I'm specificially looking for the Amtrak AMD engines and superliner series cars right now. I want these because my neighbor took his sick boy on the Texas Eagle recently before he was finally unable to leave the house any longer for anything other than hospital visits and he fell in love. The train trip was his special wish and being able to take him really meant allot to his Father and the rest of the family.

He can't leave the house to see or ride the rails anymore so I want to bring the rails to him. We have snuck him over to the station a few times so he could see the trains waiting to pull away but even that fun is gone.

Please point me in the right directions. I'm not too familiar with what I need or who to look for. I was told that I am looking for phase 2 or 3 cars and three different phases of engines. I know I am not looking for the "Three sheets to the wind" engines but the engines that still had the red white and blue stripes.

The only scale trains I have are Lego trains and I do have plans to build this train in Lego but some of the parts are fantasy (don't exist yet in proper colors) parts and are holding the project up. I take a set over to their house once a week and wet set it up and run it for as long as he can stay up.

I really want to do this as this family means so much to us and we love this boy as if he were our own. Thanks for your help!

I dont know what is available in S scale as I work in HO. But in HO, the Locomotives you are looking for are manufactured by a company called Athearn. Their web site is http://www.athearn.com The desctiption will be as AMD-103 or P42s. (Amtrak and GE names for the same loco. You can order them also order them from Walthers. A national model trian distrubuter. Their website is http://www.walthers.com . Walthers also makes the Superliner Passenger Cars you are looking for. The Superliners come as ready to run cars, adn the Locomtives come in simple to assemble kits. I would also suggest your order some Track and a power pack so you can run your train. if you give me a few days to do some research I can get you a consist of the equipment you need.

If you would like I run a custom model trian outfit.(I have also been a model Rialroder for 16 years) I could assemble all the basic supplies for you. And since your reasons are for a charitable cause I will even waive my commission. I just ask that you pay for the cost of materials. and SHipping. I will get you set up with all the stuff you need to get get him set up and rolling down the tracks on his own minaiture Texas Eagle. ThoughI must warn you. These trains are top of the line stuff. (The cars are nearly 25.00 a piece) so getting a full Texas eagle at once is going to be a pretty big expendature. It wouldnt suprise me if it got up to $500.00 But you would have super top notch equipment that will last along time.

I did that looking up for you on the "Texas Eagle" consist. Here is the list of Locomotives and passenger cars you are going to need. You are going to need two Athearn AMD-103s, one Walthers Baggage, one Walthers Transistion Crew Sleeper, two Walthers sleepers, two Walthers coaches, One Walthers coach/baggage, one Walthers Diner, and one Walthers Sightseer Lounge. All cars except the baggage are Superliner style cars. I reccomend that you mix it up between SuperlinerI and Superliner II cars as this depicts common practice. (The crew Trainsistion sleepers were only made in the Superliner IIs) When you get everything. The following consist below is the common arrangment for a typical "Texas Eagle" train.

I have a 2 engine, 12 car superliner HO set I might be willing to loan you for a while. Unfortunately, the track is 83 inches above my living room, den, kitchen, and dining room, so it's not very portable.

Email me at mws@wt.net if I can help.

I found out that there is a train show near me in a few weeks and I will be attending to see what I can learn and hopefully buy some items as well. Do sellers at these shows offer good prices or should I just window browse and then go to a store or mail order?

Like most, my budget is limited to spare money after bills are paid every paycheck but hopefully I can get the basics that I can then expand upon soon to have something that does in fact run and be added to as finances permit.

I have heard a bit about DC and DCC control. For the time being what would be easiest and cheapest for an "entry level" railroader that might eventually run more than one train? I have heard that DCC is fairly straight forward and that I should be able to get started right away.

Another obvious question is track. Are there differences in quality and ease of use and do I need bedding or can I put it directly to plywood or particle board right away with the addition of that stuff (don't exactly know what it is yet) later?

After a few conversations with the family it has been determined that this setup will be in my home as the only space they have is in their basement and their Son cannot traverse stairs anymore. Living in a ranch home and not having any dining guest events schedualed we have decided to put in on the dining room table. That alone is pretty impressive to me as my Wife never agrees to allowing me to even bring clean car parts in the house.

The information that I have been provided is great and I'm afraid to ask for more but I'm going to try.

Are their scale manufacturer model numbers that I can use to identify the cars and engines I am looking for? I'm going to try and sort out a definitive list and having that information would definitly be useful as I can then buy exactly what I need right away.

I was also told that a quick trip to the station at arrival time of the Texas Eagle would produce the correct engine and car numbers that I can get in some type of decal to add to the cars. I like the idea but have no clue where to get that stuff or how easy it is to do.

Hopefully I am not being too much of a pain and I do want to stress that I really appreciate your help.

