The Eagle has landed!!!
The container ship has left Oakland Port, so our container should be delivered in 7 to 10 days. 
If you haven't sent your payment / payment info, now is the time.
Freight Office just told me they will deliver the container on Wednesday. We will process the F3s first and get them out, then the Amtrak cars next week.
Fingers crossed that the truck driver can pick up the container as planned on Wednesday.
Thanks for the update Scott, I am really looking forward to seeing my Boston and Maine F3
@sdmann posted:Freight Office just told me they will deliver the container on Wednesday. We will process the F3s first and get them out, then the Amtrak cars next week.
Fingers crossed that the truck driver can pick up the container as planned on Wednesday.
WOW !!! Better than expected !!!
Scott,
I don't know if you realize how much we appreciate these shipping updates, so I wanted to just reiterate our thankfulness on that front. When you're used to placing pre-orders with other manufacturers and it goes into a "black hole" cone of silence with very infrequent shipping/manufacturing updates, the updates that you've provided for this shipment are a breath of fresh air. THANK YOU!
Rafi
Yes, I know customer appreciate updates. In this world of instant gratification, I see what it takes to make that happen. With our small crew it takes time. So updates keep everyone relatively relaxed.
F3s are sorted and all paid orders have been pulled. We will release these to UPS on Friday, August 27th, our next work day.
Amtrak Cars will begin sorting on Friday. Cards will be charged over the weekend, Monday next week UPS tag printing, pulling orders and shipping again on Friday next week, September 3rd. It might take a few more work days to get all the Amtrak orders packed and shipped.
That's the plan.
I will say this again... Thank you to those that came forward with your order payments. It really helps us to keep the wheels turning here and at the factory.
I just received sample models of the Krauss Maffei and C&O Hudsons. The SP Daylights and VGN Gondolas are in production now. Because of the extreme container costs, we will hold these projects at the factory until they are all ready to ship, probably in Nov/Dec. EA/E1s are going into production right after the KMs. 20th Century cars after the SP Daylights. Milwaukee Electric design is in process. I suspect the 2nd run Milwaukee cars will fit in early next year.
Cheers, and keep well.
Those boxes are the Viewliners and Extra Amfleet cars, 8 to a box. Behind are the 5 car Amfleet sets, and finally the F3s. This container was brand new. The floor was hardwood and pristine. The cost, $8000 + $2000 delivery. The previous container in April was $3000 delivered. Someone is raking us over the coals.
I promised a Pizza lunch on Monday for all the hard work.
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Thank you for the update Scott! It is great to have an insider sneak peek into what it takes to bring these items to market.
Very excited about the F3's and Amfleets. Great news and nuggets in the form of SP Daylight, 20th Century and Milwaukee Road. I know others will be thrilled with the news on the Maffei, Hudsons and other projects.
@sdmann posted:Yes, I know customer appreciate updates. In this world of instant gratification, I see what it takes to make that happen. With our small crew it takes time. So updates keep everyone relatively relaxed.
F3s are sorted and all paid orders have been pulled. We will release these to UPS on Friday, August 27th, our next work day.
Amtrak Cars will begin sorting on Friday. Cards will be charged over the weekend, Monday next week UPS tag printing, pulling orders and shipping again on Friday next week, September 3rd. It might take a few more work days to get all the Amtrak orders packed and shipped.That's the plan.
I will say this again... Thank you to those that came forward with your order payments. It really helps us to keep the wheels turning here and at the factory.
I just received sample models of the Krauss Maffei and C&O Hudsons. The SP Daylights and VGN Gondolas are in production now. Because of the extreme container costs, we will hold these projects at the factory until they are all ready to ship, probably in Nov/Dec. EA/E1s are going into production right after the KMs. 20th Century cars after the SP Daylights. Milwaukee Electric design is in process. I suspect the 2nd run Milwaukee cars will fit in early next year.
Cheers, and keep well.
Those boxes are the Viewliners and Extra Amfleet cars, 8 to a box. Behind are the 5 car Amfleet sets, and finally the F3s. This container was brand new. The floor was hardwood and pristine. The cost, $8000 + $2000 delivery. The previous container in April was $3000 delivered. Someone is raking us over the coals.
I promised a Pizza lunch on Monday for all the hard work.
This Mann looks Happy to finally take delivery of product !!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Great update !!! Nice to see how the production schedule will shape up. Glad 20th Century production between Daylight and M.R. Olympian. I pass on the 20th C. so My wallet catches a break 🤣. (I can’t buy it all 😑)
Sounds like EA E1 reservations close Very Soon. Will they finish and ship with the Daylights and Gons ? I hope bunching the finished product saves shipping costs. The Milwaukee electric is a surprise to me going to design. Very little excitement surrounds it. I hope those with reservations for it get a bit “charged up” about it !!! 😉 Though not mentioned, I’ll assume the SD40-2 will be produced before the electric.
Cheers !!! 🙂👍
@vash44 posted:Thank you for the update Scott! It is great to have an insider sneak peek into what it takes to bring these items to market.
