GGD Amtrak

@clem k posted:

My version of the Amtrak Lakeshore ltd.

Thank you Scott and crew !!

How do I turn off the red lights ?

Red lights can be turned off by flipping the car over, there’s a switch on the bottom to turn the lights off.

Spectacular project! Glad to see everyone enjoying a most awaited train.

Clem, that's a great looking train!

@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.

Here are a some initial pics of my phase 1 and phase 3 sets.    Stunningly pretty cars!

@VistaDomeScott posted:

Here are a some initial pics of my phase 1 and phase 3 sets.    Stunningly pretty cars!

Ok silly question, can someone tell me what those small boards are upper right or left of the vestibule doors. I am aware they are only found on Amfleet I cars and are lit, but NOT with the car number.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Ok silly question, can someone tell me what those small boards are upper right or left of the vestibule doors. I am aware they are only found on Amfleet I cars and are lit, but NOT with the car number.

I am going from memory here, but I believe they originally had "ENTER" and "EXIT" in the boards.  Those didn't last too long in service and now they are blank.

Those are markers for the car number in the train. I don't entirely understand their numbering system, but this is train 6 and the first coach in the train so it got a 10 suffix, the second coach was 611. I think that's how it works? Could be wrong, but that's what is for.

Jonathan, I remember those Enter and Exit signs.  One of those designer's ideas that does not fit well in the operational world.

On sleepers and coaches the numbers Will shows in his picture are numbers that important for locating your accomodation.   Your ticket displays your car number and room number. The car numbers include the train number and the car number in that consist.    Amtrak #6 The California Zephyr, car 10.   

Also I would be interested on what Amtrak phase paint scheme was the most popular and the least desired.

If a re-run of these cars is done, maybe we could get some special interest versions of them in brass. Amtrak has a handful of business cars, some Metroliner, some Amfleet, some heritage, some Viewliner.

@GenesisFan99 posted:

If a re-run of these cars is done, maybe we could get some special interest versions of them in brass. Amtrak has a handful of business cars, some Metroliner, some Amfleet, some heritage, some Viewliner.

There would be no need to do those cars in brass.  The benefit of them being an aluminum extrusion is that the extrusion is the same for Metroliners through Amfleet II cars.  The extrusions are cut to length, the windows are CNC cut, and the end caps can be different. 

As for Heritage Fleet cars, the Slumbercoach 2nd run will be in Phase III.  Several of the B&O Capital Limited and Southern Crescent cars ended up in the Heritage fleet.  With enough requests, it might be possible to get some of those cars painted for Amtrak.  Personally I would like 2-3 10-6 Sleepers, a Heritage Diner, and a Heritage Crew-Dorm, and a 72' baggage in Phase III Paint to finish off my late era Broadway Limited now that I have the Amfleet coaches and Cafe and the MTH Materials Handling Cars for the head end.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Also I would be interested on what Amtrak phase paint scheme was the most popular and the least desired.

That is an interesting question.  I suspect Phase VI cars sold the best and Phase IV sold the least, but I have no proof to back that up.  Pure speculation on my part.

@GG1 4877 posted:

That is an interesting question.  I suspect Phase VI cars sold the best and Phase IV sold the least, but I have no proof to back that up.  Pure speculation on my part.

Interesting. So you think Phase II sold better than Phase IV?

Judging by the pictures and videos on the web, I have yet to see anyone with Phase II...yet.

@GenesisFan99 posted:

If a re-run of these cars is done, maybe we could get some special interest versions of them in brass. Amtrak has a handful of business cars, some Metroliner, some Amfleet, some heritage, some Viewliner.

I already notified Scott M. After his announcement of the Viewliners. I would be in for those converted metroliner cab cars, the American View obs/inspection car [but thats a Viewliner1 car] and the Amtrak 10000 inspection/ observation Amcan car. We can only hope, dream, and squeak!

I purchased my Viewliners and Amfleet coaches in phase III, just the era I model. These cars are beautiful, I'll probably order more in run 2. My Superliners are MTH premier, 18 inch shorties. I dread the day Scott announces scale Superliners, that will cost me a bundle...

Jan

@VistaDomeScott posted:

Here are a some initial pics of my phase 1 and phase 3 sets.    Stunningly pretty cars!

My Phase I set has not arrived yet, so thank you so much for these shots.

As for the other discussion, I'd reserve another batch of Amfleets anyway, but a Metroliner (CapitolLiner to my area) would be a nice touch.  They do not even have to be powered, just have some pans.  If that is to much of a pain, I'd settle for cabcars.

But even stock, I'd go for a few more Amfleets.

Clem K that's spectacular

Does anyone have photos of the Viewliner bag/ dorm car?

Let me get mine out of the box and snap a quick photo if the light is still good outside.

Some quick selfies of the Baggage Dorm

@GG1 4877 posted:

There would be no need to do those cars in brass.  The benefit of them being an aluminum extrusion is that the extrusion is the same for Metroliners through Amfleet II cars.  The extrusions are cut to length, the windows are CNC cut, and the end caps can be different.

As for Heritage Fleet cars, the Slumbercoach 2nd run will be in Phase III.  Several of the B&O Capital Limited and Southern Crescent cars ended up in the Heritage fleet.  With enough requests, it might be possible to get some of those cars painted for Amtrak.  Personally I would like 2-3 10-6 Sleepers, a Heritage Diner, and a Heritage Crew-Dorm, and a 72' baggage in Phase III Paint to finish off my late era Broadway Limited now that I have the Amfleet coaches and Cafe and the MTH Materials Handling Cars for the head end.

I guess I just misunderstood what is considered viable and what isn’t. I had thought that the special cars like Beech Grove, American View, Corridor Clipper, 9800, etc wouldn’t get enough orders to be made in aluminum, therefore requiring brass.

I’d definitely order some either way.

So pleased that a project has come off and provided so much joy to so many enthusiasts -- congrats, Scott.

And thanks to all who've posted photos and videos.

@clem k posted:

My version of the Amtrak Lakeshore ltd.

Thank you Scott and crew !!

How do I turn off the red lights ?

Love that 18+ foot long Amtrak consist.  Beautiful video.

Beautiful! Thanks Jonathan! Really hoping I can get my hands on a standby one.

@GG1 4877 posted:

Some quick selfies of the Baggage Dorm

Amazing

@GenesisFan99 posted:

I guess I just misunderstood what is considered viable and what isn’t. I had thought that the special cars like Beech Grove, American View, Corridor Clipper, 9800, etc wouldn’t get enough orders to be made in aluminum, therefore requiring brass.

I’d definitely order some either way.

Well you may NOT be that far off. While the basic carbody shell maybe the same, many ends are not so those ends maybe made of brass such as the cab car ends, open platform end on the 10000 Beach Grove, etc. Scott M wouldn't know until advertising and taking orders.

A few pics of the Phase lV car

Very nice.  Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for this thread and great pics! All of this Amtrak has resulted in my decision that I can no longer hold out on changing my curves to O-54- I’m missing out on too many great Amtrak cars. Already committed to the Budd Amtrak PhIII Slumber Coach and am deciding on the Viewliner II car(s)(on Stand-by???) for which I want to sign up!

I’m going to need a few P42s. Scott, Fantastic job! Today feels a lot like Christmas in September🤣🤣

Who previously offered the O gauge SDP40Fs shown in some of the photos?

@Mike W. posted:

Who previously offered the O gauge SDP40Fs shown in some of the photos?

