Model Railroading > Starting on a new project - finally

My goal is to build models of the Amtrak Coast Starlight & California Zephyr along with the Amtrak California Capital Corridor and San Joaquin trains as I saw them in the mid-90's.  I have some of what I need (looking at you Athearn, tik-tok on those California Cars!), but I will have to kitbash some of the stuff.  My Coast Starlight will have all Superliner IIs in Phase IV paint, while I will try to have the California Zephyr with Superliner Is in Phase III so I can backdate to the 80's when I want to (but will mix cars and paint schemes for the mid-90's version).  For the Amtrak California trains, the cafe version of the California Car was delivered after the coaches and cab cars, so ex-Santa Fe hi-level diners were used as Boiling Man pointed out in a thread of mine years ago where I had a picture of what I thought was a Superliner diner - https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,3264992,3264998#msg-3264998  Once Boiling Man pointed that little detail out, I knew I was going to have to have a hi-level diner in Phase III, and I really wanted to have a Pacific Parlour car in Phase IV for my Coast Starlight.  And if I pull those off, I think I'll try to make a hi-level trans-dorm in Phase III at some point for the Zephyr.

As is the case with most of my projects (model railroad, home improvement, etc), it takes a while to get things started, let alone finished.  Some years back, I acquired a hi-level Diner and Sky Lounge while they were on sale, along with the decals I needed.  Some of the delay in getting started was due to other projects on the layout that were more of a priority, and some of it was nerves about taking things apart.  With my old Athearn Blue Box stuff, I hacked away as they weren't very expensive.  These cars on the other hand ...  

So here are some pictures of my first baby steps on the grand Amtrak project.  After I get the external changes done, I plan on painting some of the insides along with adding people at the tables, and of course there will be a little "Boiling Man" figure in the hi-level dinner!  I still wonder if I ever bought diner from him when I was riding the Capitol Corridor trains.

Nathan

1 - the hi-level Diner, taking this and the lounge apart were much trickier than the Superliner.  While I messed up some of the mount holes in the diner, things should go back together and you won't notice.  
2 - the hi-level Sky Lounge, the sides came off a little easier, but it was still a pain
3 - the Superliner I Diner, I plan on painting the chairs and tables and adding passengers

 

---

---

---

I feel your pain, many of these cars that are built using tabs that snap together are tough to un-snap and take apart.  I feel like I am all but destroying them but there is so much flexibility in the plastic that no permanent harm is done.
I took apart my Superliner Diner to add lights and paint the interior.  There are simulated plates on the tables.  I painted the table tops with thin white for table cloths, letting the paint seek the edges to let the cast-on plates stand out.
Fun, but in the end who really looks that closely.  But I do like the always-on lights.  I made mine very low intensity so they mostly show up at night, but they do fill in the shadow interior.
The first photo is of the tables and a crude paint for upholstery, the second has the passengers and some color dabs to simulate a meal being served.
My wife is a Coca-Cola fanatic so I  but bits of red insulation out to simulate their red cans.
On my version of Amtrak the crews do not pile cardboard boxes into half the table booths, they actively serve good meals and make riding the train enjoyable.
You may note that I did not paint the kitchen areas, even though there is detail cast into the interior there too.  I may be a little nuts to play with trains, but I hope I am sane enough to not invest time in a totally hidden feature like a windowless kitchen....;-)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/24 10:36 by railstiesballast.

---

---

railstiesballast Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I feel your pain, many of these cars that are
> built using tabs that snap together are tough to
> un-snap and take apart.  I feel like I am all but
> destroying them but there is so much flexibility
> in the plastic that no permanent harm is done.
> I took apart my Superliner Diner to add lights and
> paint the interior.  There are simulated plates
> on the tables.  I painted the table tops with
> thin white for table cloths, letting the paint
> seek the edges to let the cast-on plates stand
> out.
> Fun, but in the end who really looks that
> closely.  But I do like the always-on lights.  I
> made mine very low intensity so they mostly show
> up at night, but they do fill in the shadow
> interior.
> The first photo is of the tables and a crude paint
> for upholstery, the second has the passengers and
> some color dabs to simulate a meal being served.
> My wife is a Coca-Cola fanatic so I  but bits of
> red insulation out to simulate their red cans.
> On my version of Amtrak the crews do not pile
> cardboard boxes into half the table booths, they
> actively serve good meals and make riding the
> train enjoyable.
> You may note that I did not paint the kitchen
> areas, even though there is detail cast into the
> interior there too.  I may be a little nuts to
> play with trains, but I hope I am sane enough to
> not invest time in a totally hidden feature like a
> windowless kitchen....;-)

I'm debating placing cooks in the kitchen just for kicks and telling people they are there to see if they believe me!  :)  Thanks for the posts about your diner, I was wondering about painting the tables white since the plates were white too, so I like your effect, looks great.  My wife is a Pepsi fan so I guess I need some silver cans in there.

Nathan

IIRC Amtrak deals in Pepsi, not Coke.  But in my closer-to-perfect world we'll stay with Coke.
 

railstiesballast Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> IIRC Amtrak deals in Pepsi, not Coke.  But in my
> closer-to-perfect world we'll stay with Coke.
>  

They brought their own Coke!

I too have been building a Amtrak California Zephyr. Throughout the 80s it had a former ATSF bi-level but to date Walthers still hadn't offered it in phase 3 scheme.

Posted from Android

I thought amtrak was now using Coke.  It was coke when I took four trips on Amtrak in 2023. Have they changed back?

Good for them, thanks for the correction.

Those Flat Iron steaks sure look good.

Good for you guy's, look forward to see how things progress. Me, I just disabled the lighting. Lazy man's short cut. :-)

I might want to tackle the lounge someday though, it's the one car I can see into without trying to hard.