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Any Amtrak Modelers Out There ?...

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Any Amtrak Modelers Out There ?...
Posted by marksrailroad on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 9:46 PM

Hello everyone. I was just wondering if any of you model Amtrak. So far I've managed to collect the Kato phase III, phase IV and phase IVb car sets. I also have the phase III F-40s and phase V P-42s locos. The locos all run very well and the train looks great on my layout.

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 10:00 PM

Sounds great, is this HO or N ?  There are a couple of members in here that do Amtrak, I'm sure they will catch up to your thread.

I could never keep up with all the phases, so any trains I run with an Amtrak loco, are pretty much a mixture of phases, kind of rag-tag, and will make any serious Amtrak modeler laugh.

Please post some pictures.

Mike.

 

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Posted by NittanyLion on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 10:17 PM

I've got a full set of Phase IVb Superliners for the Capitol Limited.  The locomotives are Athearns and all the rolling stock are Walthers.  Couldn't find a 1700 series Phase IVb baggage car and there's no decals for exactly that, so I kinda kludged it together.

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Posted by 7j43k on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 10:55 PM

It's kind of hard not to model Amtrak.

Those are the trains that are mixed in with the real trains--the ones that make money.

I've got Amtrak trains for my layout from its inception to today, missing only the proper SDP40F's.

 

Ed

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Posted by gmpullman on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 11:28 PM

marksrailroad
I was just wondering if any of you model Amtrak.

Maybe — just a little.

 Amtrak Lineup by Edmund, on Flickr

 IMG_1602_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

 Amtrak_SDP2 by Edmund, on Flickr

Lots of fond memories with Amtrak. Can't believe they've been around forty-seven years! I remember "Amtrak Day 1".

I agree with Ed — kind of hard to not model Amtrak, for U.S. modelers, anyway. Although I do have a bit of CN and CP, no VIA that I recall, though.

Cheers, Ed

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Thursday, May 24, 2018 7:32 AM

Yep.  Early Superliner CZ in phase II paint pulled by phase III paint F40PH's.  Waiting on Jason Shron to offer the common type of F40PH.

I'm also interested in modeling the 1970's San Francisco Zephyr but so far in 3 separate announcements, Athearn has failed to announce the SDP40F's that pulled it.  Looks like it's gonna be a long wait.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by NittanyLion on Thursday, May 24, 2018 8:53 AM

Even though I do enjoy Amtrak and have some equipment, I think the opposite. It is pretty easy to ignore Amtrak. There aren't a lot of routes or trains, and even in a city or town with a station, you can avoid them. 

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Posted by snjroy on Thursday, May 24, 2018 9:29 AM

Does Amtrak connect to any Canadian cities? It could be an excuse for me to get some for my (Canadian) layout.

Simon

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Posted by nealknows on Thursday, May 24, 2018 11:26 AM

Amtrak connects to a few Canadian destinations. The Adirondack connects to Montreal from NY. The Maple Leaft to Toronto and the Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver.

https://www.amtrak.com/train-schedules-timetables

I model Amtrak and have a little of each era and will run them in between operating sessions. 

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Posted by wjstix on Thursday, May 24, 2018 11:38 AM

Interesting question. Many folks have Amtrak equipment and run some Amtrak trains, but I wonder how many people have layouts with Amtrak as the only or primary railroad?

Stix
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Posted by Lone Wolf and Santa Fe on Thursday, May 24, 2018 12:13 PM

On my layout Amtrak’s Southwest Chief just passes through with one stop in Berdoo. I have phase 3 locomotives pulling phase 4 cars, because that is what I have. There are other passenger trains on my layout. Metrolink has a large presence here. On rare occasions Amtrak's Coast Starlight has to be rerouted and it passes through town, just because I used to ride it and wanted to model it.

Amtrak locomotive #32 leads the Southwest Chief across southern California

FRED on the back of an Amtrak express box car

Modeling a fictional version of California set in the 1990s Lone Wolf and Santa Fe Railroad
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Posted by Eastrail11 on Thursday, May 24, 2018 12:18 PM

wjstix

Interesting question. Many folks have Amtrak equipment and run some Amtrak trains, but I wonder how many people have layouts with Amtrak as the only or primary railroad?

 

Anyone who models the NEC, or any other amtrak corridor, like Pacific Surfliners and such. 

I have a small amtrak service on my layout, have yet to decide a name for it. 

~Eastrail

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Posted by NHTX on Thursday, May 24, 2018 2:56 PM

     Talk to me when Rapido or Athearn Genesis does the P30CH in HO.  Sunset Ltd!

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Posted by angelob6660 on Thursday, May 24, 2018 6:27 PM

I model Amtrak also, I'm trying to model every era from 1971- present day. 

I have Kato P42s (Phase III-Vb), F40PH (Phase III with and without ditch lights) MHC cars, Superliners, Amfleet I and II. I also have the El Capitan and Southwest Limited set. The list is long, and etc, etc.

I'm also getting late to get the Atlas 8-40BHW, and MP15DC.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by chatanuga on Thursday, May 24, 2018 8:06 PM

Some videos from my layout showing my Amtrak fleet.

