The cars. The caboose is a former “Zephyr style” Chicago, Burlington & Quincy class NE-12, built in the railroad’s Havelock shops in two batches in 1954 and 1960. It’s not likely one would have survived in service until the “Swoosh” was introduced. But if an enterprising modeler wanted to plate over the empty windows with sheet styrene, it would make a convincing shoving platform.
The freight cars are an interesting assortment of types and eras. The 50-foot plug-door newsprint boxcar bears a built date of 1-75, but has running boards, which were eliminated from new cars in 1966. The Texaco riveted single-dome tank car was built in 1937 and would have been retired before the GP40-2R came along. And 41-foot gondola no. 65263 was on the Union Pacific roster in 1954, but gone by 1990.
The caboose and freight cars are all made of sturdy injection-molded plastic that should stand up to plenty of running, but still bear fine molded rivet detail, separately applied brake wheels, crisp printing, and magnetic knuckle couplers. All the wheels on the cars – one-piece molded engineering plastic – were in gauge, and the couplers were mounted at the correct height.
And the rest. The train set comes with 14 pieces of Bachmann steel-rail E-Z Track – a dozen 30-degree, 18" radius curves; one 9" straight terminal/rerailer; and one matching 9" straight section. The track is attached to black plastic roadbed that snaps together and separates easily. Bachmann sells a large assortment of matching E-Z Track components, including crossings and turnouts, so the simple oval in this set can be the start of a more elaborate layout.
The power pack is a one-knob, no-frills model (part no. 44211) issued with all Bachmann’s train sets. It has a smooth-turning throttle knob, a direction switch, and a power indicator light. It comes with a 16V wall-wart power supply and a 40-inch long cable that plugs into the power pack and the terminal rerailer to power the track.
The set is completed by three packets of accessories to help transform your Plywood Pacific into something better resembling a model railroad. These are 12 brown plastic line poles; two sprues of traffic and railroad signs (such as “Yard Limit” and “Resume Speed”); and two sprues of figures appropriate for a passenger station scene. Once severed from their bases, trimmed of flash, and carefully painted, the 12 nicely molded figures would look pretty good.
A good starting point. Opening the box and unpacking Bachmann’s Rocket Freight train set took me back to my parents’ basement in Connecticut and the HO scale Chessie set that was my first experience with model railroading. Though those who consider themselves Serious Model Railroaders may scoff at the molded-on grab irons, basic direct-current can motor, plastic wheelsets, and snap-together sectional track in a set like this, to a youngster it could be the first step on the hobby of a lifetime. With everything in this box, a future model railroader could be set up and running a train inside of 15 minutes. If they’re lucky, it’s only the beginning.