Available Models

Paint Scheme Abbreviations:
Cal = Amtrak California
NW = Pacific Northwest
NEC = Northeast Corridor
AR = Acela Regional
slvr = plain silver
wht = plain white
ET = "Express Trak"

B) The Walthers F40PH, which has been on the market for several years now, is a very good basic model of the F40. It has a well-proportioned, highly detailed body shell with included handrails and drilling locations for grab irons (not included). The center roof hatch is separate for either dynamic or non-dynamic versions. The mechanism, while more suited to the speed range of a freight diesel, is smooth running and has good pulling power. My only complaint is that the chassis is mounted about a scale foot too far forward. The advantage to this model is that it is inexpensive and makes an excellent starting point for superdetailing or kitbashing projects.

C) The Life-Like F40PH, unlike their Proto 1000 and Proto 2000 series locomotives, is really just a toy. Its mechanism is a joke and the body shell has a very toy-like appearance. However, get rid of the toyish aspects and you have a well-proportioned, prototypically correct body shell that makes a good starting point for a kitbash. Also, unlike the Walthers model, it represents the first 30 F40PHs delivered to Amtrak, known as the Phase I series, which have slightly different details from the later units. Since most of Amtrak's NPCU cab/baggage conversions were made from Phase I F40s, I recommend the Life-Like shell as a starting point for an NPCU model.

D) Athearn's P42DC will (supposedly) be sold by Walthers in Amtrak's new Acela "wave" paint scheme, having been exclusively painted for them. Photos of preproduction models have popped up here and there, but it's still unclear when this unit will be available and what exactly it will look like. I'd certainly like to see if the paint job is accurate before purchasing it, since it is supposed to cost more than one straight from Athearn in the earlier paint schemes.

E) The Walthers B32-8WH is truly a model of the freight version, the B40-8W. It does include modified fuel tanks, battery boxes, and air tanks to suggest the Amtrak version, but there are some noticeable body differences between the two. Also, while the mechanism is nice, the detailing on this unit is rather plain, whereas Atlas's version is completely correct and superdetailed right out of the box.

F) Imperial Hobby Productions has, in the past, carried shell-only kits for Amtrak's derailment-plagued SDP40Fs. They are designed to fit the mechanism from an Athearn FP45 (which, incidentally, is offered in Amtrak Phase I paint and could easily serve as a stand-in) and include the correct HT-C truck sideframes. At times, assembled, decorated models have been sold in Phase I, II, and III. A new release of the shell kits is scheduled for Summer 2002, but no word on decorated models yet.

G) Imperial Hobby Productions has, in the past, marketed kits for Amtrak's ill-fated fleet of SPV-2000s, which are essentially modern RDC cars that resemble Amfleet coaches. The kits were sold in undecorated, nonpowered form, but models were available decorated for Amtrak Phase III in powered or dummy form. A new release of the undecorated dummy kits is scheduled for late Fall 2002, but no word on decorated models yet.

1) Bachmann's Amfleet I coach, while containing some toylike attributes, has a far more detailed body casting than the Amfleet I made by Walthers. By mounting the Bachmann shell on the Walthers underframe and giving it a new paint job, you can end up with a very accurate model.

2) The Walthers Amfleet I cars, while using tried-and-true design techniques, have a number of obvious flaws that were overlooked by the designers. The entire body shell is the wrong shape, the windows and doors are poorly tooled, and numerous other body details are either missing or misrepresented. However, the basic underbody components are correct, and some simple changes can be made to improve the trucks and floor details. Read footnote #1 for how to solve the problem of the body shell.

3) The Walthers Amfleet II cars, while still flawed in a few ways, are a vast improvement over the Amfleet I series. It appears that the designers noticed the flaws of the Amfleet I and corrected most of them in this version, but left the body shell the wrong shape so as not to appear so obviously different and to allow Amfleet I and Amfleet II cars to operate side by side without looking out of place. Enough details have been fixed that these cars can operate with correctly-shaped, superdetailed Bachmann Amfleet I kitbashes and blend in nicely. Unlike the Amfleet I series, the paint jobs on these cars are outstanding as well.

4) The American Model Builders kit, which is for a Union Pacific smooth-side coach, contains only the sides of the car. It must be assembled in conjuntion with an Eastern Car Works #1200 core kit, which contains roof, ends, and floor. This style of Amtrak coach is not seen very often.

5) The Walthers 52- and 48-seat coaches both represent types that were less commonly used by Amtrak. They are not to be confused with the former Pennsylvania Railroad coaches that are still in active service on the East Coast.

6) The Walthers Dining Car represents a type used by the New York Central. Though Amtrak has a few of these cars, which have even survived to Phase IV paint, the majority of Amtrak diners follow a different style that was more common and used by several railroads, notably ones that ran Zephyr service. Luckily, it's not difficult to modify the Walthers car to this different design thanks to the model's modular construction.

7) The Brass Car Sides kit for a Northern Pacific dining car is very close to the "standard" Amtrak diner. The kit will represent a select few Amtrak diners that have the distinctive "smooth-side" panels that the NP used. See Frank Cicero's article in the September 1997 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman for more information. However, the window arrangement is the same as the "standard" Amtrak diners, so it would be possible to trim away the smooth-side panels from the side overlays and apply only the window sections to a Walthers car.

8) There have not been very many straight Lounges in Amtrak service, but this car is very close to the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad Congressional Ltd. coaches that are now frequently seen in Amtrak's Adirondack and Pennsylvanian consists. All that needs to be done is to cut out an additional few window openings where the lounge section previously was.

9) Bachmann's old Full Dome model was a decent representation of the Santa Fe's "Big Domes," some of which made their way into Amtrak's Auto Train service. They are not to be confused with the smooth-side "Great Domes" that came from the Great Northern and are now used in Amtrak service on the West Coast. Supposedly, Bachmann will soon be re-releasing these cars with "all-new tooling."

10) The Brass Car Sides kit for Great Northern smooth-side "Great Domes" is designed to overlay Bachmann's Full Dome car. These cars saw their way into Amtrak service and, a few years ago, were rebuilt and became once again part of the active fleet. The difference now is that they no longer have entry doors on the sides, so the doors on the brass overlays would need to be filled in and/or removed before installation.

11) The Con-Cor smooth-side baggage car is a reasonably accurate model of a series of cars originally used by VIA Rail in Canada. Several of them were purchased by Amtrak and are now numbered in the 1000-series. A few simple details will turn the Con-Cor car into a very prototypical model. See Frank Cicero's article in the January 1995 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman for more information.