October 6 2022 California Dreaming! The City of San Francisco from Walthers in HO
Get whisked away by Walther's newest name train! With a colorful mix of passenger cars and locomotives available, there's plenty of ways to customize your version of this classic streamliner. There's a lot to go over, so without further ado, let's dig in!
Each of the three roads handling the City of San Francisco used their own motive power on home rails - but some traveled well beyond on occasion! Starting in late 1955, Milwaukee Road E9A-B-A sets built and painted to UP specifications moved the trains between Chicago and Omaha, Union Pacific's own E9A-B sets took over for the run from Omaha to Ogden, and from Ogden to Oakland, Southern Pacific Alco PA-PBs in Daylight colors led the way.
Assigned cars from each of the three operating roads, the City of San Francisco offered one of the most unique travel experiences in all of American railroading. As the primary partner, UP insisted all cars be painted to match its standard Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray, but each carried the owner's name in red in the letterboard. Typical of the era, the train offered something for every traveler. For businessmen and budget-minded folks, lower-priced long-distance coaches and more relaxed food service were available. For those who wanted more privacy or space to stretch out a full-service diner, lounge and a variety of spacious sleeping car spaces were available. All 14 cars model a typical day's consist and are available while supplies last in standard versions with decals for easy customizing or with factory-printed names and numbers.
Deluxe Edition & Expansion Sets
Whether you're an operator or collector, these limited-edition sets of City of San Francisco equipment will be the stars of your railroad! Fully assembled and ready to enjoy, sets feature unique names and numbers from all other cars in the series, so they're easily mixed and matched. Two 12-car Deluxe Edition sets are available, with UP or MILW dining and lounge cars, reflecting the mix of equipment on the prototype. Cars in these sets feature LED interior lighting as appropriate, with a total of 130 Preiser figures throughout the cars.
For modeling busy travel times, add a three-car Holiday Season Expansion Set to your City of San Francisco consist! Painted to match other cars in the series, they're available while supplies last in a standard version with decals, with unique factory-printed names and numbers, or the railroad-ready Deluxe Edition with different names and numbers, LED interior lighting and 26 Preiser figures as appropriate. Each set consists of a 75' Milwaukee Road Express Car, an 85' ACF 44-Seat UP Coach and an 85' Pullman-Standard 4-4-2 UP Imperial series Sleeper.