Very excited about the F3's and Amfleets. Great news and nuggets in the form of SP Daylight, 20th Century and Milwaukee Road. I know others will be thrilled with the news on the Maffei, Hudsons and other projects.
F3s Yes !!!!
I await my NDM “A” unit for the beginnings of an Mexican Aztec EAGLE consist - the continuation of the MP EAGLE. After that will be the NDM 10-6 sleeper offered in Scotts MP EAGLE Extra cars. I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to have a second chance to obtain the NDM F3. 👍
Cheers !!!
Scott,
How about posting a picture of the C&O Hudson sample. You can post a picture of the Krauss-Maffei too, but I didn't order that one 
.
Ken
Hot and smoky here in the Bay Area Today: We have all the 2R & 3R F3s Domestic Orders going out Today. A few stragglers in 2R need the ESU board installed, as the factory was short a few. Those will go out on Monday. International orders need to be inspected again, just to make sure, then they will go out late next week.
This weekend I will process the credit cards for the Amtrak cars (Then I can pay the factory the first 30% for the SP Daylights) and Monday we will sort all these cars and start matching up paid orders with inventory. This is going to take all of next week. I like to have all orders, holds, layaways etc. on the floor with paperwork on top to match up what the computer says we should have left. This is how we find our mistakes. I should have taken a class in college, "How to not make mistakes..." but I didn't. I think I took Solid State Physics instead.
The C&O Hudson samples arrived and they are spectacular. There was almost nothing to comment to the factory on. They really know how to execute these projects. The KMs arrived as well, same thing. I shot a couple photos on the test layout, which I will post under their perspective threads on this forum.
Have a nice weekend, and you'll be hearing from UPS.COM with your shipping label info next week. Please take a look and make sure Mr. Smith in AR, isn't being mailed to Mr. Smith in PA. You know what I mean...
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Nice! I wish I was Able to afford the PRR F3 A-B-A set in 3 rail but the Amtrak order was huge and took presidence. I can't imagine the boxes that load will be arriving in. The UPS guy will probably curse me to H*** and beyond!
@prrhorseshoecurve posted:Nice! I wish I was Able to afford the PRR F3 A-B-A set in 3 rail but the Amtrak order was huge and took presidence. I can't imagine the boxes that load will be arriving in. The UPS guy will probably curse me to H*** and beyond!
It’ll be nice to see you post some pix after they arrive !!! 🙂
Still need to photograph my AB F3 set in PRR 2 rail from run 1. In the meantime patiently awaiting the sorting of the Amtrak cars. When this was pitched to Scott 6 years ago, no one knew it would take this long to get here, but no one also knew how big a car order this ultimately became. Over 1000 cars in total to sort.
Best of luck to Scott, Shani and the rest of his office team on what will be a busy week!
@GG1 4877 posted:Still need to photograph my AB F3 set in PRR 2 rail from run 1. In the meantime patiently awaiting the sorting of the Amtrak cars. When this was pitched to Scott 6 years ago, no one knew it would take this long to get here, but no one also knew how big a car order this ultimately became. Over 1000 cars in total to sort.
Best of luck to Scott, Shani and the rest of his office team on what will be a busy week!
If I remember, wasn’t it was kinda stalled as a plastic offering ? Finally Took off after changing to aluminum cars ? Over a 1000 cars is HUGE 😳. Definitely now need a 3rail Amtrak diesel. P42 “wave” version my preferred choice.
@TrainBub posted:If I remember, wasn’t it was kinda stalled as a plastic offering ? Finally Took off after changing to aluminum cars ? Over a 1000 cars is HUGE 😳. Definitely now need a 3rail Amtrak diesel. P42 “wave” version my preferred choice.
It was the change to aluminum body PLUS adding the Viewliner cars that made the order come through. IDK if Amfleet 1 alone would have made the project viable. Scott would have to breakdown how much of the 1000 car order was Amfleet1 or how much of the 1000 car order were Viewliners. I can yell you the majority of my huge order was Amfleet 1 and I did get a set of the Viewliners as well.
These Amfleets with their "gasket window inserts" , ball bearings, and lighted directional marker lights will blow any other O scale Amfleet out of the water! [ yea lets see dem assembled Weltz kits that have been hiding for all these decades!]
@prrhorseshoecurve posted:It was the change to aluminum body PLUS adding the Viewliner cars that made the order come through. IDK if Amfleet 1 alone would have made the project viable. Scott would have to breakdown how much of the 1000 car order was Amfleet1 or how much of the 1000 car order were Viewliners. I can yell you the majority of my huge order was Amfleet 1 and I did get a set of the Viewliners as well.
These Amfleets with their "gasket window inserts" , ball bearings, and lighted directional marker lights will blow any other O scale Amfleet out of the water! [ yea lets see dem assembled Weltz kits that have been hiding for all these decades!]
Yep you are right about the Viewliner ADDITION !!! Forgot about that. 😑
Can’t wait to see all the product !!!!
Shipping goes according to plan. F3s taken care of. My NDM F3 is on the way to St. Louis !!! 👍🙂
Next week Amtrak sorting begins. 😛
Watching the ship slowly make its way across the ocean has been fun . . . like watching paint dry!!
thanks Scott.
