Hi, Is it just me or does anyone care about the soon to be release N-scale version of Amtrak's Surfliner cars being done by ConCor? With the release of Athearn's F59 in Surfliner colors....(think Amtrak West), I was happy to hear that ConCor was doing a run in this road scheme in passenger cars till I found out what ConCor's going to do. I got their catalog last week and here's the scoop........ 1. coach 2. lounge/cafe' 3. sleeper 4. diner 5. coach baggage First off, if you buy the 5 car set their is some problems with it. For one, Amtrak doesn't run, diners or sleepers with the Surfliners as this is a short traveling train that goes city to city..i.e, Los Angeles to Santa Barbara or los Angeles to San Diego. Two, the coach/baggage car doesn't have the cab control at one end letting the train to operate in either direction. And three, all these cars in this set is all wrong in the first place as the Amtrak Viewliner cars will be used for this run. The big difference between the surfliner and the viewliner is the type and placement of the doors used. The viewliner has a single door in the middle of the car that's opened by the conductor for passengers to enter or exit. The surfliner has two automated double doors on each car. The cafe lounge car on the viewliner has windows that wrap around up to the top of the cars, the surfliner's cars don't do this. Plus the fluting on the cars are different from the viewliner and the surfliner. Now in no way am I a rivit counter but I would think if a manufacturer that is going to come out with a new product would at least try to get close to the prototype that their going to model then cheat and use the wrong style of car. What do you think about this and does it matter to you? Freight Train
------------------ "If there's a light at the end of the tunnel get off the tracks fast! It might be me driving!"
Posted by cajon (Member # 40) on :
Aren't they using SUPERliner cars for this, which definetely aren't SURFliner cars?
Posted by Russ Bellinis (Member # 2377) on :
Most manufacturers do this. They paint whatever they have in whatever colors they think will sell without regard to whether the prototype hed one or not. When I first started in the hobby, I bought Athearn Fairbanks-Morse Trainmasters in Santa Fe livery. I had two units with the same number, of course, so I started trying to find out what I should change the number to on the second locomotive. That is when I found out Santa Fe never had Trainmasters. Look at all of the roads Athearn offered the DD40x in. I'm not even going to try to mention how many manufacturers have offered virtually any locomotice they make in red and silver warbonnett schemes. I think I even saw a sw in red & silver once.