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Micro-Trains - NSE MTL 12-101 - Passenger Car, Heavyweight, Pullman, Observation - Western Pacific - Feather River

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N Scale - Micro-Trains - NSE MTL 12-101 - Passenger Car, Heavyweight, Pullman, Observation - Western Pacific - Feather River Image Courtesy of Lowell Smith
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Commissioned ByLowell Smith
Production TypeSpecial Run
Stock NumberNSE MTL 12-101
Original Retail Price$59.00
BrandMicro-Trains
ManufacturerMicro-Trains Line
Body StyleMicro-Trains 144 Heavyweight Pullman 3-2 Observation Car
Image Provider's WebsiteLink
Prototype VehiclePassenger Car, Heavyweight, Pullman, Observation (Details)
Road or Company NameWestern Pacific (Details)
Road or Reporting NumberFeather River
Paint Color(s)Green
Print Color(s)Yellow
Coupler TypeMT Magne-Matic Knuckle
Wheel TypeInjection Molded Plastic
Wheel ProfileStandard
Series NameExecutive Line
Series Release/Issue Number2
Release Date2012-12-01
Item CategoryPassenger Cars
Model TypeHeavyweight
Model SubtypePullman
Model Variety3-2 Observation Car
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era III: Transition (1939 - 1957)
Scale1/160



Specific Item Information: Micro-Trains has been commissioned to produce a brand new, never-before-seen heavyweight passenger car for this great release! Using their heavyweight chassis, this business car body style was specially designed to replicate many business cars that ran the rails. The ‘Feather River’ was the executive car for the Western Pacific Railroad. This car and what follows will be a series of Business Cars that carried executives and managers in style and class across their railroads and other visiting rail lines.
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:
The Western Pacific Railroad (reporting mark WP) was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route directly competed with SP's portion of the Overland Route for rail traffic between Salt Lake City/Ogden, Utah and Oakland, California for nearly 80 years. In 1983 the Western Pacific was acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad. The Western Pacific was one of the original operators of the California Zephyr.

The original Western Pacific Railroad was established in 1865 to build the westernmost portion of the Transcontinental Railroad between San Jose, California (later Oakland, California), and Sacramento, California. This company was absorbed into the Central Pacific Railroad in 1870.

The second company to use the name Western Pacific Railroad was founded in 1903. Under the direction of George Jay Gould I, the Western Pacific was founded to provide a standard gauge track connection to the Pacific Coast for his aspiring Gould transcontinental system. The construction was financed by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, a company in the Gould system, which lost access to California due to the attempted acquisition of the Southern Pacific Railroad by the Rio Grande's main rival, the Union Pacific Railroad. The Western Pacific Railroad acquired the Alameda and San Joaquin Railroad and began construction on what would become the Feather River Route. In 1909 it became the last major railroad completed into California. It used 85-lb rail on untreated ties, with no tie plates except on curves over one degree; in 1935 more than half of the main line still had its original rail, most of it having carried 150 million gross tons.

The Western Pacific was acquired in 1983 by Union Pacific Corporation, which in 1996 would purchase its long-time rival, the Southern Pacific Railroad. In July 2005 Union Pacific unveiled a brand new EMD SD70ACe locomotive, Union Pacific 1983, painted as an homage to the Western Pacific.
Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.
Manufacturer Information:
Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide
Commissioner Information: Desiring to bring a creative and artistic approach to model railroad cars, Lowell Smith Signature Series was born in 1994. The first special run car commemorated the Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the Golden Spike - "Wedding of the Rails". Since 1994, Lowell Smith Signature Series has continued to produce over one hundred and thirty-five unique cars or train locomotives to date.

A native of Portland, Oregon, Lowell Smith married his church choir sweetheart Barb in 1978. After a lifetime of rail-fanning, Lowell and Barb ventured out in 1992 to launch a new business in Portland, Oregon.
Following Lowell's passion of model trains, The Hobby Smith was built to be the community center for model railroaders - operators and collectors alike. Located in the Hollywood District of Portland, The Hobby Smith was the place to learn and to enjoy the camaraderie of others with the same passion.
Item created by: gdm on 2018-02-04 21:01:36. Last edited by CNW400 on 2020-09-01 16:42:32

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