needs of passengers in the territory the car was to be operated in and designed the interior accommodations accordingly. This interior design dictated the placement of windows and such on what was otherwise a standard Pullman exterior. With a few exceptions for special trains these standard sized cars were all painted and lettered to standard patterns as well.
This consistency in Pullman's methods is one of the things that makes the Rivarossi 12-1 Pullman sleeper so useful to modelers even though Rivarossi has yet to offer andy other Pullman heavyweight sleeper or parlor types. The large selection of windows available in New England Rail's Pullman Parts line make it quite easy for any modeler with average ability to convert Rivarossi's 12-1 into almost any other Pullman heavyweight type desired and still maintain a high degree of prototypical accuracy. For those who are uncertain of what parts are needed to complete a particular conversion, or those who are unsure of where to find plans to guide them in such work, several kits are offered prepackaged with all the plans necessary to complete some of the more popular car types. Just check the list for the car(s) you need and contact New England Rail if you have any questions or do not see the car you need. It should also be noted that while our parts were designed with the Rivarossi 12-1 in mind, we have heard from many modelers who have used the parts successfully to alter cars from other manufacturers into what they needed as well.
Lastly, let's address two very important, but too often overlooked issues, in passenger car modeling in general and Pullman heavyweight modeling in particular. The first is the importance of using the same base model for all Pullman heavyweight work. I have seen some truly fine individual models of heavyweight Pullmans, constructed by one of the better known modelers in the U.S., that lost much of their appeal when they were placed together in a train for operation. Why? For two reasons, both of which illustrate the importance of consistency and uniformity. First, no more than two of the models were begun from a common starting point. Some were from early Walthers kits, some were scratchbuilt, some were based on the Rivarossi 12-1, while still others were from more different sources. Thus important features such as beltrails and roofs varied widely from one model to the next. Thus when all the cars were placed together in a train they simply did not look like they went together, illustrating the first point.
The second is the paint and lettering used to finish your models. Unlike some of our New England roads, (How many shades of B & M blue have you seen?) Pullman was very consistent in the mix of what has become known as "Pullman #70-10 green" paint. While I do not wish to get into which model paint is "best" or most true in color here, I will state that I prefer Scalecoat, either I or II, depending on what I am painting. Not only have they proven satisfactory for over thirty-five years of modeling, they have also proven most consistent in color and pigment size, two very important factors for modelers to consider.
The point here is that a train of heavyweight Pullmans should be uniform in color and lettering, as well as in the features common to all cars, to truly look authentic. That look cannot be achieved unless a modeler chooses one brand of Pullman green paint and one brand of Pullman lettering and stays with them. In the case at hand, were the lack of a common base for each model not bad enough, paint and, worse yet, lettering from several different suppliers were used to finish these models. Given the differences in aging, weathering and such, one can get away with a small degree of variation in paint. This, however, does not hold true for the style and color of the lettering used. Here, as with the base model, it is critically important to choose one brand of decal and stick with it to achieve the uniformity so necessary to accurately portray a train of Pullman heavyweights.
If the features common to all cars really look the same and the same paint and lettering are used to finish each car I sincerely believe you will find the appeal of a train of heavyweight Pullmans to be much greater. Even when some specially painted other heavyweight cars, or even lightweight cars, are added to the train its authenticity will have already been established by the consistency of those heavyweight Pullmans that display a common starting point together with standardized paint and lettering. It does not matter whether these initial cars are painted in Pullman #70-10 green, Pennsy's tuscan red that so many were painted in or Pullmans later two tone gray paint. It is simply hard to beat a well done and nicely painted and lettered train of heavyweight Pullmans!
Sources for Heavyweight Pullman Information
- Pullman Paint and Lettering Notebook
by Arthur D. Dubin, published by Kalmbach Books, Waukesha, WI in 1997. This book is a must for anyone seriously interested in correctly painting and lettering any type of Pullman car.- Steam, Steel & Limiteds
by William W. Kratville, published privately in 1962 and reprinted more recently. The first good source of Pullman information in the standard era of North American railroading.- Passenger Car Catalog
by William W. Kratville, published by Kratville Publications, Omaha, NE in 1968. Though long out of print, difficult to find and with some composite plans and photos, this is still the single best source of Pullman heavyweight plans and photos if you can find a copy.- Some Classic Trains and More Classic Trains
both by Arthur D. Dubin, published by Kalmbach Publishing Co. Waukesha WI in 1964 and 1974, respectively. Both are good sources of passenger car information and use, primarily on intercity trains.- Mainline Modeler magazine
by Hundman Publications, Mukilteo, WA. Various issues in the mid-1980's had excellent drawings of specific Pullman heavyweight types by George A. Trager. Check the back issue listings in a current issue to see what is still available.
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