I see Chargers running every day on CA Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains.  The CA Amtrak Capitol Corridor runs between Sacramento (the state capital) and San Jose at the south end of San Francisco Bay.  This is a distance of about 150 miles.

I think that this would be a great engine for either the new MTH or Lionel to make.  Amtrak is very popular with modern model railroaders.  NH Joe

Three words: Lionel Vision Line!!!!

I want one of the new Chargers, especially the Surfliner or Amtrak ALC42 Long Distance version with matching passenger cars.

New features to include on a new Vision Line Siemens Charger:

-Illuminated destination boards (on some versions)

-Illuminated strobe and emergency lights

-Illuminated engine room

-Correct horn and bell

-Charger engine sounds

-New crew announcements

-Station Sounds Superliner Dining Cars

-New Bi-level Cab Cars w/ Station Sounds and correct horns, and bells

I used to see them when I was taking Metrolink to downtown Los Angeles. The California versions had the stylish rear spoiler (actually to compensate for Surfliner cars). I think I'd buy one if they issued it with a set of correct Surfliner cars.

This would be a fantastic model. In previous YouTube videos, the folks at Lionel have said that a new scale Amtrak engine was in the works. With both Atlas and 3rd Rail offering the P42, I certainly hope that isn't what the big L has planned. A Charger would offer a lot of longevity in tooling as hundreds of units are still planned to be built in real life. Depending on what versions (SC-44, SCB-44, and ALC-42) are offered I would buy between 1 and 4 units.

Hopefully Lionel is alluding to a Charger. I don't have any Legacy equipped locomotives. A charger would be enough to actually get started. It seems they would be most capable at this stage in the game. I remember they alluded to a scale Amtrak locomotive. I'm hoping it's not another P42. We already have ones from Williams, the Lion Chief, the Atlas Premier, and 3RD rail to cover all ranges of quality in O Scale.

Is there a possibility of Williams making a true to scale model? The Bachmann ones in HO Scale are out of this world. I'd love to have something like that in O.

Count me in!  And along with the Charger, how about a Siemens ACS-64 too!

Yes please.

Lionel has teased new Amtrak items that will be in 2022, Volume 1. Fingers crossed.

Stay tuned...mid-January catalog release.

Bachmann is releasing the SC-44 in N scale soon. Now in the past Bachmann has scaled certain models in N, HO and O (their 4-6-0 is an obvious example). But Bachmann has been very limited in new releases for the Williams line.

On the other hand, they have the specs and an open market right now.

The Bachmann HO scale tooling is excellent so I wouldn't mind seeing it in O scale, the only issue is it would absolutely have to have command control to do well, and I'd really like accurate sound if possible which I'm not sure could be integrated into TMCC/ DCS by a third party

I need a surfliner engine to go with my newly purchased K Line Surfliner cars

If anyone has a chance of making it, it would be WBB since they have both licenses from Amtrak and Siemens.

Note : ALL PHOTOS taken by me in the summer of 2021.

Siemens will not give a license to any O manufacturer to make this locomotive.  Been tried.

Ditto on rdunniii post.

Probably nobody for the time being. I can't reveal the source but Siemens has declined to give permission to model builder(s) to use their designs. It is a fairly new design for the U.S. and Siemens is protecting their proprietary property. Although, refusing to give model builders the rights to manufacture a toy model seems a little over the top. They will probably come around if the modeler manufacturers and modeling railroaders start inquiring by the bushel. My suggestion, they might be more receptive to end users then the modeling manufacturers. If you're really interested in a Siemens Charger or the electric ACS-64, slam them with emails. :-)

mobilitycommunications.ic@siemens.com

Or just go to their Mobility Solutions website:

https://www.mobility.siemens.c...ock/locomotives.html

Bachmann has a license to make them and Siemens says that is enough.  I think there is probably a better chance of getting them to allow other licensees than Bachmann making them in O.

Yeah, I agree Bachmann extending their investment to the Williams line for any Siemens Charger is unlikely. Bachmann doesn’t do much at all with its O gauge line anymore.

But, again, as has been noted above in several posts, Chargers are being made in HO and N by Bachmann under license from Siemens. So to say Siemens isn’t allowing model makers to do so is incorrect. For whatever reason, Bachmann got the license.

I have no idea if that license specifically excluded O gauge or if Bachmann is unwilling to make a costly model for a much smaller market than both N and HO.

The N scale version of the SC-44, by the way, has a list price of $400 and a Trainworld street preorder (April 2022 release) price of about $265. I can’t even fathom what the list price would be for O gauge, but it would exceed the interests of a huge chunk of hobbyists.

It's possible that Siemens simply charges a high fee for licensing and until recently, it didn't seem to be worth it for model manufacturers or that the Siemens didn't previously allow it but do now.

