RailSmith N scale Tippecanoe Rapids sleeper

By Angela Cotey | January 24, 2020

| Last updated on November 3, 2020

RailSmith N scale Tippecanoe Rapids sleeper

The partitions and seating arrangements match prototype plans.

Pennsylvania RR N scale modelers can now add an accurate re-creation of Pullman-Standard (PS) sleeper Tippecanoe Rapids to their passenger car rosters thanks to Lowell Smith’s Signature Series of RailSmith cars.

The prototype. As part of its post-World War II modernization plans, the Pennsylvania RR (PRR) ordered 18 10-roomette, 6-bedroom sleeper cars from Pullman-Standard. These cars were delivered in 1948 and 1949 for service across the line and beyond.

Tippecanoe Rapids, along with class mate Stoney Rapids, were pool cars used in transcontinental service through a Chicago connection with the Union Pacific, first on UP’s Los Angeles Limited, then on the City of Los Angeles. The PRR counterpart was the Admiral. The arrangement ended in 1956, and Tippecanoe Rapids returned to general service. For about a year, Tippecanoe Rapids and Stoney Rapids were painted in UP’s Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray paint scheme.

The Rapids cars were retired between 1968 and 1971. All but one of the cars, Towanda Rapids, were scrapped.

The model. The plastic model has a body shell made up of a separate roof that snaps onto a sidewall and end piece. This assembly snaps onto a plastic floor. All details are molded onto the body shell except the diaphragms on each end. Window glazing is flush-mounted and includes silver-painted frames.

The interior is a separate molded piece of beige plastic that includes the seats and partitions. The layout of the interior and the window arrangements match drawings in The Official Pullman-Standard Library, Vol. 4: Pennsylvania Railroad by W. David Randall and William M. Ross (Railway Production Classics, 1988). Contacts at the A end of the interior await a ceiling-mounted light board expected to be available by the end of the year.

The one-piece plastic floor has all of the equipment molded in place, which appears to match photos of Tippecanoe Rapids taken in the 1960s and printed in PRR Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, Vol. 2 by Ian S. Fischer (Morning Sun Books, 1996). The trucks are screw-mounted.

The trucks appear similar to those in the photos, but had a scale 9′-0″ wheelbase instead of the prototype’s 8′-6″ wheelbase. Contacts on the sideframes connect to more contacts on the floor to provide power for the optional, user-installed interior lighting. Knuckle couplers are truck-mounted at the correct height. All dimensions other than the truck wheelbase are within scale inches of PRR diagrams on Rob’s Pennsy Page at prr.railfan.net.

The Tuscan Red and black painting is well done, and decoration matches photos found in PRR Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, Vol. 2 with the exception of the Pullman lettering on the ends of either side, which doesn’t appear on Tippecanoe Rapids in an August 1968 photo and another undated photo. Other Rapids cars in the book show the Pullman lettering, so it may be appropriate for earlier eras.

The lettering is sharp and opaque. Detail painting brings out the delicately molded-on handrails and grab irons, which appear to have been stainless steel on the prototype.

On the layout. I assigned Tippecanoe Rapids to pool service on the Burlington to add it to the Nebraska Zephyr. It had no trouble negotiating the 13″ radius curves and Peco medium turnouts of the Red Oak project layout. However, as a full-length car, be careful of overhangs at the ends and center of the car on turns of this radius, as the car caught a bridge girder and some foliage close to the right-of-way.

This is a beautiful car that saw service across the country. If you’re modeling passenger operations from the 1950s until the Amtrak era, be sure to give this model a look.

Facts & features

Price: $57
Manufacturer
RailSmith Models
P.O. Box 188
Prineville, OR 97754
lowellsmith.net
Roadname: Pennsylvania RR
Era: 1949 to 1968
Features

Knuckle couplers, at correct height
Provision for interior lighting
Turned metal wheels, in gauge
Weight: 1.5 ounces, .1 ounce more than NMRA Recommended Practice 20.1

RailSmith N scale Tippecanoe Rapids sleeper

Email Newsletter

Shop our Trains.com Store

Stay updated