Brass Amtrak

I am new to the site and proud to be a new member. I have been collecting Amtrak plastic models since I was 3, now 26 years later I have switched to only a brass Amtrak collection. Just wondering if anyone else on here is a brass Amtrak collector from Overland Models, Pacific Fast Mail etc.

I live in MA and only collect brass NorthEast Corridor and Lake Shore Limited equipment (GHB Amfleet II's, SoHo Amfleet I's, OMI Viewliner's, and OMI MHC's). Engine list includes 2 OMI F-40's (#410 and 222), AMD-103 #801, and purchasing a Dash 8 next week.

I have a couple questions for other modelers of brass such as which sound decoders are best for the engines? I have never made a serious push into DCC as I am trying to find the right person/train store to due the conversion.

Any help,info or sharing your collection is appreciated and I hope to come across other modelers that are big Amtrak fans.

-Andrew

Aloha

Welcome to AU

When it comes to DCC it is best to find a club near you. Installation of decoders is fairly simple for anyone that knows how to solder. What gets confusing, and important, is to be sure that there is no path for power to the motor except through the decoder. Where a club helps is to master the settings of CV's.

I prefer Digitrax, and was a Dealer while I lived in Hawaii. Friends in Michigan use MCE. both system are good. But a nearby network is very helpful.

Eric

MBTAmtrak said:

I am new to the site and proud to be a new member. I have been collecting Amtrak plastic models since I was 3, now 26 years later I have switched to only a brass Amtrak collection. Just wondering if anyone else on here is a brass Amtrak collector from Overland Models, Pacific Fast Mail etc.
I live in MA and only collect brass NorthEast Corridor and Lake Shore Limited equipment (GHB Amfleet II's, SoHo Amfleet I's, OMI Viewliner's, and OMI MHC's). Engine list includes 2 OMI F-40's (#410 and 222), AMD-103 #801, and purchasing a Dash 8 next week.

I have a couple questions for other modelers of brass such as which sound decoders are best for the engines? I have never made a serious push into DCC as I am trying to find the right person/train store to due the conversion.

Any help,info or sharing your collection is appreciated and I hope to come across other modelers that are big Amtrak fans.

-Andrew

Click to expand...

Thank you GG1, my grandmother's twin worked on the PRR and New York Central mainline. RRing is in my blood and I hope to work for the MBTA or Amtrak within the year.

I have been in some clubs and have made some contacts. I have one guy who tests the locos out in DC to make sure everything is in perfect working order so the loco runs perfect in DCC with no problems.

I am in the process of building a new house, in which will hold a new N scale layout (I will be doing 28inch curves for N scale, I am all about realism). All my brass currently is HO, except a PFM F40 I bought last week (which was not included in my roster above). I will check into Digitrax.

I will have to get on the Acela soon to get to NY Penn as I have not been on the Corridor in years (I then hop across the street to see a Bruins vs. Rangers NHL game). I also need to get back on the LSL Boston-Chicago route, I heard they ran Superliners from Chicago to Albany? That would be a sight to see.

Well, my only brass pieces are non-Amtrak...and they're O scale.

But as long as we're discussing Amtrak models, I have over 100 pieces...in 3-rail 'O'.

Don't as yet have a permanent layout, but I do have a place to run them I call the "test track", videos of which are scattered about my other test runs at : http://www.youtube.com/user/RailRide

Currently working on building a not-quite car-for-car replica of the Auto-Train--slowly outtfitting my Superliners with LED lighting so the train will actually move without overtaxing a 400-watt transformer.

---PCJ

Welcome! Sounds like a nice collection.

No Superliners in the LSL though.

RailRide you have a great collection! O scale is the king of model railroads, only if I could afford or find a F40ph in O scale.....

Thank you Ryan! I will take some pictures and post them up, they are packed away in a safe now while I am in the process of moving.

MBTAmtrak said:

, only if I could afford or find a F40ph in O scale.....

Click to expand...

http://mthtrains.com/content/20-20256-1 (3-rail)

http://mthtrains.com/content/20-20256-2 (2-rail)

It's not brass, but the MSRP is about $440, street price a bit lower.

Even though it says "shipping may 2013", those dates have been known to slip (I should know--I have one on order, as well as the matching Genesis unit from the previous catalog), so one always has time to save up--this one was cataloged in the fall of 2012, and is #406, in the Phase III anniversary scheme.

. If you sign up for their newsletter, they'll tell you what items are shipping to their dealer network as they arrive at HQ (all locos are tested prior to shipping out to dealers)

---PCJ