Bachmann has always used insane MSRP on their O scale stuff so dealers can list it at 40% off, similar to what Kohl's clothing stores do. If it works for them, great, but it always makes me laugh looking at a catalog and seeing a conventional locomotive with 30 year old tooling on a stamped frame listed at $400+.

I agree. I wouldn't think Siemens is outright opposed to licensing a manufacturer for O Scale. There's another thread on this forum where a representative from 3rd Rail mentioned that the cost of licensing is the issue regarding the development of a Charger. I would assume that would be indicative that it's not impossible for a manufacturer to acquire a license...it's just not cheap. Certainly, the cost of a license issue wouldn't affect a larger manufacturer that could mass produce the locomotive.

I remember that Williams released the F59PHI (built from the K Line tooling) a few years ago with the list price of $550. I believe there are many retailers that sold them in the ballpark of $300-350. The difference in price seems to be replicated in HO and N scale as well.

Does Bachmann need a separate license for each scale?

I think it's worth noting that MTH did produce a Siemens Taurus in O Scale. I'd assume that MTH did acquire the necessary license for that.

So adding to the hope that we might see this in O scale one day, Kato just announced the ALC-42 in N scale suggesting that Siemens is fairly comfortable with licensing these days.

Im here at the Big E and I asked the Bachmann rep if they woukd do this loco in O scale

He stated without the control system [ TMCC, DCS] they dont see the roi. They refuse to make thier own control system as well. I asked what about the Menards approach with supply in their own controller to activate lights and sound effects. They stated not now but msy consider that.

It sounds like a no go for them...unless really pressured.

If they did a unique control system I think most people, including myself, would just gut the electronics and install TMCC/ DCS. My true preference would be to have Lionel make it for full Legacy, with second choice being 3rd Rail for true craftsmanship.

Bachmann should license DCS from MTH. It seems like that would open them up to a much larger market. I would have bought their recent silver UP postwar reproduction FA A-A pair if it had DCS (and I’d have paid twice what Trainworld sold them for).

Bachmann could build a stripped but decorated unit specifically for upgrade to command.  That way you could have your choice of control system, TMCC with ERR or DCS with the MTH PS/3 Diesel Upgrade kit.  Like stated, doing one without command probably doesn't make much sense.

In the Empire Builder forum on Facebook it was stated that they should be in service later this spring. Currently there is one (I think #300) making it's way westward from Chicago stopping at each crew point so the crews can learn the locomotive.

Here's the article from RailFan and Railroad Magazine:

Amtrak’s New Chargers Will Debut on ‘Empire Builder’

By Justin Franz

SHELBY, Mont. — The first new locomotives built for long-distance passenger service in the United States in a generation will make their in-service debut on the Empire Builder in the coming months, Amtrak officials tell Railfan & Railroad.

This month, Siemens Mobility ALC-42 300 — the first of 75 locomotives Amtrak has purchased for long-distance service — has been moving west along the Empire Builder route so that crews can get familiarized with the locomotive. The locomotive is presently in Shelby, Mont., a crew base for the Chicago to Portland/Seattle train. It is expected to head west toward Spokane in the coming days. An exact date has not been set for when the first revenue run will take place but officials say it will happen before spring.

A spokesperson for Amtrak said that the ALC-42 locomotives will initially be paired up with General Electric P42s on the Empire Builder.

So far, five ALC-42s have been delivered to Amtrak, 300 through 305. Locomotive 301 features Amtrak’s “Day 1” black scheme and the rest are in Phase VI. Amtrak has initially hoped to have the first ALC-42s in service in late 2021, but delays in the crew familiarization process pushed the debut to this year. Two more locomotives are expected to be released from Siemens’ in Sacramento in February.

The new ALC-42 locomotives are based on Siemens successful Charger series of locomotives but with larger fuel tanks, 4,200 horsepower and a new front-end that makes it easier to repair out in the field. Amtrak officials said the locomotives will become the “new face” of passenger railroading in America.

This article was posted on: January 28, 2022

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Bachmann could build a stripped but decorated unit specifically for upgrade to command.  That way you could have your choice of control system, TMCC with ERR or DCS with the MTH PS/3 Diesel Upgrade kit.  Like stated, doing one without command probably doesn't make much sense.

This would be the best thing ever.

HO manufacturers build DCC ready. Something similar would be amazing.

It sounds like more excuses to me from Bachmann. But it reveals their lack of commitment to the Williams line.

The WBB brand has never really known what its plans in this hobby is unfortunately.

In other news, Bachmann just announced they're doing the Via version of the Charger in HO scale so Siemens is on a roll in the smaller scales.

I am hoping that the little hints that Lionel drops are indicators that one is in the works. I would definitely buy a charger or two for my collection.

I know that Sunset Models/3rd Rail made an attempt to license the Siemens Charger in Amtrak paint schemes, but Siemens denied it. :-( Amtrak was good with it, so I'm not sure why Siemens denied the licensing.