My latest edition to my Amtrak collection came in the mail yesterday. It was an MTH Premier Full-Length Dome Car in Phase IV, #10030. Since it's probably the last Amtrak vehicle I'll get for a while, I decided to make up my own fictional Amtrak service, named after my origins. Here are some details I thought of:
Locomotives
- Amtrak Genesis, Phase V, #180 - The "Arabian" only owns one Genesis, since it runs rarely in public service (by this, I mean it operates every few weeks or so, from Dearborn, MI to Boston, MA).
- Amtrak Dash-9, Phase IV, #517 - The "Arabian" bought a Dash-9 from CSX Transportation secondhand and repainted it. Simple as that (I know they don't exist, but when I bought it in 2011 from Lionel, I didn't know better).
Wagons
- Amtrak Amfleet I's, Phase IV - The "Arabian" uses these primarily on their train because of the clearance problems on the east coast with Superliners.
- Amtrak High Cubic Capacity Boxcar - Since the train goes a little over 500 miles to Boston and back, but can't afford a proper baggage car (no, really, I can't actually afford one with my own money yet), it uses this.
- Amtrak Full-Length Dome Car, Phase IV - Always used in the consist to give it a 'scenic' look and to have an excuse to charge more money for tickets.
Route
- Departs from the 'home station' of Dearborn, MI with #180 leading, and proceeds through all the same stops the Wolverine passes through on the way to Chicago, IL.
- Reverses direction on the wye segment by the BNSF "Racetrack" entry, so #180 faces forward in the direction of travel again.
- Proceeds on a train line that is reserved for the "Arabian" only (probably a fictional track, or maybe it bought out some old freight lines, renewed and combined them).
- Calls at Toledo, OH and Cleveland, OH, then continues northeast towards Rochester, NY (and intermediate stops) and finally arrives at Boston, MA at South Station. Towards Dearborn, MI, #517 is leading.
Here are three pictures. Sorry for the low quality, I don't own a superior camera or tripod or anything like that. I used my iPod Touch. I also had to edit and crop some of the photos because my iPod's camera isn't the best ...
Yes, my house is a mess, especially when that Christmas tree takes up a lot of space.
