Amtrak’s Lakeshore Limited, 1995-2010

Fred Klein, 2012, 2016

By 1995, Amtrak had been running trains for almost 25 years and had replaced most of the heritage equipment it inherited from the freight railroads. Amtrak had also evolved through different paint schemes to look modern, and in 1993 it introduced the phase IV scheme with the new superliner II cars in the west and amfleet II cars in the east. Phase IV has a large blue window band with small red and white stripes above it. The phase III paint with the equal red, white and blue bands was still common on older cars in the 1990s but was largely phased out by the late 2000s. The phase VI paint scheme for passenger cars introduced in the early 2000s is similar to the phase IV paint pictured here, but adds a “wave” logo on the car sides and a slightly different shade of blue. Replacement of phase IV cars with the new wave logo was complete by about 2010, hence the end time of this model train.

 

1993 also saw the introduction of the sleek P40 Genesis diesels (replaced by the similar P42 model in 1997), which would become the mainstay Amtrak power for long distance trains in the whole country. The Genesis diesels were produced by GE to meet Amtrak’s specifications including a low 14’ 4” overall height so it could be used in older tunnels all over the eastern part of the county. The 4250 horsepower P42 diesels are lighter, more powerful and more fuel-efficient than their predecessor F40PH diesels. The F40PH power, introduced in the mid 1970s in phase III paint, was still in common use in the 1990s and was often mixed in trains with the P42 as it is in the train pictured here.

 

New viewliner sleeper cars were introduced in 1995, hence the beginning time for the Lakeshore limited consist pictured here. The consist of the train I modeled was in a large collection of Amtrak consists, possibly published by the Amtrak historical society. It is for combined train #48 at Albany on July 24, 1999. The first part of the train is the New York section (with the most cars and the diner) and the last part is the Boston section.

 

The Lakeshore Limited nearly follows the “water level route” of New York Central’s older 20^th century limited. The route west of Albany follows the shore of Lake Erie, hence the name. The train from Chicago divides in two in Albany, making a 959-mile route to New York City and a 1017 mile route to Boston. The New York to Chicago (via Albany NY) route on a fast schedule has always been a popular and high-demand run.

 

Modeling Amtrak trains of the 1990s became much easier in 2011 when Kato released amfleet II coaches, amfleet coach-café cars, viewliner sleepers and P42 diesels (all in phase IV paint) in honor of Amtrak’s 40^th anniversary in 2011. The Kato cars can be supplemented with Amfleet I coaches and café cars made by Bachmann (see modeling notes section at end). Kato issued cars in sets with guidelines for assembling them into trains. This is a good start to making a train, but actual train consists will show where and how many baggage cars, MHC cars and diners must be added for a prototypical train that are not in the Kato’s sets.

 

 

 

 

 

Amtrak’s Lakeshore limited (New York section only) on October 13, 1995. This train, led by two F40PH diesels, is in phase III paint and is before the P42 diesels were used for power. Photo by Jim Springer.

 

The heritage diner in Amtrak’s Lakeshore Limited surrounded by the Amfleet café car and a viewliner sleeper. The diner is ex-California Zephyr. Photo at Elkhart Indiana on May 4, 2007.

 

Power, baggage car and dorm-sleeper

 

The train I modeled is the combined train as it departed Albany for Chicago and has the New York cars in the front. The combined New York and Boston sections are typically powered by 3 locomotives. The F40PH (in phase III paint) and two genesis P42’s (in phase IV paint) are factory painted Kato models. The phase IV baggage car is a Kato model of a 1946 American Car and Foundry car originally owned by New York Central that Amtrak bought in 1971, and is on its “home rails” at the moment. Older heritage sleeper cars such as this 10 roomette-6 bedroom car were often used as dorms for the crew at the head end of the train. I decaled the Con-cor model of a Budd-built 1948 10/6 originally used on the California Zephyr in phase III to fit the era of the train.

 

Viewliner sleepers and food cars

 

The two viewliners in phase IV paint are single level cars as used in tight clearances in the east. A viewliner has 12 roomettes (with an upper bunk with its own high window; one roomette is used by the car attendant), two bedrooms, an accessible bedroom, and two showers. These viewliners have the names “Imperial View” and “Mountain View” as well as numbers. They are factory painted Kato models. The phase IV diner is a decaled Con-cor model. The diner in the prototype train was a 1949 Pullman Standard diner bought from the SP, but the prototype of the model I use was originally built by Budd in 1948 for the California Zephyr. Amtrak has greatly extended the life of its heritage diners through conversion to head-end-power and other changes, and I believe modelers can use many Amtrak diners from the late 40s or early 50s and still be prototypical. The amfleet lounge car is a Budd car built in 1983 and converted into a café or “diner-lite” in 2007. Its position in the train makes it a good place to sit and have a drink while waiting for a diner table. The lounge is a factory painted Kato model.

 

Coach section, first part

 

The combined Lakeshore limited has 7 coaches, which is a lot to get from one manufacturer in one type. Amfleet II coaches (one door per side; introduced about 1995) are made by Kato, and amfleet I coaches (2 doors per side, purchased in 1975) are made by Bachmann. Amtrak tended to use amfleet II coaches (1 door) in long distance trains like the Lakeshore, and amfleet I coaches (2 doors) in commuter trains. There are practical differences between the two models (see modeling notes at the end), and I had to use both types to get 7 coaches in phase IV paint. The 1^st and 4^th cars above are factory painted Kato models, and the middle two are from Bachmann.

