@Mike W. posted:I have a set of Williams 60' Aluminum Amtrak Heritage cars that were sold as a closeout by Trainworld a few years ago. Are these the same Aluminum cars Williams had been making since day 1...the same tooling? They are not the longer cars. My set went with the Kusan based F Unit making me think the entire set is based on the original Williams offering. Photos below: (Note: First two pics are mine. Rest are pics from the web of some out of the boxes.
These cars are essentially the same tooling that Williams has always produced. They were offered in 60' and 80' lengths. I have a set of 80' cars. I have been trying to sell them for years with no success, so I am reworking the coach now for a more scale look. Essentially the extrusion is a good replica of one of the Budd style cars and the end caps are decent. I am currently working out how to get K-Line trucks to replace the short scale ones the original cars came with to work at the correct ride height and not end up with a car that wobbles. The silhouette window strip is in channel so it can be replaced with clear acetate. I got rid of the floor mount bulbs and will get LED lighting strips. Finally I will put an interior in the car. The graphics are not bad, so I do not plan on a repaint outside of the car number and taking Amtrak out of the letterboard.
If I am successful, I will convert over the balance of my cars to make them contributing members of my Amtrak single level Phase I fleet.