No one has offered a true SDP40F, only Williams and MTH Scaleking [squat fuel tank doesn't do these units justice] offered a similar looking FP45.

@WinstonB posted:

I’m going to need a few P42s. Scott, Fantastic job! Today feels a lot like Christmas in September🤣🤣

That's Christmas in September all right.  Love the video.  Absolute perfection by Scott and GGD.

I wish that I had kept my original order of Phase VI's.  Came back later but it was too late so I'm with the "Standby" group.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

No one has offered a true SDP40F, only Williams and MTH Scaleking [squat fuel tank doesn't do these units justice] offered a similar looking FP45.

Here is one of the two numbers offered by MTH of the FP45 in SDP40F phase I paint.  I purchased both numbers and these are Proto-3 locomotives.  There are a lot of issues with this locomotive as mentioned.  The fuel tank is really high.  The MTH model does not even accurately represent a FP45 with the front pilot being completely off.  However, the tooling dates to the early days of MTH and came back in the Railking Scale line.  I can't complain.  I have seven of these in ATSF paint for my GGD El Capitan.   

FP45s are also very different on the carbody over the SDP40F.  When you look at photos the differences are a lot clearer.  I am hoping that Scott will eventually offer scale SDP40Fs as they will work wonderfully with my Southwest Limited set.

Williams also produced an FP45 that has pronounced horizontal compression.  I have a pair of these that I will be letting go of soon.  The first photo is scanned from a print of "analog" media circa 2003 while the second image is from the 2009 TCA national convention.  As you can see my first set of "scale-ish" Amtrak passenger cars were the Williams 20" aluminum cars.  A subject for a separate topic, but I am reworking some of these cars with scale trucks and actual interiors to upgrade my fleet.  Hopefully progress someday!  The doors on the baggage car will need to be cut lower to be a little more believable. 

These cars are absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had ordered some Phase VI amfleets as well. Definitely in for run #2!

This was my first purchase from 3rd Rail; the price points and lack of DCS in the engines (nothing against TMCC/Legacy, of course) had always given me an excuse to not take the plunge. But a Viewliner in O Scale was one of those White Whales that I couldn't resist, and now I'm a believer in 3rd Rail--the build quality and detail are incredible.

I'm on the standby list for extras, but it sounds like quite a few of us are. Does anyone know how long Scott normally needs in order to figure out who made the cut for the standby's? I'm asking mainly out of curiosity, since a second run order, assuming it happens, is a foregone conclusion for me now.

Now if only we can convince Scott to license DCS (like Atlas) and include it as a build-to-order option on future engines so that an after-market PS3 upgrade isn't necessary--that would turn me into a mostly 3rd Rail customer moving forward.

Rafi

P.S. Anyone seen the pictures of the C&O Hudson yet? I haven't seen a post from Scott on that front yet--can't wait to see what it looks like.

@Rafi posted:

This was my first purchase from 3rd Rail; the price points and lack of DCS in the engines (nothing against TMCC/Legacy, of course) had always given me an excuse to not take the plunge. But a Viewliner in O Scale was one of those White Whales that I couldn't resist, and now I'm a believer in 3rd Rail--the build quality and detail are incredible.

I'm on the standby list for extras, but it sounds like quite a few of us are. Does anyone know how long Scott normally needs in order to figure out who made the cut for the standby's? I'm asking mainly out of curiosity, since a second run order, assuming it happens, is a foregone conclusion for me now.

Now if only we can convince Scott to license DCS (like Atlas) and include it as a build-to-order option on future engines so that an after-market PS3 upgrade isn't necessary--that would turn me into a mostly 3rd Rail customer moving forward.

Rafi

P.S. Anyone seen the pictures of the C&O Hudson yet? I haven't seen a post from Scott on that front yet--can't wait to see what it looks like.

I am also eagerly waiting for the C&O Hudson pics.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

No one has offered a true SDP40F, only Williams and MTH Scaleking [squat fuel tank doesn't do these units justice] offered a similar looking FP45.

The latest issue, Run 320, of O Gauge Rail-Roading magazine shows these very engines by Sunset Model on page 84 for 2022

@GG1 4877 posted:

Here is one of the two numbers offered by MTH of the FP45 in SDP40F phase I paint.  I purchased both numbers and these are Proto-3 locomotives.  There are a lot of issues with this locomotive as mentioned.  The fuel tank is really high.  The MTH model does not even accurately represent a FP45 with the front pilot being completely off.  However, the tooling dates to the early days of MTH and came back in the Railking Scale line.  I can't complain.  I have seven of these in ATSF paint for my GGD El Capitan.  

FP45s are also very different on the carbody over the SDP40F.  When you look at photos the differences are a lot clearer.  I am hoping that Scott will eventually offer scale SDP40Fs as they will work wonderfully with my Southwest Limited set.

Williams also produced an FP45 that has pronounced horizontal compression.  I have a pair of these that I will be letting go of soon.  The first photo is scanned from a print of "analog" media circa 2003 while the second image is from the 2009 TCA national convention.  As you can see my first set of "scale-ish" Amtrak passenger cars were the Williams 20" aluminum cars.  A subject for a separate topic, but I am reworking some of these cars with scale trucks and actual interiors to upgrade my fleet.  Hopefully progress someday!  The doors on the baggage car will need to be cut lower to be a little more believable.

I would like to hear more about your adventures with the Williams 20" Amtrak set.

Here is my lone Amtrak Amfleet I Amcoach PhII...

Looks like the E. Weltz cars of 1984 on ...ROIDS!

@prrhorseshoecurve Very nice! I think my set is on the way, but I missed the delivery while I was at work. One thing I want to do is to run these cars with Atlas's Horizon cars. Now I just need some scale Superliners to make a mixed consist!

I just got my 10 Phase III cars in - now I need a big beautiful E60 to pull them!!  

@carnerd3000 posted:

@prrhorseshoecurve Very nice! I think my set is on the way, but I missed the delivery while I was at work. One thing I want to do is to run these cars with Atlas's Horizon cars. Now I just need some scale Superliners to make a mixed consist!

The Amfleets look really good with Horizons. I ran a 9 car consist the other day with 3 Amfleets, a Viewliner, and 5 Horizons. Looked amazing.

@GenesisFan99 posted:

The Amfleets look really good with Horizons. I ran a 9 car consist the other day with 3 Amfleets, a Viewliner, and 5 Horizons. Looked amazing.

I thought of running them together, but I don't think Phase I Amfleets would have run with Phase III Horizons, which I would find bothersome.  I am not a rivet counter (I confess some may disagree), but I do tend to only run stuff together that would have been together IRL, (sorry, OCD usually wins in my case, ).  That aside, the overhead light flickering in the Horizons would be distracting beside the smooth Amfleet lighting.  I know solutions for that exist, but I have not the time or patience to pull apart multiple Atlas Horizons.  I did it once and it was not a pleasant experience.

It's really been fun to see all the new Amfleets on folks' layouts.

Fellow “Amtrakers”. Be sure to consider reserving the GGD Amtrak Slumbercoach if you don’t have one from run 1. That was a phase I paint - the current offering is to be Phase III.  Actually,  email Scott and ask him to offer both Phase I and III - then back with reservations. If more of you make reservations, it’ll be a good boost for the run and maybe we can get it sooner than later.
Cheers

Here is my contribution:

like all, I think my set is great. a couple of observations:

+ for some reason, on my cars, both knuckles must be open for the cars to couple. Also, the uncoupling spring must be fully set in the knuckle, otherwise cars uncouple in transit.

