The prototype. In 1949, Pullman-Standard delivered two tapered blunt-end observation cars to the Pennsylvania RR for use on the Broadway Limited. In addition to a buffet lounge, each car had the most luxurious private accommodations on the train: two master bedrooms and one bedroom.
These cars served on the Broadway Limited through the end of the PRR in 1968. Both cars are preserved. The Mountain View is at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pa. The Tower View is at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa.
All the striping and lettering is correctly applied. Modelers will have to choose which car they want to model, as the car name isn’t factory applied. Decals are included for Mountain View and Tower View.
Factory-installed detail parts include the rooftop antenna and all grab irons. All the cars in the Walthers Broadway Limited series couple close together, with the diaphragms almost touching. While this looks great, keep in mind that this train requires broad curves. The minimum radius is 24″, but I think the train looks more realistic on curves of 28″ radius or greater.
I removed the roof using a hobby knife with a no. 17 chisel blade to disengage the tabs that hold it to the car sides. An instruction sheet shows the placement of the tabs, which is helpful to avoid snapping one of them off. You have to disengage tabs only on one side of the car to lift off the roof.
The interior floor, walls, and fixtures are molded in tan plastic. There’s a metal weight sandwiched between the interior floor and the car’s underbody.
Each truck has the correct scale 81⁄2-foot wheelbase. The die-cast metal 41-NP-11 truck sideframes have sharply molded details, including the helical springs. The brake shoes also realistically line up with the wheel treads. Separately applied parts include the bolster anchors.
The RP-25 contour metal wheels are chemically blackened, but would have looked more realistic if the wheel faces had been painted. All the wheels pick up track power. Walthers sells overhead interior lighting kits that fit this model for use on direct-current (part no. 933-1049) and Digital Command Control (part no. 933-1084) layouts. I was disappointed that the tail sign wasn’t lit.
As with all the cars in the Broadway Limited series, Walthers did a great job modeling the pride of Pennsy’s “Blue Ribbon” fleet.
Manufacturer
Wm. K. Walthers Inc.
P.O. Box 3039
Milwaukee, WI 53201
walthers.com
Era: 1949 to 1968
Features
- RP-25 contour wheels in gauge
- Minimum radius: 24″
- Proto-Max magnetic knuckle couplers at correct height
- Weight: 7 ounces (follows NMRA RP-20.1)
I added the Walthers lighting kit (1084) to the observation car. I was able to make working rear marker light by running two fiber optics from the light kit to the rear marker lights after drilling out the cast in marker nubs.
This is a highly detailed model matching the same two Pennsy observation cars that were the prototype for the less detailed "smooth side" observations modeled in styrene by Rivarossi in Italy and sold by AHM in the United States beginning in the 1960's.