Lionel Vision Line GG1 Amtrak train.


Bruette

Well-Known Member
I just ordered my first Lionel Vision Line locomotive, Amtrak GG1 #926.
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I also ordered all the Lionel Amtrak phase 1 cars designed to go with it.
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These binders are on sale. Are these things any good?
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I love my Classic Toy Trains magazines.
 
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I don’t know, but I bet it will look fantastic running around a layout!

I'm very excited to have ordered my first Vision Line locomotive. I have been drooling over them for a few years now.

Lionel only makes a few Vision Line locomotives;

So far they have made only a few steam engines. They make the Big Boy, Hudson, Challenger, PRR 0-8-8-0 and a Santa Fe 2-10-10-2. Some different road names and or other variations of most. Sadly no 2-8-8-4 EM-1. I may have bought a Vision Line EM-1. They just made a new Legacy version of the EM-1 (2012). I have the TMCC version of the EM-1 (2000), B&O version, of course. None of the Vision Line steam engines motivated me to buy one.

They made a Vision Line Baldwin Centipede A-A set; PRR, UP and a Demonstrator, all A-A sets. I guess if you are going to ask over $2000 for a pair of toy train locomotives they should be massive. The Centipede is massive! This is not my kind of locomotive, but the 5 stripe PRR version looks good!

Then there is the green fleet; Norfolk Southern Gen-Set Switcher, Canadian Pacific Evolution Hybrid, UP Gen-Set 3GS21B Switcher and a GE Evolution Hybrid. I like the Norfolk Southern, but I have never seen a NS Gen-Set in or around Baltimore. That is a good question for Boris!

Then Lionel makes an all new, Vision Line GG1! Now I'm motivated! Having seen 926 working in these colors I had to have the Amtrak version!

As a youngster I crossed the northeast corridor 2-3 times a week and more. I played baseball in Riverdale, the left field fence was the fence for the northeast corridor!

I never did hit a train. I hit many homeruns over that fence, but never once hit a train. Not even the slow moving freights. I hit as many homeruns to center and right as I did to left. Probably more to right because if the ball got through the outfield there was not a fence for what seemed like 1000 yards. I was almost always the fastest guy on the field. Hit a line drive to left and it hits the fence, you might only end up with a single, but I seldom settled for a single. Of course I got thrown out a few times, it's baseball! But I'm off topic!

This is a milestone in my train world :) Thank God for my trains. My family, including my beagles, Little league baseball and my trains. These are some of my gifts from God.

Thanks Mike for sharing it with me :) I could not agree with you more!

It's going to look great running on the carpet in my train room this Christmas! To me anyway :)

I got to get an O scale baseball field to put next to it.
 
Lionel Vision Line GG1 Features

  • LEGACY™ Control System equipped – able to run in LEGACY™ Control Mode, in TrainMaster Command Control mode, or in Conventional mode with a standard transformer
  • Odyssey®II Speed Control
  • LEGACY RailSounds® system featuring:
  • Stereo and localized sounds with speakers at each end of the locomotive
  • Cab number – specific CrewTalk dialog and TowerCom announcements, each with different scenarios depending on whether the locomotive is in motion or stopped.
  • Six official railroad speeds with CrewTalk dialog
  • Realistic electric locomotive motor and background sounds synchronized with the locomotive’s speed
  • LEGACY™ “Real-Time Quilling Horn” control with instant response for realistic “quilling” and correctly timed warning signals
  • Sequence Control plays the sound effects of an entire trip, including warning sounds and announcements, based on the movement and speed of the locomotive
  • Current speed dialog
  • Dual sprung pantographs
  • Operate automatically with train start-up, change in direction and shut down
  • “De-icing” mode with both pantographs raised
  • Can be manually triggered with remote
  • Individual on-off switches on locomotive to lock out feature
  • Sprung for better tracking under model catenary
  • “Catenary arc” lighting effect
  • IR Sensor Equipped
  • Fan-driven smoke unit (steam generator)
  • Dual powerful maintenance-free motors
  • ElectroCouplers™ at each end
  • Directional lighting
  • Illuminated classification lights
  • Traction tires
  • Interior cab illumination
  • Die-cast metal body, pilots and trucks
  • High level of separately applied detail parts
  • Separately applied etched builders plates
  • High air intake screens where appropriate
  • Cab window “glass”
  • Engineer and Fireman figures in cab
  • Length: 20”
  • Minimum Curve: O72
 
They made a Vision Line Baldwin Centipede A-A set; I guess if you are going to ask over $2000 for a pair of toy train locomotives they should be massive. The Centipede is massive! This is not my kind of locomotive,
And ugly, don't forget ugly.

I got to get an O scale baseball field to put next to it.
I want to see that. Unfortunately due to a lack of communications the city sold the baseball field just to my west to the county for $1. I thought they knew I wanted it, but apparently not. Almost sold and moved away because of that snaffu, but I didn't. And now I don't have a baseball field. No chance of getting one because now I am "roadlocked" on the other three sides. just an ugly shed where the county stores its heavy equipment.

So is that Amtrak "phase I" scheme. I always get mixed up if the phase I is through the windows or above the windows.
 
  • Dual sprung pantographs
  • “De-icing” mode with both pantographs raised
  • Sprung for better tracking under model catenary
  • “Catenary arc” lighting effect
Now your going to have to build a layout with working cantenary wiring.

And um, oops, ... Budd domes can't run under cantenary..... The only domes that ran east were special "shortened" ones used on the B&O / C&O because of clearances (especially the Potomic river tunnels.
 
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Hey Iron Horsemen, thanks for sharing my new toy with me.

