The Rapido Trains HO Scale SP 3/4 Dome-Lounge is based on the cars constructed by Southern Pacific between 1954 and 1955. SP built one prototype and six production Dome Lounge cars. All were built new in the railroad's Sacramento General Shops, using select frame pieces from various retired Pullman-Standard pre-war "Daylight" cars. The Budd Company supplied the dome structure as a kit. Essentially, these cars were new construction using salvaged frame pieces for accounting purposes. Another reason for using retired cars was that SP's foundry couldn{t roll a long enough center sill and no one could supply one quickly enough. The new cars were pressed into service on the San Joaquin and Shasta Daylights and the Overland and later in the 1960s on the consolidated City of San Francisco and the Coast Daylight. Built with fluted side panels, the cars were modified by the SP with slab sides in the 1960s with at least four of the fleet later operating for Amtrak on a variety of routes through the 1970s.
The interiors of the cars featured a bar/lounge on the lower level and one of two different configurations of seating on the upper level. In part because of the varied origins of the donor cars, underbody configurations also changed. This 3/4 Dome-Lounge model features one of two roadnumber appropriate interiors, two underbody arrangements, and fluted or stepped flat sides.
Features include:
- Designed from original blueprints, design drawings and field measurements.
- Track-powered flicker-free interior lighting compatible with DC and DCC layouts.
- Factory-installed grab irons and full underbody detailing
- Free-rolling, highly-detailed trucks with metal wheelsets.
- Accurate interior and exterior paint and decoration
- Lighting (prototypically) in the dome roof
- Metal magnetic knuckle couplers
- Minimum 22" radius curves recommended.
Check out the entire line of Rapido HO Scale passenger cars.