20th Century Limited

[WGL]

 I see that Walters http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/20th_century is taking orders for this famous train circa 1949.  It's not the model I saw in the classic 1934 film, "The Twentieth Century," but it probably resembles the one in the 1959 classic, "North by Northwest."
  Does anyone here model the 20th Century Limited?  I haven't noticed any models for sale until now.

[Frisco]

I do not know about any-one else but I have no insterest as I don't model the NYC.Every year I hold my breath for them to come out with the Texas special and they never do.The cars are buitiful though as a friend is getting the CMSP&P set.

[WGL]

  The other storied train which I haven't seen models of is the Orient Express.  Much of my attraction to trains has been stimulated by films that give train travel an aura of mystery & romance.

[Hamish K]

Years ago Bachmann sold an "Orient Express" set, it still turns up on ebay. I don't know how accurate it is. Many european makers have also released "Orient Express" sets over the years.

Hamish

[Woody Elmore]

The Orient Express has gone through several incarnations. You have to model an era. I believe the current OE is operated by a private company. Before WWII the train was operated by Wagons Litthe French equivalent of Pullman. The final destination was Istanbul or as the french called it "Stanbul."

[WGL]

 Thanks for the information.

[TrampTrader]

 

I also have to admit to a fascination with the Pre-WWII mystery trains such as the Twentieth Century and the elegant Orient Express, and would love to see these sets available in the Bachmann Spectrum DCC ready, product line, with lights and smoke, of course ! I was recently delighted to be able to put together an HO set of the legendary CNJ "Blue Comet", using a the recently released IHC "BC" 4-6-2 Pacific Loco and tender and a "MIB" set of older release, Rivarossi "BC" Passenger cars.



Pete   :-)

[Woody Elmore]

I did some research and found that the platform scenes in North By Northwest were indeed filmed in Grand Central Terminal but the interior train scenes were on a set in Hollywood.

An interesting fact about the Twentieth Century Limited is that terminal staff rolled out a huge, long red carpet emblazoned with the train name and logo that also appeared on the rear of the observation car.

[WGL]

 Wikipedia has a very informative article with pictures:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Limited

[Pacific Northern]

Would have been great if Walthers had decided to release the set as the 1938 NYC Hudsons fitted with the streamlined casing designed by Henry Dreyfuss. A new Proto Heritage engine would have been welcomed.

Now the release will just be another diesel............

[Woody Elmore]

A NYC electric in two tone grey to match the 20th Century Limited would really be nice in HO.

I remember seeing the T series engines with lightening stripe paint scheme and they really looked great. I'm not up on my NYC electrics but I believe they had a Q,R,S and T series; one was made famous in standard gauge by Lionel.

They also used Niagras to pull their crack trains.

[SteamGene]

IIRC New York City (as opposed to NYC  ) passed an anti-smoke law in the beginning of the 20th century.  This meant that all railroads had to change power before entering the city limits.  I think the only place the Central had electric locomotives was in the area of the City. 
Gene

[Conrail Quality]

In addition to the New York electrification, the Central also had electrics working in Cleveland and in the Detroit River tunnels. Both of these systems were taken down in the 1950's, while the New York City electrification still exists to this day under the ownership of Metro-North Commuter Railroad.

Timothy

[Santa Fe buff]

Here's a Detroit River tunnel one:



They also had some in Harmon, NY:



You can find a bunch more here:

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/electric6.html

This song is just for remebering NYC, just one of those songs...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5323200287754581382&ei=maG8SKPSNKXI-wHn0djXDA&q=Tribute+to+Former+NYC+mainline&vt=lf

[Jhanecker2]

I remember seeing a special on railroad terminals in New York City . There was a very serious accident in the tunnels under the city caused by the smoke and also reckless human error. After the investigation steam engines were never allowed in the tunnels again.