@AlanRail posted:Watching the ship slowly make its way across the ocean has been fun . . . like watching paint dry!!
thanks Scott.
Well when you get your UPS shipped notice, that will be the quick drying paint version. 😉👍
Be the first to post some cool pix, eh ? 😛
Mine usually arrive among the earliest as I'm only one state away and in a major city. Can't wait to see the final product. I've looked at lots of sample photos and reviewed decals based on my painting diagrams, but nothing is quite the same as seeing them in person finally.
Correction: "lighted directional marker lights". The marker lights are all on, or off with the switch under the car. Hard to do directional lights on AC track. DCC is also a form of AC, so 2 Rail has the same issue. One can add another switch to make them directional, but we were not able to get that into production.
Scott
Guess it's time I start shuffling all those loose freight cars out of my test-track yard
Now that I got my DCS issue fixed (had the track wires backwards) gonna have to wake up the Amtrak switcher for its "trip" to the "interchange"...
---PCJ
Amtrak cars are sorted. 2R orders are pulled and will be shipped tomorrow. 3R pulling and Shipping Friday.
I can't wait to see forumites post pics, especially the Viewliners!
@sdmann posted:Amtrak cars are sorted. 2R orders are pulled and will be shipped tomorrow. 3R pulling and Shipping Friday.
Scott, were you all sold out on this run or will you have some extras for sale?
Two days ago while waiting for “Big Boy” to roll into Kirkwood Mo. station, these guys showed up for me - kinda like a full scale prequel 😬
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@TrainBub posted:
Two days ago while waiting for “Big Boy” to roll into Kirkwood Mo. station, these guys showed up for me - kinda like a full scale prequel 😬
Interesting to see a Horizon coach in the mix.
@sdmann posted:Yes, I know customer appreciate updates. In this world of instant gratification, I see what it takes to make that happen. With our small crew it takes time. So updates keep everyone relatively relaxed.
F3s are sorted and all paid orders have been pulled. We will release these to UPS on Friday, August 27th, our next work day.
Amtrak Cars will begin sorting on Friday. Cards will be charged over the weekend, Monday next week UPS tag printing, pulling orders and shipping again on Friday next week, September 3rd. It might take a few more work days to get all the Amtrak orders packed and shipped.That's the plan.
I will say this again... Thank you to those that came forward with your order payments. It really helps us to keep the wheels turning here and at the factory.
I just received sample models of the Krauss Maffei and C&O Hudsons. The SP Daylights and VGN Gondolas are in production now. Because of the extreme container costs, we will hold these projects at the factory until they are all ready to ship, probably in Nov/Dec. EA/E1s are going into production right after the KMs. 20th Century cars after the SP Daylights. Milwaukee Electric design is in process. I suspect the 2nd run Milwaukee cars will fit in early next year.
Cheers, and keep well.
Those boxes are the Viewliners and Extra Amfleet cars, 8 to a box. Behind are the 5 car Amfleet sets, and finally the F3s. This container was brand new. The floor was hardwood and pristine. The cost, $8000 + $2000 delivery. The previous container in April was $3000 delivered. Someone is raking us over the coals.
I promised a Pizza lunch on Monday for all the hard work.
Any chance of showing the C&O Hudson Sample??
@GG1 4877 posted:Interesting to see a Horizon coach in the mix.
Jonathan, you never know what you’ll see when watching trains in the wild!
A few years ago I was railfanning the Northeast Corridor at the abandoned station in Elkton, Md. when right after a long Norfolk Southern tank car drag heading north went by, an Amtrak Dash 8 in Pepsi can paint was rolling southbound pulling an AEM-7 and a single passenger car that looked like an observation car. I was so stunned to see that after a parade of Acela’s, toasters and HHP-8’s that I didn’t take a picture!
I can’t wait for my Amfleets and Viewliners arrive!
Most 2 Rail orders shipped 9/1.
3 Rail we'll try to get most of them out Friday.
I remember doing odd warehouse jobs for gas and beer money in College. I vowed to never work in warehouse jobs again, and here I am 58 yrs old packing boxes day and night. Life's funny that way...
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I worked the warehouse for a retail chain then UPS while in college. If I had stuck with UPS I would have retired earlier and with a better retirement.....life is a ***** but it is life!!!
Think of all the happy faces you will be making when those boxes arrive at peoples homes.
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I put in my time in a warehouse too, Scott; in my case it was just after college as part of my first "real" job. 100+ degree temps, lots of scratches and cuts, tons of boxes, lots of black dirt on my hands at the end of the day from handling all of the cardboard boxes, etc. But driving the forklift was a blast. ;-)
Regardless, thank you for the hard work, and thank you for putting some time in at the warehouse all these years later. Please know that each of us is going to have a smile of delight when the deliveries show up.
And to echo others, I'd love to see the C&O Hudson production sample when things calm down and you have time to breathe.
Thanks again,
Rafi
Amtrak cars to be delivered to central Florida on September 9th. Earl G.