+  I wish there would have been two end light switches as only the rear light in a train must be illuminated.

+ The number of riders on my train are certainly not enough to pay Amtrak' overhead. The good news is that all my 100 additional "customers" are about to get here from We Honest to fully populate the coaches.

Finally here is my set in action

Peter,

Is that the Lionel F40PH pulling your train?  Your set look great!  I have not had an opportunity to run any of mine yet.  Hopefully within the next month or so.

@TrainBub posted:

Fellow “Amtrakers”. Be sure to consider reserving the GGD Amtrak Slumbercoach if you don’t have one from run 1. That was a phase I paint - the current offering is to be Phase III.  Actually,  email Scott and ask him to offer both Phase I and III - then back with reservations. If more of you make reservations, it’ll be a good boost for the run and maybe we can get it sooner than later.
Cheers

Got one already.

Even has the correct pastel pink interior.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

Got one already.

Even has the correct pastel pink interior.

But you need another one, correct?   I forgot about the pink interiors from my days riding on these. 

Thanks to Boilermaker1's pictures, I reserved two in Phase III.  Darn nice looking models.

Peter, regarding the couplers, I have never found that the stock couplers on any of my GGD cars work well unless both knuckles are open, but I replace with Kadee.

Also what's the deal with the 5 car sets having 3 café cars and only 2 coaches?

according to the GGD description that was a phase I set,   Cafe, Dinette, Club, and two coaches.

Like a starter to a fleet? Just need more coaches.

Will, as Clem said, that is my set

Jonathan, yes that Loco is the Lionel FP40

Is there any window differences between the Cafe, Dinetter, and Club cars?

@VGN64 posted:

Is there any window differences between the Cafe, Dinetter, and Club cars?

I don’t see much of a difference. The difference might be in the interior, hard to tell from the video.

Peter - you have me wishing I had picked one of those up when they were available.  A very nice rendition of what is my second favorite locomotive.

VGN64 - Amtrak had two window configurations for Amfleet I cars.  They were coach and Food Service Cars.  The exterior of the Cafe, Dinette, and Club car are the same.  The differences are in the interior.  The Food Service Cars interiors were done as delivered by Budd originally.  The original Cafe had seating at both ends, the Club had a 2 -1 seating arrangement, and the Dinette had half tables and half chairs.  When trying to capture a car that has been in service now for 46 years, there is always the challenge of which set of data points to use.  Two Amfleet cars were converted to sleepers for a period.  There is a rare beast of a car!  

Amtrak has done numerous changes to these cars over the years and there are at least 10 separate floor plans.  From a model standpoint it was impossible to capture everything so the decision was made to go with the as-delivered configurations.  Currently Amtrak runs mostly two variations which is a half seating, half table configuration and an all table configuration.

Having been on the Amfleet cars in Phases I, II, III, IV and VI I can say that the Amfleet Food Service Cars all deliver the same level of microwaved cardboard and overpriced beer.  I have had much better experience with the true diners with higher end menus.  When I was on a very late Southwest Chief in 1991 and the train chief made the decision to clear out the freezers, I got swordfish.  Never had it before, but it was a get what you get affair.  It was good!  I had a similar experience on a 15 hour late Broadway Limited in December of 1989 due to -15 degree weather and I recall getting lasagna.  No complaints as the sleeping car passengers only got fed due to the delay on that trip .

While no decisions have been made about what happens in the future, it is possible that the all table configuration could be offered with the Amfleet II cars which is more common on the long distance trains anyway. 

I got the 5 car set and added coaches.  Like everyone else I have a Cafe, Club, and Dinette.  I wish I had picked up a few Phase VI coaches and a Cafe to go with my Viewliners, but like everyone else, I'll have to wait for a second run.

I promised myself I wouldn't model past Phase III.  This hobby has a way of expanding my interests greatly.  Kind of like I promised I wouldn't model anything but Amtrak NJT, Conrail, PC, PRR and CNJ.  I added ATSF first and then SP to the mix and now I have a train to build to go with my Burlington E5.  Then there is that random SPS E7.  What cars to run with that?

I've been spending the weekend shore horning my collection into my house that was previously in a storage unit.  All the Amtrak GDD and Atlas Horizon / Comet cars ended up in a closet together.  My collection of Horizon and Comet cars is extensive having multiple sets in NJT, Septa, MARC, Amtrak, and undecorated. 

I took a little time this evening to get some shots of the 1999 vintage Horizon cars next to the Amfleet.  The colors are nearly a dead on match.  A perfect set-up for an early 1990's San Joaquin service train. 

My Amtrak just exploded...........I had already collected Overland Superliners and two Overland P-42s, then Atlas Horizon cars,  one of the guys Amfleet II cars, Mac Shops Budd cars and my American Lightweight pullman heritage car kits.  Now Viewliners and Amfleet Is but I need more P-42s to put on the front.

There are some Overland Superliner cars on that auction site now, but for me they are unobtanium.  Beautiful cars.  As it stands I have something close to 60 scale Amtrak cars.  Granted about 10 are project cars including my Phase III Heritage Coaches and Heritage Lounge.  My future layout plans have adapted somewhat with the goal of having a 2 rail layout around the wall that features transition era PRR and CNJ, while the interior layout is 3 rail to showcase my Amtrak and other western roads.  I am looking forward to retirement one day when I can have the time to do all of this.

The Overland Superliners on that site are twice what they have been going for.

@VGN64 posted:

The Overland Superliners on that site are twice what they have been going for.

Everything is these days it seems.  I did manage to pick up an MTH ATSF heavyweight baggage for $35.00 recently, but that is a rarity now.

@GG1 4877 posted:

I've been spending the weekend shore horning my collection into my house that was previously in a storage unit.  All the Amtrak GDD and Atlas Horizon / Comet cars ended up in a closet together.  My collection of Horizon and Comet cars is extensive having multiple sets in NJT, Septa, MARC, Amtrak, and undecorated.

I took a little time this evening to get some shots of the 1999 vintage Horizon cars next to the Amfleet.  The colors are nearly a dead on match.  A perfect set-up for an early 1990's San Joaquin service train.

An O scale garden layout?  Interesting.  The sun light makes them look quite real.

My layout is my 3 rail club that I have not been too since COVID started.  I need to get back in the habit of going.  This was just some track I set up in my back yard to replicate a corn field to show off the cars in natural sunlight.  Evening and morning light always make for great photo opportunities.

@VGN64 posted:

The Overland Superliners on that site are twice what they have been going for.

It wouldn't surprise me if these cars came from the June 2021 Stout Auction.

What really makes these scale Amfleet cars besides the scale length and superb finish are those window inserts!

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.

Thank you Scott !    Now I have a proper Lakeshore Ltd. Jut like the real one in the included video.

@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.

That video was so awesome...

Same train passing Rome, NY Sunday… track speed!

A Covid shortened Crescent #20 at Kemper Street Station in Lynchburg, VA.  It’s two coaches, sleeper and diner short since Covid but I have enough cars. I’m only short another sleeper for the full train.

P42s please !!!

I find it interesting that Amtrak puts the baggage cars on the rear of the train these days.  Does anyone know when that practice started?   I have a gap from 1992 to 2012 where I didn't see east coast Amtrak trains and in 1992 the baggage ahead of the coaches and sleepers.  I've noticed from my various visits back east starting 2012 that the baggage often is the last car on the train. 

