Model Railroading > Golden Gate Depot Harriman Cars 2.0

I hate to say it, but these cars have turned out to be an expensive disappointment. I was in desperate need of a real SP diner car when these were announced several years ago. So was all too happy to order one, as well as a 80' chair car. Both would be well suited for various SP regional passenger trains. 
We waited a long time for these cars to come out, and I had moved in the interim. I failed to catch that these cars would be shipped to my old address until after they shipped, and had to pay a substantial fee to UPS to have them diverted to my current address. First thing I noticed when unboxing was the cars were more brown than green. I had ordered the SP Dark Olive Green, but the cars look as they have a light layer of rust oxidation on the surface. If I ever get ambitious enough, It will probably repaint them. The windows are also flush with window frames, which give the windows a odd look. While they don't need to be deeply recessed like some of my other cars, they should be recessed somewhat. The manner in which they cast the window glazing leaves a crevice around the edge of the window and makes the interior lighting bright around the edges of the windows (no lights on in the photos). I may look at window replacement options if I repaint the cars.
The biggest issues are yet to come, and I will discuss that in the next part of this post.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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The biggest issue by far is the couplers on these cars. They use a dynamic coupling system that keeps the cars close together on straight track, but allows them to stretch out on curves to prevent binding derailments. Kato and BLI have done this effectively with good results, although the Kato system is not compatible with Kadee style couplers without some work. But the GGD system here is very poor. On the horizontal plane the system works well, but there is no stability in the vertical plane. The coupler easily droops, and I found them extremely low. The factory realized the problem and bent the trip pins up sharply so they didn't snag the ties. I added .050" thick washers above the trucks to get the coupler up to an acceptable height, but the trucks no longer make electrical connections to the contact strips on the underframe, so the interior lighting is not functional currently. I also found that when the couplers are pulled somewhat hard, they angled up and slipped apart. To prevent that I replaced the #5 couplers with #120 SBE Bottom Shelf couplers. That required me to trim the internal blocks in the coupler box back at an angle to accommodate the wider whisker coupler shank. The couplers are not allowed to swing in the coupler box, as the dynamic coupling system does the centering and swinging motions need by the coupler. This is just a temporary solution on my part to make the cars operational in the near term. But I will need to do some in depth analysis to what I can do to keep the dynamic coupling system but fix the vertical stability. Failing that I will need to body mount the couplers with Kadee boxes. The Diner uses long shank couplers, so I replaced it Kadee #126 long shank SBE couplers. Everyone is going to have issues with the couplers the way they are, and maybe someone can design a 3D printed part to fix them, or better if GGD were to offer a part to fix the issue.

Jason Hill has done a more in depth review of these cars addressing other issues I haven't touched on here. His blog can be found here;
https://nightowlmodeler.blogspot.com/2026/08/golden-gate-depot-harriman-20-review.html

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/26 02:49 by funnelfan.

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The authenticity of these cars, and the layout, is marvelous.  Thank you for sharing.

Yeah Ted, given that their price is not all that much lower than those fantastic Rapido SP dome cars, I was expecting a bit better. At least these latest offerings are essentially correct (as far as I know) in their basic dimensions and window placement, unlike some of GGD's first round of Harrimans, so they seem to provide a good starting point for further refinement. The main sticking point seems to be the aforementioned odd representation of Dark Olive. I would think that a repaint would require stripping, given that, as it is pointed out on Jason's blog, the factory paint seems to enlarge the apparent rivet size. Maybe somebody smarter than me can figure out how to darken the existing finish.

Everything considered, I am happy that the cars came out as well as they did.

EO
Wx4.org

I'm not familiar with SP paint colors. but In some cases Pullman Green could have a brown tint to it. I wonder if someone made a wrong assumption in picking the color for the cars? Reference the windows, maybe someone could come up with laser cut replacements?

Victor Baird



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/26 09:55 by wabash2800.

Thanks for your review. The cars are too expensive given the bad paint, windows and couplers. I'm canceling my pre-orders.

What material is the coupler pocket made of?

I only ordered 2 cars from this run- I have several head end cars reserved, but they’re a ways off.
I picked up an All Grey Sub to trail my Del Monte, so the coupler issue should be a problem on a rear car.
The other is a “Lines” Lounge for my pre-war Overland. I’m very pleased they gave the car the “San Francisco Lounge” sub lettering- a detail I hadn’t dared wish for! Very cool! BUT it complicates repainting car..
This Lounge will run mid train in a string of brass cars, so I’ll definitely be body mounting the couplers and adding weight.
I’m far more a hands-on model RRer, so making modifications is an enjoyable part of the hobby for me. Part of the creative fun.
Put me down as a satisfied GG customer.
SR

Very comprehensive info at the Night Owl link, brings in a lot of info from the hard core SP world as well.
t4p.