My Amtrak due 9/8/21 according to UPS
@sdmann posted:Most 2 Rail orders shipped 9/1.
3 Rail we'll try to get most of them out Friday.
I remember doing odd warehouse jobs for gas and beer money in College. I vowed to never work in warehouse jobs again, and here I am 58 yrs old packing boxes day and night. Life's funny that way...
Lol! That must be my order on the left! The double box tower with additional cars on top... Like a Cherry on a Sundae!
I'm regretting not ordering more.
I have 3 on order and I'm on standby for a diner.
All of mine are Viewliners, but I'm thinking I should have went for some Amfleets.
I'm hoping there will be a subsequent run.
@prrhorseshoecurve posted:Lol! That must be my order on the left! The double box tower with additional cars on top... Like a Cherry on a Sundae!
I see a lot of happy folks getting cherries on sundaes soon! Maybe even with a few sprinkles. Exciting to see them sorted out and try to envsion what everyone dreamed up as their perfect consist.
@lightningstripe posted:Amtrak cars to be delivered to central Florida on September 9th. Earl G.
Earl,
If it's like my beloved Amtrak Silvers, it will arrive 1-2 hours late on its southbound trip 🤣
Saw my tracking number this morning, but it was too early to see the delivery date, time to start moving stuff around to make room for photos--my living room almost looks like a miniature version of GGD's warehouse
---PCJ
@P42Amtrak83 posted:I'm regretting not ordering more.
I have 3 on order and I'm on standby for a diner.
All of mine are Viewliners, but I'm thinking I should have went for some Amfleets.
I'm hoping there will be a subsequent run.
I'm in the same boat. Ordered two Viewliners, on standby for three more plus an Amfleet. Really hoping for a run of Amfleet II's.
@vash44 posted:I see a lot of happy folks getting cherries on sundaes soon! Maybe even with a few sprinkles. Exciting to see them sorted out and try to envsion what everyone dreamed up as their perfect consist.
Duh! How could I forget the sprinkles! Sprinkles are for winners! Thanks for reminding me @vash44.
@Will Ebbert posted:I'm in the same boat. Ordered two Viewliners, on standby for three more plus an Amfleet. Really hoping for a run of Amfleet II's.
So am I Will E! Looking for Amfleet II's and Superliner I's... Hopefully the next Amtrak announcement from GGD!
No shipping notice for me yet. 
8 Amfleets and 4 Viewliners. All in the scheme God himself intended for Amtrak - Phase III. I've got my fleet of six F40PHs, and lone P42 (in phase III heritage paint of course) ready to pull these cars.
My cars arrive Sat 9/4. Can't wait! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Jgusm3tzs
Thursday 9/9 for me in Western PA.
I'm leaving for my vacation the same day. I guess I'm going to stick around for the UPS truck to come haha.
It's going to be a pretty exciting day for sure. Am I more excited for my trip or my Viewliners...I'm not sure.
Be Careful about planning around the initial UPS delivery schedule email. That schedules is based on us shipping your boxes on the same day we print the label. We usually wait a few days, in this case, 2 days to give customers time to get back to us if the timing is bad, or address is wrong etc. The moment UPS scans your package label as it enters their system, the tracking delivery date will get updated to a later date.
With My UPS, you can have your package held at a UPS Store or Center, or re-directed to another address. I highly recommend joining you can control your deliveries.
@sdmann posted:Be Careful about planning around the initial UPS delivery schedule email. That schedules is based on us shipping your boxes on the same day we print the label. We usually wait a few days, in this case, 2 days to give customers time to get back to us if the timing is bad, or address is wrong etc. The moment UPS scans your package label as it enters their system, the tracking delivery date will get updated to a later date.
With My UPS, you can have your package held at a UPS Store or Center, or re-directed to another address. I highly recommend joining you can control your deliveries.
I can concur about joining ! Very beneficial !!! In the past I’ve redirected and have held at store. There’s also a live “chat” option for help that just yesterday worked really well for me. My 2 package delivery got separated and one piece came a day early - I missed and it went off to an unidentified location. On the real delivery day, I spied the ups truck on my condo parking lot so went to the truck thinking I might actually be getting a real delivery. I did but then found out only one of two packages !!! Panic !! 😳😖 And I got a tight stomach to boot ☹️☹️
The help - “chat” was new to me but Really Worked. Its a bit slow and and I kept getting disconnected because I can’t type fast on my phone - but I kept typing info and hitting the send arrow. It reconnects you !!! 👍👍 They found my package and it was at a drop location I didn’t know about. My “we missed you” note didn’t say where it was going So don’t assume you know where it goes. There can be surprises.
Good ending for me. Get in the system !!!!! I’d rather have the perfect delivery but they helped me thru a “wonky” delivery.
Cheers !!!!