 

 

Coach section, second part

 

Three more coaches follow. Pictured above are a Kato amfleet II coach and two Bachmann amfleet I coaches. The last passenger car is a viewliner in the Imperial series with the model made by Kato. The last 2 coaches, the viewliner, the following baggage car and the first material handling car are from the Boston section of the train. There does not seem to be a food car on the Boston train, but Amtrak typically provides snacks or box lunches to first class sleeper passengers.

 

 

Baggage and material handling cars

 

The phase IV baggage car is a Kato model of a 1946 American Car and Foundry car originally owned by New York Central. Checked passenger baggage would be kept here. Any material handling cars with express freight or mail would be at the end of the train where they can be easily switched out. MHCs were used in Amtrak trains from 1986 to 2003. After that time, Amtrak’s express business was curtailed, but express box and refrigerator cars rebuilt from freight cars were used on some routes after the MHCs were retired. The first MHC is a factory painted Kato model and the second is a factory painted Con-cor model.

 

 

Modeling notes about amfleet coach cars

Amtrak acquired amfleet I coaches from Budd in 1975-77 to replace the worn-out heritage coaches it bought from the railroads. The distinctive curved cross-section amfleet shape was inherited from the previous Budd-built metroliner cars. These were both café (in café, club and dinette versions), and coach cars in short distance (84 seat) and long distance (60 seat with more leg room for sleeping) versions. In 1981-83, Amtrak purchased amfleet II 59-seat coaches and cafes from Budd, which were better suited to long distance trains, freeing up some amfleet I cars to supplement the short distance and day trains. Amfleet I cars have vestibules and doors at both ends, but Amfleet II has only one door per side and slightly larger windows than amfleet I.

 

Kato makes an excellent model of the amfleet II coach (and amfleet café) cars. The prototype cars were introduced in phase III paint about 1981-83. The model amfleet II cars appeared in 2011 in time for Amtrak’s 40^th anniversary in 2011. Kato introduced a model of the amfleet I (2 doors) coach and café in 2016, but as of this writing (July 2016), only phase VI (with the Amtrak wave) and phase I (Amtrak arrow) paint schemes are available.

 

 

Kato amfleet II coach and café cars in the phase IV scheme from their Amtrak intercity set. The cars closely match the prototype. The red stripe at the base is a variation added later.

 

Amtrak’s Palmetto (Miami-NYC) on Feb 20, 2004 in South Carolina. The amfleet II coach car on the left is phase IV, and the café car to its right is probably in phase IVb or VI with a small wave logo. From page 135 of Amtrak; photo and book by Brian Solomon, 2004.

 

Bachmann makes models of the amfleet I coach. The first version was a crudely molded and poorly engineered model released in the 1970s. This model uses trucks with high-friction side panels and stiff springs to pick up power for the interior lights. I have only seen this model in phase III paint, all numbered 21917 and with white vertical separators in the windows. It is packed in the old-style brittle clam-shell plastic box. This model should be avoided unless you plan to remove the lighting and add weight.

 

The second Bachmann amfleet I coach model is much better. The molding is more detailed and the printing is sharper. The friction from the lighting pickup is less and the trucks swivel freely. The friction is still much more than with the Kato amfleets, and you must limit the number of cars or add extra power. The cars say not to run them in curves of less than 19” radius: this is not because of their inability to track tight curves, but because the friction is high enough that they are pulled sideways in string of cars and derail. Adding weight my help this friction problem. The interior lights are bright and steady and the red marker lights on the car ends are bright. The Bachmann amfleet I coaches and café cars are available in phase II, III, IV and VI paint schemes, though the lettering may not always be prototypical. The Bachmann cars come with rapido couplers and I converted mine to body-mount micro-trains couplers. The newer cars are packed in jewel-box style boxes.

 

Having both brands of coaches available allows running both short-distance trains with mostly amfleet I cars from Bachmann, and long-distance trains with mostly amfleet II coaches and some long-distance amfleet I coaches.

 

Original Bachmann model of an amfleet I coach. Crudely modeled and with very high rolling friction, this model should be avoided.

 

Newer Bachmann model of an amfleet I coach. There are many improvements. Note the lettering errors compared to the photo below.

 

Amtrak amfleet I coach in Metroliner service (phase III paint) on Sept. 2, 1995. Photo by David Warner from page 203 of his book Amtrak by the numbers, by David Warner and Elbert Simon.

 

Amcafe car 25000 (phase III) on May 3, 1999, similar to its appearance in service from 1975 to its reconfiguration in 2001. Photo by David Warner from page 196 of his book Amtrak by the numbers, by David Warner and Elbert Simon.

 

REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Genesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Shore_Limited

Amtrak, Brian Solomon, MBI railroad color history, 2004.

Amtrak by the numbers, by David Warner and Elbert Simon, White River productions, 2011. An excellent guide with thorough car histories and hundreds of photographs.

 

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