Amtrak III Dome Lounge
Another car in the Lionel Amtrak III 4-car passenger set is the Dome-Lounge Car. The four pack includes the Baggage, Dome-Lounge, a Coach and a Sleeper.
Amtrak III Dome Lounge: When the 4-pack arrived, the Dome Seats were installed backwards. At first I thought that Lionel made a mistake, but there were signs that the Dome Floor may have been tampered with. Trains do get returned to Dealers. And not all Dealers inspect what is returned or would spot the seats facing the wrong way. Nike's slogan is "Just Do It". My slogan has become, if you really want it, "Just Fix It".
Since the posts break when removed, I took my Dremel Tool with sanding Drum and ground down the supporting post on the bottom of half of the seats.
I then glued the seats directly to the Dome Floor. Keeping half of the seats in their original place gave me a guide for placement of the lowered seats. Once the first side had dried, I removed the other side of seats, ground down the posts, and glued them in place. It is important to keep the one side of seats in their original place as a guide when doing this.
All aboard!
The Dome is highly visible and gets some of my best figures. Even if a viewer doesn't look into the main floor of the car, the people in the Dome are easy to see.
The lower Lounge gets the more mature people, like the woman smoking a cigarette. You will find her in the women's restroom of most of my coaches and occasionally in a closed bedroom. I am letting her sneak a puff or two in the Lounge. It has a good ventilation system.
The lower coach is divided into three areas. a smaller front coach area, the Lower Lounge, and the main rear Coach Seating. I usually let the younger people drift to the front, and the parents with children and older adults and businessmen sit in the larger back area.
The seats are painted with tan and the storage areas and desk by the Dome stairs are painted brown. The major modification is the lowering of the Dome Seats. This car has the high Dome Roof and would not normally have the seats lowered, but if I really want it, "Just Fix It".
Thank you for viewing what could grow into a long thread.
Sincerely, John Rowlen
