# This brought back memories...



## ALC Rail Writer (Oct 30, 2008)

Yay for Google AdSense!


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## the_traveler (Oct 30, 2008)

I never got on the TurboTrain, but I did on the Turboliners!


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## MrFSS (Oct 30, 2008)

Did you click on that ad? I did, once, and it took me to a model railroad sales site. Nothing at all to do with TURBOTRAINS. False advertising!


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## ALC Rail Writer (Oct 30, 2008)

MrFSS said:


> Did you click on that ad? I did, once, and it took me to a model railroad sales site. Nothing at all to do with TURBOTRAINS. False advertising!


LOL I figured as much!


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## Rafi (Oct 30, 2008)

MrFSS said:


> Did you click on that ad? I did, once, and it took me to a model railroad sales site. Nothing at all to do with TURBOTRAINS. False advertising!


Well... to be fair now... They're marketing an HO model of the Amtrak TurboTrain. They have some video as well. If I weren't an O scale modeler, I'd probably get one!

Rafi


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## ALC Rail Writer (Oct 30, 2008)

Rafi said:


> MrFSS said:
> 
> 
> > Did you click on that ad? I did, once, and it took me to a model railroad sales site. Nothing at all to do with TURBOTRAINS. False advertising!
> ...


I'm an HO modeler, but my focus is on a turn of the century (20th-21st that is) model of my pretend rural mountain town in the BNSF system.

So... Turbo Train won't fit!


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## sky12065 (Oct 30, 2008)

ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> Rafi said:
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> 
> > MrFSS said:
> ...


Do you have delays like say the CZ or the TE, or do you have good control of the schedules because you own the tracks?


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## ALC Rail Writer (Oct 30, 2008)

sky12065 said:


> ALC_Rail_Writer said:
> 
> 
> > Rafi said:
> ...


No Amtrak- you know how much it costs to model Superliners?!! *chokes*

Its a quaint little farm town- it has a 30's style train platform, kept renovated by the local taxpayers, and is a popular hangout for teenagers who have nothing to do but railfan lol.

If I had to say it looked like anything- it reminds me of eastern Montana, before the Havre station stop... but I've never been on the CZ- so it might look something like that.

The train itself is a rainbow consist of older Santa Fe and BN cars led by a brand new BNSF AC4400 with Heritage II livery... Seven cars (sometimes six because the one grain hopper likes to jump track) 4 closed grain hoppers, and three boxers... It's classified as "local freight"


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## the_traveler (Oct 30, 2008)

ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> The train itself is *a rainbow consist of older* Santa Fe and BN *cars*


If it were passenger cars, that would sound just like early 70's Amtrak trains! :lol:


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## Green Maned Lion (Oct 30, 2008)

I wanna have a big HO layout on which to run Superliners and other Amtrak cars. I'll have to wait until the huge costs involved don't choke me, though.


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## OlympianHiawatha (Oct 30, 2008)

Green Maned Lion said:


> I wanna have a big HO layout on which to run Superliners and other Amtrak cars. I'll have to wait until the huge costs involved don't choke me, though.


When I was growing up in Chicago Dad and I had a sizable layout in the basement and to this day many of the trains survive in my collection. But now that I'm in Oklahoma where we lack basements the trains are either living happily on display shelves or stashed away in drawers. I do need to update my Amtrak Superliner train which is still Phase II/Phase III


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## Rafi (Oct 30, 2008)

Green Maned Lion said:


> I wanna have a big HO layout on which to run Superliners and other Amtrak cars. I'll have to wait until the huge costs involved don't choke me, though.


GML,

Sound reasoning. Take it from someone who paid well above what he initially expected. That said, HO and N rolling stock is an absolute bargain compared to O gauge, IMHO, so you may be surprised what you can afford to just get a starter layout going. But be careful. That starter layout has a tendency to snowball out of control. Consider that my cheapest O gauge engine (a switcher) cost $150 or so, and my most expensive (N&W J611 Steamer) cost $650 or so (and that's half off the retail thanks to eBay), and consider I have EIGHT engines and more than enough line-specific rolling stock for each engine and you can see how the costs add up. That's not even counting $100 switches (8 of them), track around my basement, scenery, buildings, etc. For a while there I was really worried, but somehow managed to work my tail off to be able to pay for it. Mostly. I'm also married to a wife who... well, I don't know how she can look the other way sometimes, God love her. 

