As many modelers will know, Pullman sleeper floor plans were described with a shorthand notation giving the interior accommodations. The most numerous heavyweight Pullmans were the 12-1 type, 12 sections and 1 drawing room. The present post is about the heavyweight 8-1-2 configuration, 8 sections, 1 drawing room, and 2 compartments. Here is a typical floor plan (you can click to enlarge).
I have written a little before about the prototype and a method of modeling it, starting with the Rivarossi 12-1 Pullman body (see this post: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2018/02/my-pullman-projects-part-2.html ).
I also wrote an article for Model Railroad Hobbyist about Southern Pacific’s heavyweight Pullman sleepers purchased from Pullman in 1948, in the issue for January 2023, and here is a link to a description of that article: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2023/01/my-new-column-in-model-railroad-hobbyist.html .
This particular floor plan returned to my attention while I was attending this year’s Prototype Rails meeting at Cocoa Beach, Florida. A few remnants of meeting founder Mike Brock’s rolling stock fleet were offered to attendees, and I selected a Branchline HO model of the 8-1-2. Surprisingly, it had no car name, presumably allowing the modeler to choose one, but Mike had not done so. Here is the bedroom side of the car.
I was pretty sure that SP had acquired a bunch of cars of this floor plan in 1948, so was confident that I could use this model. But its letterboard has the Pullman name, which by my modeling year of 1953 would surely have been replaced with the SP name, and it should receive a car name too.
As I already knew, plenty of background on these cars, along with a table of all the names of the 16 cars of 8-1-2 plans received by SP are available in the excellent Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society Volume 2, Sleepers, in the series, Southern Pacific Passenger Cars (SPH&TS, Pasadena, 2005).
From that volume, here is an excellent prototype photo of one of SP’s 8-1-2 cars, De Young, photographed at Davis, California in 1961 (Bruce Heard photo). This is the aisle side of the car. Of the 16 cars of 8-1-2 arrangement acquired by SP, six had the “De” prefix names like De Young.
I wanted to get close to this appearance. The well-known Thin Film decals for SP heavyweight and Harriman cars, set HO-160, provide what is needed. I began by painting out the word “Pullman” on the letterboard, using Tru-Color Paint TCP-135, “SP Dark Olive Green.” It’s not an exact match to the Branchline car color but is fairly close. I made irregular blotches over each letter, rather than neat rectangles of paint, to minimize the visibility of the patches.
Next, I masked the window band on both sides, using the excellent Tamiya masking tape, the 10-mm width. This would allow me to add a coat of semi-gloss for decaling, since the Branchline model has a flat finish. I used Tamiya “Semi-Gloss Clear,” TS-79, for this. When that was dry, I added the Thin Film decals. Once they were well settled, I again masked the window band for a final coast of flat, using Tamiya “Flat Clear,” TS-80. (As I’ve often mentioned, these Tamiya paints are not at all traditional “rattle cans,” but have high-quality nozzles that deliver paint the way you want.)
Once that had been done, the car was ready for service. In my layout operating sessions, I often include a deadhead passenger move, typical of how SP moved equipment between its two main West Coast passenger terminals at Los Angeles and San Francisco/Oakland. Cars like this one are perfect for such a move.
In the view below, you see the aisle side of the newly-added De Forest, flanked by the Division Superintendent’s car, Coast, at right (see this final post of a series: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/08/operating-sp-business-car-conclusion.html ), and a pool streamlined dining car (a repainted E&B Valley model).
This has been a simple change to one of Mike Brock’s Pullmans, and an enjoyable tasks to convert it to an SP car of the era for my layout. I’m glad to be able to run one of Mike’s cars on my layout.
Tony Thompson
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