JDG, I would be happy to send you my loco to help match the paint if you don't have one available. PM if interested.
Dave - thanks for the offer. The paint mix I utilized I listed in a previous post. My 2 cars are gonna match my loco. I personally think the color KATO utilized is a little too dark but like I said that is my opinion.
Just a quick point of order, the Kato Amfleet cars are Amfleet IIs. The one used on the prototype is an Amfleet I. The main difference is the Amfleet II cars only have a vestibule at one end and the Amfleet Is have them at both ends. Bachman makes the Amfleet Is, but they have rapido couplers and are difficult to switch out.
Jeff, I did on page 4, they look great to me. I did find a picture that showed the top of the train, however it was so distant could only verify there was writing. The Kato model from the Train Show http://www.model160.com/wp-content/u...-Art-Train.jpg shows what seems to say in black "Celebrate the Century Express" split between both cars. I also see a "100" to start the saying. I would presume there was a "100" at the end. I personally would be OK with that. Again Jeff thanks. Joe Cox
Bachmann does have revised Amfleet I models available with a bit better detailing than the originals and knuckle couplers. Still bad dragging as far as the electrical pick-up goes and quality is not up to Kato's even though they are better now than before.
Anyone find a good roof shot yet? I have everything else pretty much done. Need the roof shot as I want to make them correctly. Thanks.
Wish I could find one. All I have found that shows the roof is a low angle shot with the roof reflecting pure white, a distant low angle shot, and the photo of the Kato model. The Kato model has the text "Celebrate the Century" written in black script on it, but I can't even verify if that was on the original or not. If you zoom in, you can see there is at least 1 stamp per car on the roof. Hard to identify another. Too much whiteout here, and I can't even verify the text that's on the Kato model. Shows 1 stamp and the text. Too bad there isn't a full shot of the Amfleet.
Well, the guy I knew at Amtrak wasn't able to find anything with an overhead shot of the locos or cars. So I went with what the shot from KATO was showing. So here is the first print of the decals.
Looks mighty nice, JDG. I picked up the Santa Fe Super Chief Baggage/Express car which I think is the most correct model (minus the corrugation) and is the same size as the Amtrak baggage car, including door placement and width. I can send both to you if you need them for measurements.
Got an overhead shot from Amtrak today. The 100 Year logo is on the baggage car roof (with "Celebrate The") and the white/blue USPS Eagle logo is on the roof of the Amfleet (after "Century Express").
A better baggage car might be the one Walthers did a few years back. With a little window kitbashing on the doors it would be ALMOST a perfect match. Here is one that I kitbashed for the windows (it came with three on each door and I modified it to only have two per door): Here is what it looks like from the factory: Anyway, you won't have the decal crowding problem between the doors because they are spread out a lot more. Hope this helps. Chris
