How might one approximate the Amtrak Cascades Talgo ?

[nickelplate759]

Actually, the Amtrak marketing name for oxide brown was Cascades Castilian Copper.    Cascades Double Latte is a close match to the BN Executive Creme.

[peteski]

Actually, the Amtrak marketing name for oxide brown was Cascades Castilian Copper.    Cascades Double Latte is a close match to the BN Executive Creme.

See what I mean?  They are all nutz!   None of those names sound remotely like manly RR color names.   

[TrainCat2]

Has anyone thought of vacuforming the fins? .030 ABS pulled over the buck will thin out to .015 - .020. I use  extensively in other forms of modeling.

[nickelplate759]

Vacuformed fins is a neat idea.  I remember begging my parents for a Mattel Vacuform machine when I was a kid, but never got one.

A challenge is going to be that the stock body has to flex a good deal to snap on or off the chassis.   I may need to change the body attachment mechanism in order to graft fins on the body without them cracking off.

Another challenge turns out to be couplers on the end units.  I have one end unit with a Rapido coupler, two with no couplers, and one with a glued-on fixed knuckle.  Unfortunately, the fixed knuckle tends to drag the end unit off the rails when entering curves without easements.   I need to devise something better.

[nickelplate759]

So, a little careful disassembly, and I can see a way to attach a Micro-Trains body-mount coupler after removing the existing coupler mechanism.

Easiest would be MT 2004, short-shank underslung.  I'm a little worried about the short shank being too short;  It's only a 40' long car, but it has an 8' overhang from the end axle. 

Is there a longer-shank underslung coupler that would fit in the 2004 box, maybe in one of the MT conversion sets?     Perhaps about 1016-length, but with an offset coupler head?  Looking at the MT site, maybe the 1019?   It's hard to tell if it has an offset head - anyone have one as a reference?

[nickelplate759]

Found a MT spec sheet with all the dimensions.  The 1019 is what I want - in the 2004 box.

[nickelplate759]

An update.  an vendor on eBay (n3dpm) offered 3d-printed  shells for the Cascades tail cars.  I crossed my fingers and ordered a set, and they look pretty good.  They're not 100% to prototype with respect to details or the shape of the fins, but they are better than I could do myself, so I'm quite happy.

 It's not clear yet what I have to do to actually mount them on the Arnold/Electotren chasses, but the vendor said that was their intended use.

[peteski]

Very nice George. Those shells look good (to a non-expert eye like me).

[Five-O-Eight]

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Hello- Came across your thread and thought I'd muddy the waters a bit. I developed this train to not use any Electrotren parts.

For my HO version of this same train I used:
TCP-301: Kansas City Southern Off-White
TCP-236: Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Freight Car Brown
TCP-128: Southern Green

Decals are available from Fusion Scale:

https://fsdecals.com/collections/amtrak/products/fsg-amtk11004-160
https://fsdecals.com/collections/amtrak/products/n-scale-talgo-passenger-cars-end-white-striping-decal-set
https://fsdecals.com/collections/amtrak/products/n-scale-talgo-passenger-cars-white-striping-decal-set
https://fsdecals.com/collections/amtrak/products/fsg-amtk11001-160

I am also working on an N scale cab car, I am intending to use Kato trucks that I have removed the gears from.

[Pizzaparty]

How do you plan to handle the articulation?

[Five-O-Eight]

I am away from home at the moment, and away from all of this stuff but I will be happy to post an explainer when I get back.