MTH HO scale Southern Pacific class 79-C-2 44-seat chair car

A Southern Pacific class 79-C-2 44-seat chair car marks the first HO passenger car from MTH Electric Trains. The prototype for the model was built by Pullman-Standard in 1941 for service on the Coast Daylight. The length and width of the model match a prototype diagram in Southern Pacific Passenger Cars, Volume 1: Coaches and Chair Cars (published by the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society).

Placement of the striping and lettering matches prototype photos. The window frames are silver. Warning stencils and equipment trust plates are legible under magnification. The car’s crimson and orange stripes also match the MTH HO scale GS-4 locomotive.

Detail inside and out. The plastic body shell has prototypical side fluting. The rooftop vents are correctly placed.

All the handrails and steps are separately applied. Many of the underbody details are also separate parts, including some of the brake rigging and the Waukesha air-conditioning equipment that’s prototypical for this car.

The end vestibules are especially well done. The end doors include round windows. Just like on the prototype, the flexible diaphragm is painted with crimson,
orange, and silver stripes to match the car sides. The top of the diaphragm is black to match the roof.

To disassemble the car following the MTH instructions, I removed the steam heat connection pipe on the underbody and both couplers. Then I spread the car sides and lifted the body off the frame.

The plastic interior is painted medium blue. The light blue seats are separate parts. The floor plan of the model’s interior matches the diagram in Southern Pacific Passenger Cars Volume 1.

Lights and curves. The model has overhead interior lighting, and all the metal wheels pick up track power. Metal contacts and a metal weight are located between the interior and the car’s frame. Two circuit boards on each end of the interior roof have light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A strip of clear plastic along the roof evenly distributes the light throughout the interior.

A capacitor helps keep the lights from flickering over dirty or uneven track. When track power is applied, it takes a few seconds for the capacitor to charge.

Out of the box the car runs around 22″ radius curves. There is a second screw hole for each coupler allowing it to be mounted farther inboard, and instructions for this installation are included. This gives the car a more realistic appearance when coupled to another car that’s similarly configured, as their diaphragms will touch. This close coupling requires a 46″ minimum radius.

MTH is also releasing the other car types, so SP fans can run a full HO scale Daylight consist.