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Post by Amtrak207 on May 22, 2016 22:09:24 GMT -5
I'm back!!!
Long time no see my fellow modelers. I have been absent for a while now and I just wanted to apologize and update everyone.
I had a death in the family that was a huge blow to me so that took up a lot of my time, things are better now.
Modeling update: My contact at Walther's left about a year ago to advance her career, so I am glad for that, yet bummed cause I do not have any inside information anymore. Last I left you:
Retooled Horizon cars: Saw a sample a year and a half ago. I have absolutely no idea what became of the project.
Retooled Viewliners: They have the plans, it is all up in the air now.
Amfleet Series: Deemed a success. Hottest sellers in order:
Phase III
Phase IVb
Phase II/I
Phase IV
At least I was able to provide some insider info for quite a while, especially with the Amfleet project and yearly name trains. Special thanks goes out to my female friend who filled me in.
That all being said, I have made the decision to backdate my modeling from current era to mid/late 1988. I really missed the Phase III of my childhood. The final straw that broke for it was when I saw Rapido's F40PH. I was awe-stricken. I cannot wait for the later phases.
I am thinking about selling all my Phase IVb equipment (Amfleet I, II, Superliners) to start the Phase III model budget. They are in various states of completion from NIB to completed with some half-detailed. I am still deciding on it.
Anyway, I cannot be happier with my decision to go back to 1988. Gosh what a fun time that was huh??? We had FL-9's, Amfleet, multiple times of Heritage Coaches, Diners, Slumbercoaches, Baggage-Dorms, F40's, E60's, AEM-7's, Pumpkin MOW, MHC's, not to mention some great trains such as the Broadway Limited, Desert Wind, the Pioneer, etc.
So I am tinkering with some ideas now. Ps Walther's has Amfleet on backorder, so expect a new run as I have to stock up on some Phase III's!
Hope everyone has been well, I have missed this great forum and everyone's work on here.
Tom
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Post by backshophoss on May 23, 2016 2:30:22 GMT -5
Amtrak is having a bit of "Retro" look with the Viewliner II cars,so far the "ViewBags" and
the current test set of a Bag/Dorm,Diner,and Sleeper bouncing around the NEC somewhere....
The View I Diner aka #8400 Indianapolis,American View,Pacific Cape(Staff Sleeper),and Beech Grove
Have reverted to Phase III(b).
Phase III and IV ran together for years,so a "mixed" bag consist would not be out of line.
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Post by acelaphillies on May 23, 2016 19:31:04 GMT -5
Tom,
Welcome back! I had noticed your absence, and I am very sorry to hear that it was due to a death in your family. I am glad to hear that you are doing better now.
Thanks to your friend for all the info! Riding the gravy train was fun while it lasted! I guess we will just have to go back to guessing again, haha. That is very strange about the Horizon cars. I have been watching for them to come out, but like all of us, we have seen no announcements. It is so strange that they seemed so advanced in preproduction and then it just stopped. Also, it seems like demand is there. Oh well, I guess we will just have to wait and see.
That is nice that you have found a modeling period that you are happy with. It does seem like there is a lot of modeling opportunity in that era. I guess you are happy to see the Phase III comeback happening on Amtrak these days?
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Post by Amtrak207 on May 23, 2016 22:35:10 GMT -5
Ironically I really like Phase IVb on today's equipment. I don't think the new Phase III is a bad thing, but for me it's more childhood memories having a step back in modeling.
Rumor has it, Rapido has been thinking about producing a GP40TC, there is a demand for it and they want it too, but no plans at this time, we shall see.
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 Jun 3, 2016 9:13:52 GMT -5
I'm back!!! Long time no see my fellow modelers. I have been absent for a while now and I just wanted to apologize and update everyone. I had a death in the family that was a huge blow to me so that took up a lot of my time, things are better now. Modeling update: My contact at Walther's left about a year ago to advance her career, so I am glad for that, yet bummed cause I do not have any inside information anymore. Last I left you: Retooled Horizon cars: Saw a sample a year and a half ago. I have absolutely no idea what became of the project. Retooled Viewliners: They have the plans, it is all up in the air now. Amfleet Series: Deemed a success. Hottest sellers in order: Phase III Phase IVb Phase II/I Phase IV At least I was able to provide some insider info for quite a while, especially with the Amfleet project and yearly name trains. Special thanks goes out to my female friend who filled me in. That all being said, I have made the decision to backdate my modeling from current era to mid/late 1988. I really missed the Phase III of my childhood. The final straw that broke for it was when I saw Rapido's F40PH. I was awe-stricken. I cannot wait for the later phases. I am thinking about selling all my Phase IVb equipment (Amfleet I, II, Superliners) to start the Phase III model budget. They are in various states of completion from NIB to completed with some half-detailed. I am still deciding on it. Anyway, I cannot be happier with my decision to go back to 1988. Gosh what a fun time that was huh??? We had FL-9's, Amfleet, multiple times of Heritage Coaches, Diners, Slumbercoaches, Baggage-Dorms, F40's, E60's, AEM-7's, Pumpkin MOW, MHC's, not to mention some great trains such as the Broadway Limited, Desert Wind, the Pioneer, etc. So I am tinkering with some ideas now. Ps Walther's has Amfleet on backorder, so expect a new run as I have to stock up on some Phase III's! Hope everyone has been well, I have missed this great forum and everyone's work on here. Tom Welcome back Tom! Sorry to hear about your loss. Hope the modeling goes well especially with transitioning to phase III. Every now and then it's tempting. I did finally pick up a phase III Amfleet I Cafe car just to have as I've always had a soft spot for phase III. I'm not sure if I'll actually run it in revenue service but I won't rule it out. I may even paint the interior seats red but it's on low priority given the backlog of stuff I still need to get done. I'm glad to see that they deemed the Amfleets a success. It certainly validates those who have been asking for the re-tooling for years and met with skepticism from fellow modelers (who don't even have an interest in modern passenger train modeling) about their viability and likelihood of production. I like to think that my purchase of 30+ of these cars helped contribute to their success  . I'm patiently waiting on the Viewliners like others are. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I can't see what's holding Walthers up with re-tooling the Viewlier I sleepers. That isn't dependent on the Viewliner II rollout and Walthers can do two phases this time around (The fact that there was only one paint scheme when the initially released them speaks volumes as more paint schemes seems to be a more lucrative venture for manufacturers). Technically they can even do three (now). Horizons would go nice with the Rapido Cabbages but since I don't focus on those corridors as much, it's not as much of a pressing issue for me but I'll be ready to pick up a few if and when the time comes. Now that Rapido has announced the cabbages, I'm sure Walthers (being in the Midwest where most of the Horizons are deployed) will ramp up their Horizon Fleet re-tooling in the near future. Quite frankly, there's not much else to run with the Cabbages at this time. |
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Post by rails4dmv on Jun 4, 2016 10:12:11 GMT -5
Glad to hear the Amfleets were a success. I grabbed the Phase III and Phase IVb Amfleet I cars before they sold out, but I purchased the Amfleet II in Phase IV, just so it could match up with my Viewliners.
I hope Walthers will do the Budd diner, sleepers & coaches with the stainless finish in Phase I, II, & III eventually. I didn't buy them but I know I'll be on the hunt for the Phase III Amfleet II coach cars if Walthers does decide to produce those cars or if Amtrak decides to pull the plug and repaint their Amfleet cars back to Phase III or IIIb.
I hope the Metroliners were deemed a success also, and maybe we will see more modern commuter sets from Walthers.
A stainless Budd Bi-Level would be a major surprise.
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Post by slowfreight on Jul 3, 2016 18:23:59 GMT -5
I hope Walthers will do the Budd diner, sleepers & coaches with the stainless finish in Phase I, II, & III eventually. I didn't buy them but I know I'll be on the hunt for the Phase III Amfleet II coach cars if Walthers does decide to produce those cars or if Amtrak decides to pull the plug and repaint their Amfleet cars back to Phase III or IIIb. I hope the Metroliners were deemed a success also, and maybe we will see more modern commuter sets from Walthers. A stainless Budd Bi-Level would be a major surprise. For certain specific cars, if Walthers made them plated in any other roadnames (mostly ATSF), there's a fairly low-effort way to get a plated car. I needed a Pines-series sleeper to go with all the other plated cars I have so I picked up a deluxe ATSF version with people. MB Klein has some lighted Amtrak cars on clearance for $35 (lounge, dome, baggage, and that ridiculous foobie Phase IV RPO). I'll swap the ends, trucks, and some underbody parts, which will give me a plated HEP-equipped Pines-series car. Painting and decaling in Phase II will be pretty simple. When the dust settles, I'll sell the donor car. Sadly, the Metroliners don't seem to be a success judging by the clearance prices and quantities I'm seeing. But I think the real market for those is in depowered cab cars, which were seen in the west, midwest, and northeast. But a Budd bilevel would be successful, and would truly be my Most-Wanted Car Ever. It would do as well as the C&NW and RTA bilevels, which can't be found anywhere except at inflated prices. |
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Post by alcorobin on Jul 18, 2016 15:15:39 GMT -5
I second votes for an HO model of a Rohr RTL Turboliner.
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Post by backshophoss on Jul 18, 2016 17:44:30 GMT -5
alcorobin,Welcome to the board.
There's not a catagory "other",and the company that made them has "disappeared"
from the Walters catalog(ie "Train Station Products").
Used when Amfleet went online with the GG-1's still were running,the short baggage cars,and the HEP power cars
created from the Army Kitchen cars given to Amtrak by the feds.
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Post by backshophoss on Nov 25, 2018 14:14:02 GMT -5
Not sure if Jason was hinting on a run of Horizon/Comet cars by Rapido with that pic of an Amtrak train waiting at a red Home signal.
IF that is next up along with a possible run of the MK built F-40/GP-40 variants should prove interesting
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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 25, 2018 17:03:25 GMT -5
Not sure if Jason was hinting on a run of Horizon/Comet cars by Rapido with that pic of an Amtrak train waiting at a red Home signal. IF that is next up along with a possible run of the MK built F-40/GP-40 variants should prove interesting Actually makes lots of sense. This would open the door for more (accurate) F40 variants. |
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Post by slowfreight on Dec 3, 2018 21:28:03 GMT -5
It's definitely time to update this survey. NPCUs are on the street, but it's ironic that the NPCU was the one item on our survey that got a single vote. I think I recall seeing an SDP40F running around my layout today, asking when it would be joined by a Pooch...
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Post by backshophoss on Dec 3, 2018 22:30:15 GMT -5
Creating a new poll equals a new thread,Current poll is now locked, need a couple of days to mull over a new poll
For the "pooch"(P30CH),a body shell that fits over an Athearn Genesis GE C Drive or an Atlas GE C Drive.
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