AZL - 72104-1 - Passenger Car, Lightweight, Budd, Sleeper 10-6 - Pennsylvania - 8449 - Silver Rapids

Specific Item Information: Single PRR Passenger Car #72104

Prototype History: Budd was one of the leading producers of lightweight streamlined passenger cars during the postwar period. The corrugated design permitted extra strength to the car sides. Budd built many different designs such as sleepers, coaches, dome cars and diners. The cars were built from stainless steel.

The most popular of the sleeper designs was the 10-6 configuration. This means that the car had 6 double bedrooms and six roomettes. The smaller roomette is a dual purpose room (typically 4' by 6') with two facing seats. These can be reconfigured to form a bed, while a second bed can be folded down from the ceiling. The larger double bedroom was closer to 7' by 7' and also can be reconfigured for daytime or sleeping use.

Road Name History: The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR) was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy," the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The PRR was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the U.S. for the first half of the twentieth century. Over the years, it acquired, merged with or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies. At the end of 1925, it operated 10,515 miles of rail line; in the 1920s, it carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific or Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Its only formidable rival was the New York Central (NYC), which carried around three-quarters of PRR's ton-miles.

At one time, the PRR was the largest publicly traded corporation in the world, with a budget larger than that of the U.S. government and a workforce of about 250,000 people. The corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row.

In 1968, PRR merged with rival NYC to form the Penn Central Transportation Company, which filed for bankruptcy within two years. The viable parts were transferred in 1976 to Conrail, which was itself broken up in 1999, with 58 percent of the system going to the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), including nearly all of the former PRR. Amtrak received the electrified segment east of Harrisburg.

Brand/Importer Information: AZL is the leader in North American Z scale locomotives and rolling stock. Since 2000, AZL has released a vast variety of freight, passenger and locomotives. AZL continues to push the boundaries of Z scale with amazing details and incredible performance. No matter if you are looking to run steam, or the most modern diesels, AZL has something for you.