A Couple More Superliners

I've had a number of HO Superliners in my backlog, especially some Walthers Phase IV Superliner IIs from their original run in, I think, the late 1990s. The work has involved applying the car number and name decals where applicable, converting the couplers to Kadees, in some cases adding grab irons, and painting the truck sideframes. The one below is (I think) the only sleeper I have, the 32081 Illinois. Not all the Superliner IIs that were assigned state names had them applied. However, I rode the Illinois to Chicago in 2008 on the Southwest Chief, and it had its name applied and was still in Phase IV paint at the time.

Amtrak 34951, the Redwood Grove, was rebuilt by Amtrak in 2009 with funds from the State of California and painted in Pacific Surfliner colors. I got this in anticipation that Athearn Surfliner cars would arrive fairly soon, but as of now, they're at least a year overdue. Ordinary Superliner coaches in Amtrak Phase IV-IVb have also been used on the Pacific Surfliners from the start. These were originally from a series specifically equipped for push-pull service, but as I understand this, Superliner coaches have gradually had push-pull wiring installed overall.

Amtrak 470 is an original run Athearn RTR F59PHI I think from the early 2000s. This didn't have a DCC socket, but I did a hard-wire conversion with a Digitrax DH126P. I believe that for a time, Amtrak operated Cascades with Superliner coaches and sightseer lounges between the time the F59PHIs were delivered in 1994 and the Talgo Cascade sets arrived in 1996. Cascade-painted F59PHIs have sometimes wandered out of Cascade territory as well.

With the HO Superliners I have, three Phase IV coaches, two Phase III coaches, and a Phase IV sightseer lounge, plus the one sleeper, I'm best equipped to run certain Michigan and Illinois service trains that have periodically used Superliners, or a 1994-1996 Cascade.. This is in many ways just as well, since a full Amtrak long distance Superliner train of baggage, three sleepers (one transition), diner, sightseer lounge, and three coaches, nine cars total, takes up quite a bit of layout.