I got some new Amtrak Cars!

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P40Power

OBS Chief
Joined
Apr 1, 2003
Messages
718
For christmas I recived a Walthers Viewliner Sleeper and an Amfleet II coach and lounge both in the Phase III. They are beautiful looking cars but I havent got to run them yet because my bigger layout isnt done yet (this thing is gonna be so much sweeter then my old 4X8). We got most of the benchwork done in the fall but construction stopped in the winter because its snowmobile season and since winter is short and snowmobiling is a very VERY seasonal hobby (last year we got to go on no snowmobile trips because of lack of snow, but this year we got BURRIED) most of the time went into riding them, very enjoyable! Anyways well Ive been working on the layout and Ive been gawking at my new equipment (Finally be able to retire some of my beaten heritage fleet cars, the HO scale passengers have been asking for new equipment for sometime) and Ive been gawking at my Athearn P40 #803 in Phase III paint, thats why I have the name P40Power (excellent unit, is going to be DCC equiped for operation on my new layout). Well I was just wondering if the new cars I got are good operating cars (I dont like the looks of those weird plastic vestibules they came with), they certainally look great!
 
Are you sure you're talking about Phase III? Or are you talking about the more current Phase IV (Pinstripes)? Walthers only makes in IV and undecorated. I can't say how good they operate, but I'm sure you'll be satisfied with them. I hope to build my table in the Summer, I have Several sets of equipment.

Click Here for information on Amfleet's layout. Its a good example to follow as a basis for a layout, one which I plan to follow as I build mine.
 
Oh only the Amfleet cars are in Phase III, like you said the viewliners only came in phase IV sorry if I made it sound confusing though I thought the Viewliner Prototypes looked good in Phase III (Con Cor makes phase III viewliner cars in N-Scale)
 
Wow I just looked at Amfleets layout there and man its kinda weird how much it resembles my old 4X8 but then again when you run passenger trains on a 4X8 the plans are really limited by the space and radious requirements for the long passenger cars. I used to run 18' curves on mine but my Amfleet coaches would tip ALOT in the turns so I upgraded to 22 and it cured my problems. As for Motive power, as time went by I required locomotives in like the exact same order that Amtrak did (By coinsidence though). First I got an Athearn Amtrak F7A and B set, then I got an Athearn SDP40F (a beast of a unit, that too didnt like my sharp curves much like the units didnt in real life), A spectrum F40PH (smooth running and beautful machine, I still love turning off all the lights and watch its strobe lights fill the room with flashes as it goes around) Then I got an Athearn AMD-103 (It was like one of the first ones that Athearn ever made, it just made it in 1997 for my christmas gift, after I got that unit I offically became a genesis fan especially with the neat fade out stripe the unit had). The order of getting locomotives fizzled off after this point, I got a dummy P42 and a Walthers F40PH then an Athearn F59PHI (Great unit though I dont use it at all because I run the Lake Shore Boston Section on my layout and F59PHIs never come through, especially the California units like this one though I had it lead it once to see how it ran and it was a sight pullin into Albany with that unit :D ). As for my passenger cars I have a lot of beat heritage and Amfleet cars that have been abused from my younger years but they still ramble on. I have one odd ball superliner in my whole fleet, a Lounge - Cafe that I got from my Grandparents, that mostly sat in the backshop. I have quite a fleet of Express cars made from former freight cars that I didnt use, I just painted them in platinum mist and wrote AMTK on them and put a couple of road numbers on em and hooked them behind the baggage car. I do run freight trains alot too, mostly Conrail local jobs but my focus is on the Amtrak operations because I find them most intresting to model. :D
 
P40Power said:
Oh only the Amfleet cars are in Phase III, like you said the viewliners only came in phase IV sorry if I made it sound confusing though I thought the Viewliner Prototypes looked good in Phase III (Con Cor makes phase III viewliner cars in N-Scale)
I agree, they look good in III. I plan to do a Viewliner Diner Kitbash over the summer with an attempt at Phase III. Wish Walthers would make it in Phase III HO Scale.

Phase III (and IV) Viewliner Photos:

http://www.trainweb.org/amtrakonline/viewl...inerphotos.html

For More Photos/info, visit My Website
 
I remember a few years back (1999 or 2000) the Viewliner Diner prototype comming through on the Lake Shore Limited eastbound and I saw it at Albany Rennslear. It looked like an intresting car, it had the IV striping but the lettering was a little odd If I remember right. I would have loved to have ridden in it to see what this unique car is like. I wish they would have had that Viewliner Lounge concept come into prototype form of sometime, It had like an all glass domecar like celing which I think would be pretty nice.
 
I agree, those cars should definitely be the first new ones Amtrak Purchases.

Click the links I posted for prototype photos (including 8400 interior) and info.

Photos as you saw it:

viewlinerdiner.jpg


amt8400.jpg


Decided on III as it was the original Scheme. If I can get that right, I hope to do one of 2300.
 
Nice pictures, you can see what im talking about with the weird lettering on the car in the first picture, you can just see how Amtrak is lettered- like AmtraK is spelt with an unusually large K at the end. The trucks look weird on this car, are they the same ones as the rest of the Viewliner fleet? I definatly say go for the Phase III 2300, as for decaling the thing check microscales website they might just have some of those decals. Im still trying to decide what to name my new Viewliner.
 
No, they don't have them I'll have difficulty trying to make it up for the Viewliners but Its worth a shot. The trucks are different as that car is about 7-8 years older than the 50 Production Viewliners.
 
For the striping itself you could use decals for like an Amfleet II probably the hard part will be making the fancy Viewliner decals for it. And yeah, I figured the trucks werent the same as the production cars just by the looks of them
 
Having it custom done is another way of doing it, though that can sometimes be very expensive. Try to get some pictures of it when its finished, I would love to see how it comes out. Ill post some pictures of my new layout once it gets alittle more completed.
 
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