A custom Amtrak train

An original Metroliner seems to demand about $300. Although somepeople have paid as much as $700. Well, I wanted to build a train based on a the metroliner color scheme, but used readily available pieces from my general collection. I also wanted to reflect some of the Amtrak cars that frequent Portland, Oregon. My home town.

The picture above is what I came up with. A better picture and detailed explanation follows below for each car.

The diesel engine. A F40PH typical of the diesels used around Portland by Amtrak. Several new features were incorporated on this engine (or at least new to me).

• The front coupler is not a standard Lego 9v train coupler. Instead, I used a flat magnet mounting base and two 2x2x1 medium slope bricks to give it more of that 'American' diesel snow plow look.
• The fuel tank, between teh front and rear bogies is made from the rubber technic bumper pieces available a little while ago is a couple of different technic sets.
• The headlights and cab are lighted with a 9v lighting brick wired from the 9v train motor. The light for the headlights are made possible using two Lego fiber optic cables running up to the 9v light brick in the cab.
• Steve Barile is an expert on decals. His addition of decals to several of his diesels inspired me to do the same to spice up the back end. I added a Amtrak decal purchased from a local Hobby store. It is HO scale. Next time, I may try O scale to see if it might look a little better. But for now, I like it since the decal fits on a single 1x4 brick.
• Black antenna are used as windshield wipers.
• The windshield is from a 'Freight rail runner' as are the windows immediately behind the front window. (These are probably the hardest to find pieces on this engine.
• The doors are made by offsetting a stack of brick 1/2 stud inside the outside wall of the engine. A 1x2x2 rounded window is used on top.

A simple boxcar. Almost every Amtrak train in Portland has a boxcar behind the engine with Amtrak colors. Didn't have any sliding doors, so I simply set a stack of bricks 1/2 stud off the outside wall. The locking wheel on the door and the brake wheel on the end are from steering wheels mounted on small gray 'spigot' pieces. An idea borrowed from Will Chapman. Thin wall pieces are used on the end to provide some detail. Much like the boxcars from 'Freight rail runner' and 'Load N' Haul Railroad'.

A superliner Amtrak car. Half inspired by a real Amtrak Superliner car and half by the Metroliner Club car. This car is built using bricks that almost anybody should be able to get without to much difficulty. At 42 studs long, it is slightly longer then a normal club car, but still navigates the curves. The base of the car is built using a lowboy gray piece from a town jr police helicopter and truck/trailer set. The town jr set was awful, but I wanted to make something good out of it, and this is what I came up with. The door on the lower middle of the car (positioned much like a Amtrak Superliner car) is build using a 1/2 stud offset. The door handle is an idea I got from Eric Brok.

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