Golden Gate Depot Announces Scale Length Amfleet Cars!

Very nice !   

Viewliners next please!  Perfect compliment to these cars.

GG1..thanks for bringing this topic over here to these threads.  

I am having to order one less car than I prefer.  I really wanted 2 cars in phase one , and 3 cars in phase three.  This way I can mix with my existing GGD and Atlas Amtrak Heritage and Horizon cars.

I know this thread is old and dead, but I think it's worth reviving.

If you want these coaches, you really should reserve them. I asked Scott what a delivery date would look like for these cars and he said something like 6-9 months due to insufficient reservations. The project may not happen if there aren't enough reservations, or could be put on hold for a long period of time.

Scott also told me that these Amfleets are being made as a courtesy to GGD customers because GGD doesn't get a whole lot of reservations for Amtrak models. 

There probably is a different magic number from what we're used to with these models being produced in ABS plastic, thus stressing the need for reservations even more. Of course patience is a virtue, but after having missed so many releases, I would hate to miss another. 

Based upon GGD's previous offerings, these models should destroy orange box and purple box's versions when it comes to detail and quality. It's unfortunate that Phase IVb won't be offered and GGD does not produce undecorated models. However, I'm sure there is a custom painter out there who would be willing to try Phase IVb. I can't wait to see what these will look like once sufficient reservations have been received. I have a Phase IV coach reserved, hopefully I can find someone who is willing to re work it as an Amfleet I Businessclass Coach in Phase IVb, or at least a coach lettered for Coachclass in Phase IVb. Certainly would be a wonderful addition to my scale single-level Pacific Surfliner consist. My Horizons (still having trouble finding them!) are getting quite lonely with only 2 private cars to keep them company. 

VistaDomeScott posted:

Very nice !   

Viewliners next please!  Perfect compliment to these cars.

 

GG1..thanks for bringing this topic over here to these threads.  

Apparently Viewliners would have to be done in Brass at a ridiculous price per car. I don't know if scale Viewliners will ever be produced. Maybe orange box will try it.

Yes I am one of the greatest who purchased the Amtrak versions and I find it very strange that not many buyers like the Amtrak version. 

It took a while for GGD to sell off it's slumbercoach to compliment the Atlas O cars. Out of the 2 runs of the SF El Capitan set less than twenty sets were ordered  for Amtrak

On the Super Domes, it's being reported less than 10 Amtrak versions were ordered. 

It doesn't bode well for Amtrak for a few reasons:

1) The sets/cars are expensive so that limits the marketability of these cars.

2) 21" cars are still large and many people don't have the room to accommodate  072 and wider radii to run them.

3) The GGD clientele seems to be mature and seniors reminicing about their childhood- and the ones who most likely can afford to pay for these sets. They remember and/or lived the Golden years of train travel and view Amtrak as a cheap substitute of train travel.

4) GGD doesn't have many outlets for showcasing and sales of their products. So there are many out there that are not aware of GGD and their items. Seriously, you don't see them popping up at train shows- even York or the Big E!  My first taste of a GGD car was a Stout Auction win of a PRR Observation Heavyweight car after I lost out of getting the whole set. I haven't seen any other GGD cars at a Stout Auction for over a year now! 

5) The market for model trains as a whole is shrinking. So a glut of used product as well as reissue of new product is bogging down the market.

Think about it, your Amfleet set of 4 cars is a grand compared to MTH sets for 1/2 that price for new. 2/3 off for used and in good condition. One can also find MTH Premier sets on the secondary market and at Train shows and Hobby shops around the country. Sure the cars are 'cookie cutter"and only 18" long at a reasonable price but that's what the majority of the market is buying.

Your only shot for Viewliners would be Lionel for 21" cars. And that's taking a chance since there are no Viewliner coaches made. Only Baggage, Sleepers, diners, and one test car converted to a Theatre/ observation car.

MTH may do 18" cars but I don't see them investing in new tooling anytime soon.

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

MTH may do 18" cars but I don't see them investing in new tooling anytime soon.

At a York show not too long ago, I presented MTH a marketing suggestion for hypothetical Viewliners that they agreed made sense, even though (in my estimation) all it would amount to is a discussion point in an internal meeting that may or may not have actually happened.