@GG1 4877 posted:

I find it interesting that Amtrak puts the baggage cars on the rear of the train these days.  Does anyone know when that practice started?   I have a gap from 1992 to 2012 where I didn't see east coast Amtrak trains and in 1992 the baggage ahead of the coaches and sleepers.  I've noticed from my various visits back east starting 2012 that the baggage often is the last car on the train.

Easy enough... Here's a video set from Jay Winn in Utica, NY that documented year-by-year changes in Amtrak through a series named "Amtrak 48 Through the Years".

https://www.youtube.com/channe...6fEtwO_qPiaEA/videos

Thanks!

- Mario

Jonathan, over the last 10 years they've changed the consist order on the Crescent so much. Some times it'll be baggage, sleepers, diner,café coaches, others it'll be just the opposite. Since the Viewliner II cars have arrived they've stuck with coaches, café, diner, sleepers, bag dorm.

It was my understanding that the baggage is at the rear of the train because Amtrak doesn’t turn the trains around on the east coast, but I could be mistaken.

Has anyone electrically handy figured out how to rewire the cars to replace the "as delivered switch" so that we can switch the red marker lights from one end of the car to the other and a center position that turns all marker lights off?  I totally love these cars and I am ready to order more once Scott opens up the order books, but for the delivered cars, I would definitely like to do a modification to allow for either end marker light operation and center position off.  Any thoughts of ideas would be awesome.   

Common switch on/off/on.

@clem k posted:

Common switch on/off/on.

Yes I agree that it is a common switch, but not sure how the wiring would be done from the rectifier and on. (I am assuming there is a rectifier also as somehow we have to go from AC to DC)  Being that there are two sets of opposing end of train marker lights,   it would probably be pretty simple from there.  What I do not know, is once you get the four LEDs separated into two sets of two, with only half the load, will the LEDs be too bright or maybe even burn out?  Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on LED lights, so if what I have said is totally wrong, I plead innocent!  Anyone with real solid knowledge on this, please feel free to jump in and educate me and others that may not know.

Also, I have yet to open one of these new GGD cars, so I really do not know how they are wired, so lots of speculation.   For one thing, the switch may provide AC track power to a rectifier before it goes to the LEDs.   

Thanks

Rory   

@MountainRail posted:

Has anyone electrically handy figured out how to rewire the cars to replace the "as delivered switch" so that we can switch the red marker lights from one end of the car to the other and a center position that turns all marker lights off?  I totally love these cars and I am ready to order more once Scott opens up the order books, but for the delivered cars, I would definitely like to do a modification to allow for either end marker light operation and center position off.  Any thoughts of ideas would be awesome.   

The seats in Amfleet cars are reversible. They swivel around so that they can be made to always face forward. Thus, the simplest thing to do is open the car and just clip the wires from the end of the car that the seats face.  You really only need to modify one car, as the rest of them are off.

I see the Crescent all the time and they turn the entire train in New Orleans.  It always has the baggage now bagg/dorm at the rear.

@MountainRail posted:

Yes I agree that it is a common switch, but not sure how the wiring would be done from the rectifier and on. (I am assuming there is a rectifier also as somehow we have to go from AC to DC)  Being that there are two sets of opposing end of train marker lights,   it would probably be pretty simple from there.  What I do not know, is once you get the four LEDs separated into two sets of two, with only half the load, will the LEDs be too bright or maybe even burn out?  Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on LED lights, so if what I have said is totally wrong, I plead innocent!  Anyone with real solid knowledge on this, please feel free to jump in and educate me and others that may not know.

Also, I have yet to open one of these new GGD cars, so I really do not know how they are wired, so lots of speculation.   For one thing, the switch may provide AC track power to a rectifier before it goes to the LEDs.   

Thanks

Rory   

First you need to obtsin the on-off-on switch. If there is a circuit board or just s rectifier, the rectifier "power out" would go center switch lead and the leds connect to the corresponding "on" outer switch leads.

@GenesisFan99 posted:

It was my understanding that the baggage is at the rear of the train because Amtrak doesn’t turn the trains around on the east coast, but I could be mistaken.

I think there may be some new Reg or rule that the consists have to be at least “X” cars long. I’ve recently a seen a short consist in the St. Louis area with Two baggage cars in the rear for the St. Louis to KC run. No way these cars are full of Any cargo.

Certain routes have that because a minimum axle count is needed for the crossings. I think that's just on BNSF.

The baggage car on the rear end is apparently a ride quality thing.  The last car on the train supposedly rides worse than the rest of the train, so if its just a glorified boxcar, paying customers (especially if its sleepers), dont have to deal with the car wallowing around.

Amtrak Bi-Level Passenger Car GIFs (kenstransitgifs.com)

@TrainBub posted:

P42s please !!!

Motion has been seconded.  Resolution 2021-GGD-P42 has been unanimously approved.

Hi Scott and Jonathan:

Any idea how close we might be to the second run of slumber coaches?  The Phase III will look fantastic with the Amfleets.  Thank you again for such quality models.

Amtrak 160, the final 50th Anniversary paint scheme.  Hey Scott, bet you would sell a few of these!!!

Unpacking my Viewliner cars today, and of course absolutely thrilled!   I have discovered a paint scheme variation on Sleeping car #62500 "Portage River" that differs from pictures online.   Did Amtrak repaint these after production and remove the "arrow" logo and the word "Amtrak" to the "travelmark" logo?  Amtrak scholars please inform.

I love the car either way but may ask Christine Braden to recreate the look of the car in the picture (link attached) which was at the factory in New York.  Dependent upon info from the knowledge of the forum.  If this was short lived at the factory and redone before revenue use I may reconsider having the car rebranded.

https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=489036

@VistaDomeScott posted:

Unpacking my Viewliner cars today, and of course absolutely thrilled!   I have discovered a paint scheme variation on Sleeping car #62500 "Portage River" that differs from pictures online.   Did Amtrak repaint these after production and remove the "arrow" logo and the word "Amtrak" to the "travelmark" logo?  Amtrak scholars please inform.

I love the car either way but may ask Christine Braden to recreate the look of the car in the picture (link attached) which was at the factory in New York.  Dependent upon info from the knowledge of the forum.  If this was short lived at the factory and redone before revenue use I may reconsider having the car rebranded.

https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=489036

Yes, I believe the first two cars of each variety received the old Amtrak logo. (At least the first two sleepers and the first two bags...not sure if the first two bag-dorms received the old logo)

They were eventually rebranded to match the rest of the fleet.

None of them entered revenue service with the old logo. It was just for promotional purposes.

P42,  thanks

@VistaDomeScott posted:

P42,  thanks

Email Scott to support P42 offering !!!!

Took a few quick snaps of one of the Phase I coaches and the Phase III Viewliner baggage. Please excuse the mess on my table 😁.

Simply put, I am in love with these things. They make me wish I could literally get one of everything that was offered in regards to these cars. Every car type, phase, numbers, everything... I took quite a gamble on you Scott, and I'd say I hit the jackpot! 👍

@TrainBub posted:

Email Scott to support 042 offering !!!!

Well with Atlas acquiring the MTH Premier P42 tooling I’m sure we’ll see an offering from them soon, especially given the wide variety of paint schemes available now with the Amtrak 50th anniversary units among other operators too.

@M J Breen posted:

Well with Atlas acquiring the MTH Premier P42 tooling I’m sure we’ll see an offering from them soon, especially given the wide variety of paint schemes available now with the Amtrak 50th anniversary units among other operators too.