You can find some good, some great and some lousy deals at a show. Knowledge going in is the key. If you are going specifically for the Texas Eagle consist and related equipment, it can help as it narrows the field and sharpens your search. My advise is this: 1- Find out the manufacturers you are interested in(some of this may be determined by the DCC/DC question which I will address next) 2- Check out ebay and get an idea what that product or similar are going for 3- Check out the wide variety of online train stores(trainworld.com, internettrains.com to name just a couple) also for an idea of retail prices. This way you are not going into the show "blind" and can better gauge/haggle a bargain.
Your DC/DCC question is ironic as I started a thread about it just a couple of days ago. In your situation I think it all boils down to the " good 'nuff " factor. An d this will also apply toward your choice of track/roadbed/subroadbed/structure as well. IF you plan to stop with a simple layout which allows your neighbor to enjoy watching trains go 'round, then get a simple control/powerpack. You can pick one up off of ebay for around $5-$50. But beware amigo, this bug of a hobby has TEETH! They bite and sink in fast! If you are even slightly entertaining the thoughts of a railroad beyond this beginning scope, invest in DCC. There are several quality systems out there for around $150 or less. The MRC Prodigy system, which from its inception was developed for easy transition and beginner modelers, can usually be found on sale at one of the online stores for $129.99. This might seem like a bit of a tug on the wallet but believe me, for what it does, and will allow you to do, it is WELL WORTH IT!

Some more thoughts for you...

I have been very touched by your endevor as I am sure others on this forum have been. For the benefit of the child I think that we should "beat the drum" about this endevor. I'm sure you will find that others will be interested in helping in this cause.

I would make up a small, informal flyer..ie;

HEALING RAILS
HELP ____(Timmy we'll say) through the therapy of model railroading.

Timmy is a __ year old child afflicted with___. He has a love of railroading that we would like to capitalize on to help chear him and make his days a bit brighter.
I am statring a project model railroad for him in my house next door. I anticipate having a _'x_' size HO scale layout featuring Timmy's favorite train- Amtrack's Texas Eagle.

Any help, contribution or assistance would be appreciated. Please contact:.....

Take this flyer and beat the bushes. Try his and your church; his school; local hobby shops; find the nearest model railroad club and talk to them. I would also talk to the National Make A Wish Foundation as well as support groups for the particular affliction.
Now this might be taking it out of a personal mode and that might not interest you and I can understand that. What I am getting at is there is a sick child out there who, bless him, loves trains and wants to see them. It can and will happen because there are people out there who will help. I am one of them.
Also, contact the branch of the NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) that is nearest you. They will be a wealth of assistance as well.
Now going on this approach it would be appropriate that donated equipment would go on a layout specifically for the child and kept with him or his family.
If you are of a mind to keep it on a more personal level between your family and his and you have the green light from the Family CEO (wife) to utilize the dinning room, here's some things to think about. reconfirm from your spouse your build rights. Is it a complete land grant or just an air space lease agreement. Define and confirm exactly what your layout space is. This sets the stage for the next decision process: how do I utilize this space?
When you get to this point there is an option that I strongly recommend you consider: a smallish layout (4x8 or thereabouts) utilizing extruded styrofoam (insulation or blue board) supported on a light frame. Select a track plan that can be added onto easily for later expansion.
(check out the book from Kalmbach-the publishers of Model Railroader Mag, SMALL RAILROADS YOU CAN BUILD. You can order it and tons more like it from Amazon.com and
it will be in your hands w/in a week. Also try to find the July 2001 issue of MR. In it the Gateway Division of the NMRA built a 4x8 that would be right up this alley. You can check this out on their website as well.) This method is pretty cheap(blue board is typically less than $8.00 for a 4x8 sheet). It is light weight. Pretty easy to work with-if a bit messy(easy clean up though). A real benefit is that later down the road, if you want to change or tweak something you can do so pretty easy. Heck you can scrap an entire section and you dont feel like you are destroying the Sistine Chapel.
Keep us up to date my friend. The help is here.

Otherwise things are moving along wonderfully. Someone emailed me the contact info for a dealer that is selling the Walters cars for just under $20.00 a piece. Will definitly hang on to that info until after the show in case I can't find a better deal.

I have been taking a crash course in HO scale railroading on the web and in the few issues of Model Railroader magazine that I found. Luckily I know where a newstand is that never takes old magazines off the shelves when they are supposed to. A fellow there saw me picking up the MR magazine and mentioned that another guy was in earlier and stripped all of the free decals out of the new ones. I didn't know what he was talking about until I read that decals were included with the magazine. Check yours at the newstand before paying if that is a reason you are getting an issue. Maybe if I see it elsewhere I will see what the fuss was all about and maybe pick up another issue.

I found someone with Amtrak painted Athearn AMD-103 / P42 engines and they claim theirs are DCC ready. That brings up a question. Does this mean that I can wire up a DCC system and go or do I still have to do something to the engine to ensure that it will work properly with this system?

