A nice touch would be a cab car. My understanding is that the San Diegan Amtrak cab cars were actually Metroliners with the pans removed and conventional passenger car trucks installed. Oh the sad task of explaining push-pull passenger operation to a young innocent child. 
The first time I took Amtrak to Chicago in the summer of 1975, I had a like situation, seeing a push/pull for the first time. The SW CHIEF was moving toward Union Station. I looked out the window and saw a BN E unit on a rake of bilevel cars. Nice looking train. Except for one small problem. IT WAS GOING BACKWARDS. AT A GOOD CLIP! The CHIEF outran the BN, and I did notice a cab on the last car. Blood pressure went down 200 points. Enjoyed watching commutes during short layover.