If so - you get a bonus of Typical huge daylight between body and swinging pilot. 👎😖      
And I don’t think there’s been a 2 rail MTH version either. To each his own I guess.    Id be a buyer of a 3rd Rail model with a fixed pilot available in 2 Or 3 rail.

@VGN64 posted:

Amtrak 160, the final 50th Anniversary paint scheme.  Hey Scott, bet you would sell a few of these!!!

The "Pepsi Can" paint job was one of Amtrak's best IMHO.

Rusty

I would support the company that brought us the Viewliners and Amfleet in scale!!!  Scott’s doing some great stuff for us at SUNSET-3RD RAIL-GOLDEN GATE DEPOT.

If Golden Gate were to make Amtrak diesels...or any future diesels, would GGD license Proto 3 from MTH (since that's an option now)

That option would clinch the deal for me.  To my knowledge, there aren't any TMCC sounds that resemble modern Amtrak locomotives.

I apologize if it's slightly off topic, but I don't know if it's ever been discussed.

If certainly prefer GGD P42s with fixed pilots,  but if Atlas offers then first I need something to pull my train... I certainly prefer TMCC but I figure eventually I'll have to buy DCS.

Call Atlas trains and request the MTH P42 Genesis. They answer the phone.  The pilot has the holes for the Kadee couplers, just need to make a spacer. Also has the 2/3 rail trucks.   If enough people ask maybe it will happen.

well call me a monkey’s uncle - P42s were announced by Sunset this morning

@M J Breen posted:

well call me a monkey’s uncle - P42s were announced by Sunset this morning

Holy cow! Can’t wait to run a phase 5 with amfleets behind it. Flanked by an Acela…

Very good  Scott !!!

Thankyou

Ummmmm.... someone please tell me that wont all come in the same shipping container?

I had a confab with Jonathan and Richard over the weekend and ironed out these projects. Thanks guys. No, they will not all come at the same time, and you should know by now, we hold models for customers making layaway payments if they do come too close together. Point being, we are in business to serve our customers, not to shove models down their throats. Relax, enjoy the offering and reserve the one's you want, so we can plan our production accordingly. We'll take care of the rest. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!!!

Regarding Amfleet and Viewliner Run#2: We will now take your reservations for a 2nd run. It can take a year or more to produce, so if you couldn't get all you wanted from these, please put in your new reservations now. We'll transfer them to the new run.  We are now sold out of the first run of Amfleets and Viewliners.  Yes, we will be offering Amfleet IIs in the future.

Just ordered four P42s and eight Superliners. Time to add more Viewliners. Thank you Scott for listening to your customers!!!!!

This is huge. Scott, if there's any hope of putting DCS in these via a licensing agreement, that would seal the deal for me, as only DCS has authentic P42 sounds.

A few questions, if you don't mind:

-Are any of the 50th Anniversary liveries part of this run?
-Would you consider adding dummy units as an option? I'd love to doublehead some of these, but I don't necessarily need the power in both units.

Thanks!
Rafi

Scott, Genesis and Superliners, guess I get to tap my retirement fund once again.  At last!   But a question, I don't see a dummy listed for the Genesis.  I hope there will be one.

I woke up this morning and couldn’t believe my eyes. I immediately reserved a 5 car set of Superliners. Thank you so much for doing this Scott!

This announcement is still a little bit in its infancy in that we only discussed all of this Saturday. 

• Dummies are a funny animal.  Some people want them and some don't.  For this project though dummies might be possible. Traditionally they are not a lot cheaper to build than a powered unit, but for 3 rail if there are enough orders for them, anything is possible. 
• We did discuss 50th anniversary schemes.  I would expect that they will be offered.  
• DCS is not going to be an option.  Scott has the license for ERR boards.  I would expect that the cost to license it and put it in the 20-30 locomotives that might be ordered with it would be offset by purchasing one with a factory ERR board and replacing it with DCS.  The ERR board has the ability to accept different sounds and I expect we will get a good GE sound set for it. 

I have the same challenge as everyone else on the overall announcement.  I will want three FP45s for my EL Capitan, three SDP40Fs for my Southwest Limited, and at least two P42s of which one is the "Pepsi-Can" 50th Anniversary scheme for my Viewliner / Amfleet Consist.

Add to that a set of Superliners too.  Probably Phase III paint for me, but some in Phase II paint might be interesting to mix with my former El Cap cars.  Then again, I have some K-Line Superliner IIs in phase IV paint.  This could be quite the challenge!  

@sdmann posted:

Regarding Amfleet and Viewliner Run#2: We will now take your reservations for a 2nd run. It can take a year or more to produce, so if you couldn't get all you wanted from these, please put in your new reservations now. We'll transfer them to the new run.  We are now sold out of the first run of Amfleets and Viewliners.  Yes, we will be offering Amfleet IIs in the future.

So if we were already on Standy By for Viewliners, should we put in a new reservation?

Amtrak car stand-by orders will be automatically transferred to a 2nd Run and we will send an email notice describing it.

@The GN Man posted:

Scott & Jonathan, are you considering a Superliner transition sleeper? It’s the “missing car” on your list of Superliners. I will definitely be a buyer!

Bingo--if at all possible, a transition sleeper is vital for a prototypical consist. We need something to connect the Superliners vestibule-to-vestibule to a Viewliner Baggage car.

Transition cars are Superliner IIs, we are doing Superliner Is this round. IIs in the future.

Sound reasonable?

Regarding Dummy Diesels, we will never do them as they cost almost as much to make and very hard to sell if left over. FL9s taught us a big lesson.

Regarding DCS: If an MTH Licensed Repair / Dealer wants to offer some of these post production, converted to DCS, that would be the way to get that done. There are few dealers that are interested in doing that.

Regarding Further Schemes: We consider them when we see enough orders in general. E-60s showed promise on the forum regarding  enthusiasm, but only resulted in 60 reservation after 1 year on the reservation page. Amtrak (Matt) said, if your not going to make it, take it down, so we did.

Hi Scott:

Just to confirm, Amfleets on the reservation page are still listed as 'Stand By', though I see 'Possible Second Run' on the main page.  All new reservations from today and on will go to the second run list, even if the reservation page says 'Stand By'?  Thanks.

@sdmann posted:

Transition cars are Superliner IIs, we are doing Superliner Is this round. IIs in the future.

Sound reasonable?

Sounds very reasonable. Looking forward to II's and El Capitan.

I know we're already diving head first into the Amtrak offerings, but would there be any interest in the autoracks used on the Autotrain? They could also be offered in CP/ CN.

Until I move the current part numbers to OLD part numbers for Amfleet / Viewliners, we will record new reservations as Stand-By and transfer them all at one time to a 2nd Run. This takes time as things are still in flux with stand-by orders that we are in the process of filling. A couple weeks and we can do this with confidence.

I'll let the experts discuss / comment on further offerings.

Yay P42s !!!!!!!!!!  
Viewliner-Amfleet Run2, and Superliners too !!! Wow !!! Absolutely awesome day with the news of these offerings !!!  
Thanks Scott

@sdmann posted:

Transition cars are Superliner IIs, we are doing Superliner Is this round. IIs in the future.

Sound reasonable?

Regarding Dummy Diesels, we will never do them as they cost almost as much to make and very hard to sell if left over. FL9s taught us a big lesson.

Regarding DCS: If an MTH Licensed Repair / Dealer wants to offer some of these post production, converted to DCS, that would be the way to get that done. There are few dealers that are interested in doing that.

