Does anyone have a good source of passenger car window curtain material (reflectorized on the outside, patterned on the inside)?

Reason for asking: Niles Canyon Railway has several cars under restoration that need curtain material replaced, including S.P. 2473-2474 "Daylight" articulated coach. The repainted and reupholstered interior is glorious. Now the curtain material needs to be upgraded to match.

I found one firm that makes heat-reflecting curtain material, but I'm unsure if this is the best choice for RR passenger cars: http://www.radiantbarrier.com/radiant-curtains.htm

Thanks! - Doug Debs

Adlake still has the stuff -
http://www.adlake.com/

Bruce Backus

Hello Bruce:

Thanks for the info! Clearly Adlake has a lot of great parts available, but not all are listed on their website. I will check with them. Onwards!

- Doug

Adlake does have a silver material available for their cable or pinch-handle "roller curtains", but it's not the same as the original. It's lightweight - partly because it is not a 2-piece shade like the cars had orginally. That material we see on the outside of so many passenger car roller curtains is Pantasote and that stuff seems to be able to stand up to ultraviolet and harsh sun for just about forever. It was usually bonded to a fabric that faced the inside of the cars - hence silver (usually) facing the outside and various colors, patterns and textured materials facing the inside. Of course, for Pantasote to be that good it had to contain all sorts of cool ingredients that we don't seem to like to use anymore. So the Pantasote Company disappeared years go.

One way you might be able to more closely simulalate the original is to get some of the Adlake material and try to adhere it yourself (maybe using spray adhesive) to a decorative fabric material that would face the inside of your cars. Just a thought.