Kitbashing a Pennsy “Betterment sleeper”
A Branchline heavyweight 12-1 sleeper is the starting point for this HO project/Bob Chapman
MODEL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
Branchline’s HO scale heavyweight passenger car can be kit- bashed to represent the Betterment Pullmans (above) or modern- ized heavyweight coaches owned by more than a dozen railroads.
D
espite the Great Depression, the decade of the 1930’s brought seismic changes to rail-
road passenger service. In 1929, Pull- man air-conditioned its first car, and by 1937 over 3,000 Pullman heavyweights had been air-conditioned. No longer would Pullman passengers have to en- dure heat, soot, and cinders as they rode the rails. Soon to follow in 1934 were the first streamliners–Union Pa- cific’s M-10000 and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Zephyr. As these trends were evolving, in
1933 Pullman completed its first light- weight passenger cars–a pair of exper- imental, all-aluminum coach-observa- tion cars, the George M. Pullman and the City of Cheyenne. Rapid refine- ments in lightweight car construction in the mid-1930’s led to wholesale up- grades of several premier trains, such as the Super Chief (1937), and the Broadway Limited and 20th Century Limited (1938). These streamlined lightweight
trains captured America’s imagination, and Pullman’s heavyweight sleepers, now air-conditioned and comfortable, suddenly seemed stodgy and anachro- nistic. With urging and collaboration by the railroads, Pullman responded with a makeover of some of its heavy- weight fleet, to be given the less-than- imaginative name “Betterment Cars.”
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Built in 1926, Pullman 12-section 1-drawing room sleeper William Ellery(below) was modernized in 1939. Improvements included a streamline-profile roof and skirting. It served the Pennsy until 1962.
RMC/Dremel Kitbashing Award........
To improve the curb appeal of the
cars, they were fitted with a stream- line-profile roof (often tapered at each end to blend with the roofline of adjoin- ing lightweights), thermopane win- dows, skirting (sometimes full-length, sometimes with cutouts for the trucks), retractable steps, full-width di- aphragms, and often a colorful paint scheme matching the assigned road’s lightweights. Mechanical improvements could in-
A minimum of $100 and a Dremel Rotary Tool Kit with a variable-speed Multi-Pro rotary tool, flex shaft attach- ment and accessories are awarded to the monthly win- ners of the RMC/DREMEL KITBASHING AWARD. Entries must consist of at least two photos (5″×7″ or 8″×10″ prints or two color slides; more may be included) and a short text. Models must use at least 50% commercial components; unused entries may be held for BOOMER TRAIL.
clude tightlock couplers and roller bearings. While the interior floorplan was not usually modified, interior cos- metics were improved with new light- ing and décor. The first Betterment cars arrived
with a splash in June 1937, forming the eight-car consist of the all-Better- ment Union Pacific Forty Niner. Soon to follow in 1938 were cars for the
COURTESY OF BOB’S PHOTOS
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