Atlas O Horizon Cars

I have a set of the first production run and like them very much. But I do have to admit that I like the Comet commuter cars better.

They’re the best!

I have a set of Phase III that look perfect behind F40PHs. Detail is high quality as is the paint. I’ll see if I can post some pics. 100% recommend hunting down a set.

I also own an Atlas California Zephyr dome observation car. That is next level detail compared to the Horizon cars, but mostly because the real life variety has so much more going on than a modern smooth sided passenger car.

The Atlas O Horizon cars are nowhere near as detailed as their Zephyr cars, but they are still very nice for the price. Bear in mind the newest production run has blacked out and frosted windows, so it's kind of hard to see the interior details. But they are very nicely weighted and roll pretty good.

The 3-rail couplers have issues with popping open on the newest release, due to the spring that keeps the coupler closed being too short. So you will have to install safety wire or bailing wire, like in image below, to make sure the couplers will not open randomly. Just make sure it's nice and tight and that the magnetic coupler plate no longer allows them to pop open. I also have a thread discussing it with a video showing how to install the safety wire.

I have had to eventually redo the wiring to the trucks, as the method they used results in the wires breaking off from where they're soldered onto and causing them to flicker over switches. I had to solder on flexable wire to the pickup rollers, as the factory wires were extremely thin and not very flexable. But also move the outer rail pickup from where the factory put it, to be on one of the side frame screws and have flexable wires attached. I have had 0 electrical issues with the cars after doing my truck wiring modification.

I have Horizon cars in Phase III Amtrak in 2 and 3 rail and they are great scale length cars.  The interiors are pretty bare.  A single color and no figures.  Most of mine are the original run cars so they have incandescent lighting.  I also have Comet II cars in undecorated, Septa, NJT, and MARC in 2 and 3 rail.  Basically, the same outside of the trucks.  The MARC cars are an approximation of the fluted Sumitomo cars. 

I run my Amtrak cars with my GGD Amfleets and the colors are almost a dead match.  Horizon cars have operated all over the Amtrak system, but during the phase III era, they were mainly based out of Boston, Chicago, and LA. 

I don't see a comparison to the Zephyr cars.  The Horizon cars built by Bombardier are based on the Pullman Standard Comet I cars of 1970 that were purchased by NJDOT to operate on the Erie Lackawanna commuter lines and are very clean line simple modern commuter coaches.  The Zephyr cars are just different and have a lot more detail that can be rendered.