FULL 9 CAR Set. 1948 20th Century Limited. Our consist includes One Each of. Completely New from Diesels to Lookout Lounge! A typical consist in the late 1940s would include the following (the actual number of sleepers would change daily to meet demand, and the train usually ran in two sections). E7 A-B Diesel Set (used for entire trip). Three 13 Double-Bedroom Sleepers. ATSF 10-6 or 4-4-2 Sleeper. Starting in 1946, ATSF and NYC offered run-through service so coast-to-coast passengers wouldn’t need to change trains at Chicago; Santa Fe cars went east on the “20th Century, ” while New York Central 4-4-2 Bridge and 10-6 River sleepers went west on the Chief. Based on 1948 Train. 9 Completely New Cars. Authentic Paint & Lettering. Superbly Detailed Inside & Out. PROTO-MaxT Die Cast Metal Knuckle Couplers. Matching PROTO 2000® E7 Diesels. Like the prototype, Walthers 20th Century is Completely New from Diesels to Lookout Lounge! ” And best of all, you can build a complete and affordable Century fleet, from the Phase II EMD E7 diesels to the train’s signature “. Creek series observation-lounge. No other train fired the imagination of the American public like New York Central’s 20th Century Limited. Its exclusive clientele and blistering schedule between New York and Chicago made it the stuff of legends for 65 years. A favorite with business and industry leaders, its luxurious accommodations – including a red carpet on the platform at New York – also attracted stars of stage and screen, further fueling the train’s celebrity status and romantic image. New equipment finally arrived from Pullman in 1948, supplemented by refurbished 4-4-2 sleepers and RPOs from the 1938 trains. Painted in a new version of the two-tone gray scheme, sleepers and observations were named for various bodies of water in salute to the “Water Level Route” slogan. Up front, matched sets of EMD E7s provided 4000 horsepower to meet the 16-hour westbound, 15-1/2 hour eastward schedule. PROTO-Max(TM) Die Cast Metal Knuckle Couplers. 20TH CENTURY CONSIST A typical consist in the late 1940s would include the following (the actual number of sleepers would change daily to meet demand, and the train usually ran in two sections). E7 A-B Diesel Set (used for entire trip) One RPO/Baggage Five 4-4-2 sleepers Three 10-6 sleepers One Lounge One Dorm/Kitchen One Full Diner Three 13 Double-bedroom sleepers ATSF 10-6 or 4-4-2 Sleeper One Observation/Lounge. ” And best of all, you can build a complete and affordable Century fleet, from the Phase II EMD E7 diesels to the train’s signature “… In addition, these First Edition models include a special certificate of authenticity, and an in-depth history of each car and loco! PLEASE NOTE: As these cars are the correct prototype length and feature full underbody detail to match the prototypes, a minimum 24 radius is recommended for operation. Photos show preproduction models with modeler-applied grab irons installed and painted; some details may vary. And Like the New York Central, you’ll want the best motive power available to pull your 1948 Century – the all-new PROTO 2000 EMD Phase II E7 diesels available with or without sound and DCC. 20th CENTURY LIMITED HISTORY. The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967. The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along the railroad’s “Water Level Route”. NYC inaugurated the 20th Century Limited as competition to the Pennsylvania Railroad, aimed at upper-class and business travelers. It made few station stops along the way and used track pans to take water at speed. On June 15, 1938, streamlined train sets designed by Henry Dreyfuss were added to the route. Widely considered to be one of the greatest American passenger trains of all time, the 20th Century Limited was the flagship train of the New York Central and was advertised as “The Most Famous Train in the World”. It was described in The New York Times as having been… Known to railroad buffs for 65 years as the world’s greatest train”, and its style was described as “spectacularly understated. The phrase “red-carpet treatment” is derived from passengers’ walking to the train on a specially-designed crimson carpet. “The Most Famous Train In The World” (1912 NYC ad). The 20th Century Limited first ran on June 15, 1902. It completed its run from New York to Chicago in 20 hours, four hours less than previous trains, and arrived three minutes ahead of schedule. It offered a barbershop and secretarial services. The New York Times’ report stressed the routine nature of the trip, with no special procedures being followed and no extra efforts being made to break records. It said that there “was no excitement along the way, ” and quoted a railroad official’s claim: it is a perfectly practical run and will be continued. ” Engineer William Gates said, “This schedule can be made without any difficulty. I can do it every time, barring accidents. The schedule cut two more hours off the run in June 1905, and, on the 21st of that month, the train was intentionally derailed on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway