Anyone heard any news regarding reuns of these cars especially in Go Scheme? These bilevel cars appear to be very popular with the commuter administrations throughout North America. Would like to increase my fleet. I presume Athearn would use the McHenry couplers this time around. Have asked the question of Athearn, no response yet. Dave B. PAT in Montreal
Didn't they do a rerun within the past year or so? I remember they were doing the New Mexico Railrunner and I emailed Athearn asking if they were also doing the loco and they replied that they had no plans at the time. I didn't buy them after all.
Did they ever release them in the GO scheme? Even though they're officially discontinued, there are still some available. The Train Stop in San Dimas, CA had several sets on display this afternoon. None in Metrolink, however. I saw a couple 3-packs in Sounder paint and at least one in that Texas paint job. If you're good at painting, there's your fleet! http://www.trainstop.com/
I've had alot of luck with eBay finding Mertolink over the last year. I think I have about a dozen cars now including two of the "aniversary" cars. Be persistant and patient and they pop-up about every week or so. Last time I olooked a couple of the eBay-stores even had some. The Mertolink engines are a little difficult to find so jump on one if you see it.
If they are so popular and rare, why doesn't Athearn re-run some of the roadnames? Tooling is already paid for. This would seem like a no brainer.
If I'm not mistaken, Hobby Junction in Dorval has some GO train bi-levels in stock. I can't remember what maker they were, though. Sorry. Dave. (Another Dave B. in Montreal (NDG)).
Thanks firechief for the info . Haven't been to Hobby Junction for atleast 6 weeks. Last time I looked they didn't have any. Saw on a forum Athearn suppose to revamp their F59PHI loco maybe they will also then be motivated to do a rerun to go with it. Dave B. PAT Montreal
You should take a look at Van Horne hobby in Laval . Mr Mallette still have a lot of rolling stock that you cannot find anywhere else . I go to both place . Here is the phone number for Van Horne Hobby 450-669-4175 . They did one run of the Go Train bilevel car maybe 2 run . I am from Ste-Therese .
You can buy the NM Railrunner loco from Wig-Wag. A guy in Albuquerque does them and sells them through Wig-Wag. I got one and it is really nice. Here is his website with a picture of that unit: http://www.emperortrains.com/rr/commuter-lines.html It was $125 I beleive. Chris
Athearn reported they are retooling the F59 with a new motor and DCC/sound features. I garentee the Commuter cars will be run along with those.
if anyone is interested in getting a 3-car set with two engines in westcoast paint scheme then let me know. less than 10 minutes run time.
Athearn Bombardier Commuter Car Rerun in GO! I see Athearn is doing a rerun in HO. Also F59. Will N scale be far behind? Dave B. PAT Montreal
I think it's a good idea for folks to network here and organize an exchange. I'm sure there's some LHS in the East Coast that have Metrolink, Coaster and West Coast Express coaches sitting on the shelves and gathering dust. Likewise some place in the West that has a bunch of GO Transit coaches. I know for a fact that Metrolink is in the process of changing its branding and livery. Here's what it's going to look like: When that happens, Athearn (themselves located in Metrolink territory) HAS to do a re-release! Metrolink is also introducing a new Korean-built safety cab car (in light of the tragic 2008 UP collision), which is the car that's pictured. If other commuter systems order it, that sure sounds like something Athearn ought to pursue as well!
The F59 types are not really correct for the Railrunner. May be a halfway decent substitute, but definitely not correct at all. Same problem in HO, by the way. Correct engines would be MPI MP36PH-3C which have a different appearance in length and cab windows shape in particular.
