GGD Viewliners ad in OGR !!!!

GG1 4877 posted:

All kidding aside, all the comments on this thread are really helpful to help get the order page straightened out.  I suspect we will be adding an option to do an 8 car set for a more or less complete Lake Shore Limited, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Palmetto, or Crescent consist.

Hi Jonathan:

We there is a variation we are interested in (such as a cab-car or one of the numerous other suggestions above), should we stick that in the 'Special Instructions' field on the order page or simply send Scott/you/sales an email?

Thanks again; this is exciting.

Hi Nate!

All I can say with any accuracy at this point is that Metroliners are on the table and as a result cab cars most likely will be too.  While I do a lot of work for 3rd Rail / GGD, I am merely a consultant.  With the complexities of putting together a mixed Viewliner / Amfleet project, that needs to sell first to prove to Scott that Amtrak is viable.  Past Amtrak offerings have not done well even if I have all of them except the Great Dome. 

Like you I am hopeful to see Metroliners and cab cars go forward.  I'd be in for both as evidenced by my other scale items.  Not my best paint job, but I custom painted the N scale Bachmann car myself.  My other N scale repaints are far superior to this one.

And of course a few prototype photos of the current version of the cars:

HI Jonathan:

OK, thanks for the response.  I will reach out to Scott / Sales tomorrow, as I will need to adjust my reservation accordingly.  I do have to balance the 'only one chance to get them' aspect against fiscal constraints.  But, I will do my part for sure.  Thanks again.

And Johnathan is right regarding past GGD/ Amtrak offerings. Out of two runs of the ElCap sets there were only 16? Or less sets sold in Amtrak livery? 

I remember the Slumbercoach for that Atlas O California Zepher taking two years to clear out. Atlas O"s Amtrak California Zepher cars took that long to sell as well! 

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

And Johnathan is right regarding past GGD/ Amtrak offerings. Out of two runs of the ElCap sets there were only 16? Or less sets sold in Amtrak livery?

I remember the Slumbercoach for that Atlas O California Zepher taking two years to clear out. Atlas O"s Amtrak California Zepher cars took that long to sell as well!

Well, I think GGD is more known now than in years past.  Had I seen an ad for any of those GGD Amtrak offerings I would have been ordering, as would at least 2 others I know.  Also, many of us who grew up with Amtrak are now more able to afford these than in years past. 

Atlas CZ does not have a Slumbercoach.  However,  GGD made Slumbercoaches and offered Amtrak phase 1, I learned of these as the last 2 were remaining at GGD.  we would have bought more, and in other phases.   Those didn't sit around!

Also, Atlas had a lot of quality issues, I went through many sets and dealers trying to put together a CZ and an Amtrak consist.  Upside down words, missing parts, shorting cars.  I'm not knocking Atlas,  I love the good cars I managed to locate and collect.  But it was not easy.  They had issues.

Some of my GGD Amtrak equipment:

I'm not seeing the latest Amtrak scheme for the amfleet cars.  Thus I will not be reserving any at this time. Hopefully Scott will decide to offer these in the initial run or perhaps in a later run?  As an official Amtrak licensee I would think these would be more desirable for those that model present day... 

Mike,

It will get straightened out.  The design matrix for GP7s and 9s needs to get done to go to the factory within a week and then Scott and I will be talking about the cars / sets along with others who are involved in the project.  They will all be done now.  There won't be a second run of these if I were a betting person (I'm not).

Just a little more patience.  I know it's been a long wait!

Jonathan,  That's great to hear!    Just want to ensure the right cars at least are offered as present day modelers need Phase VI, and I do also like the viewliner baggage cars in the heritage phase 3 scheme.  See those all the time on the long  distance superliner trains in the midwest! 

Is there (or is there under consideration) and 18" option for the Viewliners?

Either way I'm formulating plans to set up a slush fund for and reserve at least a pair of sleepers, a diner and a baggage.

---PCJ

RailRide posted:

Is there (or is there under consideration) and 18" option for the Viewliners?