Regarding Further Schemes: We consider them when we see enough orders in general. E-60s showed promise on the forum regarding  enthusiasm, but only resulted in 60 reservation after 1 year on the reservation page. Amtrak (Matt) said, if your not going to make it, take it down, so we did.

Nice to get a bit more clarification on the E-60's. I actually didn't realize that the reservations were up for a year, so I understand why they got canned; hopefully the project can be started up again in the future.

Even though I have a bunch of dummies in my train collection (being a traditional-sized collector, they come naturally ), I actually like that you guys just make powered units and that's that. IMHO I wish that any sets of diesels can come with all powered locomotives, at least as an option. I want my locomotives to actually help in pulling stuff, and not just get dragged around for appearance purposes only. And this isn't a jab at anyone that wants dummies, just putting in my $.02. Also Scott, do your locomotives still have the switch on the bottom that allows you to change the direction in which the locomotive goes when you start it up on conventional control?

And with all that out of the way, I actually did not expect to see more Amtrak stuff being up for reservation so soon, at least not until next year. I'm honestly very shocked, and also afraid for my finances, haha. I'm also glad to hear you sold out of the Amfleets too

The SDP40F is a must have.  Maybe 2 of them.  Perhaps my favorite Amtrak locomotive.

For the P42’s... it would be nice to have both snowplow and non snowplow pilots available at least for scale pilots!

Pics of P42s now posted on 3rd Rail web page !!!!  Yay !!!! Nice Choices !!!!!

Folks,

I've posted unreserved left over Amfleet / Viewliners on the following page:

http://www.goldengatedepot.com/reacar-buy.html

First come first serve.

Remaining stand-by orders will be applied to the 2nd run.

R

@sdmann posted:

Folks,

I've posted unreserved left over Amfleet / Viewliners on the following page:

http://www.goldengatedepot.com/reacar-buy.html

First come first serve.

Remaining stand-by orders will be applied to the 2nd run.

R

Email sent on Amfleet PH2!

Thank you Scott......Your leftover View Liner II  Baggage car came today in perfect condition.   It goes very well with my K-Line huge Superliners.  

Now I'm waiting for your Amtrak P42's

Clem

Just wanted to point out that while Atlas O recently announced P42s, the price is so high that to me it makes the 3rd Rail version a no brainer. Only $280 more for fixed pilots, scale trucks, accurate details, etc.

@Will Ebbert posted:

Just wanted to point out that while Atlas O recently announced P42s, the price is so high that to me it makes the 3rd Rail version a no brainer. Only $280 more for fixed pilots, scale trucks, accurate details,

Not only that, I'm not sure what Atlas was thinking with the "matching" Amfleets.  You can't get them in Phase VI which would make it prototypical, even for 18" cars.

I don't want to hijack this thread for an Atlas product, but the prospect of running some of these fantasy scheme Amfleets with the GGD Genesis is intriguing to me.

Will rightly points out that Atlas' price point on their model is precipitously close to the GGD price point; indeed, the only reason I would even consider the Atlas model, really, is for PS3 compatibility out of the box.

But those fantasy schemes are intriguing to me, and if I'm not mistaken that Phase V scheme is actually very, very close to the Acela Regional scheme that Amtrak very briefly ran in the early 2000's. I may actually get a set of those Amfleets for the GGD Genesis to pull.

Rafi

@Rafi posted:

I don't want to hijack this thread for an Atlas product, but the prospect of running some of these fantasy scheme Amfleets with the GGD Genesis is intriguing to me.

Will rightly points out that Atlas' price point on their model is precipitously close to the GGD price point; indeed, the only reason I would even consider the Atlas model, really, is for PS3 compatibility out of the box.

But those fantasy schemes are intriguing to me, and if I'm not mistaken that Phase V scheme is actually very, very close to the Acela Regional scheme that Amtrak very briefly ran in the early 2000's. I may actually get a set of those Amfleets for the GGD Genesis to pull.

Rafi

The offering in Phase V is quite interesting! I always thought the splotch scheme was neat. I bought a run of the Nicholas Smith MTH ones maybe a year or two back. They're quite colorful.

The PS3 inside the Atlas units are a big draw, and I wish that was an option with the ones from GGD which will most certainly be nicer in every way.

I might be doing the opposite of you. I have a collection of the MTH P42s and I cannot wait to put in a reservation for the GGD Superliner Is once more things come to light (mainly if Superliner IIs will follow soon after)

Scott has already said Superliner IIs will follow the Is. Go ahead and put in an order. We had little info on the Viewliners and those were a grand slam, I fully expect the same here.

@P42Amtrak83 posted:

The offering in Phase V is quite interesting! I always thought the splotch scheme was neat. I bought a run of the Nicholas Smith MTH ones maybe a year or two back. They're quite colorful.

The PS3 inside the Atlas units are a big draw, and I wish that was an option with the ones from GGD which will most certainly be nicer in every way.

I might be doing the opposite of you. I have a collection of the MTH P42s and I cannot wait to put in a reservation for the GGD Superliner Is once more things come to light (mainly if Superliner IIs will follow soon after)

I'm actually in a similar conundrum with the engines. I have two MTH DCS premier P42s (Phase IV and V) that I have every intention of keeping, and now I'm faced with a choice: get GGD P42s to augment that fleet and if I run doubleheads, it could look...weird. Or...do I go with Atlas' new stuff and rest assured that things will look consistent, but know in the back of my head that I could have had much better-looking, more realistic engines. The Superliners are so enticing, too, as they've always been on my "one day" wish list.

In a perfect world, money would be no object and I'd just outfit my whole fleet with the GGD stuff and sell off my old MTH stuff, but the world ain't perfect. <sigh>

On the flip side, how fortunate we are that we have Lionel, Atlas and GGD putting out some fantastic looking Amtrak equipment in O scale! If someone announces a Charger or Sprinter, I'll probably need to be committed.

Rafi

@Rafi posted:

I'm actually in a similar conundrum with the engines. I have two MTH DCS premier P42s (Phase IV and V) that I have every intention of keeping, and now I'm faced with a choice: get GGD P42s to augment that fleet and if I run doubleheads, it could look...weird. Or...do I go with Atlas' new stuff and rest assured that things will look consistent, but know in the back of my head that I could have had much better-looking, more realistic engines. The Superliners are so enticing, too, as they've always been on my "one day" wish list.

In a perfect world, money would be no object and I'd just outfit my whole fleet with the GGD stuff and sell off my old MTH stuff, but the world ain't perfect. <sigh>

On the flip side, how fortunate we are that we have Lionel, Atlas and GGD putting out some fantastic looking Amtrak equipment in O scale! If someone announces a Charger or Sprinter, I'll probably need to be committed.

Rafi

I hear you completely!

You're right, you'd certainly would need two of the same brand P42s for it to look right.  I'm a bit attached to the sounds of the Protosound system.

I've got a bunch of MTH P42s. I had a 50th anniversary unit custom painted just before the 3rd Rail announcement.  I think I had it running a week before the announcement.  I got it to go with my Viewliners.

I'm with you, in a perfect world, I'd have all GGD stuff haha. But reality is, I can't swing it...as much as I want to.

I suppose I have a decision between the MTH engines I have with a nice consist of 21" cars or two amazing P42s with a consist of 18" cars I have already.

I'll take out a loan if GGD comes out with next-gen motive power. Haha

Well the question  regarding the P42 quanundrum is

1] how much more detail is one gonna get on a GGD P42 compared to the MTH/Atlas O P42 with a msrp difference of $280.00 per unit.

