Hi Dave - I also have a weakness for passenger cars. Right now I have a set of 2008 Lionel Madison, Irvington, Manhattan, and Sager Place passenger cars that are modeled after the old Madison-style cars of the postwar era. I love them because they look just like the originals and I use them with my 1953 Lionel 736 Berkshire and they look great together. Everyone has their own unique likes and dislikes, and for me, I like passenger cars without silhouettes. These passenger cars do not have silhouettes and the windows are opaque, so I love them. They are only about 14.5", which actually seems pretty big to me, but they are an absolutely perfect match for the Berk. Both the cars and the Berk say Lionel Lines as well, so they look like they were made for each other and together they form my one and only postwar line.
I am looking to get modern passenger cars and modern hopper cars because I also like the look of a unit train and I want to form unit train systems for my other locomotives, which are all Legacy. It was recommended to me to go at least 072 so that future purchases, as well as people bringing things to my layout to run, would be almost bullet proof in terms of working well and looking realistic. Interesting that you mention 084. I had not considered that before. The only issue with such wide curves becomes having room to have curves and still have a manageable track layout. Definitely something to consider. I still have not made my GarGraves tinplate track purchase yet, and it will be a big purchase once I do, so I am glad we are talking about this now. I need to be aware of everything.
It will be interesting to see Apples55's photos.
