So I've been searching for the subject engine to match the three stripe passenger cars I acquired, but no has it in stock or is currently selling. However, I can still find the Phase 4 20-20682/3-1 engine (same catalog). I'm not sure anyone sells matching body parts or can modify the paint scheme to match the PH 3. Or do I just wait for someone to finally try to offload their accumulations?
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They used the wrong blue color on the phase 4 in a latter release. I have it in 2 rail. It's a baby blue instead of the darker blue of phase 4.
So...??? Mine doesn't match but I try and ignore it. I figure that Amtrak ran what they had, when they had it!
I’m in the same boat...
My MTH F40PH as a Christmas present came from a recent catalog, and the Heritage blue is lighter, which matches one number of the MHCs and the newer Amfleets from this year, as well. The plating is great, but I’d rather not mix and match the blues, as the older MHCs and Amfleets (non-plated), as well as the heritage cars, have a dark blue. The dark blue is not correct, as the “heritage blue” is definitely lighter.
My “Maple Leaf” will have the plated, lighter blue cars and have a single MHC and 6 plated Amfleets. 
Eventually, my “Lake Shore Limited” will have the darker blue cars...
With all this said, the blue and red tended to fade, especially later in life when the F40s were getting long in the tooth, and they “ran what they brought” before Amtrak received the Genesis and Viewliner cars, in the dark blue Phase IV paint.
Whatever you run, it’ll be great!
thanks,
Mario
There has been a lot of talk about this, but I’ll post it here to save you a search...
Oh, and if you look hard enough you can find a prototype for all three blues...
all images found with Google.
@CentralFan1976 posted:Oh, and if you look hard enough you can find a prototype for all three blues...
Now, I feel better! 
It bugged me when delivered. Now, not so much.
Now the more important question is how does one replicate those gold tinted windshields.
The blue is the easy part. Try matching the red. 
According to Amtrak's official painting and lettering guide, Amtrak Red is closer to orange. The closest I've seen to accurate is on the Lionel 21" cars oddly on both the red and the blue considering all the other threads on color. I used Amtrak's official Pantone colors, CMYK, and RGB for comparison which is published by Amtrak to figure out colors for my latest Amtrak project.
That film on the glass looks a lot like the same bronze tint that is a part of commercial Low-E window systems. I'll have to talk to one of my window reps for a sample ..... 
@GG1 4877 posted:The blue is the easy part. Try matching the red.
According to Amtrak's official painting and lettering guide, Amtrak Red is closer to orange. The closest I've seen to accurate is on the Lionel 21" cars oddly on both the red and the blue considering all the other threads on color. I used Amtrak's official Pantone colors, CMYK, and RGB for comparison which is published by Amtrak to figure out colors for my latest Amtrak project.
That film on the glass looks a lot like the same bronze tint that is a part of commercial Low-E window systems. I'll have to talk to one of my window reps for a sample .....
I believe the windows are coated with ITO; indium tin oxide, a conductive layer that is sputtered on glass for anti-fog heating when there’s a current that is passed through. Back when I worked for Indium Corproation, we provided such targets for aircraft heated windshields and flat panel displays.
here’s an example: https://diamondcoatings.co.uk/...eated-train-windows/
thanks!
-Mario
@Profuse posted:So I've been searching for the subject engine to match the three stripe passenger cars I acquired, but no has it in stock or is currently selling. However, I can still find the Phase 4 20-20682/3-1 engine (same catalog). I'm not sure anyone sells matching body parts or can modify the paint scheme to match the PH 3. Or do I just wait for someone to finally try to offload their accumulations?
Which cars have you procured? This way we can make a recommendation on a possible matching F40PH.
Don’t forget there are other manufacturers out there, as well. Compare the MTH 20-20685 (#251) below with the K-Line F40PH below that (#334). The stock K-Line sounds are incorrect for this prime mover and horn, but that can be remedied.
There is also the Legacy Lionel version which is supposed to be different tooling from the K-line, but I suspect they share a lot in common. One item to note is that the MTH version is a Phase I F40PH while the K-Line is a Phase II variation. The main spotting feature is the roof fans are slimmer and in a well on the Phase II version. K-Line also does the correct steps on the pilot. MTH uses the standard GP40 pilot steps.
Just to clarify, when referring to phases on the locomotive, there were at least 2-3 distinctive changes in the design over the period they were built between 1975 and 1992. This does not refer to the paint stripes that Amtrak has officially designated as phases. So confusing!
I have several K-line and MTH versions and each have their pluses and minuses. All of my Amtrak F40s are in mostly phase III paint and one is in Phase II paint.
The Lionel one looks nice, but after all those failures, I'll wait for a while and see what a 2nd hand one is like after the warranty is long gone.
@GG1 4877 posted:There is also the Legacy Lionel version which is supposed to be different tooling from the K-line, but I suspect they share a lot in common. One item to note is that the MTH version is a Phase I F40PH while the K-Line is a Phase II variation. The main spotting feature is the roof fans are slimmer and in a well on the Phase II version. K-Line also does the correct steps on the pilot. MTH uses the standard GP40 pilot steps.
Just to clarify, when referring to phases on the locomotive, there were at least 2-3 distinctive changes in the design over the period they were built between 1975 and 1992. This does not refer to the paint stripes that Amtrak has officially designated as phases. So confusing!
I have several K-line and MTH versions and each have their pluses and minuses. All of my Amtrak F40s are in mostly phase III paint and one is in Phase II paint.
The Lionel one looks nice, but after all those failures, I'll wait for a while and see what a 2nd hand one is like after the warranty is long gone.
Interesting! Compare the MTH #251 above with the prototype (especially the light blue stripe @Engineer-Joe.
read more about F40s here:
https://rapidotrains.com/maste...s/f40ph-master-class
???
@Engineer-Joe posted:???
Joe, I have the same engine even same number, but it's a PS2.
@Engineer-Joe posted:???
close? 
Anyone else notice that the front steps had 2, and the rear steps had three? So the MTH steps are correct for the rear and the K-Line are correct for the front.
Look how high the rear pilot is off the rail, too!
The difference in the roof top radiator fans that @GG1 4877 was talking about the phase differences.
The K-Line blue is darker than the latest MTH, but not as dark as the Protosound 2 units.
PS- if you have a K-Line F40PH, it came from the factory with the incorrect programming. Reset it per the standard TMCC instructions and use #5 instead of the #1 as mentioned in the manual. This will make the strobes blink on the roof, instead of the electronics thinking it’s a smoke unit. Same output, different programming function. This way you can turn them on and off using the AUX1 8/9 functions.
sorry for all the horn play, I was trying to compare it to an actual Nathan P5A.
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