Ahem. Short answer: Model HO (or even N) if budget is a concern, and set spending limits. I sure as heck should have. Now... I wonder if eBay has that UP 844 steamer that I saw the real thing of this past summer.... <slaps own hand>

-Rafi


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## Green Maned Lion (Oct 30, 2008)

I have a pretty decent O guage layout. Plenty of pre-war rolling stock. Some of it belonged to my grandpa, actually. whole thing is powered by an old ZW transformer. I like HO because I prefer to model realistic layouts, and halving the scale makes it a lot more plausible.


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## ALC Rail Writer (Nov 1, 2008)

Green Maned Lion said:


> I have a pretty decent O guage layout. Plenty of pre-war rolling stock. Some of it belonged to my grandpa, actually. whole thing is powered by an old ZW transformer. I like HO because I prefer to model realistic layouts, and halving the scale makes it a lot more plausible.


But the cost of Superliner models is outrageous. The P-42's, even in Phase V scheme aren't too bad- but the superliner cars themselves... It's (roughly) $391 to model the CL, and nearly $500 for the EB.

That's when you make a 'dream train' with a consit of 1 P-42, baggage, 1 sleeper, 1 diner, 1 lounge, and 1 coach lol...


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## SouthernServesTheSouth (Nov 2, 2008)

The best way to save money is to model the Cardinal. You can use any piece of junk Amtrak rolling stock, just like the real 50/51


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## OlympianHiawatha (Nov 2, 2008)

Early Amtrak can be fun as well since for many trains, especially the *Empire Builder*, you can grab whatever cars and engines you have lying around.

Now I just wish someone would come up with HO or N Phase V Auto Carriers for an Auto Train (albeit a short one  )


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## spacecadet (Nov 2, 2008)

SouthernServesTheSouth said:


> The best way to save money is to model the Cardinal. You can use any piece of junk Amtrak rolling stock, just like the real 50/51


I've been planning to model the LSL that I took in 2003... that was probably the most motley train I've ever seen. Here's the consist:

P42

P42

Heritage baggage

Viewliner

Viewliner

Viewliner

Heritage diner grill

Amfleet I cafe

Horizon coach

Amfleet II coach

Amfleet II coach

Amfleet II coach

Heritage crew dorm

It's still not that cheap to model a train like that. All of those cars are about $25 a piece. And the P42's are about $80 a piece. So it's still close to $500. I'll be cutting out a Viewliner and a coach, at least...

For western trains, the new Superliners that Walthers just released are about $50 each, though you can still get the old ones for "only" about $35.

And those Rapido trains are the worst - the Turbo Train is like $365 for a three-car train!


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## access bob (Nov 2, 2008)

Green Maned Lion said:


> I have a pretty decent O guage layout. Plenty of pre-war rolling stock. Some of it belonged to my grandpa, actually. whole thing is powered by an old ZW transformer. I like HO because I prefer to model realistic layouts, and halving the scale makes it a lot more plausible.


and to make things more complicated there are more than one "O" guage.

the three rail tinplate or semiscale trains. these are the ones most know.

then there is the two rail "O" scale with full sizsed cars and trains. exact scaled down, but running on the 5 ft track guage

then there is the even more exact proto 48 which uses true scale track too. with a real 4ft 8.5 inch track guage instead ,of the 5ft used by tinplate and scale trains..

Bob

now has that confused the issue sufficiently.


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## ALC Rail Writer (Nov 2, 2008)

spacecadet said:


> SouthernServesTheSouth said:
> 
> 
> > The best way to save money is to model the Cardinal. You can use any piece of junk Amtrak rolling stock, just like the real 50/51
> ...


Heh, good luck with that one mate!!

I'll stick to some nice and cheap BNSF trains myself!


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## Chris J. (Nov 30, 2008)

SouthernServesTheSouth said:


> The best way to save money is to model the Cardinal. You can use any piece of junk Amtrak rolling stock, just like the real 50/51


I have a pefect model of the the saturday, monday, tuesday and thursday Cardinal from NY :lol:


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## zubi (Feb 10, 2009)

yes, it reminds me of eastern Montana, before the Havre station stop... but I've never been on the CZ- so it might look something like that.


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