Either way I'm formulating plans to set up a slush fund for and reserve at least a pair of sleepers, a diner and a baggage.

---PCJ

I can't speak at all to this one, but that is a a great idea.  I know many people can only run 18" cars.  The question is would anyone be willing to pay $300 a car for them?  Again I can't speak to that.  I am for scale cars, but that's really all I run anymore.

RailRide posted:

Is there (or is there under consideration) and 18" option for the Viewliners?

Probably not, as Sunset/3rd Rail/Golden Gate Depot offers only scale length equipment for both 2-Rail SCALE and 3-Rail SCALE modelers. If your 3-Rail layout as big curves (072 or larger),then you should be OK with the "scale length" passenger cars.

Either way I'm formulating plans to set up a slush fund for and reserve at least a pair of sleepers, a diner and a baggage.

---PCJ

GG1 4877 posted:

RailRide posted:

Is there (or is there under consideration) and 18" option for the Viewliners?

Either way I'm formulating plans to set up a slush fund for and reserve at least a pair of sleepers, a diner and a baggage.

---PCJ

I can't speak at all to this one, but that is a a great idea.  I know many people can only run 18" cars.  The question is would anyone be willing to pay $300 a car for them?  Again I can't speak to that.  I am for scale cars, but that's really all I run anymore.

My 'test track' has handled an Acela, and was built to safely accommodate the body swing of a DDA40X (a scale Big Boy has also been tested). So scale-length coaches are not an issue. I just have "piles" of MTH Amfleets I'd like to mix these with, and would match lengths if at all possible. Otherwise I'd still get the 85' cars.

---PCJ

I would say 18 inch versions of the Viewliner cars is a possible option based on this thread started but Scott Mann.  

https://ogrforum.com/...-in-alumiinum?page=1

To John and Scott, 

I've already put in my order for a set of Viewliners, but will I be able to change it once the updated paint schemes come out?

Hot Water posted:

RailRide posted:

Is there (or is there under consideration) and 18" option for the Viewliners?

Probably not, as Sunset/3rd Rail/Golden Gate Depot offers only scale length equipment for both 2-Rail SCALE and 3-Rail SCALE modelers. If your 3-Rail layout as big curves (072 or larger),then you should be OK with the "scale length" passenger cars.

Either way I'm formulating plans to set up a slush fund for and reserve at least a pair of sleepers, a diner and a baggage.

---PCJ

 

Jack,

Just so you know, GGD is currently offering the SP Daylight, PRR Broadway and NYC 1948 Century Limited set in both 21” and 18” lengths. The 18” cars will have a minimum of curve requirement of O42 curves. It’s something new Scott is trying. 

Michael 

Silly question but I have to ask.

Are the GGD trains produced with standard O Gauge couplers or are they Kadee couplers?  Not a deal breaker I just need to know.  

My plan is to have a 11-car Amtrak Silver Service consist with adding four GGD Viewliners to the 7 MTH Premier stock. I would just replace one end of the Club Cafe car with a Kadee coupler so that it could hook up to the diner.  

Consist would be run at the club in this order:

• MTH Genesis
• MTH Premier Amfleet Coaches (5)
• MTH Premier Club Cafe
• GGD Viewliner Diner
• GGD Viewliner Sleepers (2)
• GGD Viewliner Baggage Car

Can't justify spending $3K+ for an all-GGD consist.  I won't mind that the Amfleets will all be 19 inches and the Viewliners will be 21 inches.  From the Amtraks I've seen plying the tracks over the years, the Heritage Diners and Baggage Cars came in all different lengths and didn't match the 85-foot Amfleets.

Maxrailroad posted:

To John and Scott, 

I've already put in my order for a set of Viewliners, but will I be able to change it once the updated paint schemes come out?

You can always change an order with Scott and GGD up until the order deadline.  That's when real numbers get transmitted to the factory.  That won't happen for a little while yet, but from all signs it appears that this will be a 2020 early 2021 delivery.  Scott would have to confirm that.

Amfleet25124 posted:

Silly question but I have to ask.

