Download gold

When Trainz first came on the scene, I was amazed at what a great program it was; and I am STILL amazed at how the folks at Auran put together such a great programming package. When I started using Trainz in the beginning I did miss one type of passenger, car and this was the heavyweight passenger car. The heavyweights were the mainstay of the railroads from the ‘20s through the ‘40s. After the lightweight and streamlined cars came on the scene the heavyweight cars continued to perform their duties in local and commuter runs well into the later years. They had lots of character, and I enjoyed traveling in them during the ‘40s. I missed seeing the old heavyweight Pullman coaches and I really wanted to see them running in Trainz. Finally, after numerous people had posted messages at the Trainz forum and at Trainz-Luvr asking for these cars, Jeff Barr came to the rescue. Jeff Barr, also known as Magicland, created beautiful sets of heavyweight cars with Pennsylvania Railroad lettering and colors. He made the cars in different sets based on their usage. Finally we could download baggage, RPO, coach, sleeper and observation cars with PRR markings. Recently Jeff has offered his original cars to others so they could reskin them in other road names and colors. Michael Fox, Frank Murphy and Adam Gase have all issued new heavyweight cars in new road names, thanks to Jeff’s generosity. The listing below is what is currently available at the Trainz Download Station (DLS). A “Complete Set” means that baggage, coach and observation cars are available. “Single Car” means that just the coach is currently available. Let’s start off with Jeff Barr’s Pennsylvania livery.

Pennsylvania heavyweight cars, complete set.

Pennsylvania Railroad MP54 cars.

To find these cars at the DLS, look under Jeff Barr’s primary KUID number, 58843. The P70 coach in the picture is KUID 58843:201. In addition to the PRR heavyweight cars, Jeff also has issued models of the PRR self-powered electric MP54 cars that ran from Pennsylvania Station to both New Jersey and Long Island.

The MP54 cars can be found at the DLS. The KUID numbers are 58843:250 and KUID 58843:251 for the powered and trailer units, respectively.

Michael Fox has made a complete set of cars lettered for the Florida East Coast Railroad. His cars are listed under his KUID number of 95757. The coach shown in the picture is KUID 95757:136.

Florida East Coast heavyweights, complete set.

Frank Murphy made a great looking set of heavyweight cars, also reskinned from Jeff Barr’s original work, for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. These cars are in a striking blue color and are a nice addition to anyone’s stable. Look for them at the DLS under Frank’s KUID number 44928. The L&N coach shown is KUID 44928:2302.

Louisville & Nashville Railroad heavyweights, complete set.

In addition to the complete sets, there are single coaches being created for a number of different railroads. These single coaches may eventually be joined by other cars to become complete sets. One example of a single coach of this type is the great looking New York Central Railroad coach by Michael Fox, KUID 95757:1075.

Heavyweight coach, New York Central, single car.

In addition to the NYC coach, there are available coaches for the New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad, KUID 45588:10011 and KUID 45588:10112; and the Jersey Central Railroad, KUID 58843:253.

A group of heavyweight coaches, single cars.

I hope this listing will help you to find the golden nuggets known as heavyweight coaches. They have a lot of character and make a great addition to any route. You’ll have to excuse me right now, because my wife and I are leaving for a trip on the PRR Broadway Limited.

Broadway Limited.

Happy railroading!

John

Article and screen shots ©2004 John D'Angelo. All rights reserved.