Viewliner II's on Parade

PCJ

 

   Boy those people in that one coach had a lot of freaking luggage!

 

Thanks for posting. Amrack heritage units look great.

 

JohnB

its nice to see SOMETHING new in Amtrak livery!

 

Nice.

MTH.... how about some sets of Viewliners finally?  5 car sets, 1 Baggage, 1 Diner, 3 Sleepers.   

 

I have been requesting the Viewliners in O Scale for decades.  Maybe now that the fleet includes baggage cars and increased numbers of diners and sleepers out in the Amtrak system, MTH or someone will make these.

I'm with you VistaDomeScott.  Lionel or MTH, please make the Viewliners already.   We have been waiting too long!!   

The easiest way to offer these would actually be as 2-car add-ons. Here's my rationale:

 

--There are no solid Viewliner trains: And there might never be. They are always mixed with Amfleet cars, which are a long way from retirement. There's not even an agreed-upon design out for their replacements. They may look like Viewliners, they may not. (chief problem with a Viewliner-style coach is the upper windows would compromise overhead luggage space. Maybe a Viewliner shell with a single row of Acela-sized windows. But nobody knows yet)

 

--More affordable as a two-car add-on: You can offer them as sleeper/diner and sleeper/sleeper sets at the outset. Currently there is only one Viewliner diner, the 8400. The train that has that particular car will have at least a couple of Viewliner sleepers. Others will have Viewliner sleepers and a Heritage diner till the V-II diners are finished, giving folks the option of adding sleepers to current Amfleet sets to re-create trains that have the 8400 or trains that don't (until the V-II diners are delivered).

 

--Allows tooling costs to be spread out a little: Baggage and Baggage/Dorm cars can come out later. And even then, a baggage/baggage-dorm set can be added on to existing Amfleet sets.

 

---PCJ

I have seen some view liner observation/ cars- even some theater inspection cars. So a 5 car set is not unrealistic.

Very nice looking!!  Thanks for the video and update...

 

Alan

There is only one of those...

...and that's the American View, an inspection car rebuilt from a pre-production prototype V1 sleeper stored at Beech Grove. You might as well advocate for dedicated tooling for a Beech Grove or Corridor Clipper. Personally, I think a better use of tooling dollars for a single car type would be for Amfleet II (the long-distance cars with large windows and entrance doors at one end only). Even then, it's an easier sell as an add-on set than a full 4-5 car package.

 

Unless it's cheaper to bang out all the Viewliner II tooling in one shot (sleeper/diner/baggage/dorm) the two-car add-ons are still an easier sell IMO since you have an established base of Amfleet set owners (of which there are at least 3-4 production runs worth) to sell a couple of extra cars to. And even if significant numbers want to make solid Viewliner fantasy consists, they still can buy both add-on configurations.

 

---PCJ