Detailing the interior of the Atlas O California Zephyr Cars

Jerry Rails,

I have painted the interiors and placed Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People that I painted in 37 of my California Zephyr and Amtrak Zephyr 3-rail cars.  I recommend that you start with a sleeping car.  I had to use an Excell knife to carefully pry the body shell off the metal chassis at one end.  It is a tight fit on most passenger cars.  Use a folded bath towel as a cushion to protect the roof.

Note: The first two runs of the 10-6 Sleepers had the interior floor piece mis-manufactured with three stateroom wall edges showing through the windows.  I called Bill Seratelli at Atlas O before he retired and Atlas O then put window Shades all the way down to cover the wall edges from showing on the third and final Commemorative run of cars.  I on the other hand, cut 1/4" out of the middle of a floor piece to adjust the molding error, moving the walls into correct position.  Two runs were made and nobody at Atlas O noticed the wall edges showing through the windows.

Please remember that I was working with 3-Rail cars and not dealing with 2-Rail Coupler Boxes.  I don't know how much work they would be.  The fit is tight at the ends and an Excel knife may need to be used to coax the chassis floor up, and then out of place.  The light bars plug-in and can be disconnected.

In the Dome, please notice that I had to trim more leg off the figures than in a Lionel Dome Car.  The Dome floor screws into the top of the Dome Body shell, similar to Lionel.  Have fun detailing the cars.  Contact me with any questions you may have.  I sold my Amtrak cars, but still have 16 Rio Grande Zephyr cars I can look at.  I found these pictures from a previous camera.  Fortunately, they were still on the hard drive.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John,

So many thanks. Your work is amazingly good. My problem is with the opening up of the cars. I am afraid of using that Excel knife improperly and breaking the shell. I will try to get up the courage. I know it is a lot to ask but if there was a video of the opening of the car I think I might feel a bit less afraid. Don't know if th4at is possible or if you have the time and energy but, if you do, that would be fantastic.

J

Jerry,

The Atlas O California Zephyr passenger shells are thick and sturdy.  You will break the Excel Knife before anything breaks.  I used an Excel Knife or better yet, the smallest flat head screw drivers to lift the end of the chassis away from the shell.  (Of course, I am assuming that you removed the four body screws.)  (Put them in a container or plastic bag so you do not lose them.)  There are two levels at the end of the car: the metal chassis and further up inside, the surface of the plastic interior floor.  (Look at the photo of the left end of a car with the white plug to the lighting bar: silver chassis and above it is the ivory plastic interior floor. (Second BIG picture)  The interior floor can sometimes hang up as the chassis is lifted. 

The worst you will do is scratch the underside of the plastic shell that nobody sees., but I still know the scratch is there.  It bothers me, but there are trade-offs to detail these cars.

There are no videos.  The process is one of "feeling" the chassis and plastic interior floor move upward and out of the shell.  It is a sense of coaxing the floor up and out of the shell.

"May the Force be with you."   Or better yet, "Just Do It."  I know this is not what you are looking for, but there are so few of us who detail the passenger cars that no video has ever been made.   Not everyone's style of detailing is the same either.

I have never cracked a body shell, but I did have a LED Light Bar melt the roof of the body shell of an Atlas O California Zephyr "Silver Poplar" Sleeping Car.  That was long ago and under warranty.

Late at night when I work on my cars, I am all alone, but encouragement is as close as typing a note on OGR Forum.  (I also talk to myself a lot.)

Have a good weekend.  Sincerely, John Rowlen

Thanks, John. You're the best !!

John & Jerry:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts & experience with these Atlas-O Zephyr cars !!!

CB&Q Bill

I had done the dining cars on my Amtrak Zephyr cars. I paint the table & seats and added figures. I also created and printed table covers with napkins, plates, etc. It was pretty simple but was a great addition.

Bill,

Thanks for posting the photos. Your work is fantastic !! You and John are my heroes.

Jerry

Bill Serratelli retired?

You guys have certainly piqued my interest here with these terrific projects - I have an Atlas vista dome that's packed away that I could try my hand on someday...

I would assume Bill Serratelli did retire or is no longer with Atlas because I have not seen him at any shows lately.

Is Steve Horvath still with Atlas? I have not seen him either.

@Jerryrails posted:

I have some California Zephyr cars from Atlas O and I would like to detail the interiors which have unpainted table and chair items. I am loathe to mess up the process and I am wondering if there are any of you out there with a "process" for opening up the cars without damaging them? I havre done several searches here and cannot find posts which include how to open/detail these cars. Many thanks for your help.

Here are a few I did with MTH cars

The cars can be opened  by removing the two screws at each end that go through the metal floor into the body of the car. The floor can then be lifted out easily, unless it sticks to the adhesive that holds the windows in, in which case you will have to carefully pry each side away from the floor before you try to remove it.

If you are a "purist" on this project, then you will need a copy of Karl Zimmerman's book about the CZ which often goes into great detail regarding interior colors.

Some really nice work.

Ray

Road the Zephyr several times from San Diego/LA to St. Paul as a kid.  Neat trip back then (prior to 1960)

Nice 👍