The idea was instead of offering a dedicated set of 4/5 cars, just market them as 2-car add-ons (baggage/sleeper, diner/sleeper sleeper/sleeper) for owners of their existing Amfleet sets. That way the expansions are manageable for people who can only accomodate 6-8 car trains, no need to develop coaches, and the carbodies can take advantage of modular tooling. Also, the resulting consists would be prototypical since real-life Viewliners always accompany Amfleets.

---PCJ

GenesisFan99 posted:

If you want these coaches, you really should reserve them. I asked Scott what a delivery date would look like for these cars and he said something like 6-9 months due to insufficient reservations. The project may not happen if there aren't enough reservations, or could be put on hold for a long period of time.

apparently I am not a customer of theirs anymore. It happened from a post I made and then some following mistakes. So I lost 2 consecutive reservations. I would have ordered these as well.

 Congrats to the members that got what they ordered.

GenesisFan99 posted:

I know this thread is old and dead, but I think it's worth reviving.

If you want these coaches, you really should reserve them. I asked Scott what a delivery date would look like for these cars and he said something like 6-9 months due to insufficient reservations. The project may not happen if there aren't enough reservations, or could be put on hold for a long period of time.

Scott also told me that these Amfleets are being made as a courtesy to GGD customers because GGD doesn't get a whole lot of reservations for Amtrak models. 

There probably is a different magic number from what we're used to with these models being produced in ABS plastic, thus stressing the need for reservations even more. Of course patience is a virtue, but after having missed so many releases, I would hate to miss another. 

Based upon GGD's previous offerings, these models should destroy orange box and purple box's versions when it comes to detail and quality. It's unfortunate that Phase IVb won't be offered and GGD does not produce undecorated models. However, I'm sure there is a custom painter out there who would be willing to try Phase IVb. I can't wait to see what these will look like once sufficient reservations have been received. I have a Phase IV coach reserved, hopefully I can find someone who is willing to re work it as an Amfleet I Businessclass Coach in Phase IVb, or at least a coach lettered for Coachclass in Phase IVb. Certainly would be a wonderful addition to my scale single-level Pacific Surfliner consist. My Horizons (still having trouble finding them!) are getting quite lonely with only 2 private cars to keep them company. 

Sorry, cant see these ggd cars destroying the purple box edition. The Amfleets I have from MTH are stainless plated,nice detail, and include passengers. Not sure so I will ask....Are ggd's version plated stainless? Hard to beat that plating. Wish more companies would do it.

I ordered GGD cars within a few days of the announcement. Until they arrive, I will just have to be satisfied with my 18-inch MTH Amfleet cars.

MELGAR

"Sorry, cant see these ggd cars destroying the purple box edition. The Amfleets I have from MTH are stainless plated.."

If MTH can do it...

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Yes I am one of the greatest who purchased the Amtrak versions and I find it very strange that not many buyers like the Amtrak version. 

It took a while for GGD to sell off it's slumbercoach to compliment the Atlas O cars. Out of the 2 runs of the SF El Capitan set less than twenty sets were ordered  for Amtrak

On the Super Domes, it's being reported less than 10 Amtrak versions were ordered. 

It doesn't bode well for Amtrak for a few reasons:

1) The sets/cars are expensive so that limits the marketability of these cars.

2) 21" cars are still large and many people don't have the room to accommodate  072 and wider radii to run them.

3) The GGD clientele seems to be mature and seniors reminicing about their childhood- and the ones who most likely can afford to pay for these sets. They remember and/or lived the Golden years of train travel and view Amtrak as a cheap substitute of train travel.

4) GGD doesn't have many outlets for showcasing and sales of their products. So there are many out there that are not aware of GGD and their items. Seriously, you don't see them popping up at train shows- even York or the Big E!  My first taste of a GGD car was a Stout Auction win of a PRR Observation Heavyweight car after I lost out of getting the whole set. I haven't seen any other GGD cars at a Stout Auction for over a year now! 

5) The market for model trains as a whole is shrinking. So a glut of used product as well as reissue of new product is bogging down the market.

Think about it, your Amfleet set of 4 cars is a grand compared to MTH sets for 1/2 that price for new. 2/3 off for used and in good condition. One can also find MTH Premier sets on the secondary market and at Train shows and Hobby shops around the country. Sure the cars are 'cookie cutter"and only 18" long at a reasonable price but that's what the majority of the market is buying.

