Manufacturer: Kato USA Inc
100 Remington Road
Schaumburg. Ill, 60173
www.katousa.com
Era: 1978 to present
Comments: A typical Amtrak 73-foot streamlined baggage car has been released by Kato USA for use with the firm’s Superliner passenger cars.The model represents one of the Budd baggage cars originally built for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. in 1953. It was sold to Amtrak, where it ran in regular service until the car was upgraded for head-end power (HEP) operation in 1978. These baggage cars continue to haul passenger baggage on most current long-haul trains.
Kato’s model features a one-piece plastic body with appropriate Budd fluted sides, fine rooftop fluting, and characteristic pair of roof purlins. It closely matches a prototype plan in the book Santa Fe Railway Passenger Car Reference Series – Volume One, Head End Cars by Frank Ellington and Joe W. Shine (Santa Fe Ry. Historical & Modeling Society).
The underbody is molded in black plastic with minimal detailing other than the underframe, a few boxes, simulated brake gear, and eight steps at the corners and under the doors. Kato’s magnetic knuckle couplers come mounted on the car. A set of the firm’s Kinematic couplers, which can be substituted for closer coupling, are also included.
A pair of Kato’s 4-wheel type 41-NR roller-bearing trucks are used on this car. The wheelsets have metal wheels mounted on metal axle stubs pressed into insulated tubular axles. A metal contact strip runs inside each sideframe to collect current for the lighting circuit. This contact system makes the car very free-rolling. A printed-circuit board plugs into the floor to operate the red marker lights at either end.
Our sample came smoothly painted and decorated in Amtrak’s current phase IVb color scheme and is available lettered for no 1206 or 1221.
The car weighs 5 ounces, which is ½ ounce under the National Model Railroad Association’s Recommended Practice 20.1.
This baggage car will be a great addition to the head end of almost any of today’s long-haul Amtrak trains.
