# HO passenger cars: need help



## dave in AP (Jul 13, 2020)

I've never spent much time with pass. cars because my small layout is 60% 22"radius and40% 18" radius track. I model the P&LE railroad along with the PRR and B&O. Recently saw a an article about the last P&LE pass. train which ran from Beaver Falls PA to Pitts. PA until 1985. The pictures show a GP-7 pulling 4 short "day coaches" borrowed from the NYC. the shorties don't look much longer than the GP-7. My questions: what is the length of a short day coach? does anybody make a model of one? will it run ok on a 18" radius? I know i'll have to change the color, name, etc. Any ideas; comments?


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Sometimes smaller boxcars from pre-1940 were converted to excursion cars. There are small passenger cars with clerestories on the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge, and also on the mainland USA narrow gauge RR's, all with 48' cars, give or take 4 feet. Roundhouse, I think it is, from Horizon Hobbies, sells shorties, and I think they just issued a new batch maybe two years ago. If not from the usual etailers, try eBay. And yes, they are designed with truck mounted couplers in some cases for operation on 18" radius. If they are sill mounted, swap out their stock couplers for longer shank ones from Kadee.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I have some cars made by Model Power (I think) that were beilled as "Old Time Passenger Coaches" and have simulated wood construction. They would date to the mid-1800's -- longer cars were already commonplace by the turn of the 20th Century. My cars are about 45 scale feet in length and are painted in Pennsy colors and markings. I'm not sure they're still available.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

I've seen the shorty passenger cars on ebay. Ya have to be careful though, most of that stuff has hidden flaws that ya won't recognize right away. Keep in mind, for the most part, ebay is the last stop just before the dump.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

dave in AP said:


> I've never spent much time with pass. cars because my small layout is 60% 22"radius and40% 18" radius track. I model the P&LE railroad along with the PRR and B&O. Recently saw a an article about the last P&LE pass. train which ran from Beaver Falls PA to Pitts. PA until 1985. The pictures show a GP-7 pulling 4 short "day coaches" borrowed from the NYC. the shorties don't look much longer than the GP-7. My questions: what is the length of a short day coach? does anybody make a model of one? will it run ok on a 18" radius? I know i'll have to change the color, name, etc. Any ideas; comments?


I have some Bachmann shorty steel heavyweight( 60') cars in N-scale. I think they made the same cars in HO-scale.

Traction Fan


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

D&J Railroad







www.modeltrainforum.com




can you elaborate on hidden flaws on the smaller passenger cars?


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