I can understand your points, but here's a few of my thoughts.

1. Yes, it's true that the cars/sets are expensive and money doesn't grow on trees, however higher quality/detail always carries a higher price, with anything.

2. If you can't fit scale cars but enjoy them there's always a club to go to. 

3. True, but I have talked to guys who have little problems with Amtrak and some even model Amtrak with scale equipment.

4. I'm curious why GGD hasn't tried for more exposure. I'm sure they can afford to travel around the country to train shows, advertise more on the web than they already are doing, or both. So of course if nobody knows about your company you won't sell squat.

5. I would argue that the exact opposite is happening. I have sold a lot of model trains in the last 3 months. While most of them were starter sets, there was a significant amount of customers who weren't beginners or were expanding their starter set that I helped. 

On the subject of the Amtrak Hi-Level cars, I don't think those have sold well in any scale. To my knowledge, the cars produced in HO by Walthers didn't get very many orders. I have seen very few. 

You mentioned the Amtrak Super Dome-I hadn't seen that. I would love to know if it's possible to find one, and what paint scheme, names, and numbers were offered. I'd imagine they cost something like $600 and are brass.

It's true that the market is primarily geared toward the 18" MTH cars which are definitely a good deal, however as you stated GGD isn't well known. I would much prefer scale Amfleets over 18" cars, especially when the majority of my private railcar models are also scale.

jini5 posted:

GenesisFan99 posted:

I know this thread is old and dead, but I think it's worth reviving.

If you want these coaches, you really should reserve them. I asked Scott what a delivery date would look like for these cars and he said something like 6-9 months due to insufficient reservations. The project may not happen if there aren't enough reservations, or could be put on hold for a long period of time.

Scott also told me that these Amfleets are being made as a courtesy to GGD customers because GGD doesn't get a whole lot of reservations for Amtrak models. 

There probably is a different magic number from what we're used to with these models being produced in ABS plastic, thus stressing the need for reservations even more. Of course patience is a virtue, but after having missed so many releases, I would hate to miss another. 

Based upon GGD's previous offerings, these models should destroy orange box and purple box's versions when it comes to detail and quality. It's unfortunate that Phase IVb won't be offered and GGD does not produce undecorated models. However, I'm sure there is a custom painter out there who would be willing to try Phase IVb. I can't wait to see what these will look like once sufficient reservations have been received. I have a Phase IV coach reserved, hopefully I can find someone who is willing to re work it as an Amfleet I Businessclass Coach in Phase IVb, or at least a coach lettered for Coachclass in Phase IVb. Certainly would be a wonderful addition to my scale single-level Pacific Surfliner consist. My Horizons (still having trouble finding them!) are getting quite lonely with only 2 private cars to keep them company. 

Sorry, cant see these ggd cars destroying the purple box edition. The Amfleets I have from MTH are stainless plated,nice detail, and include passengers. Not sure so I will ask....Are ggd's version plated stainless? Hard to beat that plating. Wish more companies would do it.

So does anyone know if ggd's are stainless plated? I'm guessing if anyone is preordering these, that might be something worth knowing.

Currently the plan is to not have the cars plated.  To do so would likely ad about $50 to the price of the car.  However, Scott listens to the input of his customers.  If there is a strong interest in plated cars, let him know and if a change is made, vote with your wallet. 

Anyone who has seen the plating on the 2nd run 3rd Rail ATSF F7s, CBQ E9s and ATSF E8s can attest to the fact that the plating done on those locomotives is superior to anything done in the three rail market place.  Not chrome, but a realistic simulation of stainless steel which has more luster than reflection.  

I would be interest in plated cars personally and would be willing to pay an additional cost for it.  18" Amfleet cars don't cut it for me.  That's just my opinion.  I already have 8 of these cars on preorder as the project stands.  My F40PHs and FL9s would look a whole lot nicer with accurate cars behind them.

Extruded aluminum, or plastic?

GenesisFan99 posted:

4. I'm curious why GGD hasn't tried for more exposure. I'm sure they can afford to travel around the country to train shows, advertise more on the web than they already are doing, or both. So of course if nobody knows about your company you won't sell squat.

 

As a representative for Sunset Models / 3rd Rail / Golden Gate Depot I do about 20 days of shows per year for them including York TCA meets, Chicago O scale show, Strasburg, PA. (3 shows per year) , the O scale national convention, the Indianapolis O scale show, and occasionally some others.

