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 Posted - January 29 2013 : 08:32:59 AM
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I've got a chance to pick up some Athearn Amtrak passenger cars. What I'm guessing they are older as I don't see at any online train shop nor on the Athearn site. Is anyone familiar with them and how heavy are they? I don't care about detail, I'm more interested in how they run and do they have decent enough weight and roll freely enough to stay on a tacked down snap track layout with switches and such that is not perfectly smooth. The only comparison I have is a few older Athearn freifght cars with plastic wheels that did OK.
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Posted - January 29 2013 : 09:32:28 AM
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| Their design and construction is conceptually identical to the freight cars, and in my experience they perform the same way. Lighted cars would have metal wheels on opposing sides while cave cars have plastic wheels. Weight is not much more than a freight car, but doesn't need to be - note Athearn's passenger cars are not scale length, so they handle low-radius curves and rough track fairly well. The only caveat might be the long, swinging tongues for the coupler pockets may tend to sag in some installations or with careless handling (same issue as with their 86' boxcars and flat cars), but this is pretty easy to rectify, and I've never had the problem.
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Posted - January 29 2013 : 10:07:50 AM
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Hey Dave !
* I like em. They look nice and run well.
* When you take a railroad and shrink it down to fit on a table in a small room in your home, there are concessions that are made. Everything is perspective. The Athearn streamliners are a product of this. All the railroads were not built out in the plains states. Everyone's layout doesn't have a scale mile to make a 60 degree turn to where a train will keep the snake like look of a SP or ATSF streamliner speeding through the desert. Out here in the east things got tight in places, and all passenger cars ordered were not built to the 85 foot length. On model railroads the same thing happens, only more often. Model railroad clearances are a little tighter than or real railroads. Even on club layouts members running the full scale size car on their trains look bad in tight turns. Accommodations to prototypical running of these long cars have to be made. Clearance spaces are enlarged. You want to get trains that will run through your spaces, and look good to you.
* It gets right down to what you got, and do you like it. there will always be someone else may not like it as much.
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
Edited by - toptrain on January 29 2013 10:09:41 AM
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Posted - January 29 2013 : 11:12:49 AM
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I like them myself. I run 18" and 22" curves. Looks silly but, won't kink up on the curves or derail. I had a little weight to them as they're a little on the light side.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
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Posted - January 31 2013 : 04:40:21 AM
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The passenger cars are almost "Talgo" types... couplers attached to the truck assembly.
Pulling can be quite successful, a long string of them. Pushing may take on a wee bit of risk.
Are they X2F/HornHook or Knuckle-type of couplers? There are both Pro's and Con's for each type.
Athearn Streamliner cars can be a bit of a pain, also, when assembling. Very tight press-fit vacuum... and if you gotta separate the body from the chassis because you forgot to screw in the trucks or weights, look out! Especially if you want to change the couplers, which is easier with the trucks removed, and all the windows are in. The "press-fit" vacuum is a bugger.
Pop out one of the end windows or door windows, first.
Very forgiving in tracking the rails, broad or sharp curves!
Pull them with your TYCO/Mantua locomotives!
Combine them with TYCO/Mantua passenger cars!
All in all, it's a good choice for acquiring them! Enjoy!
John
I don't have a one track mind. It depends on the turn-out.
"I love your catenary!"
Is that a power-trip or just another pick-up line?
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