Back in 2001 and 2002, I got my Walthers Budd Amtrak cars. At the time, I was between layouts as well as nearing having to move to be closer to my job. Looking at the interiors of the cars when I got them, I decided that they needed improving from the tan plastic they were molded in. Popping the tops and sides off, I hand painted the interiors with toothpicks and #0 brushes. While not perfect, they were a marked improvement over the original plain tan. I also added Train Station Products end gates to each car.
At the time, I’d thought about adding people, but I never got around to it. This past year, after going through past issues of MR and other magazines, I decided that the cars needed people and sunshades on some of the windows. However, I was unable to afford it due to other expenses taking priority as well as starting my own business. Over the past couple months, I received from my day job a couple large and unexpected bonuses for some extra work that I did last fall. After paying off my student loan (woohoo! [:D]) I decided to use some of what was left over to go ahead and get people for my passenger trains.
Really simple actually. Painted the tops of the backs of the seats white and then used the seat color on toothpicks to do the straight side edges. I then used the seat color on a #0 brush to paint across, cutting them to the needed length. Took a bit of time and patience, but it was worth it.
Got shades in five of the eight cars this afternoon. I figured it would be easier with no people in the way. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and it would have been much easier if I would have done the shades 11 years ago when I had the sides off. Despite that, they’re looking better now with some of the shades drawn partway and a couple here and there drawn completely. Much better than all of the windows wide open, which I have rarely seen in pictures of real passenger cars.
Would be really cool to see a “YouTube” vid with an F40 pulling those well decorated cars. With the equipment that you’ve shown so far you can easily model a Silver Meteor, Silver Star, or Crescent. [Y][:)] Is there a particular train that you’re aiming for?
I’ve found painting anti-macassars to be a tedious process and have been trying to find a quicker method. I’m going to attempt to cut some from white stick-on labels on a graphics printer that a gentleman I know gave me access to. No guarantee that it’s going to work, but I’ll give it a try.
Basically, my current layout (and planned dream layout) models the Mansfield, Ohio area with a fictional Columbus-Cleveland route. In my world, the Broadway Limited has been returned to its home rails, and the Pennsylvanian has been extended to Chicago. Also, on the Columbus-Cleveland route, Amtrak runs the Ohio 3-C Corridor connecting Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland using Amfleet cars on those trains.
Here are some videos of the Amtrak trains I’ve run. Some of the earlier ones were before I began organizing the consists (coaches together, sleepers together, etc.).
Was going to finish the window shades last night, but looking at the ones I did last weekend, they were too light of a gray color (almost looking white), so I’m redoing the ones I’ve already done.
I also looked up what colors I used for my interiors since I still have the old bottles of paints stored away. I basically picked them based on what was available at the local hobby stores and went by what looked good when choosing. I basically went by photos I’d seen online, in videos, and old Amtrak timetables from the mid-1980s.
Floquil Tuscan: diner, lounge, and slumbercoach seats
Model Master Sand Beige: walls in all cars
Pollyscale Reefer White: headrests on all cars, toilets, and tables in diner
Pollyscale CSX Blue: coach and 10-6 sleeper seats
Pollyscale Roof Brown: floors in all cars
Testors Flat Black: kitchen floor in diner and bottom half of molded tables (simulating tablecloths hanging over the edges)
Testors Aluminum: kitchen walls and countertops in diner and sinks in restrooms
Some of the details won’t be seen, which I discovered after reassembling the cars when I did the interiors years ago, but they still look good, I think.
I saw the videos, good going! Cool how you represent the 1980s with the F40s and 90s with the Genesis units. The only thing missing is the sweet sound of a Nathan K5LA horn.
I know what you mean about some of the details not being seen. Before painting my interiors, I first look through the windows of the passenger car to see what is actually visible, make a mental note and then proceeding.
Here are the sets of figures that I got for my Amtrak cars.
Here is why I redid the window shades. The original color on the left turned out to be too bright, looking almost white under the lights. I ended up going with a darker gray on the right.
Here’s a view of my workbench while adding passengers. Smaller tweezers work best in the smaller roomettes in the sleepers.
And here are the finished cars. In some cases, I tried to add a little story to set the scene in each. In the sleepers, I didn’t put as many passengers as in the other cars due to several windows having drawn window shades, giving the impression that the space is possibly occupied.
Slumbercoach 2080 “Loch Sloy”
Slumbercoach 2087 “Loch Ness”
Sleeper 2432 “Pacific Waves” - In this car, I added some of the passengers getting dressed.
Sleeper 2881 “Pacific Sands” - Again, I added some of the passengers getting dressed, including a man in his bathrobe shaving in the bathroom.
Working on some insides of some passenger cars myself. Looking for some seated passengers that do not cost a arm and a leg, bought one set that was like 12 dollers for 8 figures. Any ides?