Jonathan Peiffer (GG1 4877) also does York on occasion with me. Scott Mann also does the Chicago show and the fall York show. We believe that we provide rather good representation of our products at these meets.

Sunset / 3rd Rail and Golden Gate also have advertisements in the TCA news, and in two other O scale magazine publications.

I agree that we wouldn't sell anything if no one knew about the company, but that is not the case. Sunset has been in business for 40 + years now.

rheil posted:

GenesisFan99 posted:

4. I'm curious why GGD hasn't tried for more exposure. I'm sure they can afford to travel around the country to train shows, advertise more on the web than they already are doing, or both. So of course if nobody knows about your company you won't sell squat.

 

As a representative for Sunset Models / 3rd Rail / Golden Gate Depot I do about 20 days of shows per year for them including York TCA meets, Chicago O scale show, Strasburg, PA. (3 shows per year) , the O scale national convention, the Indianapolis O scale show, and occasionally some others.

Jonathan Peiffer (GG1 4877) also does York on occasion with me. Scott Mann also does the Chicago show and the fall York show. We believe that we provide rather good representation of our products at these meets.

Sunset / 3rd Rail and Golden Gate also have advertisements in the TCA news, and in two other O scale magazine publications.

I agree that we wouldn't sell anything if no one knew about the company, but that is not the case. Sunset has been in business for 40 + years now.

Thank you for the correction. I had just never seen a Sunset ad, heard of Sunset advertising at train shows, or heard of Sunset at all before I joined here. My area isn't much for scale products I guess.

Now since you're a GGD representative, what can you tell me about the "Amtrak Super Dome" that was referred to earlier in the thread? I had never heard of GGD making an Amtrak Super Dome, which I would hope is NCDOT "Mount Mitchell" since that is the only Super Dome of note that Amtrak operated. The other domes Amtrak had were Budd ex-GN View-series Great Domes and SP 3/4 Domes.

No 3rd Rail at the Big E show??

GenesisFan99 posted:

rheil posted:

GenesisFan99 posted:

4. I'm curious why GGD hasn't tried for more exposure. I'm sure they can afford to travel around the country to train shows, advertise more on the web than they already are doing, or both. So of course if nobody knows about your company you won't sell squat.

 

As a representative for Sunset Models / 3rd Rail / Golden Gate Depot I do about 20 days of shows per year for them including York TCA meets, Chicago O scale show, Strasburg, PA. (3 shows per year) , the O scale national convention, the Indianapolis O scale show, and occasionally some others.

Jonathan Peiffer (GG1 4877) also does York on occasion with me. Scott Mann also does the Chicago show and the fall York show. We believe that we provide rather good representation of our products at these meets.

Sunset / 3rd Rail and Golden Gate also have advertisements in the TCA news, and in two other O scale magazine publications.

I agree that we wouldn't sell anything if no one knew about the company, but that is not the case. Sunset has been in business for 40 + years now.

Thank you for the correction. I had just never seen a Sunset ad, heard of Sunset advertising at train shows, or heard of Sunset at all before I joined here. My area isn't much for scale products I guess.

Now since you're a GGD representative, what can you tell me about the "Amtrak Super Dome" that was referred to earlier in the thread? I had never heard of GGD making an Amtrak Super Dome, which I would hope is NCDOT "Mount Mitchell" since that is the only Super Dome of note that Amtrak operated. The other domes Amtrak had were Budd ex-GN View-series Great Domes and SP 3/4 Domes.

I speculate that “prrhorseshoecurve” was referring to the Golden Gate Depot Amtrak dome cars that were recently shipped out but they were the Great Domes, not the Super Dome.

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen

Ok I guess someone will have the "school me " on the difference be tween a Great Dome and a Super Dome. In the meantime, here are some pics of the GGD Great Dome to the MTH Great Dome... both in Amtrak!

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Ok I guess someone will have the "school me " on the difference be tween a Great Dome and a Super Dome. In the meantime, here are some pics of the GGD Great Dome to the MTH Great Dome... both in Amtrak!

The difference between a Great Dome and a Super Dome is the Milwaukee Road Super Domes were built by Pullman with different window configurations than the Budd-built Great Northern Great Domes. Put two models/photos side by side and you can easily tell the difference. 

