Amtrak Cabcar from Metroliner Build

[Ian MacMillan]

Lets get some HO projects going here. One of the side projects on my list for the layout is an Amtrak cabcar built from the former Metroliner units. I tried this build many many years ago when I was fresh out of college and it ended miserably...so heres a second crack at it.  From looking at photos online there appears to be 3 styles of Metroliner cab rebuilds:
1. No mods with tiger stripes http://www.chicagorailfan.com/pmmilwn3.jpg
2. Older cab cars modified to have a center door with a window the size of the operators window, and included a diaphragm. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=593336
3. Newer rebuilds with the center door filled in and having either a large window or "original" size window where the door would be. This appeares to have been done to keep snow from building up in the diaphragm? http://www.railpictures.net/photo/443504/

I have noticed that there are subtle differences between each car, some having strobes on a "tree" in the center of the roof, while others have them on the outside edges, to placement of the ditchlights.



Not wanting to hack up a $100 Walthers unit and end up throwing it against the wall I decided to start this project with the days of old Bachmann Metroliner cabs, which can easily be picked up on eBay for $15. I decided to build a first version car, which several lasted unmodified without front door diaphragms well into the 1990's.



On first glance I will need to be adding significant pilot detail such as MU recepticals, shortly plow, cut levers and couplers. Trucks at first glance appear to be similar to those on MHC cars, and Kato trucks will offer a much better rolling car than the Bachmann trucks. Underbody detail seems to differ on these, from retaining their old Metroliner boxes to stripped down versions.

Items Needed
- Bachmann or Walthers Metroliner cab car
- Microscale"Amfleet" decal set 87-525
- Train Station Products Amfleet Diaphragms
- Sargent Engineering Type H "Tightlock" Couplers

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Have you thought about chopping off the Bachmann end and grafting it onto a better body?

[peteski]

Have you thought about chopping off the Bachmann end and grafting it onto a better body?

Even though they are all depicting the same car, I wouldn't be surprised that different manufacturer's models will have slightly different cross section.  That would make the graft difficult.  Not impossible, but a pain to do.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Even though they are all depicting the same car, I wouldn't be surprised that different manufacturer's models will have slightly different cross section.  That would make the graft difficult.  Not impossible, but a pain to do.

Yeah, I was thinking that'd be the main hurdle.

[Ian MacMillan]

The carbody is not actually as bad as you would think for 1970's tooling. It IS devoid of any detail, but I will be adding that anyway. The paint is horrid, it's grainy and looks like it was sprayed from 10 feet away, especially the white, which has horrible overspray.

Back in the early 2000's when I first tried this project it was with a Walthers car body swap, and yes the cross profiles are different.

[mcjaco]

The version I remember is the tiger stripe with no mods.  Which makes sense, as this picture is take on the platform of my hometown.....

 

I'd do this version, if it were me...and I'm kind of thinking about it for another Hiawatha version to model.

I'd definitely strip that sucker and start over for paint.  I forgot how awful those models were with almost no underbody detail.  Are you sure you won't pay a little more for the Walther's version, and just re decal it???

[Ian MacMillan]

I'm gonna start with the Bmann first to get the window decaling down. It's turning out to be a pain in the a$$, and I'm thinking it would have been better to mask and paint the P3 stripes.

I found a good deal on a non powered non DCC non sound metrocab from Walthers at $125 but I don't know how well the plating will hold up to removing the P1 stripes so that I can do the P3?

[mcjaco]

Decal over?  I'm doing that on one of my Kato baggage cars. 

[Ian MacMillan]

I may. Will have to see if it is wide enough. Some of the white background on some Phase1 stuff I have seen is wider than the decals.