First off…. I model the so-called “transition era” with a definite emphasis on steam, with a few 1st generation diesels showing their faces once in a while. I also whole-heartedly adhere to rule #1... It’s MY Railroad! LOL So, knowing this……..
Several years ago, Amtrak re-instated long forgotten passenger service between Portland, Maine and Boston, Massachusetts (formerly done by the B&M) in the form of the “Downeaster”. Having seen this train several times as it made its early runs, I thought it would be neat to model this train. At first, the underlying sentiment was… “It doesn’t belong on YOUR steam layout”. So, I put the idea on the back burner…. But, still thought it would be neat and, after all, the needed equipment is available. Fast-forward to a couple weeks ago when my wife and I rode the Downeaster to Boston to catch the Red Sox play the Toronto Jays. It was a nice trip and renewed my interest in the train. Rule #1 popped into my mind, again, and I decided I still wanted a Downeaster. So, I proceeded to acquire the needed equipment. And, I discovered, there are a number of fellow modelers who are doing the same project, including one fellow member of this forum. Monday, I took delivery of a P42 (thanks Mike) and, Tuesday, three Amfleet cars (I should have at least four) came. A kind gentleman offered me three Life Like F40’s for the price of the postage (couldn’t pass up that deal!!) so, I am waiting their arrival so that I can start converting one into a cabbage.
The P42 is a sweet little loco…. Smooth and quiet but can’t handle my three Amfleet cars on a 3.5% grade. I will probably have to remove the lighting contacts on the coach trucks to eliminate the “drag”.
The Bachmann Budd Amfleet cars are very nice, except for the above mentioned drag on the wheels…. But, I knew of and accepted this problem when I bought them. Actually, there are no problems… there are only solutions. They came with Rapido couplers which close couple nicely and, in spite of Bachmann’s 19” radius warnings, operate well on my two 11” curves. Here, I have choices: order a Rapido coupler set from Kato (more $$$) or trim off the end of one of the coach couplers and cement a Unimate to it. I believe the Unimate idea will win. And, since I do not plan to operate any of the components singly, I will leave the rest of the Rapidos on the cars.
The only “major” work to be done will be cutting up the LL shell to make the cabbage. I’ve done a lot of research for photos and have come up with a sufficient number of them to give me ideas for conversion. I had briefly considered a Kato F40 for the extra power (and still might consider) but, I still have this aversion to cutting up perfectly fine (not to mention, expensive) locos.
Things left to do:
1. Apply details to P42
2. Change coupler on one coach
3. Detail/weather P42 and coaches/café
4. Bash cabbage, paint/detail
5. Have fun.
Those P42's are some
Same thing
It is, indeed, the Genesis. Certainly not the most handsome machine but, I suppose, beauty is in the eye if the beholder!
Always Decisions to Make
The mail brought three F40's today so, one step closer to building(bashing) a cabbage. I've got a snow plow and roll-up doors on the way but decals are eluding me. That may be a topic for discussion later. In the meantime, I have to face that old question again... How accurate do I want to be? Research shows that Amtrak did at least two basic treatments of the cabbage. One was to remove the roof fans, cut in two baggage doors, and leave the vents as is.
The second was to also remove the vents and, from what it looks like, plate over the roof and the area along the top of the sides, giving a rather smooooooth look. Cutting in the doors doesn't look too awfully intimidating. Plugging the holes where the fans were looks a little tougher. Removing all those vents...... I dunno...... I had a brief discussion with another member here (azNscale) about the roof and, in light of the fact the one I want to model has a smooth roof, I may have to change my plans.... again.
Or...do I want to take the easy way out? Decisions, decisions......
Progress
Actually, I am encouraged as this project is turning out to be not as difficult as I expected. When the F40's arrived, I tried to match their speed with the P42 but, they were much slower. Not being into DCC, I decided to remove the "prime mover" and all gearing in the trucks from one and make it into a dummy.... easy enough. I then tackled the roof fans, hacking out the middle of each with a #11 blade, then trimming them flush with the roof. I also trimmed off the vents on the "angled" roof. Using thin styrene strip, I "blanked out" the vents on the upper parts of the side walls. While the styrene is a little thicker than the sheet metal Amtrak used, it is not offensive looking.