As for the MTH car there, this is where it gets a little confusing. The car is an 18" Great Dome, but the actual car name is from a Super Dome. Amtrak operated one Super Dome on NCDOT trains that was given the typical NCDOT number treatment, but also received the name Mount Mitchell. The car wore a modified version of Phase III, so perhaps that's what MTH was going for here so they wouldn't have to spend money on tooling. 

Thank you for the photos of the GGD car. I'm very glad I most likely missed the chance to order one. Don't get me wrong it's a beautiful car, but the car has a vestibule which would prevent it from being repainted into later schemes. It also appears to be lacking roller bearing trucks though I could be wrong. I just didn't see any bearing caps like you would see today on Ocean View. The car is correct for Phase I though. Great job GGD! 

"Currently the plan is to not have the cars plated.  To do so would likely ad about $50 to the price of the car.  However, Scott listens to the input of his customers.  If there is a strong interest in plated cars, let him know and if a change is made, vote with your wallet. "

Sounds like a no brainer?  50 bucks extra per car to finally get an accurate representation of Stainless Steel from GGD on a Stainless Steel passenger car instead of a paint job?  Too bad this was not an option on the ESE among others.

Engineer-Joe posted:

No 3rd Rail at the Big E show??

Sunset 3rd rail has not done this show for many years now.  After doing the show for several years in the early to mid '90's I was told by the show management that I would be put on a wait list , and if tables became available I would be notified the day before the show.

I decided I was not going to wait until the day before the show for notification to drive 7 hours each way so Sunset /3rd Rail / Golden Gate Depot will not be there and won't be missed.

The weekend after this is the largest show of the year at Timonium, MD, and I won't be going there either, and I live 20 minutes from that show. Scott Mann and I have decided where it is best to have representation and where it just doesn't pay.

Both Scott and I will be in Chicago in March at the March Meet, and I will be at the TCA meet in April and numerous other shows throughout the year.

The GGD Great Dome has roller bearings. The trucks show the earlier version with the bearing caps as opposed to the later exposed bearings. Also the car is equipped with actual mini ball bearings at the ends of each axle making this car the smoothest and least friction holding car in my fleet!

naveenrajan posted:

GenesisFan99 posted:

rheil posted:

GenesisFan99 posted:

4. I'm curious why GGD hasn't tried for more exposure. I'm sure they can afford to travel around the country to train shows, advertise more on the web than they already are doing, or both. So of course if nobody knows about your company you won't sell squat.

 

As a representative for Sunset Models / 3rd Rail / Golden Gate Depot I do about 20 days of shows per year for them including York TCA meets, Chicago O scale show, Strasburg, PA. (3 shows per year) , the O scale national convention, the Indianapolis O scale show, and occasionally some others.

Jonathan Peiffer (GG1 4877) also does York on occasion with me. Scott Mann also does the Chicago show and the fall York show. We believe that we provide rather good representation of our products at these meets.

Sunset / 3rd Rail and Golden Gate also have advertisements in the TCA news, and in two other O scale magazine publications.

I agree that we wouldn't sell anything if no one knew about the company, but that is not the case. Sunset has been in business for 40 + years now.

Thank you for the correction. I had just never seen a Sunset ad, heard of Sunset advertising at train shows, or heard of Sunset at all before I joined here. My area isn't much for scale products I guess.

Now since you're a GGD representative, what can you tell me about the "Amtrak Super Dome" that was referred to earlier in the thread? I had never heard of GGD making an Amtrak Super Dome, which I would hope is NCDOT "Mount Mitchell" since that is the only Super Dome of note that Amtrak operated. The other domes Amtrak had were Budd ex-GN View-series Great Domes and SP 3/4 Domes.

I speculate that “prrhorseshoecurve” was referring to the Golden Gate Depot Amtrak dome cars that were recently shipped out but they were the Great Domes, not the Super Dome.

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen

Thank you for the photos. These really are nice cars. 

