# Favorite Passenger Train



## Guest (Jul 13, 2016)

Not everyone is into passenger trains, but if you are, please share with us your favorite passenger train.

For me, this is a very difficult question as I like them all. But push comes to shove, the Sante Fe K-Line 21" Hi-Level El Capitan set comes out on top. Why, the double decker passenger cars in shining aluminum finish are just plain beautiful. There is the Transition Car that also adds uniqueness to this set. What helps put this over the top is what is up front. I have previously pulled this set with scale Lionel F3's from 2004 in an ABBA combo, but with the arrival last fall of the F7 Yellow Warbonnets from 3rd Rail, also in an ABBA combo, it makes this set unmatched for it's beauty (just my opinion).

It should be interesting to learn what floats your boat (it is summer and applicable).

View attachment 203450


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Even though I am now concentrating on NYC, my favorite is my SP Daylight. The Lionel 18" aluminum cars are pulled by a 3rd Rail GS4 in as built configuration. The MTH water tender can be added to depict the modern configuration or omitted for late '30s era.
Pics to follow.

Pete


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## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

Real - Private train from Vienna to Budspest that Continental Insurance Company paid for about fifteen years ago.

Model - Pocahontas which we rode from Bluefield, W Va where we just happen to be to Suffolk.

Thanks Brian.


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## Laidoffsick (Sep 20, 2015)

The combined train... Super Chief/El Capitan














and a close #2..........


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## Red October (Sep 13, 2015)

All the large radius curve guys can laugh, but on my small layout with many o31 curves, the 10" Lionel postwar cars were the passenger cars of choice,
the UP Anniversary set being my favorites.

Being a post war guy anyway, I never went beyond these in length simply because larger cars looked too big for my small curves. 

I really believe in matching your equipment to the curves, as opposed to trying to run stuff too big on too small curves:


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## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

My favorite, or favorites are ones I had the opportunity to ride on when I was growing up. The Northern Pacific North Coast Limited and the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha.


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## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

Real or model Brian?

For me it is the same. 

1. UP City of Portland, ridden many times as a child up until 7th grade from Portland to Chicago and onto Miami, FL (and return). 

2. The California Zephyr. I run the WP section in a nearly prototypical consist. This one is my granddaughter's favorite.


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

My personal favorite is the Reading Crusader, a 5 car set that was specially made for the Reading Company along with the 4-6-2 steam engine. I have the K-Line set of 15 inch cars and an MTH steam engine cab # 117.

My second favorite is the California Zephyr. I have been on a real size model of that one at the Gold Coast Railroad museum in south Miami FL.
Don't have this one but have a Williams Crown Edition set of "El Capitan" passenger cars with an F-7 ABA set of Santa Fe diesel engines, both A units are powered.

Lee Fritz


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

My MTH PS 3 turbo train, although I only had it for a day.


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## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

What happened, Spence? Did you hit the throttle too hard and it rocketed to outer space?


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## walter (Jan 31, 2014)

My favorite passenger consist, has always been the IC, City of New Orleans.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

Some beautiful engines and passenger cars you all have. I really love mine as well even though they are no where near as nice. 

I've really fallen in love with the southern crescent. I love the green color and just how vibrant it is. Really looks nice running on the layout. Unfortunately, almost the day after I acquired the fifth and sixth cars, the Southern 4-6-2 Imperial P47 from MTH had an internal melt down and the electronics were done for. I put a cheap lionel e-unit in it with an LED head lamp so it's still running but so painful without sounds and smoke. I did find a PS2 Southern 4-6-4 Hudson Steam engine to be at the front but it has trouble pulling all of those cars. Slips a lot. One day I'll fix the P47 with an ERR, railsounds, and super chuffer but I have to save my pennies for that.

I love the detail on the MTH passenger cars but they go thru light bulbs like crazy and the 6 wheel trucks are taking a toll on my smaller engine. Time to convert all to LED at least.


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## santafe158 (Jul 14, 2010)

Well the favorite of what I own is definitely the PRR Congressional with a GG1 at the head end. My MTH cars aren't really that prototypically accurate, but they look good with my Lionel JLC GG1.










Favorite overall would probably be the N&W passenger trains pulled by their J class locomotives. It's just a beautiful basic color scheme with a good looking locomotive at the head end.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2016)

Spence, with the wider radius curves on your new layout, is a turbo train in your future?