I have my family who'll look ever things when I'm away. I'll have them sign for it Friday if the shipment gets delayed
I use "My UPS" and most of the time it works well rerouting packages. However, there are times that a shipment is forbidden from being rerouted until after one delivery attempt, and sometimes not at all. There are inconsistent reasons for this. Also, since Covid19 both UPS and Fedex often leave a package on the porch that is signature required. Not a good feeling having expensive items left on the porch while you are at work, in spite of signature required. Or because their technology is erratic as far as rerouting. The delivery person can sign their own scanner with Covid being the reason and avoiding face to face delivery. I would think that this was intended for use when the delivery person physically sees the recipient through the door without opening the door. This is being misused by drivers just wanting to dump packages. I have important items sent directly to a UPS Store to avoid the random blocking of reroute capability.
Sure hoping to see some delivered product this week !!!!!
Mine are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. I'm excited!
Getting ready for cars this week. 
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THEY’RE HERE! !!!!
But I’m on the way to the ballpark and can’t open them right now!
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Just got the email that my Viewliner Sleeper is due tomorrow. Not to run but for display as we've often ridden it in the handicapped bedroom to see my brother in Lakeland Fl on the Star.
I got quite a surprise when I got home. Box 1 of 2 arrived via UPS today that had my extra order Amfleet coaches and my Viewliner order. I took some quick shots of the two sleepers in Phase III and Phase VI and the Phase III Amfleet coach.
It has been so long, I honestly forgot I got a Phase VI sleeper to go with my Phase III one for a more prototypical modern train. Now I need to track down some Phase VI coaches.
In all honestly, I am thrilled with these and I hope you are too. I can't wait to get them on the club layout.
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They look incredible Jonathan! Can't wait to get mine tomorrow!
Mine just arrived! I’ll post photos when I can.
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I’m so glad I have these in hand now. This completes a Del Mar set single level Surfliner.
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I like the Amtrak license logo on the box.
Viewliner II Diner detail
Viewliner II Sleeper:
Car length coupler to coupler:
Car body length:
These doo dads were included in each box. I'm not sure if they are extras or items that need to be installed. They are metal.
Unfortunately, upon closer inspection it looks like the coach car has the cafe interior and the cafe car has the coach interior. Not sure if it's just a simple switching of the car bodies or not.
I hope everyone who bought these cars enjoys them as much as I will! There are six Amtrak F40PH's, four P42's, a P40, a half dozen AEM-7 Toasters, an HHP-8, and three Dash-8's all jostling for position to pull these beauties! And a 44 Tonner to line them up at the station!!
The consist I assembled in this set are as follows:
4 Amfleet Phase VI Coaches
1 Amfleet Phase VI Cafe car
2 Viewliner II Phase VI Baggage Cars
2 Viewliner II Phase VI Sleeper Cars
1 Viewliner Phase VI Diner
Now I have to get some power to the tracks!! Videos will come after that.
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Wow, these cars look spectacular. Innovation and all, I am really happy for those of you that are interested in this era of equipment. How exciting! Unique and certainly top drawer stuff.
@Traindiesel posted:Car body length:
These doo dads were included in each box. I'm not sure if they are extras or items that need to be installed. They are metal.
Only in the OHHH gauges do you get.. " hey look it's 21" long, it must be scale... "
My N and HO scale buddies are always poking fun at my community, creative compression everywhere. These cars are scaled down from 1:1 to 1:48 granted the 1:29 couplers you guys use in 3RS might add another scale 3 feet.
NICE CARS SCOTT! 
The Miracle Worker.
I like the Amtrak license logo on the box.
Holy Cow !!!! 12 numbers !!!!!!!!!!!! Most I’ve ever seen Scott do !!!!!!!!!!!
There are 12 sleeper car names. Yes. Someone ordered 12 sleepers and we needed unique names for each. This buyer is anonymous and and I wouldn't share it if I knew it. Good thing Amtrak has lots of great names to use on their River series sleepers!
@GG1 4877 posted:There are 12 sleeper car names. Yes. Someone ordered 12 sleepers and we needed unique names for each. This buyer is anonymous and and I wouldn't share it if I knew it. Good thing Amtrak has lots of great names to use on their River series sleepers!
Are the 12 sleepers all in a single paint scheme or split across several?
Looking forward to Friday's delivery. =)
Are the figures the normal GGD Little People or are they more modern looking?
There are 24 unique names and numbers spread across Phase 3 and 6 for the sleepers. Other cars we did less unique names/numbers based on the highest quantity from any single customer.
The little people are the same as always with 10 in each car. Supposed to be anyway.
Glad people are enjoying these. Hats off to Jonathan. He really single handedly delivered and checked the painting and lettering all the way through the process. Even Amtrak (Matt) was involved in the corrections process and sending information as design and production progressed. Looks like we will need to do a rerun of these along with Amfleet IIs and Viewliner Is.
@sdmann posted:There are 24 unique names and numbers spread across Phase 3 and 6 for the sleepers. Other cars we did less unique names/numbers based on the highest quantity from any single customer.
The little people are the same as always with 10 in each car. Supposed to be anyway.
Glad people are enjoying these. Hats off to Jonathan. He really single handedly delivered and checked the painting and lettering all the way through the process. Even Amtrak (Matt) was involved in the corrections process and sending information as design and production progressed. Looks like we will need to do a rerun of these along with Amfleet IIs and Viewliner Is.