A previous comparison would be Sunset vs. MTH premier ALCo PA-1's. Bodywise there was no difference that really stood out. It was the details such as simulated sealed beam headlight [ss] vs. Plastic lense with 3mm led insert [mth]. Trainline and air hose details on the pilot [ss]

And the big one. No swinging pilot and gap for Sunset models

2] the GGD will be using the ERR reverse and Railsounds GE Dash 9 sound file. Will the Atlas O units have DCS?

What's the delivery date for Atlas O units as their current locomotive delivery history for the past decade has been sketchy at best.

Sunset/GGD track record is once reservations close, 6-10 months til delivery.

@P42Amtrak83 posted:

I hear you completely!

You're right, you'd certainly would need two of the same brand P42s for it to look right.  I'm a bit attached to the sounds of the Protosound system.

I'm with you, in a perfect world, I'd have all GGD stuff haha. But reality is, I can't swing it...as much as I want to.

I suppose I have a decision between the MTH engines I have with a nice consist of 21" cars or two amazing P42s with a consist of 18" cars I have already.

I'll take out a loan if GGD comes out with next-gen motive power. Haha

In regards to GGD vs MTH superliners is there really is NO COMPARISON!

For the price point, one really gets their moneys worth with as much details on a $350.00/GGD car than anything on the market! From the correct window configuration to the correct trucks for that passenger car and 10 figures per car included as well!

The question one really has to ask is can you run 21"passenger cars that really need 072 or larger diameter curves? If you can. Than go for the GGD stuff if you love scale. You will not look back once you do!

Personally a distant second to GGD superliners would be the K-line21" cars followed by the Lionel 18" Amtrak superliner sets painted only in 2 flavors- phase II and phase IV.

@Will Ebbert posted:

Just wanted to point out that while Atlas O recently announced P42s, the price is so high that to me it makes the 3rd Rail version a no brainer. Only $280 more for fixed pilots, scale trucks, accurate details, etc.

Atlas is offering 2-rail models. So I am guessing that these would have fixed pilots and the announcement mentions Proto 3-2 conversion capable. Also Forum Sponsors are offering a preorder price around $570. So you could get something good enough for less than what the Sunset models cost.

These are just my opinion,

Naveen Rajan

The proportions still never seemed right to me. Plus MTH never did a 2 rail version so it's possible it won't be a fixed pilot, just different electronics. I'll stick with what I know will be spot on.

@Will Ebbert posted:

The proportions still never seemed right to me. Plus MTH never did a 2 rail version so it's possible it won't be a fixed pilot, just different electronics. I'll stick with what I know will be spot on.

Atlas O themselves posted in another thread that they're tooling a fixed pilot for it.

I am obviously biased, but the MTH tooling is at best Railking Scale quality having been introduced in 1998.  I'll be happy to replace my MTH one with a better quality model.

@GG1 4877 posted:

I am obviously biased, but the MTH tooling is at best Railking Scale quality having been introduced in 1998.  I'll be happy to replace my MTH one with a better quality model.

Whole heartedly Agree !!! I’ve never purchased a MTH P42 as they just are not very well done !!! Swinging pilot with huge gap to body, lobster claw, and sits WAY too high. 🤭😑😵‍💫😖☹️I don’t know about the P42 trucks, but Many MTH trucks have Never been upgraded from crude Simple moldings. Definitely Rail King quality on a premier priced product. Whenever 3rd rail offers my roads, I sell my old MTH models and put what $ I get into the Serious 3rail model Upgrade !!!!!  
Cheers

Will the various GGD Amtrak coaches including the heritage 3/4 dome brass car in the works look properly scaled with the MTH F40PH Tooling (now from Atlas O)?   Note:  I consider any Amtrak car that is a rebuild obtained from a pre-1971 operator to be Heritage Equipment.  That is exactly how Amtrak branded it in their catalogs back then.  "Heritage Fleet" "Amfleet" etc.

Second, when will the GGD Amtrak (and other) Slumber coaches be available?

That F40PH is scale just like the GGD equipment but the Lionel version has a little better details and much more realistic pilots.

I know there was talk of Amfleet IIs a while back.  What would be the chances that they will be offered with another run of Amfleet Is?

If I were to build a Pennsylvanian, I'd need two Amfleet Is and four Amfleet IIs.

Should I reserve the two Amfleet Is now and bank on the Amfleet IIs being available in the future...or assume I can reserve the IIs and the Is at the same time?

@P42Amtrak83 posted:

I know there was talk of Amfleet IIs a while back.  What would be the chances that they will be offered with another run of Amfleet Is?

If I were to build a Pennsylvanian, I'd need two Amfleet Is and four Amfleet IIs.

Should I reserve the two Amfleet Is now and bank on the Amfleet IIs being available in the future...or assume I can reserve the IIs and the Is at the same time?

I highly doubt that a run of Amfleet II's will be produced with the second run of Amfleet I's and Viewliner II's. There's not too much [farther than 3ft rule] to distinguish between Amfleet I and Amfleet II and a lot of people may get confused. Best to leave Amfleet I and Amfleet II runs separate.

I could see a run of Amfleet II's coinside with either Superliner II or Viewliner I's though.

The MTH F40PH represents the early configuration of F40PHs or sometimes referred to as a phase I F40PH (not to be confused with Amtrak paint phasing).  I have six of which three are Amtrak.  My complaint about the model is similar to my complaint about their Genesis.  The tooling is from the late 90's.  As a result there are many deficiencies on the model.  The pilot steps are incorrect, it rides high, and the paint colors are too dark.  One would assume that Atlas will get the colors correct as their Amtrak offerings have been closer to correct colors.   

I also have three K-Line F40PHs and they represent the later or phase II F40PH configuration.  The roof fans are shallower, sit in a a well, and there are some other minor variations.  K-Line got the front pilot steps correct and the colors are much better.  The sound on the early K-line units is generic rail sounds but if I cared that much about sound, I could upgrade.  The other downside on the K-Line units is the electro coupler sticks way out on the nose.  I plan on taking them off mine at some point and either putting in shorter manual couplers or Kadees.  The Lionel Legacy version closely aligns with the K-Line model.

As for GGD Amfleet II's the plan is to offer them at a later date after second run Amfleet I, Viewliner II, and Superline I cars have been manufactured and delivered.  There are plans to to do them however as well as plans to offer the Viewliner I sleepers as single car offerings at some point in the future.

@GG1 4877 posted:

The MTH F40PH represents the early configuration of F40PHs or sometimes referred to as a phase I F40PH (not to be confused with Amtrak paint phasing).  I have six of which three are Amtrak.  My complaint about the model is similar to my complaint about their Genesis.  The tooling is from the late 90's.  As a result there are many deficiencies on the model.  The pilot steps are incorrect, it rides high, and the paint colors are too dark.  One would assume that Atlas will get the colors correct as their Amtrak offerings have been closer to correct colors.   

I also have three K-Line F40PHs and they represent the later or phase II F40PH configuration.  The roof fans are shallower, sit in a a well, and there are some other minor variations.  K-Line got the front pilot steps correct and the colors are much better.  The sound on the early K-line units is generic rail sounds but if I cared that much about sound, I could upgrade.  The other downside on the K-Line units is the electro coupler sticks way out on the nose.  I plan on taking them off mine at some point and either putting in shorter manual couplers or Kadees.  The Lionel Legacy version closely aligns with the K-Line model.

