Lack of 'Heavy Rail' Transit in O Scale

K line made a number of Bombardier Commuter cars:  VRE, Caltran, Sounder, Metrolink.   At 18" they are not scale length, but they are highly detailed.  A lot of them are still available new.  Check with the Public Delivery Track. 

@John Sethian posted:

K line made a number of Bombardier Commuter cars:  VRE, Caltran, Sounder, Metrolink.   At 18" they are not scale length, but they are highly detailed.  A lot of them are still available new.  Check with the Public Delivery Track.

Thanks for the heads up! I just checked it out.

I should have clarified in my original post... I'm interested mostly in Electric MU's

CNW bilevels:

I'd be interested in seeing Sunset do another run of MP54s down the road in 2 rail.  Currently I have a set of the 1990's Lionel ones that are good starting points for a conversion to 2 rail.  Those are surprisingly accurate if not lacking in detail a bit.  However, if I don't have to do the work for a better detailed car that I don't have to convert that would be my preference.  I love the Custom Brass versions, but price wise a little unobtainium for me these days.

As for other EMUs, I'd be interested in a scale length Metroliners, NJT Arrow III's as that is mostly what I saw growing up, and I do really like the aesthetics of the original Silverliner I's.  Those rounded windows are just so much of the era.  I remember seeing Metroliners in both the original and rebuilt versions on the NEC and the Keystone Corridor.

Another huge absence in the O scale marketplace is 3rd Rail electric commuter cars that are not subways.  I'm thinking of things like the BART cars and Metro North / Long Islands M1and M1A cars.

Atlas's Comet / Horizon cars are very nice.  They are about as close to a common design modern era commuter car that can be found as even the original Comet I's have found new life in service out west.  I have several in Amtrak, NJT, Septa, and MARC with the AEM7/ALP44 to go with them as well as several undecorated Comets.  Granted the MARC ones are a fantasy scheme standing in for the Sumitomo cars, but they are close enough for me.  Not EMUs, but generally all were pulled currently or at one time by electric locomotives.

One challenge in the current marketplace for O scale is the almost custom nature of modern commuter rail cars.  The orders are often smaller runs from various manufacturers.  It is just a limited customer base to order these products to justify producing them in any quantity.  Not that we can't all dream!

Don't forget MTH lossenge commuter cars for Miami Tri-Rail, GO transit, and Others.

K-Line did make 21" Bombardier tri-levels; unfortunately TriRail ones never made it to the market before K-Line imploded. O, HO, and N:

The O (they are some really BIG cars) and HO are mine, I borrowed the N from a co-worker who had it on his window ledge.

Some one must have the tooling for the Kline cars.

I'd like to see someone produce bi-level commuter cars. I know Kline made Surfliner cars, so something like that but in local commuter roads. I know that Metrolink and Caltrain use them along with Bombardier cars.

K-line/Lionel also makes MP-54 cars, and I have a set of Lackawanna commuter cars knocking about... 

https://ogrforum.com/...4#113348171533307204

And one can make K-line RDCs resemble Silverliners if one squints:

https://ogrforum.com/...17#81819042979933417

Mitch

Island Model Works sells resin bodies for several subway cars including the H&M Tubes (Path) as well as three LIRR commuter cars including their signature Ping-Pong coach. Also decals for several roads.

@harley rider posted

Some one must have the tooling for the Kline cars.

The challenge with the K-line aluminum car tooling is that there isn't much tooling to an aluminum car, it is mostly labor to assemble them.  That is the attraction of aluminum from a minimum order quantity perspective.  The tooling investment can be recouped fairly quickly. 

While the K-line tooling likely resides at the Kader factory, it is probably just a cost effective to recreate it.  Since Bachmann has exclusive access to that facility and they are out of O scale for now at least, it doesn't seem hopeful that we will see reissued K-line scale cars anytime soon.

I am specifically interested in the Northeast Corridor from the 1990s through today. For that reason, I wholeheartedly agree with the OP.
It frustrates me to see so many "what if" models and political paint jobs when we don't even have the Long Island Railroad covered adequately -and I know Long Islanders and New Jersians are over-represented in this hobby/scale.

My first adult train purchase was a set of Atlas horizon cars and later NJT Comets nearly 20 years ago. I appreciated that Atlas made an accurate ALP44 and not just an NJT-painted AEM7. I would love to see some other modern bi-levels, mult-levels, or Kawasaki cars. I have 21" K-Line VRE (Sounder) bi-levels and they are beautiful, BUT no matter how you paint them, those aren't the cars used on the LIRR, NJT, MARC, or MBTA.

I'm hoping someone with amfleet tooling would consider making a scale metroliner or SPV-2000, but I know the SPV is really wishing on a star. I wouldn't hesitate to pre-order either from GGD.

My HO buddies are also ecstatic about their new Turboliners -although calling that a commuter train is arguable (it almost was). I would pay the price to pre-order a Legacy RTL-III Turboliner.

Having modern, accurate, scale equipment might attract some new blood to this scale -which is good for us all.

I always wondered, are the MTH and K-Line bi-levels much different?

"Heavy rail" here is "suburban MU cars of the types operated by Septa, Long Island, Metro North, NJ Transit, South Shore, etc.".  By that definition, scale dimensioned cars would eliminate half your potential buyers. . .

. . .But cars made to the 65' dimensions of the Lionel RDC with appropriate truck sideframes would have enough interest to justify investment.  The Lionel RDC operates on 031 curves.

Steam and part of the diesel era the LIRR cars were for the most part P-54s and the electrified variants, only about 60" long. The Lionel MU cars lettered Long Island are scale size and could be made into a good model starting with removing the pantographs.

@cbq9911a posted:

"Heavy rail" here is "suburban MU cars of the types operated by Septa, Long Island, Metro North, NJ Transit, South Shore, etc.".  By that definition, scale dimensioned cars would eliminate half your potential buyers. . .

. . .But cars made to the 65' dimensions of the Lionel RDC with appropriate truck sideframes would have enough interest to justify investment.  The Lionel RDC operates on 031 curves.

Not necessarily true.  There is certainly a market for scale length equipment.  By an equal measure, non-scale length equipment eliminates a sizeable percentage of buyers.  I have 3 scale RDCs but would never consider a Lionel shorty. 

Neither is wrong, it's just a different interest.  I'd pay a premium for a set of scale length Silverliners in PRR in a heartbeat but would pass on anything shorter regardless of price.  Same goes for Metroliners.