Model Power - 8632 - Passenger Car, Heavyweight, Pullman, Observation - Undecorated

Model Information: Lima introduced North American heavyweight passenger cars in their 1969-70 catalog, in 3 body styles: Coach, Combine and Observation.
It is inspired by the prototype of the PRR P70 coach car, with major differences though, starting with 3-axle trucks instead of 2 for the prototype.
First distributed in North America by AHM and PMI, it was later distributed by Model Power under their brand name. After Lima vanished in the mid 1990's, Model Power continued to produce a copy of these cars in a Chinese factory. All in all this model has been produced over 4 decades, with very few changes. The last versions released by Model Power in the late 2000's were fitted with dummy knuckle couplers instead of the original Rapido ones. Depending on year and origin of production, the wheels can be either nickel-silver plated metal or injection molded plastic.

Prototype History: Pullman was the leading producer of heavyweight coaches during the 1st half of the twentieth century. They were known for the quality and luxury of the passenger cars. The observation car was a common sight on heavyweight consists during 1920s and 1930s.

An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the last carriage, with windows on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure. The cars were nearly universally removed from service on American railroads beginning in the 1950s as a cost-cutting measure in order to eliminate the need to "turn" the trains when operating out of stub-end terminals.

Road Name History: Although they may be molded in color, unpainted and unlettered, undecorated products are marketed to modelers who seek to custom decorate their models for private roads and/or road and/or company names that were not commercially produced by any of the major manufacturers.

Undecorated models are frequently also unassembled or only partially assembled and required modelers to be comfortable with glue, paint and sometimes solder in order to prepare their models for display. Materials for these models can vary but often include plastic, pewter and resin. Models may or may not come with decals or other decorations such as plastic signage, railings and ladders to enhance the appearance of the final product.

Brand/Importer Information: Founded in the late 1960's by Michael Tager, the 3rd generation business specializes in quality hobby products serving the toy and hobby markets worldwide. During its 50 years of operation, Model Power has developed a full line of model railroading products, die-cast metal aircraft, and die-cast metal cars and trucks.

In early 2014, Model Power ceased its business operations. Its extensive portfolio of intellectual property and physical assets are now exclusively produced, marketed, sold, and distributed by MRC (Model Power, MetalTrain and Mantua) and by Daron (Postage Stamp Airplanes and Airliner Collection).