Following is a pretty thorough review of the new Walthers Superliners. Feel free to read the whole thing if you’re up to it, but don’t feel bad if you just look at the pictures…that’s probably what I’d do [(-D]
History
Toward the mid 1970s the fleet of ragtag passenger cars inherited by Amtrak from various railroads began to reach the limits of their useful lives. New passenger cars for the west were needed, but what design would Amtrak choose? Would they choose something like the recent Amfleets, or would they go with something vastly different?
Ultimately the design chosen capitalized on the efficient double decked Budd built Hi-Levels of the Santa Fe. Amtrak purchased the entire Hi-Level fleet from the Santa Fe and obviously were impressed with the design. However after building the Amfleets for Amtrak, Budd was no longer manufacturing passenger cars. So the first Superliners were manufactured by Pullman Standard in the late 1970s.
The first order of cars included Coach, Coach Baggage, Diner, Lounge, and Sleeper models. Since the Hi-Levels were still in good running order, several of these (mostly former “Step Up” Coaches) were used as Coach Dorms on Superliner trains. The Pullman Standard Superliners are referred to as Superliner I.
As the Superliner fleet proved their efficiencies over the years, Amtrak decided to equip more trains with Superliners. Since Pullman Standard was no longer around, Amtrak’s next Superliners were manufactured by Bombardier in the mid 1990s. These Bombardier Superliners are referred to as Superliner II.
The Superliner II order included Coach, Diner, Lounge, Sleeper, and Transition Dorm models. The Transition Dorms replaced the former Hi-Level Coach Dorms.
Background on the Walthers Models
Walthers introduced a very respectable Superliner line of cars in HO scale several years ago. In this origi
Matt - thanks for the excellent review. Do you think these are better than the bachman or kato passenger cars? You allude to that fact in the review. Thanks.
Yes, I would call these Superliners better then Bachmann and Kato passenger cars. But this is a big generalization since Bachmann does not offer any Superliners, and the Kato Superliner has some features that are missing from the Walthers Superliners. Kato has only released a Coach thus far (with more body styles on the way), so it is difficult to compare it with the full Walthers compliment of body styles.
Here are some features the Kato Superliner includes that Walthers does not:
crimped fluting
rotating bearing caps
passenger style couplers
black “rubber” window gaskets
easily lighted markers
better end bars
original phase II number plate
However, Walthers does better then Kato with the following:
The windows are lightly tinted. These could have been darker like the prototypes (and the first run of Walthers Superliners) but I believe the light tint was chosen so you could see the interiors better.
The windows have a gasket per se, but I have been unable to remove the windows to paint the gaskets black. There are a few glue spots that help hold the windows in place, and it would be difficult to remove the windows without breaking things.
I hope you do more reviews in the future on other products since your review is above what we normally read in magazines.
The lighting kit is interesting. Did you have to drop the voltage to the kit so they would not be too bright?? This is normally a problem with lighting as they tend to be very bright.
Thanks for the reply. The gasket would be hard to paint without making a mess, but I have used draftsman tape in the past for this kind of project. It comes in all widths, and the 1/64 is about correct for the windows. The only drawback is, the time it takes to do all of the windows in the cars. The effect is great if you do the gaskets.
What tools did you use to modify the dining car interior. I have the Superliner II cars and the coach’s walls are not right. They are molded in front of windows on the lower floor and on the stairway upstairs.
To start the cuts, I used an Xacto knife with a sharp #11 blade and I think a #17 blade (the one used for chiseling). Then to clean and shape the cuts I used many different small files. Similar to the ones found in this set:
I noticed that the walls on the coach interiors are a little off around the stairwell area. The walls do not line up with the windows. Does this bother anyone else or am I the only “picky” one, LOL.
The one issue that everyone is avoiding is the metal plating. The only time that Superliners (or any other model rr rolling stock & locomotive, for that matter) looked that shiny was the day they left the factory. Take a look at them today…hardly a shine you could eat off of, some quite grimy, some have the old striping and lettering showing through, etc, etc. Yes, the plating looks great, but the old finish was much more realistic.