As for GGD Amfleet II's the plan is to offer them at a later date after second run Amfleet I, Viewliner II, and Superline I cars have been manufactured and delivered.  There are plans to to do them however as well as plans to offer the Viewliner I sleepers as single car offerings at some point in the future.

The MTH F40PH was retooled in 2006 I believe.  The F40 from the 90s didn't have ditch lights or strobes to my knowledge.  Of course, the retooled version was only released with ditch lights..even when inappropriate.

The Proto 3 models were released with the correct colors (Except Phase IV) after Amtrak released its livery guide publicly.  The Phase III variant I have from the late 2010s is significantly nicer than the previous ones I have.  The swinging pilot is certainly less pronounced than MTH's P42 that's for sure.

I should mention, for a time, Amtrak was quite inconsistent with their colors.  One of the last NPCU converted F40PHs had Amtrak Deep Blue as the bottom stripe:

https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=259848

I'm not sure if this caused confusion with MTH, but seeing that their R&D department was based out of Michigan, it's possible they used this particular NPCU based out of Michigan to match the paint. It certainly didn't help that the Phase III Genesis and B32-8WH used Deep Blue as opposed to the blue found on everything else.

MTH seemed to struggle with Phase II and III until 2013 or so.

Thanks for the info Jonathan! Really looking forward to ask these GGD Amtrak offerings and as excited as I am for each, my wallet will definitely appreciate them being spread out over a couple years.

You are not the only one!  I have pre-ordered two sets of Superliner I cars in phase III to go with my F40PH fleet and phase VI to go with my P42 pre-order.  I also have a phase III Slumbercoach on pre-order to start completing the Broadway Limited I rode in the late 1980's.

For those who have not seen this, the 3rd Rail website has been updated with graphics I prepared for Scott on the P42 schemes.  A few are missing and I will be getting those to him this weekend.  To be added are the P32s which will be tooled correctly for that model and include some of the commuter versions as well as the Empire Service Phase III Scheme.  As can be seen, as-delivered schemes as well as the 40th and 50th anniversary schemes are being offered as they have never been done correctly at this price point before.  The graphics shown are not painting diagrams and should just be considered marketing diagrams as the painting diagrams will be more refined once the project actually goes into formal design.

@GG1 4877 that's awesome!! Thank you for -posting! I don't mean to hi-jack those awesome P42 pictures that Jonathan just posted but I have two questions regarding GGD and it's ordering process:

1.) What does standby mean?

2.) In late August/ear;y September ordered an Amtrak Budd Slumber Coach when it was on standby, it's now on the website and no longer on standby. Should I alter my previous order and re-ordder it?

On another note, definitely looking at getting some superliner 1s now as I successfully converted a 21" K-line Superliner II Sleeper that I had bought from 2 rail to 3 rail, if only my transition sleeper was 21" and not 18"!

Thanks for the info on the F40PH.  I am trying to model what would have been used on the Crescent until 1993ish.  Per pic of us kids in 1990 chatting with the friendly engineer on the Crescent in Greenville SC and also peaking in the cab!   Regarding the Lionel F40PH, weren't they plagued with the wiring harness rubbing on the flywheel?

I also have both the K-line F40PH(tmcc,rs,cruise), both the Lionel phase I F40PH w/ Amtrak Phase II paint and Lionel phase II F40PH w/ Amtrak Phase III and tomorrow should be receiving the NPCU. I agree that the the K-line Phase F40PH closely resembles the Lionel ph.2 F40Ph w/ Phase 3 paint(exception- the red stripe and partially the blue stripe). Lionel's product pages on the F40PH powered units actually mention "phase I and Phase II F40PH details..." which I think is cool. I'll add that I have a Railing proto 2 Amtrak PhIV F40PH and Premier proto 2 Surfliner F40PH- the PHIV looks better than the Atlas model shown(although it's obviously incomplete- I hope) and the Surfliner has prototypical horn placement- so, honestly I'm happy with both of my MTH F40PHs. Can't say the same for my NJ Transit p42, however

@P42Amtrak83 thank you for sharing that picture of that NPCU with the phase 3 paint and dark blue stripe. I had always kind of wished Lionel would've done the cabbage in a Phase IV or later scheme because that's what we see on the rails today regarding NPCUs. I understand why Lionel wouldn't do a Ph IV or later when their powered units are Phase II & III paint paint. Regardless , despite the blue stripe, Im happy to see a prototype NPCU in Phase III.  

The Lionel F40PHs did have the wiring issue, but once everyone was aware of it, it wasn't too hard to fix.  I wish I had picked one up at the time.  For 3 rail, I believe it is most accurate model of that locomotive offered.  I never see them on the resale market. 

@Mike W. if you do a search you'll find threads regarding the initial shipment of Lionel's F40PHs and their issues. I Know there was something with wiring that after the first run would cause the unit to short, also believe there was an electro coupler issue that caused the same effect as well. I bought my Lionel Phase II paint scheme new and my Phase III used/LN(both over the last 7 months) and haven't had problems with either of them except for lower diesel exhaust output on the later.

@StevefromPA posted:

@GG1 4877 that's awesome!! Thank you for -posting! I don't mean to hi-jack those awesome P42 pictures that Jonathan just posted but I have two questions regarding GGD and it's ordering process:

1.) What does standby mean?

2.) In late August/ear;y September ordered an Amtrak Budd Slumber Coach when it was on standby, it's now on the website and no longer on standby. Should I alter my previous order and re-ordder it?

On another note, definitely looking at getting some superliner 1s now as I successfully converted a 21" K-line Superliner II Sleeper that I had bought from 2 rail to 3 rail, if only my transition sleeper was 21" and not 18"!

Standby means that should a reservation not be picked up by a customer, that product will be released in order of reservations on the stand-by list.  Just like the airliners.

I'd send an email to Scott or Shani at 3rd Rail and follow-up on your status.  As I understand it, the Slumbercoaches are still open for reservations.  They have not gone to design yet.

Exclusive here.  You won't see this from Atlas's Railking Scale line.   It will be up on the website by the end of the weekend along with a few other P32 offerings.

@GG1 4877 posted:

...

For those who have not seen this, the 3rd Rail website has been updated with graphics I prepared for Scott on the P42 schemes.  A few are missing and I will be getting those to him this weekend.  To be added are the P32s which will be tooled correctly for that model and include some of the commuter versions as well as the Empire Service Phase III Scheme.  As can be seen, as-delivered schemes as well as the 40th and 50th anniversary schemes are being offered as they have never been done correctly at this price point before.  The graphics shown are not painting diagrams and should just be considered marketing diagrams as the painting diagrams will be more refined once the project actually goes into formal design.

...

P40s or P32DMs not P32s.   Scott has never made and at this time has no plans to make P32s or any other Dash8 diesels.

Richard - I should have put in the correct nomenclature - P32AC-DMs.  Got the graphics out last Friday to Scott.

The K-Line 21" Superliners look like Phase IV to me?  Can someone confirm before I order a GGD transition car?

I'm hoping the Kline and GGD won't look that noticeably different.

Thanks

@Paul Finn posted:

The K-Line 21" Superliners look like Phase IV to me?  Can someone confirm before I order a GGD transition car?

I'm hoping the Kline and GGD won't look that noticeably different.

Thanks

The K Line cars are Phase IV, but there aren't transition sleepers in this GGD offering as Scott is doing Superliner Is right now and the transition cars are IIs.