Much appreciation to Scott and Jonathan on the project! Hats off to all of the team I have not had the chance to speak with. Looking forward to a future rerun and a chance to complete the run. Might take a few reruns given the scope of this set.
Seconded on the kudos and the call for a second run. I'm holding out hope that I may be fortunate enough to secure a standby unit or two, but I'm already regretting not ordering more ahead of time.
Well done, guys!
Glad people are enjoying these. Hats off to Jonathan. He really single handedly delivered and checked the painting and lettering all the way through the process. Even Amtrak (Matt) was involved in the corrections process and sending information as design and production progressed. Looks like we will need to do a rerun of these along with Amfleet IIs and Viewliner Is.
I'll be the first to put in an order for 5 Amfleet II's and a couple Viewliner I's in Phase VI!
Just got my sleeper--incredible job Scott. As its going to be a display piece for me does anyone know of a source for a plexiglass cover/display box?
@sdmann posted:There are 24 unique names and numbers spread across Phase 3 and 6 for the sleepers. Other cars we did less unique names/numbers based on the highest quantity from any single customer.
The little people are the same as always with 10 in each car. Supposed to be anyway.
Glad people are enjoying these. Hats off to Jonathan. He really single handedly delivered and checked the painting and lettering all the way through the process. Even Amtrak (Matt) was involved in the corrections process and sending information as design and production progressed. Looks like we will need to do a rerun of these along with Amfleet IIs and Viewliner Is.
Yea! Im in for phase VI Viewliner sleepers and Phase VI AmfleetII's!
BTW, the F.B. Amtrak group's smaller scale guys and gals are Jealous of us O scalers right now...until Rapido does them.
These cars are gorgeous! I'm sorry that I don't model AMTRAK. I've ridden on Viewliners since their inception and always liked them. Nice job by Scott.
I know that they're a lot of Amtrak detractors out there and on this forum that think that only passenger trains pre-1971 are worth running on their layouts, but I'm glad to see the unbridled enthusiasm over these GGD Amtrak units these past few months. If the PRR, NYC, Milwaukee Road and others had this much love towards them in the 1960s as they do now, they would have never went belly up.
It's been like a Christmas morning to many.
Is it another 1,237th version of a Warbonnet? Nope. Doesn't have to be. There is a dedicated market out there for Amtrak. Glad Scott and his group took this step.
I started out with heritage trains, then a mixture of heritage cars like early Amtrak, then heritage cars painted for Amtrak now the Amfleets and Viewliners. Tom Marsh, founder Overland Models, 40 years ago told me people model what they remember so the progression to modern Amtrak was inevitable. I watched the Powhatan Arrow in red then blue then stainless steel and blue...........now the red, white and blue of Amtrak. Thank you Scott Mann!!!
@Traindiesel posted:I like the Amtrak license logo on the box.
Viewliner II Diner detail
Viewliner II Sleeper:
Car length coupler to coupler:
Car body length:
These doo dads were included in each box. I'm not sure if they are extras or items that need to be installed. They are metal.
Those doo dads are the end stirrups that you might want to install for terminal switching. The air line hoses is optional for 3 railers.
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i just got my set.. they look like well the same.
Did anyone on the forum get Phase I, II or IV cars? I'd love to see some photos of those.
I originally had thought about a Phase II set to go with E60s. Then Viewliners got announced and E60s got canceled. Lol.
@sdmann posted:There are 24 unique names and numbers spread across Phase 3 and 6 for the sleepers. Other cars we did less unique names/numbers based on the highest quantity from any single customer.
The little people are the same as always with 10 in each car. Supposed to be anyway.
Glad people are enjoying these. Hats off to Jonathan. He really single handedly delivered and checked the painting and lettering all the way through the process. Even Amtrak (Matt) was involved in the corrections process and sending information as design and production progressed. Looks like we will need to do a rerun of these along with Amfleet IIs and Viewliner Is.
As someone who commutes on the NE Corridor at least a few times a month, these are AWESOME. I'll be getting in on a potential Run #2.
I currently have no Amtrak engines on my layout, but looking out the window leaving Washington Union Station yesterday, I saw several not counting the plethora of old EMD switchers there. Can anyone shed light on which road locos might map to which Amfleet / Viewliner Phases, in real life and what's been done and / or currently available in 3 rail?
As an aside, and I know it would be likely limited interest -- MARC / Bombardier's bi-level cars would be really cool, and I'd sign up for a train of those as they've never been done in O (scale or gauge) to my knowledge.
Beautiful cars. This bodes well for the quality of the upcoming slumber coach. Any chance of more Heritage Equipment for Amtrak?
@GG1 4877 posted:Did anyone on the forum get Phase I, II or IV cars? I'd love to see some photos of those.
I originally had thought about a Phase II set to go with E60s. Then Viewliners got announced and E60s got canceled. Lol.
I ordered one of the Phase I sets, but I still did not get an e-mail to confirm the shipping label yet. I was probably one of the people who payed a little bit later after the first announcement of when they will arrive in America, so I understand.
