With all the discussion about the Lionel Vision Line GG-1, I became more interested in adding a scale GG-1 to my roster. I usually stick with LIRR Railking Imperial engines and some premier diesels. However, the uglyness of that scale electric has made me do more research, on the past and current offerings, from the O gauge manufactures. When I came across the MTH East Wind set I was blown away by the uniqueness. If you have one, how do you like it?
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I have the set you pictured and the uncataloggedued five car set. They are certainly unique and gorgeous. They sort of attract attention on the display shelves. Search for East Wind on the forum and you might find a previous thread about their history.
The East Wind was a coach train operating between Washington Union Station and Portland, ME with some cars continuing to Bangor via a connecting train, the Pine Tree Limited depending upon the day of the week. The participating carriers were the Pennsylvania Railroad, New Haven, Boston & Maine and Maine Central. It was a summer only service which began in June 1940. Painted in a special yellow and silver livery, the equipment consisted of two sets of cars pooled from these roads. The East Wind operated primarily with this equipment in 1940 and '41; however, the service proved extremely popular and extra equipment painted in standard schemes were sometimes added to the consist on the hind end. By 1942, the uniformity of the train's appearance was gone as a mix of equipment and liveries took over. Operation of the East Wind was suspended during the war, resuming in the summer of 1946. The train's final season was 1955.
As with most O gauge passenger sets, MTH utilized tooling which is a generic representation of the types of cars which were actually used on the East Wind. Nonetheless, the special paint scheme is nicely applied and they are good looking models. In addition to the GG1 powered set, MTH has also offered a version with a New Haven EP-3 at the head end. I've posted a few color illustrations of the train below. Also below is a link to a page with information pertaining to modeling the East Wind. This is the most informative source of East Wind information on the web. There are also some historical society publications and books which provide an excellent treatment regarding the East Wind.
http://www.mgdecals.com/P-122.htm
I hope this helps.
Bob
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