HO Tri-ang 3-Piece CB&Q ATT Burlington Passenger Car Set

Description

This set is comprised of 3 individually boxed HO scale ATT Burlington Passenger Cars.  According to research, from 1967 through 1970, Mike Tager, a former Atlas Tool Co, Inc. employee, imported model train rolling stock manufactured by Rovex / Tri-ang Hornby of England, United Kingdom, and repackaged those products as American Train & Track Corp (ATT) products.  For sale from ShowMyHobby are 3 of the 4 individually packaged HO scale ATT Burlington Passenger Cars in their original cardboard boxes.  All 3 of the passenger cars feature plastic Hornhook couplers on plastic Talgo trucks with plastic High Flange Wheels (pHFW), sturdy plastic silver corrugated shells, with black lettering.  These trains are mildly used and show signs of use on their wheels.  Some of the coupler trip pins have been cut off.  There are some cuts, and blemishes in the paint jobs of some of the cars.  All of the cars have molded interior seats (where applicable per the prototype).  Overall, the ATT Burlington Passenger Cars are in Very Good Condition.  The set includes the following cars:

• ATT 201 Coach with 3100 on the number panel.
• ATT 211 Diner with DINER on the number panel.
• ATT 221 Baggage Dormitory with 3101 on the number panel.

I opened all 3 cars and examined them.  I placed 1 of them on my layout and hand-pushed it across 3 or 4 Bachmann Code 100 Nickel Silver E-Z Tracks, including a double-track 90-degree crossing as well as a re-railer track.  The Large Flanges on the wheels cause the cars to rise up on the rails while going over the crossing tracks most of the times, but the car did not derail.  When I pushed down delicately directly on top of the car as it went over the crossings, the car did not rise up off the rails, but its free-rolling capabilities stiffened up a little and felt as if the car was being dragged through the crossing tracks.  Although not tested, I suspect that similar behavior occurs when going through either Bachmann or Atlas turnout tracks.  I only tested 1 car on my Code 100 tracks.  I don’t recommend trying to use these cars on any tracks with lower rail heights below that of Code 100 (0.100 of an inch high [2.54 mm]) rails as the flanges on the wheels will probably hit all the track ties.

Relative Prototype Information:

These model ATT Burlington Passenger Cars are representative of the first Budd-manufactured streamlined trains for the Burlington Pioneer Zephyr which were delivered in 1934.  The lengths of the cars in that first trainset were as follows:

• Power/Mail Car (Car 9900): 71 feet 5 inches
• Baggage/Buffet/Coach (Car 9901): 57 feet 8 inches
• Coach/Observation (Car 9902): 63 feet 6 inches 

The operating railroad of the prototype was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad company (CB&Q – now The BNSF Railway).  The Budd car manufacturing company designed and built the Streamline Passenger Cars for the CB&Q or “Burlington Route,”, which was a pioneering, almost exclusive customer of the Budd Company for stainless steel streamlined passenger cars starting in 1934. These iconic, corrugated “silver” cars, often bearing the “Burlington” name or specific Zephyr names, revolutionized passenger service with lightweight, durable stainless steel construction using Budd’s “shotweld” technique.

Key Aspects of Budd-Built Burlington Cars:

• The “Silver” Brand: Burlington embraced the silver, unpainted, stainless-steel livery for all its new, acquired streamlined passenger cars, creating a signature look for the “Burlington Route”.
• Pioneer Zephyr (1934): The first Budd-built, diesel-powered, articulated, stainless-steel streamliner (9900) that operated between 1934–1960. It featured a distinct “shovel nose” and set the standard for future, faster, and more luxurious Zephyrs.
• The “Zephyr” Fleet: Following the success of the Pioneer Zephyr, Budd built a series of subsequent trains, including the Twin Cities Zephyr, Mark Twain Zephyr (1935), and General Pershing Zephyr.
• California Zephyr (1948): Budd manufactured all the cars for the famous California Zephyr, which ran between Chicago and Oakland. These cars were famously named “Silver…” and operated in a pool with multiple roads (CB&Q, D&RGW, WP).
• Unique Features: Burlington cars often featured Vista-Domes (pioneered by the CB&Q in 1945), and specialized, articulated, and non-articulated cars for service, including dining, lounge, and sleeper cars.
• Lettering: While many were named individually (e.g., Silver Solarium, Silver Lariat), the cars prominently displayed “Burlington” or “Burlington Zephyr” on their sides, particularly on early articulated sets.