Then, I cemented a piece of styrene inside the boddy shell under the holes. Using Squadron green putty (not white because the plastic onder the paint is white) I filled in the holes and smoothed out the roof. After sanding until I had what I wanted, I addressed the baggage doors. This was not going to be a score-and-snap" operation so, I located where I wanted the doors and drilled several small holes (six on each side and six on the top and bottom) slightly "inside of the actual shape of the door. Using my knife, I carefully "connected the dots" until I dad the door roughed out. Then, using a flat file, I finished shaping the door opening.
When the doors and plow arrive, I will get back to it.
Well Dick, I really admire
Too Kind!
You're too kind, Bryan,but thanks. "Incredible" is a great compliment but.... I'll settle for "looks good"! LOL
Getting there
It's good to have all the components for the train (although I might add one more coach) because I can actually run it in between work sessions. I've applied rough coats of paint to cover the old Amtrak lettering and also "seal" the putty on the roof. Makes it easier to see voids that might need filling (and there were!). After spending an hour bending wire and drilling holes, I added four grabs on the nose but question the value of the effort as with the black nose, they're difficult to see! (But, at least, I know they're there) When the plow and doors arrive, I'll be able to put the finishing touches on it. Decals have proven to be problematic. The set I need is available in HO but not N. I have written to High Ball Graphics twice, hoping to cajole Jim into doing a printing in N. If all else fails, I can adapt decals from Micro Scale but.... they won't say "Downeaster".
Bachmann has taken it on the chin a lot in the various forums and I could get on a soap box quite easily in their defense but.... I won't.
I will say that in recent years they have produced some really neat stuff and at an affordable price. I needed Amfleet coaches (Amtubes) and a cafe for my train and Bachmann is the only game in town for these (don't know about brass). They've released these twice: the first issue left a lot to be desired but, the new tooling has produced some fine looking coaches that have diaphragms, lighting, and close couple, albeit with Rapidos. And, they're not cheap!! Since they'll always run as a unit, I've left the Rapidos on them because they do close couple and the couplers are all but unnoticeable. I added a Kato coupler to one coach to couple to the P42. One problem still exisits with them: they do not roll well, a lot of drag being produced by the wheel contacts for the lighting. I alleviated some of this drag by removing the contacts from one truck on each coach. Seemed to help quite a bit and the lighting still works though flickers once in a while on certain turnouts. I think they look great.
It's done....
Or, as done as it's going to be. Not my best product but, considering who did it and what I had to work with, it turned out to be acceptable, IMHO. I couldn't get the correct decals but was able to substitute with Micro Scale Phase IV Amfleet decals. Considering the other compromises I had to make, this was no biggie. And, I discovered, I hate painting silver.... it's got to be even more difficult than red. While the cabbage doesn't say "Downeaster" on it, I have a photo of 90213 in this livery at Rigby Yard (South Portland Maine) during the early days of Downeaster service. Fun project.... might try it again with the idea of making some improvements. It still looks strange parked next to a mogul and a string of wood-side coaches!
Cool, you are very
Charles
I'd love to...
You're too kind, Al
Much too kind but.... don't stop! LOL As many times as I have seen the Downeaster, it has always had a P42 on point northbound (eastbound???) towards Portland with the cabbage trailing. The cabbage is, of course, on point southbound (west??) towards Boston. The only exception in my memory was a few months ago when I saw it southbound through North Berwick when it was Cabbage, cafe, several coaches, P42, plus P42, several coaches, cafe, cabbage, all lashed together in one train. I can only assume they may have had a breakdown or were returning a spare train to Beantown but, that doesn't explain the reverse order of the second section. Amtrak does keep a spare in Portland, I suppose, in case of a breakdown or sudden increase in seating requirements. I did have a thought that having the cabbage lead into North Station made sense as passengers wouldn't have to walk by the exremely noisy loco going down the platform plus, the exhaust wouldn't be trapped by the canopy over the platforms. I noticed the MBTA trains also had the F40's on the "outer end" of the trains. Just a thought. Nice ride. We plan to do it again.