Kevin

 

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Posted by 7j43k on Thursday, May 24, 2018 8:43 PM

angelob6660

I model Amtrak also, I'm trying to model every era from 1971- present day. 

I have Kato P42s (Phase III-Vb), F40PH (Phase III with and without ditch lights) MHC cars, Superliners, Amfleet I and II. I also have the El Capitan and Southwest Limited set. The list is long, and etc, etc.

I'm also getting late to get the Atlas 8-40BHW, and MP15DC.

 

 

But what about THESE, which are within your era:

 

 

Ed

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Posted by angelob6660 on Thursday, May 24, 2018 9:53 PM

7j43k

 

 
angelob6660

I model Amtrak also, I'm trying to model every era from 1971- present day. 

I have Kato P42s (Phase III-Vb), F40PH (Phase III with and without ditch lights) MHC cars, Superliners, Amfleet I and II. I also have the El Capitan and Southwest Limited set. The list is long, and etc, etc.

I'm also getting late to get the Atlas 8-40BHW, and MP15DC.

 

 

 

 

But what about THESE, which are within your era:

 

 

Ed

 

I have a BLI E8 A-B set and one Kato E8 in Phase I. I also planned on getting leased power for the rainbow era from PC, UP, IC, others. I do have the new Phase I SDP40Fs.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by marksrailroad on Thursday, May 24, 2018 10:37 PM

mbinsewi

Sounds great, is this HO or N ? 

Mike.

 

 

I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that my trains are N scale...

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Friday, May 25, 2018 7:19 AM

NittanyLion
It is pretty easy to ignore Amtrak. There aren't a lot of routes or trains, and even in a city or town with a station, you can avoid them. 

I can be easy, if you are modeling a route that has or had no passenger service.  I am interested in D&RGW at Grande Junction CO and west into Utah - that route had and still has passenger service so I'd need an alternate reality layout to ignore passenger trains. 

Of course anyone can protolance a RR and choose to have or not have passenger trains.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by ATSFGuy on Friday, May 25, 2018 7:07 PM

I do a little Amtrak, I have an Athearn RTR P40 in the Phase III Scheme, Four Walthers Superliners in the Phase IV Scheme and an Atlas Dash 8-32BWH also in Phase IV.

The Superliners and Dash 8 are my "New Amsterdam Limited" and the P40 pulls that Walthers NMRA Beach Train.

I plan to model an Amtrak 1990's San Diegan at some point as well. 

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Posted by ROBERT PETRICK on Friday, May 25, 2018 7:30 PM

I'm not sure I'd call myself an Amtrak modeler, but I do have an Amtrak consist with a pair of Kato P42s and a dozen mixed passenger cars (III/IV). N scale.

I run them around a few laps every once in a while just for fun. On special ocassions, I take them out of the passenger station and immediately dive into the first available siding and leave them there for the rest of the operating session. You know, prototypical.

Robert

LINK to SNSR Blog


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Posted by Harrison on Friday, May 25, 2018 7:36 PM

I model AMTRAK's Adirondack in the year 1976. A D&H PA-1 and a couple of amtrak cars in phase 1 paint is all I need.

Harrison

Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.

Modeling the D&H in 1978.

Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"

My YouTube

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Posted by Paul3 on Saturday, May 26, 2018 12:35 AM

While I don't personally model Amtrak (I model pre-1969), I appreciate it and ride it when I can.

At my club we have several members who model Amtrak.  One is known as "Mr. Amtrak".  In fact, "Amtrak" is the license plate on his car, and he's had that plate since May 1971.  He literally has a tattoo of an Amtrak F40PH on his arm.  No, I'm not kidding, he really does.  Every year, for our May business meeting at the model railroad club, be brings a custom decorated sheet cake to celebrate Amtrak's birthday and decorates the meeting room with old Amtrak posters.  He even served on the Board of Directors for the NARP and has a veritable fleet of Amtrak models.  One could say he's into Amtrak just a tad, and has been since the beginning of Amtrak.

So you're not alone if you're into Amtrak. 

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Posted by BNSF UP and others modeler on Saturday, May 26, 2018 6:16 PM

I passively model it (or rather I have one locomotive and one car which I hope to expand upon) because BNSF and UP are major railroads on my roster plans. BTW, I almost died inwardly when I read Robert Petrick's post: "On special ocassions, I take them out of the passenger station and immediately dive into the first available siding and leave them there for the rest of the operating session. You know, prototypical." So true! On my first Amtrak trip our locomotive was pulled into a maintenance bay to fix the wipers and something else. We ended up being three hours late, I believe!Big Smile 

I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.

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Posted by BNSF UP and others modeler on Thursday, May 31, 2018 6:53 PM

Nobody else finds Robert's post amusing?

I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.

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Posted by angelob6660 on Thursday, May 31, 2018 11:06 PM

Paul, does Mr. Amtrak knows the painting roster diagram for Superliners, Amfleets and heritage cars into each phase. 

Because I have dozens of coaches in different phases and trying to modeling it prototypical.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by gmpullman on Thursday, May 31, 2018 11:14 PM

angelob6660
Because I have dozens of coaches in different phases and trying to modeling it prototypical.

Does this help?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak_paint_schemes

Good Luck, Ed

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