The 1938 edition of the Twentieth Century Limited is often regarded as the high water mark of the American passenger train. Thirty-six years to the day after passengers strode down a red plush carpet to the first run of the Century - inspiring the phrase "red carpet treatment" - the new incarnation of America's most famous train pulled out of Grand Central Station behind a homely boxcab electric. Thirty-three miles later, at Harmon, New York, the train was turned over to a streamlined Hudson with a prow reminiscent of a Roman gladiator's helmet, and the effect was complete. From engine to observation car, in every detail down to the dining car china and matchbook covers, the train had been styled by Henry Dreyfus, a giant in the then-new profession of industrial design. The design was so handsome and striking that it became a symbol of the New York Central railroad and, later, of the entire Art Deco era. Decades later, Time magazine selected the locomotive as its single symbol of the twentieth century. 

Advertised as "the first all-room train in America, 16 hours between New York and Chicago," the 1938 Century was the last word in luxury travel. Every afternoon the famous red carpet was unfurled in Grand Central Station, welcoming passengers aboard. Taking aim at Pennsy's rival Broadway Limited, which had to cross the Allegheny Mountains to make the same trip, the New York Central promoted itself as "The Water Level Route… You Can Sleep." 

Leading the train was one of the best examples of streamlining ever applied to a locomotive. Unlike Raymond Loewy's design for the Broadway Limited's Pacifics, which largely hid the engine under a streamlined shroud, Dreyfuss' styling clung tightly to the locomotive, glorifying rather than hiding its shape and boldly displaying the wheel and rod motion that make a steam engine so exciting. No wonder the Dreyfus Hudson has been a favorite image of graphic artists ever since. 

Our Dreyfus Hudson is offered in several prototypical versions with either the original 1938 paint scheme with blue edging on the stripes, or the cleaner, more simplified 1940 scheme. Play the departure announcements for the Twentieth Century Limited and begin your trip so smoothly that your passengers won't realize they're moving. Listen to the chuff sounds and synchronized puffs of smoke accelerate as your train picks up speed. If you're operating with the M.T.H. DCS system, you can even make your own signature sounds with the quillable whistle feature. In model railroading, it doesn't get any better than this. 

Features

•Die-Cast Boiler and Chassis 
•Die-Cast Tender Body 
•Authentic Paint Scheme 
•Real Tender Coal Load 
•Metal Handrails and Decorative Whistle 
•Die-Cast Locomotive Trucks 
•Engineer and Fireman Figures 
•RP25 Metal Wheels 
•Interchangeable RP25 Metal Drive Wheels w/o Traction Tires 
•Sprung Drivers 
•(2) #158 Scale Kadee Whisker Couplers 
•Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting 
•Constant Voltage Headlight 
•Lighted Cab Interior 
•Operating Tender Back-up Light 
•Powerful 5-Pole Precision Flywheel Equipped Skew-Wound Motor 
•Synchronized Puffing ProtoSmoke® System 
•Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments 
•Wireless Drawbar 
•1:87 Scale Proportions 
•Operates On Code 70, 83 and 100 Track  

Signature Series models offer the final word in realism: beautifully detailed M.T.H. O and HO scale models weathered to look like hard-working locomotives and rolling stock. Each model is individually weathered by a master modeler with more than 30 years of professional modeling experience. The resulting finish ensures that these new Signature Series models for 2014 will look right at home on any sceniced, scale-detailed layout.

All models are airbrush-weathered, using proprietary techniques that capture the subtle natural wear and tear produced by road dust, rain, rust, wind and everything else that railroad equipment experiences in real life. The Signature Series airbrush weathering process brings out details in a model that previously went unnoticed, and replicates effects usually obtainable only with chalks and pinpoint washes.

No two Signature Series finishes look exactly alike. Each model of the same engine or passenger set has its own unique finish, with noticeable but subtle differences visible in side-by-side comparisons. Because these models are designed to run as well as they look, each locomotive and car is sealed with a flat finish to allow handling and the use of smoke fluid. 

M.T.H. Signature Series models first appeared in 2012, providing hobbyists with unique offerings not previously available from a major model railroad manufacturer. Each Signature Series item is an excellent solution for modelers who either have not had the confidence to attempt weathering techniques, or simply don’t have time to do it themselves. Most importantly, these professionally weathered models can withstand the rigors of operation while providing the final element of realism needed to depict real-life railroading on an O or HO scale layout.