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## Tucgary (Sep 21, 2015)

I have a small layout but still love running my Santa Fe ABA with 4 different passenger cars. I have pieced this together the way
I want it with the help of E-bay. Tucgary


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## Stoshu (Jun 20, 2015)

_
Doesn't any one run any Overton cars ?
That and a nice 18th century steam engine ?
_


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

I do have a NYC 999 along with a set of open vestubule cars and its very nice but Brian was asking about favorites. 

Pete


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## SDIV Tim (Nov 19, 2015)

SP The Coast Daylight and SF San Diegen


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## bluecomet400 (Sep 13, 2015)

My favorite passenger train is and always will be The Blue Comet. Any variation, real or toy, it doesn't matter.


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## 86TA355SR (Feb 27, 2015)

I have a soft spot for SF War Bonnets and streamlined cars. Hard to beat.

Favorite passenger cars are the K-Line UP 21" models.

Awaiting GGD to deliver the Harriman cars. A UP 4-8-2 is standing by for their arrival.


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## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

Almost any UP Passenvger train, CZ, daylight and 20th century limited.


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

Beautiful looking sets shown here. Nothing is prettier than a passenger set. I'm a big Pennsy fan but my favorite passenger set is my Great Northern Empire Builder. I have a 12 car MTH set that includes 3 vista domes which is pulled by an A-B-B-A set of E8s. Unfortunately, this is one set I do not have pictures of in my collection and the club's main line is down for repair now. Below is the catalog pictures of my set (I have 2 full length vista domes).


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## cchancey (Aug 27, 2015)

*My Favorite Passenger Train*

My favorite passenger train is the GM Train of Tomorrow. I purchased the Sunset Models 3-rail version and it is a beauty.


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## TGP (Sep 6, 2015)

Wake up folks, is NO ONE, gonna say something 
about Frank's MATCHING the equipment to the wide, curves.

My problem, is I don't know how to comment, its funny
but also innovative as all get out .

r u knot seeing it !?????????????


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2016)

These are my two favorite passenger trains. I've loved them both for many years. I've been a NYC fan since Santa brought me a Lionel NYC F3 ABA for Christmas 1954.

The Aerotrain is a favorite because it was such an oddity and a failure, but also because it's really cool looking.









My all time favorite is any NYC train pulled by a Dreyfus Hudson. This is my version of the 20th Century Limited. I don't know if the NYC ever ran two tone gray cars with the Dreyfus Hudson but I don't care. I think they look great together.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Fabforrest said:


> What happened, Spence? Did you hit the throttle too hard and it rocketed to outer space?


It would not negotiate the Ross 72" radius track. Dave @ Mercer Junction was nice enough to b uy it back.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> Spence, with the wider radius curves on your new layout, is a turbo train in your future?


If MTH re issues it I will be buying one again. :thumbsup:


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Country Joe said:


> My all time favorite is any NYC train pulled by a Dreyfus Hudson. This is my version of the 20th Century Limited. I don't know if the NYC ever ran two tone gray cars with the Dreyfus Hudson but I don't care. I think they look great together.
> 
> View attachment 203746


The Dreyfuss era 20th Century cars were two tone gray but streamliners in the same paint scheme. NYC had an all coach train called the Pacemaker that ran those two tone gray heavyweights. Later green streamliners.
Diesel era 20th Century cars had the grays reversed.

Pete


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2016)

Norton said:


> The Dreyfuss era 20th Century cars were two tone gray but streamliners in the same paint scheme. NYC had an all coach train called the Pacemaker that ran those two tone gray heavyweights. Later green streamliners.
> Diesel era 20th Century cars had the grays reversed.
> 
> Pete


Thanks for the info, Pete. I doubt I'll ever want to be prototypically correct but it's nice to know.

Do you know when the NYC started using jade green freight cars? I'm guessing it was in the '50s but I'm not sure.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

I am not sure Joe. I think it was after all the steam engines were retired so I tend to avoid them.

Pete


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2016)

Pat, the Great Northern Empire Builder is a *wonderful choice*. We have the 21" K-Line set pulled by 3rd Rail F7's.


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

Spence said:


> It would not negotiate the Ross 72" radius track. Dave @ Mercer Junction was nice enough to b uy it back.