I wasn’t going to buy these because I already have 20 of the original ones, but when I saw them in my LHS I had to have a set. Got the II’s, 2 coaches. Lighting and painted interiors coming.
This is truly one of the nicest models Walthers has made.
Comment regarding the metalized surface’s reflection…
Simple solution would be to mask off the windows and airbrush a very thin coat of semi-gloss clear. This generally dulls down metalized finishes like this, even if it already has a clear-coat protecting it.
To start experiment first and try it on the vestibule and diaphram section.
IMHO, it’s just like weathering our locomotives when we buy them brand new. We whip out the airbrush and start griming the bodies up.
I’d have to disagree with the real Supers not looking as shiny as the Walthers cars. You have to see the models in person to get a feel for the shine. Photos do not show it the real way it looks, and they always appear too shiny in photos.
On my most recent trips on the Southwest Chief (about 2 months ago) the real cars were very shiny. They especially look shiny at night when lights reflect off the cars. The brightest are the cars that are in IVb now…likely most if not all of the usable cars at this point.
Of course the typical Superliner shine may not look like the brand new Superliner II lounge shown below anymore, but they certainly are not dull like unplated plastic.
This is on of the best reviews I have ever seen. I think this sets the standard. I have a couple of questions about these cars. I’m modeling the Rio Grande and have a sliding time period between 1970 and 1990. The good thing about this is that I can use the California Zephyr, Rio Grande Zephyr and the Amtrak Zephyr on my layout. I already have three Kato F40PH that I will use as the power for the Amtrak Zephyr, but what cars do I need? Can someone please tell me what cars of these new Walthers plated cars will be correct to use between 1983-84 to 1990?
I’ll try my best, but I’ll qualify this right away that I’m much more familiar with the Southwest Chief then the California Zephyr. In fact I have not ridden on the Zephyr since 1989. A big part of this is due to the ending of the Desert Wind, which used to be my connection to the Zephyr. But the good news for you is that I rode the train many times during the eras you’re modeling (mid to late 1980s).
The biggest thing you’ll have to remember is that the Zephyr during the mid to late 1980s, over the portion of the line you’re modeling was a combined train of the California Zephyr, Pioneer, and Desert Wind. Which means it’s longer then most Amtrak long distance trains of the period.
Quite possibly you’re best resource may be this YouTube video that shows what the Zephyr looked like with the combined trainsets:
Study it carefully and you’ll start to notice which cars go where and what style/phase paint to use.
You’ll want only Superliner I cars. Superliner II’s did not arrive until around 1994. Also the majority of the paint scheme would be phase III, with perhaps the old phase II coach thrown in the mix.
I’ll use that Youtube video as my reference.
The first trainset shown is a nice full consist view, although a little dark. Here is what I saw:
3 F40s in phase III (no ditch lights!).
2 phase III Material Handling Cars.
1 phase III heritage Baggage Car which appears to be one of the former Santa Fe cars.
Thanks a lot my friend. This will really help me get it right. You way of explaining this is very easy to follow. I think I will start by order 2 Kato MHC and continue until I have everything I need.
Forgot to mention on my previous post. For anyone wanting to dull down the shine to a realistic notch, it’s NOT a good idea to use dullcote.
Look at the photo on the previous thread page. There are 2 areas that appear to be good for experimenting on the same side of the body. These are the lower smooth body panel sections that are separated by the door.
The shells have a clear on them but the metalized effect can be slightly altered.
One can mask off the section between the door and rear truck and apply a thin gloss clear, while on the section from the door to the front truck a thin semi-gloss clear can be applied. Visually compare the results to the factory finish on the opposite side of the body or another new Superliner shell. The semi-gloss clear (acrylic or solvent based) will dull down a metalized finish considerably to give it that “been on the road a few years” look.
