Pullman Heavyweight Sets

Gilbert made 10 distinct Pullman Heavyweights, not counting the variations. The large pictures on these pages are of cars in the collection of The Upstairs Train.  Unless otherwise specified, the smaller ones are from ebay auctions I didn't win. If you have a picture that you would like to share with the world of any of cars not shown here, or a better picture of one that is shown, email them to me: theupstairstrain@yahoo.com

The #4617 set made in 1947 comprised the green Pullman Heavyweight cars with long trucks (#653 combination car, two #652 coaches, and #654 observation car) pulled by the extremely rare #332DC Union Pacific Northern steam engine with smoke unit in the tender.  The only picture I have of any of these cars is the #652 coach above. A lot of people think the six-wheel trucks are what's known as "long trucks."  Yes, they are longer than their four-wheel counterparts, but Gilbert's true long trucks were even longer.  In fact, they were so long that they wouldn't go around curves!  So Gilbert put on one wheelset that had no flanges. The long truck axles are 2-1/4 inches apart; the short truck axles are only 1-5/8 inches apart.

#652 Pullman Heavyweight with white lettering made in 1947. It was made in 1946 with silver lettering in a wide serif font. In 1946 and 1947 Gilbert made matching #653 Combination Cars and #654 Observation Cars. Click the picture to see the whole set and the train of which they were a part.

The #4612 set made in 1946 comprised the red Pullman Heavyweight cars with long trucks (#653 combination car, two #652 coaches, and #654 observation car) pulled by a #321 New York Central Hudson steam engine.  I don't yet have any of these cars, but the train looked a lot like the short-truck set below.

The #4613 set made in 1946-1947 was the same as the #4612 but was pulled by the #322 New York Central Hudson steam engine I have.

In 1948, the short-truck cars replaced the long truck version, and Gilbert introduced unpainted Heavyweights. The red painted short-truck version was sold only in 1948 but the green painted ones wer made in 1948 and again in 1952.  The unpainted version was made through 1952.

The #4617 set was sold in 1948 with the rare 332DC Union Pacific Northern steam engine with smoke unit in the boiler, but I don't know whether it included the painted cars or unpainted cars.  The only one of these cars I have is this 654.  You can see how much shorter the trucks are.

The #4613A set made in 1948 had the short-truck red Heavyweights pulled by the #322AC New York Central Hudson steam engine , but I don't know whether it included the painted cars or unpainted cars.

Pullman Heavyweights made in 1948 (painted version).

Pullman Heavyweights made in 1948-1952 (unpainted version).

The #4617 set was sold in 1949 with the rare 332DC Union Pacific Northern steam engine with smoke unit in the boiler and unpainted cars.  Here they are, pulled by my 336 Union Pacific Northern engine.  These cars were made from 1948-1952.

In 1953, Gilbert converted to knuckle couplers, sintered trucks, and doors that didn't open.  In addition, the cars had the name of a scenic spot under the windows: Pikes Peak for the 952 coach, Niagara Falls for he 953, and Grand Canyon for the 954.  Production continued through 1958.  They were made in green and maroon, some with silhouettes from 1955-1958.  Click on the pictures below to see the other cars and the trains they made up.

(Photo courtesy of Rick Dunn.)

(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.) A small number of painted green 953 & 954 cars were made with opening doors, probably left over 65x bodies mounted on 95x chasses.  These are extremely rare.

The rare #652 Pikes Peak made in 1953 was a transition car, having the new 952 body on the old link coupler trucks. It was made in red, green, and maroon.

(Photo courtesy of Jerry Poniatowski.)

The rare #978 maroon Grand Canyon Operating Observation Car with silhouettes made -in 1956-1958. (Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

The conductor on the back looks a lot like the guy on the back of the #977 Caboose, but they're not identical. They must be cousins. (Photo courtesy of Bobby Hoppe.)

The very rare #24733 maroon Pikes Peak coach with silhouettes made only in 1958. (Photo courtesy of Robert Allen Conner.) Even more rare is the #24739 maroon Niagara Falls combination car with silhouettes, also made only in 1958.

Chicago observation car from the #49616 Chicago & Alton Limited Passenger set made in 2006. (Photo courtesy of Mark Kiner.)

#48978 Union Pacific Heavyweight Passenger Cars made in 2006. (Photo courtesy of Jerry Matsick.)

New York Central Heavyweight Passenger Cars made in 2007. (This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)

Pennsylvania Railroad Heavyweight Passenger Cars made in 2007. (This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)

Blue Comet Heavyweight Passenger Cars made in 2007. (This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)

Freedom Train Heavyweight Passenger Cars made in 2008. (Picture from the Lionel online catalog.)

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This gallery will continue to grow and become more comprehensive as I collect more cars and as visitors send me pictures of the cars I don't yet have.  If you have a car that you would like to share with the world, email me a picture:   theupstairstrain@yahoo.com.  Click here for a list of the pictures I need to complete the Gallery. The books I am using for reference are listed in the Bibliography page.  All the writing and all the pictures on this website are, however, my own, except where cited.  No copyrighted materials have been included and all pictures provided by others are used by permission.

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