Spence, MTH claims the Aerotrain in the MTH 2015 vol 2 catalog operates on O-31 track


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2016)

My Aerotrain runs on O36 curves flawlessly. I don't have O31 curves but I would think it would handle them just fine.


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## Todd Lopes (Nov 11, 2015)

My favorites are the Amtrak Surfliner and the PA Aerotrain. I just purchased some Santa Fe passenger cars and now trying to find a nice Santa Fe Warbonnet to match.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have the PA Aerotrain with ten cars, it looks pretty cool with the full sized consist. It's a toss-up between that and the SP Daylight. I have lots of Pennsy and Reading stuff, but they didn't do as colorful a train as some lines.


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## CincinnatiWestern (Jun 16, 2015)

For me the top is the Santa Fe El Cap from K-line, followed very closely by the GN Empire Builder also from K-line and then the Mil Road Hiawatha, forth place is a tie with the GGD's B&O Cincinnatian and K-line North Coast Limited.


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2016)

*"For me the top is the Santa Fe El Cap from K-line"*

Of course that is your choice and you are 100% correct. I would expect nothing less from Jason.

On a positive note, your Reds are better this year than the Braves (but who isn't). There is 2017. At least we FINALLY got rid of Fredi. The club has done nothing less than improve since.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There's lots of choices if I picked my favorite from stuff I don't have, but that would be cheating.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> There's lots of choices if I picked my favorite from stuff I don't have, but that would be cheating.


Likewise, my favorites are not NYC. They would be the most colorful ones. I do have a SP Daylight, SF Super Chief, and Texas Special but also like The Southern Crescent and Hiawatha which I don't have.
I can fully understand Brian choosing to specialize in passenger trains.

Pete


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The Hiawatha would be another near the top of my list, the K-Line set is simply breathtaking!


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2016)

*"My favorites are the Amtrak Surfliner"*

Todd, the Surfliner is way up on my list. What's not to like. Hi-Level cars in a beautiful paint scheme. The K-Line 21" set is just wonderful.


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## CincinnatiWestern (Jun 16, 2015)

Passenger Train Collector said:


> *"For me the top is the Santa Fe El Cap from K-line"*
> 
> Of course that is your choice and you are 100% correct. I would expect nothing less from Jason.
> 
> On a positive note, your Reds are better this year than the Braves (but who isn't). There is 2017. At least we FINALLY got rid of Fredi. The club has done nothing less than improve since.


Brian,

Yes indeed our Reds aren't at the very bottom of the MLB, but there is still time to make some trades and make it all the way to bottom of the standings!


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## Traindiesel (Sep 8, 2015)

I love passenger trains so much, I just can't pick a single favorite that I have. But now that I think about it, I'd have to say my absolute favorite is my Lionel Amtrak Acela set.

Also at the top of my list are my Golden Gate Depot sets:
NYC 1948 20th Century Limited 
NYC Empire Express
N&W Powhatan Arrow
PRR Congressional
PRR Broadway Limited
Santa Fe El Capitan
SP Daylight set

And any K-Line Aluminum streamliners. (_Especially the Santa Fe Super Chief, California Zephyr, Northern Pacific North Coast Limited and Great Northern Empire Builder)_


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2016)

Brian has good taste.


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## Rlahaie (Oct 29, 2015)

My favorite is the one I am running at the time. Recently it has been the Milwaukee Road Olympian pulled by the Bi-Polar electric. That skytop observation is just great.

Rolland


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## Guest (Jul 16, 2016)

Two good points Rolland. The Skydome is a wonderful Observation car. The Bi-Polar is also a unique and wonderful piece of equipment. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

*THE M-10000 OF COURSE.*

It took me a while to decide on my favorite, but then it became obvious. The M-10000. 

I first saw the yellow and brown beauty at Henning’s. I think they were still on Main Street at the time. It was on the top shelf which was appropriate, because it was definitely out of my reach at the time.

Later I came across some photos of my grandfather’s trains from the 1930s. He had an aluminum M-10000 which was probably the favorite of my dad and his brothers when they were kids.

Last year I ended up getting two of the three car sets. I had to widen some curves so they would run on my layout. That was quite an undertaking, but well worth it (now that it’s done).