Are the GGD trains produced with standard O Gauge couplers or are they Kadee couplers?  Not a deal breaker I just need to know.  

No silly questions.  Considering the scale nature of the cars that is truly a legitimate one.  3 rail cars some with 3 rail couplers.  2 rail cars have not traditionally come with couplers as some people have different preferences for what kind of coupler they prefer.  2 rail locomotives typically come with Kadee 805 couplers while the 3 rail ones come with traditional electro-couplers.  However, I can say that one of my two 3 rail ATSF PAs arrived with Kadee couplers.    Scott isn't sure how that happened but it didn't matter as the 3 rail couplers are in the box. 

^^^

Thanks Jonathan.  Good to know.

I concur. Nothing is in stone until the factory starts to order extrusions and parts for construction. After that, it's hard to add or change things. Not until June will this happen. I hope to have these out October 2020.

Scott

This is an awesome thing to see going to production, Scott! Can't wait-- hoping these Viewliners will be available in Phase VI for sure- what a cool looking car too- 

Boilermaker1 posted:

 I'm still waiting for clarification of the paint job offerings. Phase VI is being shown as Phase III for the viewliners but actual Phase III for the Amfleets on the site. 

Are phase IVb and phase VI going to be added for orders?

 

The Phases can get confusing, so here’s some clarification. The Phase III that we see on Viewliners today is not Phase VI. It is considered by Amtrak to be a variation of Phase III, just with updated branding. Amtrak’s reasoning for this is to be consistent. They wanted a throwback to arguably one of their best paint schemes ever, but still wanted the equipment to look like it had a place with the other paint schemes. The colors are the same, but there is the addition of the sill stripe found on Phase VI equipment,(what some call Phase IVb) and the addition of the travelmark. 

The reason why Phase VI, which looks like it should be called Phase IVb, is its own paint scheme is because the colors are different. The colors are very similar, but if one looks at 2 cars side by side, it isn’t all that difficult to see the difference.

Now you might ask, “Ok, what is Phase V on passenger equipment?” The answer is the Acela, Turboliners as they appear in storage today, and the Capstone Amfleets. 

If anybody wants more info, please refer to the paint scheme and branding guide I posted on the forum a while back. That will answer all your questions. Search and you will find it. Let me be clear-I am not an official source, but the guide I posted is.

As for the main topic, I can’t wait for these cars. I’ve got 3 Amfleet coaches and a baggage on order. Like others have mentioned, if Scott decides to do a super tiny run of the Beech Grove and American View cars, I will order one each of those as well. That said, Scott may be better off offering those in a set of executive cars. The tooling pretty much already exists for a set to be produced. Presumably all it would take is minor modifications to the GN Great Dome, SP 10-6 sleeper, and an Amfleet coach/Viewliner sleeper to represent #10031 Ocean View, #10020 Pacific Cape, and #10001 Beech Grove/10004 American View. But that’s assuming Scott considers making them at all though. I have hope.

Call it whatever you want. I still want clarity on whether these $300 things are going to have the new "America" logo or the Viewliner noodle logo when they show up in "Phase III".

The order form still only goes to Phase IV... is there an ETA for an updated order form that includes amfleets with 5 stripes and the wave logo?

As well as what these phase/paintjob Viewliners are going to be? If they're VLIIs, there should only be 1 paint job available...

Boilermaker1 posted:

Call it whatever you want. I still want clarity on whether these $300 things are going to have the new "America" logo or the Viewliner noodle logo when they show up in "Phase III".

The order form still only goes to Phase IV... is there an ETA for an updated order form that includes amfleets with 5 stripes and the wave logo?

As well as what these phase/paintjob Viewliners are going to be? If they're VLIIs, there should only be 1 paint job available...

 

My thought was maybe there is a minimum number of paint schemes required to produce, which is why there is more than one paint job available.

The Viewliner Is were only configured as sleepers, and are basically identical to the new cars, with the exception of the Budd prototypes. So it’s not incorrect to offer the sleepers in Phase IV. You are absolutely right about other cars though, unless the prototype cars (which if I’m not mistaken now serve as diners) wore Phase IV and VI.