@BlueFeather posted:I currently have no Amtrak engines on my layout, but looking out the window leaving Washington Union Station yesterday, I saw several not counting the plethora of old EMD switchers there. Can anyone shed light on which road locos might map to which Amfleet / Viewliner Phases, in real life and what's been done and / or currently available in 3 rail?
Amfleet Phase I would match E and F units, Phase 1 SDP40Fs, and Phase II F40PHs(MTH/Lionel). On the corridor, it would go well with Amtrak GG1s (black and Phase I -MTH and Lionel) and Phase II E60s ( no one) They wouldn't match any of the Viewliner Equipment.
Phase II Amfleets would go well with Phase II, III F40PHs (MTH and Lionel), Phase III AEM-7s (MTH), Phase II E60 (no one) , Phase II and III P30CHs (no one), Phase II and III FL9s, and phase I and II SDP40Fs. They still won't match the Viewliners.
Phase III and IV Amfleets and Phase IV Viewliners would look good with Phase III and IV F40PHs, Genesis engines (MTH), AEM-7s (MTH), Dash 8s (MTH and Atlas), HHP-8 (Lionel), E60s (MTH)
Phase VI Amfleets and Viewliners and Phase III (reprised) Viewliner IIs will match Phase V Genesis (MTH), AEM-7 (MTH), HHP-8 (Lionel), ACS-64 (no one...yet), Phase IV and V Dash 8s (MTH and Atlas) and the chargers (no one)
That's all I can think of at this point.
@P42Amtrak83 posted:Amfleet Phase I would match E and F units, Phase 1 SDP40Fs, and Phase II F40PHs(MTH/Lionel). On the corridor, it would go well with Amtrak GG1s (black and Phase I -MTH and Lionel) and Phase II E60s ( no one) They wouldn't match any of the Viewliner Equipment.
Phase II Amfleets would go well with Phase II, III F40PHs (MTH and Lionel), Phase III AEM-7s (MTH), Phase II E60 (no one) , Phase II and III P30CHs (no one), Phase II and III FL9s, and phase I and II SDP40Fs. They still won't match the Viewliners.
Phase III and IV Amfleets and Phase IV Viewliners would look good with Phase III and IV F40PHs, Genesis engines (MTH), AEM-7s (MTH), Dash 8s (MTH and Atlas), HHP-8 (Lionel), E60s (MTH)
Phase VI Amfleets and Viewliners and Phase III (reprised) Viewliner IIs will match Phase V Genesis (MTH), AEM-7 (MTH), HHP-8 (Lionel), ACS-64 (no one...yet), Phase IV and V Dash 8s (MTH and Atlas) and the chargers (no one)
That's all I can think of at this point.
Holy smokes! This is fantastic info, thanks so much! I will need something to pull these after all. ;-)
@GG1 4877 posted:Did anyone on the forum get Phase I, II or IV cars? I'd love to see some photos of those.
I originally had thought about a Phase II set to go with E60s. Then Viewliners got announced and E60s got canceled. Lol.
I ordered the phase I set and a single Phase II coach along with the phase III set....
But Im still waitin...watin ...waitin for the delivery to happen!
A few Amtrak Locomotives:
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UPS just dropped off my diner and baggage cars. Overall super pleased with them. The interior on the dining car will get some upgrades including painting, removing the partitions between tables, and adding a wall between the kitchen and walkway. All in all, phenomenal cars! Really hoping to pick up a bag/ dorm car and then ready for the Amfleet II and Viewliner I to finish my Crescent circa 2019.
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If you are doing a Crescent as I am shouldn’t we be using Amfleet II cars as they only have one door on each side while Amfleet I cars have two doors on a side. Amtrak ordered the Amfleet II cars for long distance trains. Here is a video of a recent Crescent in Lynchburg, VA.
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Yes and Scott said there will be an upcoming release of them. Nice video!
The 2 rail versions seem to need Kadee #747 medium underset couplers. The couplers pads are otherwise too low for more common center-set couplers. The cars are really nicely done and run very well. BTW, the extra parts are end steps - look at prototype pictures.
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That looks great! I need to try to get mounting pads to convert my 3 rail cars to Kadees.
@VGN64 posted:If you are doing a Crescent as I am shouldn’t we be using Amfleet II cars as they only have one door on each side while Amfleet I cars have two doors on a side. Amtrak ordered the Amfleet II cars for long distance trains. Here is a video of a recent Crescent in Lynchburg, VA.
You are correct that Amfleet II cars serve on the long distance trains. The major differences are larger windows and the single vestibule. Amfleet I cars currently mainly serve the NE Corridor and in Keystone service. However they also were used in San Joaquin Valley service, contract commuter services out of Boston, and some Chicago Corridor routes. Many of those Amfleet I's were replaced with Horizon cars in the Midwest and Amtrak California bi-level cars in California.
Starting in the late 80's Amfleet II coaches and Cafes started replacing Heritage Coaches and Lounges on the Broadway Limited when I was riding it fairly frequently. In all honestly, I always preferred the ride of the Heritage cars. When I was able to get a Slumbercoach berth, that was even better!
Looking forward to the Phase III Slumbercoach as I plan on building the Broadway Limited I am familiar with. Getting close with the cars.
