Product Review: Walther's
Milwaukee Road 30-Seat Parlor Car

by Gary Quale

Walthers has introduced a second car in their new series of HO passenger cars based on Milwaukee Road trains 5/6, the Morning Hiawatha and trains 100/101, the Afternoon Hiawatha. This car is the 30 seat smooth-side parlor car in the "Valley" series numbered 190 to 197.

The Prototype

When new, the railroad typically operated the Twin Cities Hiawathas with one of these parlor cars in the consist immediately in front of the Skytop observation car, which had similar parlor car seating. By the late 1950’s the demand for the extra fare seats was reduced, and the Hi’s often ran with a single parlor car, either a Skytop lounge or a "Valley" car on the tail end.

The Model

These ready-to-run cars have the same construction and features as the previously reviewed Hiawatha 52-seat coaches in the February 2008 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Walthers has substituted new sides with the correct window arrangement and new interiors that nicely model the 30 rotatable individual seats of the prototype. As before, the cars come lettered with "The Milwaukee Road" above the windows and the Hiawatha logo below, but with no car names or numbers. Walthers provides separate decals with the names and numbers for all eight cars in the series so the modeler can easily create any car in this series. As before, the cars come with separate handrails that the purchaser can install if desired. Floquil solvent based railroad paints were used to paint these additional details before application. Finding a match using either the Floquil Polly Scale or Badger’s MODELflex™ water based paints should be an equally easy matter.

Whether you are looking to equipm your Hiawatha or merely upgrade one of your other passenger trains, this parlor will do the trick. Walthers has come through with another great representation of a classic passenger train from a bygone era!