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2016)

The M1000 is an excellent choice.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

love that m1000

here's one of my favs to run


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2016)

You will find good company with John H., Randy.


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## kstrains (Sep 19, 2015)

My favorite is Southern Crescent Limited because my Dad bought me the Lionel set at a young age. Also my favorite color is green which plays a role in my choice. The Crescent Limited was a luxious train for the time with the beautiful 4-6-2 painted in green and gold lettering. The passenger cars were in two tone green and gold lettering.


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

My wife and I have always loved New Orleans. The Souther flavor, the FOOD, the people, the entire package.
(Except the humidity and hurricanes)

I fell in love with the City of New Orleans Illinois Central passenger cars.
I like the bright orange, set off by the dark brown.

That happens to be my passenger line. I repainted my A-A units from PRR to IC colors.
I'll get pics later, still in process. It's not exact, but for a first time, I think it's OK.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

lehigh valley _john wilkes







_


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2016)

The IC City of New Orleans, somebody is going to make this set. many have clamored for it. Let's see if Lionel does it in their new 21" passenger train line.


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## HarborBelt1970 (Sep 24, 2015)

Back in the day (late 50s - 60s) my family spent a lot of time in and around St Louis MO including Hannibal and other places on the Mississippi River. I'd like to say that we took the train there but instead the transport was a two-tone Studebaker. Nonetheless my father had a fascination with the regional passenger trains of the era and that includes the Mark Twain and Pioneer Zephyrs - not least because a rebuilt version of the latter came to be preserved in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago:

















I think either on this forum or the other place there's been some harping about the latest Lionel steamers having too much "bling" about them but I like bling (or at least up to a point). The King of Bling must be the Lionel TMCC version of the Pioneer Zephyr, which is my personal favorite model passenger train:









I also got the Legacy non-chrome version but in Mark Twain livery. This Burlington map of the Mark Twain Zephyr's route always makes me nostalgic for the those family trips of yesteryear:


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2016)

Andy, many, many years ago, a client of mine in the Chicago area had a major part in restoring the Zephyr before it was moved to the Museum. I got to see it up front and personal. It is a beautiful restoration effort and adds considerably to the Museum.

Thanks for the post!!!! It brought back memories this morning.


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## HarborBelt1970 (Sep 24, 2015)

Brian, we are indeed fortunate that your client was willing to help preserve such a great example of the heyday of American passenger train travel. It's the star attraction of a fine museum (at least now that the model train layout has been converted from O to HO, although that happened ages ago). Well, there's a U-boat there too . . .


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2016)

I agree, the Zephyr is the Star of the Show. The Museum was well served by adding it.

Your post Andy sure brought back wonderful memories today.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

I like that Zephyr. It has me thinking about getting an MTH version.


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## HarborBelt1970 (Sep 24, 2015)

Lehigh74 said:


> I like that Zephyr. It has me thinking about getting an MTH version.


This is a subject in itself. The MTH versions (there have been three as far as I remember) don't compare well with the Lionel version except in the sound department. The Passenger Announcement sequence is very nice but the finish on the cars and the plastic diaphragms between them are not. Nonetheless they are cheaper and probably easier to find.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Thanks for the heads up HarborBelt. I thought the premier ones looked pretty nice on the MTH site. I'll have to keep my eyes open at train shows to see what they look like in person.


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## Guest (Aug 1, 2016)

My favorite train is the Orient Express, both real (SNCF) and model (MTH). The big windows of the Model and the highly elegant decor of the Prototype will someday make for an amazing interior modification project. My skills just aren't at that level yet. 

An extremely close second for favorite train is the Polar Express. For bringing joy to others and for opening up a world of imagination and modeling possibilities there is no other train that comes close to the PE. 

Emile

View attachment 210809


View attachment 210817


View attachment 210825


View attachment 210833


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## Guest (Aug 1, 2016)

I can't argue one bit about Emile's choice of the Polar Express. And, he has both the black with blue and maroon coaches and the "Gold Edition".


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## Stoshu (Jun 20, 2015)

_Well maybe not my favorite but I like it, I took a starter set and added an engine and an extra car. Works good for a show as it not a very expensive set so if it gets a little scratched I can live with that..._


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2016)

It would be nice if one of the manufacturers came out with the modern passenger train stuff. We are overdue for an Acela that works efficiently.


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