@P42Amtrak83 posted:Amfleet Phase I would match E and F units, Phase 1 SDP40Fs, and Phase II F40PHs(MTH/Lionel). On the corridor, it would go well with Amtrak GG1s (black and Phase I -MTH and Lionel) and Phase II E60s ( no one) They wouldn't match any of the Viewliner Equipment.
Phase II Amfleets would go well with Phase II, III F40PHs (MTH and Lionel), Phase III AEM-7s (MTH), Phase II E60 (no one) , Phase II and III P30CHs (no one), Phase II and III FL9s, and phase I and II SDP40Fs. They still won't match the Viewliners.
Phase III and IV Amfleets and Phase IV Viewliners would look good with Phase III and IV F40PHs, Genesis engines (MTH), AEM-7s (MTH), Dash 8s (MTH and Atlas), HHP-8 (Lionel), E60s (MTH)
Phase VI Amfleets and Viewliners and Phase III (reprised) Viewliner IIs will match Phase V Genesis (MTH), AEM-7 (MTH), HHP-8 (Lionel), ACS-64 (no one...yet), Phase IV and V Dash 8s (MTH and Atlas) and the chargers (no one)
That's all I can think of at this point.
A few corrections if I may be permitted.
- Amtrak also leased PC GG1s prior to that roads demise and some Amtrak GG1s still retained their PRR DGLE Single Stripe with the Amtrak Helvetica white stencil centered under the stripe. The GG1 replaced the original Metroliner cars in Metroliner service and is the only time they were scheduled for 100 mph operation. All Amtrak GG1s were retired in 1981. Amtrak with help, did repaint GG1 4935 into it's PRR DGLE 5 stripe paint scheme in 1977. It ran with this paint until retirement. Since Amfleet cars required Head End Power and GG1s only had steam generators, Amtrak had a small fleet of HEP cars that were either converted coaches or baggage cars. They ran either at the end of the train or just behind the locomotive. In addition to MTH and Lionel, Weaver offered their brass GG1 in Penn Central and Amtrak Phase I paint and Williams has produced the scale GG1 in PC and Amtrak Phase I.
- In addition to Lionel and MTH, K-line made the F40PH in Phase III paint in three numbers. It is very similar to the Lionel offering. Possibly the same tooling although Lionel has stated otherwise.
- SDP40Fs were all built with steam generators and while they may have pulled Amfleet cars, it would only be if they were leading an F40PH that provided the Head End Power to the Amfleet Cars. SDP40Fs were built specifically for long distance trains that at the time consisted of predecessor road steam heated equipment. While most got remanufactured into F40PHS, some SDP40Fs lasted long enough to get painted in Phase III paint. MTH has offered the FP45 in Amtrak Phase I paint in the Railking Scale line, but the SDP40F is really a different locomotive on closer inspection. Athearn has done an excellent SDP40F in HO and Kato one in N scale.
- FL9s were remanufactured for Amtrak in 1978 with HEP generator sets so there are photos of the FL9 in an early Phase III paint scheme pulling Phase II painted Amfleet cars. 3rd Rail made the FL9 around 2013 in the later Phase III paint scheme so it is most appropriate for Phase III painted Amfleet cars. The few other F units that Amtrak inherited were never converted to HEP and were mainly former Southern Pacific FP7s.
- A total of 5 E units were converted to HEP. Most of the E units retained their steam generators for use on long distance steam heated trains.
- Atlas also produced the AEM7 in 1999 in the Phase III paint scheme and it is a wonderful model even though it does not have command.
- Williams has also produced the Genesis locomotives in all the various paint schemes.
@j2morris posted:The 2 rail versions seem to need Kadee #747 medium underset couplers. The couplers pads are otherwise too low for more common center-set couplers. The cars are really nicely done and run very well. BTW, the extra parts are end steps - look at prototype pictures.
Awesome
Beautiful cars. I have Amfleets and Viewliners. Maybe need a few more. The gasket around the windows is great. j2morris, thanks for the coupler recommendation.
The cars arrived yesterday, 09/09. Nice work Scott.
@GG1 4877 posted:Did anyone on the forum get Phase I, II or IV cars? I'd love to see some photos of those.
I originally had thought about a Phase II set to go with E60s. Then Viewliners got announced and E60s got canceled. Lol.
I did get a pair of Phase Is and IIs. I also have IVs coming. Tracking shows delivery Friday. Have a car show this weekend and hopefully can open them up Sunday.
@sdmann posted:Glad people are enjoying these. Hats off to Jonathan. He really single handedly delivered and checked the painting and lettering all the way through the process. Even Amtrak (Matt) was involved in the corrections process and sending information as design and production progressed. Looks like we will need to do a rerun of these along with Amfleet IIs and Viewliner Is.
As someone who was not able to preorder because I was a broke college kid when they were originally announced, I am really hoping that this second run is also done in the modern Amtrak Phase VI paint scheme.
Well Amtrak's marketing department should be happy, after looking at these models I couldn't resist and just booked a weekend Amtrak trip. Thanks for inspiring the memories Scott!