And not to sway the topic further but I wonder how easy it would be modify one of these, like add custom marker lights, get rid of/hide the vestibule, fix the diaphragm, and figure out how to make the trucks look right. I model Amtrak in the present day so all of the full domes that ran on Amtrak in the HEP years lost their vestibules and basically received total upgrades. Up until 2000 Amtrak had 2 Great Domes left, but car 10030 Mountain View (GN 1392) was sold to AOE. 3 Amtrak full domes received the rebuilds originally for Auto Train service. Ocean View (9300?) was rebuilt in 1985 and as everyone knows wears Phase III and is numbered 10031. Of course after the mods a repaint would be necessary. GGD reps, what does feasibility look like for this to be done by the consumer or a professional for the consumer?

GenesisFan99 posted:

Thank you for the photos. These really are nice cars. 

And not to sway the topic further but I wonder how easy it would be modify one of these, like add custom marker lights, get rid of/hide the vestibule, fix the diaphragm, and figure out how to make the trucks look right. I model Amtrak in the present day so all of the full domes that ran on Amtrak in the HEP years lost their vestibules and basically received total upgrades. Up until 2000 Amtrak had 2 Great Domes left, but car 10030 Mountain View (GN 1392) was sold to AOE. 3 Amtrak full domes received the rebuilds originally for Auto Train service. Ocean View (9300?) was rebuilt in 1985 and as everyone knows wears Phase III and is numbered 10031. Of course after the mods a repaint would be necessary. GGD reps, what does feasibility look like for this to be done by the consumer or a professional for the consumer?

Were you really able to find these Great Dome cars to experiment with these modifications / upgrades that you are thinking of? I thought they were only made to reservations & they were all sold-out.

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen

Do you really want to cut apart a $600 car?

As for plating, I had a conversation with Scott at the March meet about plating cars and he said that plating the cars was problematic at best because the different materials plated differently and they looked wrong. Plastic, brass, and aluminum all look different when plated with the same material. For this reason he did not like plating cars because the finish never looks right. I really wanted my El Capitan plated as I thought it was a prime candidate but he said NOPE

Matt Makens posted:

Do you really want to cut apart a $600 car?

I would prefer not to I just wanted to know if doing the modifications I was thinking about was even possible. I'm going to guess that it isn't or will take a lot of work. 

It's a shame the plating never looks right. Oh well I'm sure the plastic will look great anyway. I hope that production begins soon or we find out more of an exact figure of when than 6-9 months. My wallet doesn't like not being able to know exactly when it will get smacked with a $200 charge.

As for the person who asked if I was able to find the car I do not own one and last I heard yes they were sold out. It was just a question of feasibility should I ever come across one. My dealer won't order or reserve cars from GGD so any thought of getting something other than the Amfleets is out the window. As much as I hate it no Milwaukee Super Dome for me.

Well Scott Mann at 3rd Rail/Golden Gate Depot/Sunset Models does all of his business direct so if you want his models you order them directly from him on his website. Last I checked he still had Santa Fe Great Domes left. And in a couple weeks he will have the one I’m returning that got the top crushed so you should try to buy that one from him to cut up. 

Matt Makens posted:

Well Scott Mann at 3rd Rail/Golden Gate Depot/Sunset Models does all of his business direct so if you want his models you order them directly from him on his website. Last I checked he still had Santa Fe Great Domes left. And in a couple weeks he will have the one I’m returning that got the top crushed so you should try to buy that one from him to cut up. 

The problem is that Great Dome's fluting is wrong for what I want to do, so I wouldn't even be able to try. The whole reason the cars were done in brass is specifically because they had different fluting. I still haven't gotten much of an answer from anyone about the feasibility of adding marker lights, removing the vestibule, and getting better truck side frames with the correct bearing detail. The cars are correct now, but only for before 1985. Maybe somebody with a lot of knowledge would be able to figure out how to remove the vestibule doors and make it look like they were never there at the very least. I could maybe live with the trucks but markers and no vestibule are a must for me. Thank you for letting me know though.

Just might bite the bullet and order an Amfleet I Cafe to go with my coach, but I still have the problem of finding someone who will repaint anything. All I can hope for I guess is the Amfleets having real working red LED markers. I really hope I'll be able to find someone willing to repaint my coach or anything I have for that matter. The coach needs to be repainted from Phase IV to IVb and relettered/decaled/renumbered (if applicable) as an Amfleet I Business class coach. The cafe would be repainted/decaled/numbered in the same scheme, as would 2 of my Atlas Horizons. It is my understanding Scott didn't want to try Phase IVb because he felt 4 schemes was already plenty, and I have to agree. Wouldn't mind having the only factory one ever made though lol. I hope that somebody good with re-detailing and repainting stuff finds this eventually and offers to help in some way. Scale Amtrak modeling is so hard sometimes lol. Maybe an increase in Amfleet equipment vs. Horizon equipment on the Pacific Surfliner will justify an order of 1-3 more cars.