I was also told that my turning radius can't be shorter than 24" or degrees with Superliner cars. Sorry, Was taking notes as fast as I could and didn't get that clarified. The reason I was given was that the Superliner cars wouldn't stay on the track if the turning radius was smaller. Can anyone comment on that?

It looks like the dining room is a go and that my Wife has something of a hidden agenda which is okay with me. Our dining room table came from an estate sale and it's best feature is that it is complete with all four leaves. I have sanded and refinished it but to be honest it still looks terrible. Today my Wife informed me that her Sister will be by the house this weekend with my Brother-In-Laws truck to pick it up. I get the dining room for as long as we need it (which I hope is a very long time) and when we don't need it anymore I get to buy her a new table. Suits me because as I said, the old one was a real *** and she is really being nice about keeping it as long as we have and granting complete access and use to one of "her" rooms in the house. My rooms are the basement and the garage. ;-)

This dining room is 15' X 20' and has two entrances. One with a door and the other with an open entrance. I have heaps of outlets in the room. Three pair on each wall to be exact. I don't know what the builder did but he definitly paid the electrician well as almost every room in the house is wired this way.

I have two 3/4" sheets of 8'X4' particle board and four folding saw horses to set up on until I find something else that might be better. I was thinking of getting one more sheet and making a large U shape so we can sit in the middle and watch the train ride the track for a whole 180° field of view directly facing the window in the middle to give us some light.

I spoke with someone about the easy track that was mentioned earlier and they offered second hand pieces to me for what I am told is a good deal. The turning pieces are $3.00 each and the straight pieces are $2.00 each. Is this a good price? I figured I'd ask people much wiser than I before I invested. If it is I'll call back Monday with a credit card number.

Another thought is about switches. Should I leave them alone for now and just have one route that the train follows or are switches that take the train a different direction easy to sort out?

And last, has anyone switched to DCC and still have a DC controller that I can beg, buy, or borrow? Another suggestion someome made to me was to buy a cheap set like the ones I see advertised for around fifty dollars. The only thing is that I don't know if they have controllers with them or not.

Thanks again for everything. It amazes me still that I have received so much help from complete strangers.

Best wishes,
Gary

Wonder what brought that along?

On those decals in the April Model Railroader, They were for a freelanced roadname to go with a layout being made in a 4 part Series of Model Railroader. The company that made them is a highly reccomended. But I dont think your missing much becaus the railroad they are made for never existed.

I would be kind of wary about that P-42 being DCC ready. Athearn so far is the only domestic manufacturor making them in HO. And Theirs is not DCC ready. Overland Models just imported some very expensive all brass versions about six months ago and they are DCC ready to my knowledge. Being DCC ready means that provisions are in place so that the computer chip that you have to place in each locomotive can just be plugged in. Then its ready for DCC operation after some simple programing to set the decoder to the loco engine number.

I have a several of the Walthers Superliners. The gentlemen you are refering to is correct about the 24 inch radius curve. But only partly. The 24 inch Radius curve is the minamum reccomended raidius. But in fact those Superliners are designed to to run on the minamum common sectional track radius of 22 inches. I know this is so becaus in the Walthers Superliner train sets they sell, the track curves are 22 inch radius curves, and I have not yet had a reliability problem with them using this radius.

While on the topic of Superliners, While attending the show, watch out for some Superliner cars manufactured by a company called Con-Cor. I have several of these things and I whish I knew when I bought them Walthers was going to be introudcuing theirs. They are JUNK!!!!!!!! Each and every Con-Cor car needed nearly 8 hours of work, and 20 dallars in extra parts just to get them to track and look right. The Walthers cars are just take out of the box, apply some minor optional details (included), add a car number off the supplied decal sheet, and your off to the races in about 10 minuts.

The prices you got quoted on the bachmann EZ track is a rip off if that is by the piece. If it is by the package. Its about a discount of about a third. As for switches, They couldn't hurt. But dont arrange them so that you can revers the direction of travel. If you do you might have to do some pretty complicated wiring.

Bachmann EZ Track should be about $1.00 to $1.25 for a great deal (per piece) Usually they come in straight track packs of 4 or curved track packs of 4 or 5, depending on how many sections are needed to form a 90 degree turn.
$2.00 for each piece is a normal price.

I recommend at least a 33 inch radius on your curves when running Superliner equipment(EZ Track makes a 33 inch radius and a 35 1/2 inch radius curve), and stick with the nickel-silver track. If you do an S-curve in your layout, always have at least a 6" straight piece in the middle of the S-curve, otherwise the Superliners will de-rail at that spot.

On switches, you can always add them later. I'd get a basic loop/circle up and running and then add to it as it becomes boring or monotonous.

Any more questions?
We got tons of answers. :-)