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N-scale Varnish Passenger Car User's Guide
 

ATLANTIC COAST LINE

UPDATED 31 December 2006.

Click here to visit Fred Klein's excellent N-scale Passenger Car website  

The following are cars that can be accurately modeled currently in N-scale using available car sides, kits and R-T-R models.  The list below are recommendations only, based on the best information that I have on-hand.  If you know of additions or corrections that need to be made, or know of suitable decals for lettering these cars, please email me by Clicking Here.

It should be noted that other roads that participated in run-through service with the ACL also had cars of the same (or similar) designs.  These roads include the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, Florida East Coast, Louisville & Nashville, Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis (L&N subsidiary absorbed in 1959), Pennsylvania Railroad and Richmond Fredricksburg and Potomac.  Other car types from these partner roads also operated regularly on through ACL trains, and some L&N sleepers were regularly assigned to lesser ACL passenger trains.

Want to learn more about the Atlantic Coast Line's trains?  I highly recommend buying a copy of Larry Goolsby's excellent book, Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Service The Postwar Years, published by TLC Publishing, Inc.  This book provides extensive coverage about all A.C.L. passenger trains from the late-1930s through the Seaboard Coast Line years to the creation of Amtrak.

Below is a list of links for manufacturers featured on this page:
American Limited Models Lazer Horizons NKP Car
Brass Car Sides M&R Models Union Station Products*
Eastern Seaboard Models Corp. Wheels of Time

New Entries are shown with purple lettering
SERIES CAR TYPE Maker - ITEM # NOTES
  Beach-series 1   A.C.F. 6 DBR - buffet lounge   USP 3090*   to SCL, same names
  Bird-series 1   A.C.F. 7 DBR - 2 DR   USP 3091*   to SCL, same names
  County-series 1
 
 		   P.S. 10 Rmt - 6 DBR
 
 		   ESMC 3114
  LH N-41401
  USP 4140B*		   to SCL, same names
 
 
  County-series 1
 
 		   P.S. 10 Rmt - 6 DBR
 
 		   LH N-B&O4167**5
  NKP Car
  USP 4167*		   ex-C&O; to SCL same names
 
 
  Island-series 1   P.S. 21 Rmt   USP 4156*   to SCL, same names
  Camellia, Gardenia   4 Rmt - 5 DBR - 1 Comp - 4 Sect   USP 4196*   to SCL Evergreen, Okefenokee
  Named-series 4   P.S. 36-seat diner   USP 7592*   to SCL 5950-5958, 5961 same names
  Port Tampa
  Winter Park
 		   P.S. twin - unit diner table car
 
 		   LH N-C&O7605**
  NKP Car
  USP 7605F*		   Used with 125-126; ex-C&O;
  to SCL 5996, 5998
 
  River-series (1ST) 3   A.C.F. 14 Rmt - 2 DR 3   USP 3091*   to Bird-series sleepers
  River-series (2ND) 2
 
 		   P.S. 4 Comp - 4 DR
 
 		   B.C.S. 173-516
  L.H. N-NY4069B
  M&R 60-26 or 60-33-2		   ex-NYC
  ex-4 Comp - 4 DBR - 2 DR
  to SCL, same names
  125, 126
 
  		  P.S. twin-unit diner kitchen - dorm
 
 		   LH C&O7607**
  NKP Car
  USP 7607F*		   ex-C&O; to SCL 5997, 5999
 
 
  228 - 247 5
  247 - 250 5		   P.S. 54 - seat coach
 		   USP 7593*
 		   to SCL 5450 - 5469, 5478 -
  5480
  260 - 263
 		   P.S. 52-seat coach
 		   NKP Car
 		   ex-NKP
  to SCL 5250 - 5253
  528 - 578   HW baggage - express   WoT 110   to SCL
  1600 - 1629   HW baggage - express   WoT 110   to SCL

Abbreviations:
  A.C.F. - American Car and Foundry   DBR - double bedroom   obs. - observation
  BE - blunt end   DR - drawing room   P.S. - Pullman - Standard
  Comp - compartment   Dup - duplex   Sect - section
  Dorm - dormitory   HW - heavyweight   SR - single room

* - It should be noted that the Union Station Products are Craftsman-level kits.  Some clean-up of parts and assembly is required, and care must be exercised when assembling these sides because of the delicate parts.

