Rapido Trains Inc. - HO Scale - New Haven County Car - New Haven (NH) #215 - Queens County - Hunter Green/Grey With Black Lettering - Includes: 11 Lounge Seats, 14 Parlor Seats, 2 Roomettes, 1 Drawing Room, Buffet & Baggage (SKU 224-134005)
Available On: May 1, 2023
Rapido Trains Inc. is pleased to announce the newest release in our New Haven stainless steel series – the “County” cars. As with other cars in this series, these cars have been developing in association with The New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Association (NHRHTA).
The New Haven railroad took delivery of a group of twenty stainless steel baggage-parlor-lounge cars in 1948. A part of the post-war passenger train modernization, these cars were named after counties served by the New Haven. That part was simple. Now the history of these cars gets more complicated!
The initial 1948 order was delivered in four different interior configurations, but all with baggage compartments, a drawing room, two roomette sleeping accommodations and a mix of parlor seat arrangements.
In 1952 the New Haven determined that they needed more drawing rooms so two of the cars were rebuilt with drawing rooms in place of the baggage section. This conversion was successful enough that four more cars (for a total of six) were also converted. However, these six additional cars included no fewer than three NEW interior configurations! Cars #210-219 somehow escaped the rebuilds and retained their baggage sections throughout their service life.
The “County” cars were some of the longest lasting New Haven stainless steel cars, some serving well into Amtrak.
Kent County car in New Haven Hunter Green - Photo Courtesy NHRHTA
1604 Washington County in Amtrak Phase I - Photo Courtesy NHRHTA
Rapido’s HO scale model covers these cars in both the original baggage variation and the later rebuilt cars. We offer both the original baggage and the later rebuilt bodies and full interior details for each style. Multiple interior parts allow modelers to customize the interior parlor seat arrangements to match specific cars.
Model Features:
Order Due Date: May 25, 2020
Anticipated Delivery Date: January 2021