RailSmith - 84331 - Passenger Car, Lightweight, Pullman, Coach, 64-Seat - Milwaukee, Racine & Troy - 2023

Specific Item Information: A Pullman-Standard 64-seat fluted-side lightweight coach has joined the growing lineup of N scale Milwaukee, Racine & Troy offerings in the Kalmbach Hobby Store. The RailSmith Models car is based on a New York Central prototype (plan 7484).

Model Information: First released in 2009.

• All-New Tooling based on PS Plan #7484
• Prototype Specific Details: With or without Skirts, Corrugated or Smooth Sides as appropriate
• Working diaphragms
• Blackened Metal Wheelsets on correct GSC 41-N style Trucks
• Come with decals permitting multiple car number and names
• Drop-In Lighting Kit will also be available, item #933-1099

Prototype History: With big plans for its post-war streamliner fleet, the New York Central placed an order for 153 coaches with Pullman-Standard in May 1944. Deliveries of the cars (plan #7484) began in February and continued through October of 1946. At the time, this was the largest equipment order delivered within a single year. Although intended for general service, the cars were delivered with fluted sides that would allow them to be used with Budd cars. On delivery, these were truly state-of-the-art coaches, complete with air conditioning, deep reclining seats, individual lighting, large windows, full-width diaphragms and more. These cars led long lives and were later converted for commuter service. Others were acquired by Amtrak(R) in 1971 and continued in service for several years. A few survive today.

The 64 Seat coach from Pullman was designed as a short-haul commuter coach. The cars were built in the late 1940s using lightweight construction technology which significantly reduced their weight when compared to the older pre-war heavyweight cars. This Pullman design featured smooth sides and was purchased in large numbers by the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads as well as many other roads.

Road Name History: The Milwaukee, Racine & Troy Railraod (MRT) is a fictional railroad.
The MRT layout was built and is owned by Model Railroader staff. It is an HO scale, 28 x 54 feet, freelanced bridge line layout, modeling Southeastern Wisconsin in the 1980s and 1990s.
Style: walk-in
Mainline run: approx. 200 feet
Minimum radius: 36" (main)
Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 spurs
Maximum grade: 3 percent eastbound, 1.5 percent westbound (5.5 percent downgrade on staging ramp)
Benchwork: 1 x 4 open grid
Height: 493⁄4" to 671⁄2"
Roadbed: cork on 3⁄4" plywood
Track: code 83 flextrack
Scenery: plaster over cardboard webbing and Sculptamold over foam
Backdrop: painted hardboard, photo at Milwaukee Harbor and Port Marquette Yard
Control: CVP and NCE DCC (MRC on WSOR)

Read here the 1989 article of Model Railroader about the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy layout.

Brand/Importer Information: RailSmith is a brand launched by Lowell Smith in 2019. Lowell acquired the toolings from Walthers.

With each release, RailSmith will bring passenger cars from across the spectrum of North America’s railroads, with the goal of building entire trains over a period-of-time. It is our plan to release cars that might be for a specific train, but you can use these cars as you see fit, as did the railroads.

Production plans are grand, but we believe they are also achievable. We do not have the capabilities to release an entire train at once, but being able to focus on one release (two-or-three cars at a time), we can build a train over time.