** - These sides sets require the use of the USP P.S. corrugation or the M&R Texas Special EMD E7A corrugation for the details to be complete.

Note 1:  The ACL named their sleeper cars in a variety of series.  The following are the car names assigned to various types of sleepers:
  • The following names were assigned to the Beach-series 6 DBR - buffet lounge:
    Myrtle Beach Ponte Verda Beach Virginia Beach
    Pass-A-Grill Beach Sea Island Beach Wrightsville Beach

  • The following names were assigned to the County-series originally built for the A.C.L.  All were renumbered SCL 6629 - 6653:
    Alachua County Colleton County Glynn County Nassau County Prince George County
    Beauford County Cumberland County Harnett County Northampoton County Putnam County
    Berkeley County Darlington County Hillsborough County Oscoela County Seminole County
    Chatham County Duval County Marion County Pinellas County Sumter County
    Clarendon County Edgecombe County Nash County Polk County Ware County

  • The following names were assigned to the ex-C&O 10 - 6 sleepers, which carried these names under S.C.L. as well.  All received SCL numbers 6654 - 6657:
    Bryan County Dellon County Halifax County Volusia County

  • The following names were assigned to the Island-series P.S. 21 Rmt sleepers:
    Edisto Island Parris Island Roanoke Island St. Simon's Island Sullivan's Island

    Note 2:  The four River - series sleeping cars were purchased from the N.Y.C. as 4 Comp - 4 DBR - 2 DR sleepers and were rebuilt by A.C.L. to 4 Comp - 4 DR sleepers.   The following names were assigned to the ex-NYC 4-4-2 sleepers.  There is no known SCL numbers for these cars and they may not have recieved SCL lettering:
      - Cape Fear Rive, ex-NYC George Washington Bridge, nee- Imerial Forest
      - Kissimmee River, ex-NYC Rip Van Winkle Bridge, nee- Imerial Fountain
      - Manatee River, ex-NYC Suspension Bridge, nee- Imerial Arch
      - Ortega River, ex-NYC Bay Bridge, nee- Imerial Falls
      - Savannah River, ex-NYC Bear Mountain Bridge, nee- Imerial Castle
      - Suwanee River, ex-NYC High Bridge, nee- Imerial Mansion

    Note 3:  The ACL's River-series 14 Rmt - 2 D.R. sleeper cars were rebuilt in 1961 to 7 DBR - 2 D.R. sleepers.  Cars owned by FEC, RF&P and PRR retained their original configuration.  The following names were assigned to the Bird-series 7 DBR - 2 DR sleepers with their former River-series names:
      Blue Bird (ex-Ashley River)   Humming Bird (ex-Cooper River)   Rice Bird (ex-Ogeechee River)
      Honey Bird (ex-Cape Fear River)   Jay Bird (ex-Manatee River)   Surf Bird (ex-Suwanee River)

    Note 4:  All ACL dining cars were identified by their names, with numbers only being assigned after the creation of SCL.  Below is a listing of car names used on these cars and the SCL number assigned to these cars (Cordele wrecked and scrapped in 1957):
      5950 Atlanta   5952 LeGrange   5955 Talladega   5958 Tarboro
      5951 Birmingham   5953 Greenville   5956 Plant City   5961 Naples
      - - - - Cordele   5954 Moultrie   5957 Fitzgerald

    Note 4:  Coaches 247 and 248 were smooth sided cars, painted in Illinois Central colors with City of Miami lettering on the letterboard, "ACL" and the car number on the lower part of the side.  Both can be modeled using the U.S.P. kit, leaving the corrugation off.  Also, coaches 248 - 250 were built in 1954 without interiors and without the center skirting, with the interiors installed by ACL at a later date.  It should not be difficult to remove the center skirting to match these cars.

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