Walthers has released of Pullman-Standard 10-roomette, 5-double bedroom sleepers. The ready-to-run cars feature smooth sides, General Steel Castings 41-HR trucks with cast-metal sideframes, and steam-heat underbody details and are offered without skirting. This is Lot 6606 Plan 4072B, the Santa Fe Cascade series which included 2 cars, Cascade Mills and Cascade Shoals. Trucks and air conditioning is correct for this model. The skirts were probably removed around 1960.

The original Santa Fe version was in the 1960s all gray scheme. Another paint scheme was released by Walthers in October, 2004, #932-16746, which is the earlier two tone gray scheme (TTG) below.

According to Michael Flick's article in the May/June 1984 Santa Fe Modeler (as supplemented by other letters/references): "The 10 roomette, 5 bedroom (10-5) sleepers were purchased in September 1939 and delivered in March and April 1940 as part of Lot 6606, Plan 4072B. As built, they were owned and operated in Pullman pool service.

"In November, 1940, the Cascade Shoals and Cascade Mills were assigned to Santa Fe service between Chicago and Kansas City. They were carried on The Scout westbound and The California Limited eastbound.

In Frailey they are carried as being on the Chief in 1944.

Andy Sperandeo added, "the summer 1947 mostly lightweight consist for trains 23 and 24 includes a Chicago-Grand Canyon via Williams Junction-Los Angeles sleeping car line that could be filled by a 6-6-4 Valley car, a 6-2-2 Budd car of the Oraibi series, or a 10-5. I take that to indicate that one or both of these cars was in Grand Canyon service at that time. In 1947 the Cascade cars probably still had their skirts and definitely would have been painted two-tone gray. Judging from photos of the Valley cars from 1947 and 1948, my guess is that they still had "PULLMAN" on the letter board at that time."

"Following WWII, they became the property of the Santa Fe. In the 1960s, they were assigned to The Kansas City Chief. They were dropped from the KC Chief on May 16, 1966, and apparently scrapped in 1968. The cars did make at least one sojourn on The Chief during the WWII era, as well." Flick

"Initially, the sleepers wore two tone gray paint with black trucks. The trucks were repainted silver shortly thereafter. The cars were later painted solid gray, with silver roof and trucks. It does not appear that anyone has determined the date that these cars were converted from two tone to solid gray."

Dean Hale reports that they "had at least three different paint schemes -- two-tone gray with white/silver stripe; simulated shadow stripes; solid gray with silver roof."

Tom Madden's files report:

Cascade Mills - in service 6/25/1940
Pullman Mechanical Air Conditioning
Sold to ATSF LTP 12/31/1945
Paint:

Cascade Shoals - in service 6/25/1940
Pullman Mechanical Air Conditioning
Sold to NYC (!) LTP 12/31/1945 (this must be an error)
Paint:

Thanks to Eric Hiser and Brian Durbin for his input.