Amtrak AEM-7 #924 is an MTH Premier model (20-5505-1) with PS1 that appeared in the 1999 Volume 2 catalog. It has outstanding detail and, with a BCR, has been trouble-free for almost 20 years on my layouts. As seen in the videos, the engine has many lights, and the three-car train was drawing about 3.5 amps at 12 volts. Having travelled many times between Connecticut and Washington, DC behind AEM-7s at speeds up to 120 miles-per-hour, the model’s horn, bell and sounds seem very realistic to me. I used to sit by a window and keep track of the speed by checking the time between mileposts – about 30 seconds. The ride was never boring. Unfortunately, a model of the successor ACS-64 Cities Sprinter has yet to be made in O gauge. I think it would be a good seller. The AEM-7 is a model that I run at higher-than-usual speeds but, unlike the real thing, not quite 120 scale-miles-per-hour. What’s not so real is the absence of catenary overhead, although MTH did offer just such a system. The passenger cars that go with this locomotive are exceptional. O gauge will lose a nice set of Amtrak models when MTH shuts its doors.
MELGAR