I’m fairly certain that the cars will not be the original variant of Phase III that the Budd prototypes wore, because the prototype photo on the website is the new Phase III variant.

Some great information in the Amtrak Livery and Logo guide 

Thanks for posting this thread!! I would have missed it. 

Placed my order for a couple of P3 baggage cars!! I’m pumped up about this one!

bigtruckpete posted:

Thanks for posting this thread!! I would have missed it. 

Placed my order for a couple of P3 baggage cars!! I’m pumped up about this one!

Sure thing!  Life gets busy and it's too easy to miss out on a rare thing like this. I know,I missed out on a few GGD trains a few years back.   Thanks to Scott Mann for running an ad in OGR magazine for these cars prominently on the back cover page!  

Hoping that we can get both the original "Viewliner" script style logo on the phase III, as well as the new phase III "Amtrak America" logo on the reborn phase III.

Thanks for the photos, Scott.  For readers like me who are not Amtrak connoisseurs, the "phase" discussion became unreadable.

This is the version I’m hoping they make. Good idea to post the photos to clarify. 

Suggestion:  Someone post photos, INDIVIDUALLY with a label, each of the styles you are talking about.

Also, if you want GGD to do a specific style, post a photo of it along with your request--promotes clarity and avoids needless confusion.

I want the paint scheme in the 2nd video that Scott posted on this thread on 1-15-19 at 11:31. whatever that is.

clem k posted:

I want the paint scheme in the 2nd video that Scott posted on this thread on 1-15-19 at 11:31. whatever that is.

A screenshot perhaps, Clem???

Pantenary posted:

GG1 4877 posted:

All kidding aside, all the comments on this thread are really helpful to help get the order page straightened out.  I suspect we will be adding an option to do an 8 car set for a more or less complete Lake Shore Limited, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Palmetto, or Crescent consist.

Hi Jonathan:

We there is a variation we are interested in (such as a cab-car or one of the numerous other suggestions above), should we stick that in the 'Special Instructions' field on the order page or simply send Scott/you/sales an email?

Thanks again; this is exciting.

I did just that when submitting my order lform. I asked for cab car and car "10001" since GGD is making AMFLEETs

GenesisFan99 posted:

Boilermaker1 posted:

Call it whatever you want. I still want clarity on whether these $300 things are going to have the new "America" logo or the Viewliner noodle logo when they show up in "Phase III".

The order form still only goes to Phase IV... is there an ETA for an updated order form that includes amfleets with 5 stripes and the wave logo?

As well as what these phase/paintjob Viewliners are going to be? If they're VLIIs, there should only be 1 paint job available...

 

My thought was maybe there is a minimum number of paint schemes required to produce, which is why there is more than one paint job available.

The Viewliner Is were only configured as sleepers, and are basically identical to the new cars, with the exception of the Budd prototypes. So it’s not incorrect to offer the sleepers in Phase IV. You are absolutely right about other cars though, unless the prototype cars (which if I’m not mistaken now serve as diners) wore Phase IV and VI.

I’m fairly certain that the cars will not be the original variant of Phase III that the Budd prototypes wore, because the prototype photo on the website is the new Phase III variant.

Yes originally. Now one of the originals is an Amtrak Theatre car "American View" Ironically plans are found for this car in MR! (As originally configured sleeper)

There was at least 1 dining car in the first Viewliners, I had dinner on it several times in the phase III era.

Check out this Amfleet and Viewliner video.

Note the 2 combo car baggage/dorm Viewliners on the rear.

https://youtu.be/daleJdyfw_c

Neat video's  dining car the last car in consist ?  Does that mean the passengers walk through baggage car ?

clem k posted:

Neat video's  dining car the last car in consist ?  Does that mean the passengers walk through baggage car ?

Clem, the last two cars are the new combine baggage - crew bedrooms cars.  The diner is the first Viewliner after the Amfleet cars mid train