I have models of the first units & rolling stock run by Amtrak of the 70’s era & units & rolling stock of the present day era. These will fit in even though their a little out of place I’ll run them on my layout when it’s done, …“HAPPY RAILS”…
No Amtrak here. 40s and 50s “Streamliners”. [:D]
No Amtrak in the 50’s and 60’s, but occasionally my trains have to stop for the original California Zephyr running down the WP mainline that bisects my layout!
I have ridden the flyer 55 times so I’m almost an expert on it. If you ever have any questions or comments, please contact me.
-Rooke Jackson
I’m an Amtrak runner…
I’ve got two Kato P-42s in phase V that I use to pull a consist of phase IV cars which includes a rare ex-Santa Fe baggage car.
I could care less about Amtrak’s reputation for being late, rude employees, etc. I just like the looks of the train doing its thing on my layout…
Tracklayer
I model the Rio Grande between 1965 and 1990 so that includes 3 major passenger trains:
-
The California Zephyr thru 1970
-
The Rio Grande Zephyr 1971-1983 (using CZ cars and a brass Palace Car Company P-S combine)
-
The Amtrak California Zephyr from 1983-1990 (using KATO or Walthers F40PH’s, Concor MHC I’s, baggage cars, Train Station Products bi-level coach dorm, and Walthers Superliner cars with both phase II and phase III paint. I don’t care for the newer paint jobs so I’m happy with the good old red white and blue!
I have had the chance to ride the western Amtrak four times. The San Francisco Zephyr in the 1975 from Sacramento to Denver and in 1976 I road from Osceola Iowa back to Sacramento. Both these trains were pulled by the maligned EMD SDP40F’s and heritage equipment. The west bound train had a full length dome - maybe the ex-Great Northern great dome. I remember at night the handrails inside were plexiglass and illuminated and floor lighting too, but you could still see the stars in the sky at night! There was a short dome, which may have been GN or an ex CZ dome - I was to young at 16 to know the difference at the time but loved the view out over the top of the train looking forward. My biggest disappointment was that I expected that train to travel west of Denver and to up the Front Range - alas - it went north to Cheyenne WY and then west over Sherman Hill - no scenic wonder there!
I’ road the Amtrack CZ in 1990 just like I am modeling. In 1990, my west bound train left Denver with (count 'em) 4 F40PH’s on the front and I counted a total of 17 cars in the consist (if memory serves me correctly 3 MHC’s, 1 Baggage, 1 bi-level ex-Santa Fe dorm char, 11 Superliner cars and a 2nd diner (ex-Santa Fe bi-level) at the end of the train to handle the extra patrons. That was a memorable rid
I do!
I never liked Amtrak until I started living by the depot and saw how many people used it. Especially students. At lot of the students at my school live near Chicago so it’s basically a 6 hour drive so a lot take the train home.
I may try and put some passenger cars on the layout when I get enough room for it. I have a replica of CNW’s “300” engine along with a car. Not really a big fan, but I got them as a gift so I will manage with them.
I run one; which I’m calling the Montrealer for now, after the train of the same name, which beleive was discontinued before my era (1997) It runs with 2 Amfleet coaches and an Amfleet Food Service car.
I have 2 AMD-103’s (Athearns) and a few Phase IV passenger cars (Walthers) as well as Via Rail (Rapido) and still in the process of building up these sets…
I do… F40PH One train.
I model mostly Amtrak. My ever-growing Amtrak roster includes equipment for several different eras:
The Sunset Limited/ Lone Star in the Late '70s
The Auto Train as resumed by Amtrak in the 80s & present
The Heartland flyer in both the mid 90s & present
The Crescent from the mid-90s & present
The Desert Wind from the 80s to mid-90s
The Empire Builder from the 80s to the present.
Since it all comes from one big equipment pool, each train & time period really comes down to the combination of motive power, car type & paint scheme. It allows for lots of different operating scenarios.
-scax330
EspeeEngineer. Please do me a favor and put some type of background up across the wall behind the train there. Also put in a tunnel opening for the road to go into on the other side of the tracks so that it doesn’t appear to just stop right there…([:P])
By the way. That’s a very cool looking scene you have there.
Tracklayer
If I ever get started on a home layout, part of my plan includes a supremely condensed version of the Amtrak facilities in Chicago.
Looking at modeling around the fall of 2001 so I can include a lot of the merchandise car activity, when they were still running express boxcars and the RoadRailers on the end of the Texas Eagle which we’ve been able to ride a few times.
Also I can have all kinds of Amtrak locomotives, passenger cars and MOW cars. Been accumulating Amtrak equipment, hope to use it someday on the layout.
Still working on the plan, as I have a very very small space…but I would like to include some sort of much smaller/condensed models of the Roosevelt Road bridge, the US post office with the expressway through the middle…a fudged model of Union Station and some of the locomotive service area with the control tower on the roof.
Yeah if you are gonna dream, dream BIG.
Most of the Amtrak long distance trains I’ve ridden on have had an ex-Santa Fe baggage. There is a quite large ex-Santa Fe fleet still serving Amtrak as baggage cars. Amazing how many miles these cars have racked up over the years. Even several of the Amtrak 1700 series baggage cars (former coaches) were ex-Santa Fe cars.
Did you mean “rare” as in Kato doesn’t make it decorated for Amtrak? If so I’d love to see some pics of your custom version.
I run the Adirondack and Montrealer with a Rohr 5-car Turboliner (Joueff) that I motorised.
I got the Bachmann Spectrum Acela engines but my turning radius is too tight on a 4’ x 6’. Oops.
- Bachmann Spectrum F40PHR
- 2 Life-Like heritage coach cars
- 4 Bachmann Amfleet cars
You can always say your railroad never gave up its passenger train service too (a lot easier with free lancing). It wasn’t a law that forced the railroads to, just economics.