CZ Diners & Conductor 16 section Arrive

What is "another GW B unit"?

Yes... I received a Fed-Ex email notification from Beth at The Public Delivery Track late last week that my CZ diner is enroute.   Should arrive this week to wrap up it's round-trip, cross-country journey from NJ to California back to PA.    When you consider it started from China, this stuff already has more "travel miles" boxed then it will ever see on my layout!!!  

 

David

Sorry for the spelling error and line error etc.  I was overly excited to post, that they had finally arrived.

Hot Water, I lived in Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills for many years.  Knew many friends from EMD.  You must get to see a lot of BNSF.  Thanks for asking the question.

Buzz

Yes, but I'm a "steam guy", so I really don't give a second glance concerning what goes through town, whenever I'm down at the Village Hardware Store. Besides, I retired from EMD back at the end of 1998 after almost 37 years.

Mine should arrive Thursday, also ordered the Observation. 

I picked up my amtrak cars friday. These things have gotta be the nicest passenger cars going right now. I'm still waiting for my unlettered diner so I can do it up in Phase III striping. 

With the Observation and 6-5 announcement forthcoming (I dont think the york flyer was formal), we're still waiting on the baggage car, the dome-buffet and the conductor's dome. Hopefully they'll round it off by also doing the Silver Crag and Silver Chasm 10-6 variant (1952 order) with fewer passage windows (I recall them saying somewhere that they were doing 'all' the cars). CB&Q also had a few sleepers to this plan for their regular pool, so they can also run Burlington letterboards with it, as well as the Amtrak cars.

 

Pictures anyone? are they as stunning as their predecessors?

 

 

They are bar none -- even compared to GGD cars -- the best price/performance passenger cars right now in O-Gauge.  IMHO, of course, for those of you who may think otherwise.  

 

As for the observation preview-announcement at York... yes, I haven't seen the "announcement" on the Atlas-O website yet, although I do know that some dealers are already taking pre-orders with pricing established.

 

The York flyer indicated "coming soon" for these cars, and Atlas-O personnel indicated a March/April 2014 delivery.

 

David

Got mine last week. That makes 11 cars. Looks like Atlas cancelled the last dome car

Don't think so. The "last dome car" is actually the observation, which is a Dome Observation.

What's your source for that conclusion?  At York, there was no discussion of anything being cancelled.  In fact, Atlas-O personnel indicated the following...

 

Next up are the dome observation and 6-5 coaches to be delivered in early 2014.  Following those, they indicated they still planned to deliver a baggage car, dome-buffet, and conductor's coach (the last of which might be achieved by tweaking the tooling for dome cars in general).  No formal commitment was made, but there was a hint/possibility that all remaining cars could be delivered in 2014 -- though that would appear highly optimistic given the project's track record.  Although to Atlas-O's credit, the biggest delay to date occurred with major supplier problems in 2011 -- which they say have now been addressed/corrected. 

 

Let's keep our fingers crossed!!!

 

David

Dome chair with conductors window, my distributor says its been cancelled. I believe them since I've had them on order forever

I'll always look out from Village Hardware any time something's going by, even the lowly dinkies.    Once caught a train of PV's going by...

 

Rusty

My understandings from Jerry Kimble presentation at York, is that the Dome Chair Car with Conductors Window, has only been delayed because of the diner car and the immediate need for the Observation cars.  Most collectors are crying for a observation car so that with what they currently have can look some what like a complete train.

Buzz

The man in the Atlas O booth at last weekends Trainfest, stated that the "next project" will be to produce EXACTLY that car, i.e. the one with the Conductor's window!

so how many types of cars have been made?

I have these  two in different road names:

 

dome car

sleeper

 

now the diner

and Conductor's dome car ( what does this look like)?

is released

 

and of course we are all awaiting the end observation dome...

 

so is there going to be a coach and a baggage car or combine coming out later?

Anyone have a roadmap of the set?

 

 

 

What you "need" depends on the year of train you want.
The original 1949 train is a baggage car, 2 dome coaches (the non-conductor window car), the conductor window dome (which is the same as the non-conductor dome except for a small window at the opposite end from the vestibule), the dome/lounge/buffet, the diner,  2 10-6 sleepers, the 16 section roomette, another 10-6 and the dome observation.

 

So you need the baggage, 4 domes, the diner, 3 10-6 (all the "same"), 1 roomette, and the observation... 11 cars for the original set.

very shortly after the train started running, the 6-5 sleeper was added (12th car).

If you have a transcon sleeper (provided through 1957), it goes behind the baggage car, in front of the domes.

In 1963-64, the 16 section roomettes were converted to 48 seat coaches and were used seasonally as needed, in front of the domes.

       
       

The info I posted above was based on info we were told at York.  There's been no formally announced "plan" per se for the remaining 3 cars beyond the observation and 6-5, although there was an inference that all 5 cars could be delivered in 2014.  I think that's too optimistic, but anything is possible.

The issue with the conductors window car is they would likely need to modify the existing tooling for previous dome chair cars, which might make the tooling unable to be used for other roadnames.  So timing of this car could be tricky.

David

I wasnt speaking with any authority, just stating what I saw from my distributor. I dont buy form Atlas direct being that we have such a good deal with Horizon so I dont get to have some of that commmunication

The Atlas booth in York said the last 2 cars were the observation and dome w/ conductor's window and would be completed. That dome car was last because they used the mold to make all the other cars, then would modify it for the conductor's window. Once the mold is modified for that window, they didn't want to use it again for the cars w/o the window.

 

Maybe just that particular dealer cancelled their order for that car.

So, no baggage?

Here's a terrible video thats a decent comparison of the different 21" cars. The baggage car is MTH, the smooth cars are GGD sleepers, the GN and the last 2 cars are K-line and the other ribbed cars are the CZ cars.

My understanding was that the baggage car will come along with the "last grouping" of cars, i.e. the dome observation, Conductor's window car & baggage.

No, that's not what we were told at York last month.  Let's try this one more time...

 

• Diners and 16-section sleepers are shipping now.  Many folks who pre-ordered them are getting them this week.
• Next up are the domed observation and 6-5 coaches that were "preview announced" at York as "coming soon".  Some dealers are now accepting pre-orders with established pricing.  We were told at York ETA for these cars is March/April 2014.
• That leaves the baggage, dome-buffet, and conductor's coach.  During the Atlas-O  York seminar, we were told all cars are still planned for production -- perhaps they might even be produced later in 2014 for simultaneous delivery, but that was not a formal commitment.  As mentioned earlier, the tooling for the coach w/conductor's window would potentially come from existing dome car tooling -- but once done would make the modified tooling unavailable for additional runs of prior dome cars based on the earlier tooling.  So expect that car last.

 

I suppose all of this is subject to change, and perhaps someone from Atlas-O can chime in here with further confirmation.

 

Hope this helps!

 

David

 

Now that is good information. Thank you.

I have to get myself one of these diners! Very Nice:

 

 

 

Gentlepeople,

 

Two books every fan of the CZ should have:

1.  Portrait of a Silver Lady, by MacGregor and Benson

2.  CZ, the Story of the California Zephyr, by Ziimmermann

 

Easy online info about the CZ can found at:

 

http://calzephyr.railfan.net/

 

ChipR 

Lots of interesting info, thanks for posting the links; Here is the 16 section car: