American Z Lines has just released F59PHI loco sets for Amtrak California and Amtrak West. Each set comes with a loco and four cars. The Amtrak California set comes with California cars and the Amtrak West with Surfliners. This is the first time the Surfliners have been available as an injection item in any scale! The F59PHI locomotives are DCC ready and comes with a 10mm Mabuchi motor, dual flywheels and LED lighting. Ztrack Magazine is the exclusive distributor of the AZL line. Ztrack Magazine subscribers can purchase direct through Ztrack. Sets are also available through dealers. Rob Kluz [ March 19, 2005, 10:46 AM: Message edited by: ztrack ]
My Surfliner set showed up today. I got an extra engine to go with it, so I can DCC one, and be able to run on any track. They are real cool in person.
Robert, Yeah! I send you the second engine with a different roadnumber then the one in the set. I absolutely love the set. The silver trucks really show of the detail. The Amtrak West set is by far the most popular of the bunch. The Dallas TRE is up there as well. By the way, did the new bases arrive for the Sounder?
Yes, I received the new bases for the Sounder cars a few days ago. Thanks! One thing I would really like to see available is replacement power pickup trucks and a car lighting kit for the AZL cars. They are crying out for interior lighting and passengers to be installed. -Robert
Yes, car lighting would be awesome. Maybe Richmond controls could offer a solution. The wheels are insulated so it be a matter of adding electrical pickup to the trucks. You almost need lighting since the tinted windows do a great job at hiding the interiors. At least there is room in the bodies to run/hide wires and attached a thin light board to the top of the cars and under the floor of the 2nd story. You know, Miller Engineering also offer the very thin light sheets that can be cut down. Those would work also.
Man, that Surfliner set looks sweet!! Think of how much money they could make if they did that in N scale!!! (hint, hint! )
Will, forget it.... no one wants to do commuter cars in N. We have no Comet IIs, we have no Surfliners, we have no Kawasakis. Nobody cares. Nobody cares at all.
This has been a good week. First, I received my California cars set. They run great, but I miss the strobe action of the sounder set when it goes on reverse. Second, My diesel switcher came back from the Styska Heavy works. It came back from its unschedule rebuild, but its running better then new. Like all good things, it had to come to a end. I was sloppy. I left the credit card statemens in my desk. In plain view where she saw how much I was spending in those little trains. For now I promised her to spend less. At least until I get the shakes
Well, you could always work on scenery for a few weeks till it all blows over. I like to get a motel room for a couple days, and pack up my Z Scale trains, then I lay a few of my old N Scale trains and buildings out in the garage, along with the hammer and a few nails on the N Scale layout. After a few days I come home to a few smashed up buildings, and maybe a boxcar nailed to the tracks, and give her the kicked puppy look, then she lets me buy replacements, which are always Z Scale. Works every time! -Robert
Thank you for your words of whisdom, Robert. Actually, Playing with the new trains is keeping me busy for now. The California cars are running like a dream, but the C44-9 is experiencing significant wheel slip in curves, switches, and even in some straight track. Robert, do you have any experience with this? I read that wheel slip is normal until broken in, but I been running it for couple or hours already.
My SD-45's were fine, however both Jim Manley's and Loren Snyder's SD40-2's were slipping a bit at first. You might have to center the shell a little better on mechanism too, as my -45's shell can slide back and forth a bit. -Robert
Hey Robert, Rob, Mr. Whale (Shamoo ), Daniel, Dave, Michael, William, and the ReZt o' the BeZt (even you N scale holdoutZ! ), Well, now that I've seen Robert's SurflinerZ in the flesh ... er, styrene, copper, steel ... and there's probably some brass in the flywheels, I am in even more of a state of complete salivation. Now I'll have to somehow beg poor Rob to extend me even more of my house's still-expanding (fortunately) equity to hold one of every AZL F-59PHI set for me, on top of the already too long a list of stuff (one of The Checks Arrived in the Mail Saturday, Rob, so I will be able to finally liberate at least one more of the hostages this week! ) The SD-40-2 runs better now that it's broken in, and it also helps that it's not trying to climb over the humps and valleys that those furshlugginger expansion track sections created on Robert's module interfaces, all while dragging 25+ cars around a ~10 - 11 inch radius superelevated curve. I love thoZe meeceZ to pieceZ! I can't wait for the rest of my VA reimbursement checks to show up, so I can get Rob into that lifestyle to which he'd like to become accustomed! Tick-tock-tick-tock ... I'll just have to satisfy myself (somehow, that doesn't sound right, but it feels good! ) with sitting at the feet of The MaZter, Robert Ray, and continue obZerving him performing hiZ laZer preZtidigitation (well, he uses a computer, so you would expect knd of digitation, right? ). I love it when a wayward scrap of 1/64 inch ply falls on the floor, and he allows me to scarf it up and add it to my growing pile of packrat paraphernalia, in the hopes that I can scratch-build something worthwhile that's not even 1/10th of the quality that he achieveZ at a whim. And I'm not saying this just because I'm sitting next to him in his garage, trying to butter him up to give me a covered hopper kit - oh ... my ... Gawd ... he just did that! What a Prince to this Pauper! When I get my airplane someday (after turning over the paid-off mortgage on my house to Rob to rescue the remaining AZL detaineeZ ) I'm gonna fly Robert's butt anywhere he wantZ to go - and even the rest of him, if he wantZ! To Dream, Perchance to Sleep, and All Z BeZt, Jim
Well, I have tried to run it with and without the shell. It doesn't make a difference. I even redo the curve of my layout, but the wheel slip is still there. I love everything about the locomotive except the wheel slip. Jim, thank you for your tips. I hope all it needs is more break in. Actually, my nickname doesn't come from a whale. It name after a Southwest airline jet that is painted like a shamoo whale. My real name is John Mui. Robert I am very good in taking advice. Well, back to ballasting the track.
For those who got these sets, can you please post some pictures of the engines and cars? Thanks, Sean
