timberley
Member
Posts: 189
Primary Railroads: VIA Rail Canada, AMT (Montreal)
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Post by timberley on Oct 30, 2014 15:54:08 GMT -5
Thanks guys. No progress on the marker lights yet, but I'll be sure to post when I do. And I'll echo the others in saying welcome Kyle! You seemed like a prime candidate to be over in this bunch  And nice to see another cafe conversion, those booths look good and I'm sure were a lot less time consuming than building them the way I did! Of course now that enough of us are converting these, Walthers is bound to suddenly announce a new version with the proper cafe interior... ;-) |
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Post by Amtrak207 on Oct 30, 2014 16:25:25 GMT -5
The retooled Horizons, not to hijack my own thread haha but the biggest obstacle for Walthers seems to be a realistic brushed aluminum finish. Don't expect the silver painted finish that plagued the previous runs. This one will be more realistic and have a whitish-greyish finish to them as the real ones.
I am not sure what they plan to do with the doors. As some have a traditional door with the square window and some have one door split center with the oval-ish window. I am not sure what they plan to do.
Tom
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Post by backshophoss on Oct 30, 2014 19:16:59 GMT -5
Amtk207,If/when Walters reruns the Horizen Fleet cars,the finish used on the 1st run of
Superliners would have close enough,they are based on the Comet design,run hard and
put away wet/dirty on the outside anyway.
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Post by Amtrak207 on Oct 31, 2014 15:36:52 GMT -5
I would have to agree. One thing is that Walthers has really revamped their paint schemes and not only are they Amtrak matched, but Amtrak approved.
I am currently trying to find a good replication of the diaphragm walkway/buffer diamond plate tread. The HO scale one is too big and not very realistic looking (especially for such a small space.) I may check what N scale has to offer or possibly look at brass offerings.
Stay tuned for Amfleet car end details...such as Type H tightlock couplers from Sergent Engineering as well as the curved grab iron on the door, and a few other tidbits such as the coupler release lever. Next up is the diaphragm walkway tread and HEP cables/receptacles.
A note on Sergent Engineering couplers..... to put it simply, they are just truly beautiful. If you install them on all the cars, the Amfleets run VERY close together coupled and the diaphragms act like they're supposed to. It takes some time getting to learn to couple/uncouple the cars, but I am just simply blown away. I am still deciding whether to equip the whole fleet with them. If you have tight radius curves, don't even bother, you WILL derail.
Tom
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mlrr
Member
Posts: 66 
Primary Railroads: Amtrak, Metro-North, MARC, METRA, New Jersey Transit, VRE
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Post by mlrr on Nov 6, 2014 8:36:59 GMT -5
Here's what it looks like assembled (Car number 43357). I love the result! Thanks again for the inspiration Tom! I'll do one more like this (3 total) and do two more with the Club Dinette configuration). One thing to note is that even though the interior for the prototype is white, I used light gray. The nature of the LED balances this out in my opinion. It also helps the interiors stand out more.  |
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Post by Amtrak207 on Nov 6, 2014 16:58:57 GMT -5
Looks great Kyle! Glad I could help out!
I am torn up with the factory lighting. I may have to look into other offerings or just come up with my own, as I feel the Walthers one is too bright. This isn't so much of any issue with the Food Service cars, as they are naturally brighter and always "on." But for the Coaches, the conductor usually turns down the interior lighting on night/overnight runs, so stay tuned.
Tom
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Post by backshophoss on Nov 6, 2014 18:32:43 GMT -5
Guys,depending if you are running in a DC or DCC enviroment,the simple fix would be to use resistors
to dim down regular bulbs,or install Fuction only Decoders to control the lights/leds.
The lounge/"Le Pub" would have dimmer lights from the get-go,Biz class/Dinettes would be
all on or alise lights on and Emergency lights on,along with seat overhead spots on/off
by passenger wants/needs,the same with Amfleet I/II coaches.
Amfleet didn't have window shades,but were tinted just enought to make it difficult
at times to look in.
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Post by Amtrak207 on Nov 6, 2014 20:41:44 GMT -5
Hoss that is exactly what I needed, thank you!
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mlrr
Member
Posts: 66
Primary Railroads: Amtrak, Metro-North, MARC, METRA, New Jersey Transit, VRE
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Post by mlrr on Nov 7, 2014 7:55:08 GMT -5
That's way too many decoders for my fleet. I'd reinforce the windows with tint film or cover the LED array with some sort of tint film to tone it down. Way more economical for 14 Amfleet I coaches.
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Post by backshophoss on Nov 8, 2014 2:29:17 GMT -5
mlrr,You could possibly use resistors to drop the voltage to the led array.
IF you are running 14.5-15 volts to the track bus(es).
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Post by Amtrak207 on Nov 14, 2014 7:39:28 GMT -5
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Post by mttrains on Nov 14, 2014 9:10:50 GMT -5
That looks really nice Tom. I will look into the BLMA product for some commuter cars I am currently building. I notice the coupler on your Amfleet in the photos. What type are you using?
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Post by Amtrak207 on Nov 14, 2014 9:20:39 GMT -5
Type H tightlock couplers from Sergent Engineering. Product HC87A. They are gorgeous. While I have enough to do a whole fleet, I am still deciding to equip every passenger car with them or just keep them on the end cars. They work beautifully and will definitely stay coupled until you use the wand to uncouple. You really want to see Walthers diaphragms work? Install a set, I was blown away. www.sergentengineering.com |
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Post by mttrains on Nov 14, 2014 10:05:13 GMT -5
I will look into them. I knew about them and wanted to use them but I was not too sure about uncoupling and still having full contact diaphragms. If you really like them and have success using them I will check it out. I know you understand my concerns. |
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Post by Amtrak207 on Nov 14, 2014 10:26:46 GMT -5
Thing is, they work TOO well haha. I am sure it's much easier for Superliner equipment but with the single level cars, the diaphragm is too close to the couplers for the magnet to always catch. Hence me deciding to just leave it on the end car.
Whatever you choose, pick up a set if you want, they're not expensive and worth it to experiment.
Be careful you don't fall into the "screw the uncoupling magnet, these are too gosh darn gorgeous to take off!"
(Yes, EVERYONE notices the coupler and are blown away with the realism.)
Tom
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And nice to see another cafe conversion, those booths look good and I'm sure were a lot less time consuming than building them the way I did!
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