line at Mentor, Ohio, killing 21 passengers. It reverted to 20 hours in 1912 and was unchanged until 1932. In 1935, it dropped to 16 hours, 30 minutes; then to 16 hours on June 15, 1938, when lightweight cars were implemented. This fare entitled a passenger to a bed closed off from the aisle by curtains; a compartment to oneself cost more. The cars of the 20th Century Limited were lit with fluorescent lamps soon after their introduction, which coincided with the introduction of the new Art Deco train sets on June 15, 1938. In 1938, industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss was commissioned by the New York Central to design streamlined train sets in Art Deco style, with the locomotive and passenger cars rendered in blues and grays (the colors of NYC). The streamlined sets were inaugurated on June 15, 1938. His design was probably the most famous American passenger train. The first new 20th Century Limited train left New York City at 18:00 Eastern Time and arrived at Chicago’s La Salle Street Station the following morning at 09:00 Central Time, traveling the 960.7 miles (1,546 km) at an average 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). The eastbound train left La Salle Street Station in Chicago at 15:00 and arrived at Grand Central Terminal the following morning at 08:00. For a few years after World War II, the eastward schedule was shortened to 15½ hours. In 1945, EMD diesel-electrics replaced steam, and two new diesel-electric-powered trainsets were commissioned. The replacement was inaugurated by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in September, 1948. This set was featured in postwar films such as North by Northwest and The Band Wagon. Like many express passenger trains through the mid-1960s, the 20th Century Limited carried an East Division E. Railway Post Office R. The mails received by, postmarked, processed, sorted and dispatched from the 20th Century Limited’s RPOs were either canceled or backstamped (as appropriate) during the trip by hand-applied circular date stamps (CDS) reading N. ” and the train’s number: “25” (NY-CHI) or “26 (CHI-NY). For much of its history before 1957, the all-Pullman train made station stops only at Grand Central Terminal and Harmon for New York-area passengers and LaSalle Street Station and Englewood for Chicago-area passengers. These traveled in as many as seven sections (each was a separate, complete train), of which the first was named the Advance 20th Century Limited. In 1957, the 20th Century Limited schedule added more station stops to the original four (two terminals and two suburban stops). In the 1960s, the NYC added slumbercoaches to the roster of sleeping cars. By the late 1960s, the train was in decline. On December 2, 1967 at 18:00, the half-full train left Grand Central Terminal’s Track 34 for the last time. As always, carnations were given to men and perfume and flowers to women boarding the train. Amtrak now operates the Lake Shore Limited between New York Penn Station and Chicago Union Station. It follows a route similar to the 20th Century’s, except west of Whiting, Indiana (near Chicago), where it switches to the former Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. On August 26, 1999, the United States Postal Service issued 33-cent All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains commemorative stamps featuring five celebrated American passenger trains from the 1930s and 1940s. One of the five stamps features an image of a streamlined J-3a steam locomotive leading the 20th Century Limited out of the Chicago railyards on its way to New York, with the Board of Trade Building in the background. Accurately scaled from engineering drawings. Scaled Dimensions & Rivet Detail. Complete End, Roof & Underbody Detailing. Factory – Installed Side Door Hand Rails. Correct Trucks with RP-25 Metal Wheels. Crisp detailed, realistic lettering, matched to prototype photographs. Realistic satin paint finish, great for weathering. Great for weathering with chalks or airbrush. Detailed truck side frames. Low-friction, nonmagnetic, needlepoint metal axles, no lubrication required. Minimum Radius 24 inches recommended. It is FULL 9 CAR Set. Of the 20th CENTURY LIMITED. With paperwork and CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY. VERY HARD TO FIND ITEM. If you have a concern message me and I can work something out for you. THIS IS AN ASSEMBLED Item. The item is NEW in the original box from old stock. Many of these unique items are from my personal inventory which was accumulated over the years. They are hard to part with but due to downsizing in retirement they too are looking for a good home which can appreciate and enjoy them. Having discontinued my Hobby Store and left frigid “Minne-Snow-Da” I have relocated and retired to the warmer part of the country, Down to Sunny TEXAS. I will be Liquidating the remaining stock. I will be listing items over the next year or so clearing them out. Please see the photos we take actual photos of each item. Most of these items are New in the box removed only to take photos of them.
