Amtrak train model sets

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Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
628
Location
Portsmouth, VA
Hey guys,

How many of you have done (or are working on) Amtrak train sets? Which Amtrak trains are you most fond of? Which scale(s) seem to work best for you?

I have a train set (non-Amtrak) that I got for Christmas when I was 12. It's put away right now, because the power pack failed, and because there's really no suitable space in my house to set it up.

I've had a general interest in model railroading for many years, but I've never gotten into it seriously as a hobby.

Thanks!
 
I'm a member of both the Will County Model Railroad Club in Joliet IL and the Mountain Home Model Railroad Club in MT.Home Arkansas. I put together almost all of Amtrak's trains, as I began working on Amtrak equipment in 1972 until my retirement in 2008. I have a large collection of Amtrak power and rolling stock. I duplicate almost all of Amtrak's trains , except the Acela. Oneof my latest projects the Veterans unit and it iss the only unit I had someone else install the DCC and sound. My friend runs a small train shop in Central Illinois, he is a Gold Star parent so I didn't just by yhe parts but let him install them also

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I have trains in both HO and N gauges and from different periods and countries as I haven't been sufficiently disciplined with myself and just bought what took my liking. I'm not even sure how much I have in total but the collection has been growing slowly over the years, with the earliest items going back to my childhood.

I guess at some point I will have to go through it and sell the various items that don't interest me anymore.

I don't have any fixed layout but have a big box of track parts and when I take a fancy to running some trains I will clip together something ad-hoc. Especially when i need to cheer myself up. So I will do anything from a huge oval to just sit back and watch it run, to complicated switching yards that require a lot of hands on operation.

I try not to mix different periods or countries though within one operating session, although sometimes it will happen.

I want to build a proper layout with scenery etc eventually. It's really a question of finding the time, and also of planning it properly. I have sketched many layouts on paper, but was never really totally satisfied.
 
I'm in O-Gauge 3-rail, (by choice).

My collection includes roughly 100+ pieces of Amtrak equipment, mostly Amfleet cars and Superliners, plus a variety of diesels and a few electrics. (including an Acela)

While I can replicate a number of NEC consists, my crowning achievement (taking more than a decade to assemble) is an Amtrak Auto-Train, a current-guzzling (by HO standards) nearly 60-pound monster over 35' long.



There are also older videos of my other Amtrak consists on my YT channel.

--PCJ
 
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I have enough for two Superliner consists. I would like to find HO scale autotrain car racks. Have they ever been produced?
 
Very old thread bought back to life.

Yes there is car racks available for the AutoTrain. However nothing in HO scale seem to be in stock or currently available.

They will show up ever once in a while, check with your local dealer. Might have a few on the shelf.
 
The best scale is 1:1. But I model HO, G, and L Gauge.

In HO I have a hodge podge of equipment that I've either worked on in real life or find interesting. The President Bush funeral train, a 20th Century Limited, almost a full Silver Star. A model of a Pacific Series Sleeper with custom decals. I also have a variety of Epoch V German trains as well. I'm going to try and get a Sapsan this year for fun though.

In G Scale I have a narrow gauge German train. L Gauge I have the Metroliner which is loosely based off of Amtrak.
 
Seaboard, do you have any Marklin? Long ago our parents brought a model of a current German locomotives (2-8-2) from a trip to Europe. That prompted our switch as kids from Lionel to HO. Still modeling today. Since our railroad is set in the transition era, the 50’s, Amtrak not likely to make an appearance.
 
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Seaboard, do you have any Marklin? Long ago our parents brought a model of a current German locomotives (2-8-2) from a trip to Europe. That prompted our switch as kids from Lionel to HO. Still modeling today. Since our railroad is set in the transition era, the 50’s, Amtrak not likely to make an appearance.

Indeed I do. I don't have much to be honest because I go thru spells with model railroading and real railroading. And the real railroading always takes my interest. I do want to work on my models though.

As far as Marklin I have my favorite German Steam Locomotive (Class 41 2-8-2) with a fleet of old DB Coaches from the 50s. Then I have an ICE II, and the ALEX commuter train from Southern Bavaria. I'm eyeing a Piko Sapsan because that's about the only Russian model I can find anywhere.

I have this grand plan for a layout in my out building that is transition era/modern era America on one level, and my favorite European Line the Karwendal Bahn on the upper level. But then the Pandemic hit, and I got the railcar so it became a bit of a stalled project. I want to get started on it soon. But I might not be living in the USA after the pandemic so that also keeps me from getting too involved.

I would love to come visit your layout sometime.

Now my G Scale Trains are set up in my bedroom around the ceiling but they almost never get used because a few of the cars are too long for the clearance and I need to widen the curves. Maybe one day I'll work on that as well.
 
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