Speaking of Santa Fe domes, Matt-you did entertain the thought of selling one of your Hi-Level Lounges. With Amtrak now killing the Pacific Parlour Car, I would love to try to repaint and detail a GGD Hi-Level lounge. If you would be interested in selling, my email is in my profile. 

Eagerly awaiting the Amfleet cars from GGD.  I have managed to find 3 GGD sleepers in Amtrak,Slumbercoach,10-6, and a 4-4-2.  Sure would like to see a few more heritage cars offered in Amtrak phase I and 3.

VistaDomeScott posted:

Eagerly awaiting the Amfleet cars from GGD.  I have managed to find 3 GGD sleepers in Amtrak,Slumbercoach,10-6, and a 4-4-2.  Sure would like to see a few more heritage cars offered in Amtrak phase I and 3.

I'm with you on that one. It would be nice to be able to own some proper Budd 10-6 sleepers for Amtrak business operations. Surprisingly 2 cars still exist on the roster and have been converted to corporate service crew dorms. Pacific Bend is in Phase III and was part of the 40th Anniversary train. Pacific Cape might also be in Phase III after spending a long time in Phase IV and IVb.

Perhaps if these Amfleets receive more reservations we could see Amfleet IIs in the future.

rheil posted:

Engineer-Joe posted:

No 3rd Rail at the Big E show??

Sunset 3rd rail has not done this show for many years now.  After doing the show for several years in the early to mid '90's I was told by the show management that I would be put on a wait list , and if tables became available I would be notified the day before the show.

I decided I was not going to wait until the day before the show for notification to drive 7 hours each way so Sunset /3rd Rail / Golden Gate Depot will not be there and won't be missed.

The weekend after this is the largest show of the year at Timonium, MD, and I won't be going there either, and I live 20 minutes from that show. Scott Mann and I have decided where it is best to have representation and where it just doesn't pay.

Both Scott and I will be in Chicago in March at the March Meet, and I will be at the TCA meet in April and numerous other shows throughout the year.

After finally attending the Big E I now understand. There were a lot of trains but a small fraction was 2 rail O. I thought it would be good for exposure. I can see how it wouldn't do a lot of good for the amount of work. Add to that how they won't even get you in first! Sorry!!!

I still thinks Amfleet II cars would've done better. I would've bought some. On second thought, just do Superliners...

Yeah, that car is just too cool to let go. My train looks awesome with 2 of them so I won’t be selling it

"As for plating, I had a conversation with Scott at the March meet about plating cars and he said that plating the cars was problematic at best because the different materials plated differently and they looked wrong. Plastic, brass, and aluminum all look different when plated with the same material. For this reason he did not like plating cars because the finish never looks right"

Well, as Mr. Peiffer wrote just a bit higher up in this thread:

"To do so would likely ad about $50 to the price of the car.  However, Scott listens to the input of his customers.  If there is a strong interest in plated cars, let him know and if a change is made, vote with your wallet." 

Matt Makens posted:

Yeah, that car is just too cool to let go. My train looks awesome with 2 of them so I won’t be selling it

Totally understand. I wish I had had $379 when they were available to reserve... oh well. 

As for Superliners, I agree Superliners would be very nice to have. However, it's a matter of what material to make them in and what would sell more. It's possible that the Superliner Is would sell more since they don't currently exist. However, there's the issue of only 1 railroad. It's true that the Superliner Is have multiple schemes, Phases II-IVb, Pacific Surfliner, and CDTX, but I don't know if GGD could ever get the reservations. It is also my understanding that the cars are a little bit too new for GGD to make, but maybe the fact that the cars were one of the last orders fulfilled by Pullman Standard could get them consideration. Maybe they could be put up on the site to see what sort of interest there is.

To the GGD reps watching the thread, please do consider Amfleet IIs if these Amfleet Is end up doing well. I may order a few.

I know I'm probably the minority, but I actually prefer plastic cars to aluminum. I like my Atlas CZ cars and Golden Gate heavyweight way better than my Golden Gate aluminum cars.