The Centapede is... yeah it's ugly, but it's so interesting. I think the design engineer/s got a bit carried away.

Losing a baseball field for $1 had to smart, but stuff happens and now you have less grass to cut. I was going to build a pitching mound and home plate in my yard, but I thought, why? Too much work in the long run.

I've seen people who have powered their GG1s with centenary wiring. Many Lionel GG1s will run on the centenary. Mine will never run on centenary. Unless one of my grandsons builds it.

I did not know any domes ran in the northeast corridor., thank you :). Every year there are proposals to improve the tunnels, every year nothing happens. CSX has to send well cars with only one container and then restack the cars. It hurts the port and the railroad, but still nothing happens. We have some new toll roads because they canned they new subway line.

Maybe Menards will come up with an O scale baseball field.
 
I did not know any domes ran in the northeast corridor.
Lets see they were called "strata-domes". Two coaches built to the "low" level (seven inches lower than normal) specifically for B&O by Pullman, and three sleepers acquired from the C&O built by Budd. I understand they cleared certain tunnels by only 1". To me the Budd ones always looked like someone had simply taken a normal dome and put it in a press to smoosh the dome down. The window supports are not straight up and down but sort of bent at an angle. Anyway they ran the coaches on the Columbian, and the sleepers Capital Limited. Off season they were leased to ummm ACL for use in the Florida Special, CN, and umm one other can't remember which.

My familiarity with the cars is because two of the C&O cars that B&O didn't get ended up on the D&RGW out here in Colorado. Famous for use on the 2-3 car train called the "Yampa Valley Flyer". Quite a train for small pikes. A heavy weight baggage car and a dome, pulled by an Alco PA discarded from the California Zephyr.
 
Thank you Iron Horsemen, great information, as always.

Yampa Valley Flyer, I doubt I would have even known that interesting bit of railroad trivia, thank you again.

The stop on the northeast corridor I lived closest to had long been closed. Stemmers Run Station was a stop on the PRR, but it was closed by the time I was old enough to cross the tracks. The passenger trains we doing 80+ when they passed by me.
 
I was going to build a pitching mound and home plate in my yard, but I thought, why? Too much work in the long run.
Or is that too much work for the home run?

My ball field would have been right here where they put the ugly equipment shed. Property line is currently 12 feet this side of their shed, and this is more space than it looks as photo is taken from the gym roof (30' up). This is looking over short stop toward home.

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Or is that too much work for the home run?

My ball field would have been right here where they put the ugly equipment shed. Property line is currently 12 feet this side of their shed, and this is more space than it looks as photo is taken from the gym roof (30' up). This is looking over short stop toward home.

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That is some very pretty property! The shed is not bad looking. You could always play ball in the gym. They make balls just for that. Many young baseball players are playing and or practicing year round.

My house sits on 50'X100'. It looks to me It could fit between your school and the shed. I hope you have a lawn service!

Public Service Announcement;
I think it's too much, playing baseball year round. We are seeing more and more arm injuries at younger and younger ages.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programing.
 
What were some of the Amtrak named trains that your set could represent?
Good question, I don't know, hmm, that is going to require a trip to the forum book store! I love getting a new train book, even if it's only new to me. I better check my inventory, I may already have one or two about Amtrak.

Even my inventory has fallen behind. Oh well, it will be fun to reconcile it once everything is in it's place.

All my life I just watched those Amtrak trains go by. No matter where I have lived from eastern Baltimore county to northeast Baltimore city, to southeast Baltimore city. I have never been far from Amtrak and seen those trains on an almost daily basis.
 
All my life I just watched those Amtrak trains go by. No matter where I have lived from eastern Baltimore county to northeast Baltimore city, to southeast Baltimore city. I have never been far from Amtrak and seen those trains on an almost daily basis.
That is one thing I miss about working in downtown Denver and taking the bus to work. The bus "ramp" went right over the end of the BNSF locomotive facility on one side and the Union Station tracks on the other. Got to watch all sorts of changes through the years in the daily Amtrak service, as well as special trains like Ski Train, Union Pacific specials, private varnish, and the American Orient Express.
 
Getting back to Amtrak named trains, wow, there are many to choose from! I found this on Wikipedia while I was waiting to pickup my grandson from school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amtrak_routes

In my world all of the tunnels in and around Baltimore have been improved to accommodate my dome car. It's just to pretty to let it sit.

I don't yet have a name for my trian, but I will most likely chose one from the link above. Lots of great names to choose from. Maybe the Free State, I'll change my mind more than I have track plans.

When I was studying communications electronics I had to take 2 busses to school. My school was located adjacent to the B&O's Camden Yards on property once used by the B&O. I took for granted all the sights I got to see. Not to mention all the tracks and what occupied a few of them.

I did enjoy the ride to and through downtown. It has changed so much. Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium have reshaped the landscape. Although I do believe the original main line to Camden terminal now Camden Station, is still in use by the MARC trains (light rail).

The Mid-West and Western trains had the best names. Zephyr, Silver Streak and on and on, they sounded fast! The Congressional... not the same appeal. We do have some cool names in the east, Acela Express, The Crescent, The Auto Train and more.
 
I see the "East Wind" in that list. And I agree names like President, New Yorker, Congressional, and Morning Executive don't inspire the same romance of the rails that Zephyr, Rocket, Grand Canyon Limited, or even Western Star do.
 
East Wind, perfect example. Cool name, but it doesn't sound fast. With all the tight track in the northeast, maybe fast sounding names would be misleading.
 
East Wind, perfect example. Cool name, but it doesn't sound fast. With all the tight track in the northeast, maybe fast sounding names would be misleading.
Hmmm, fast huh? Nancy Hanks? no, no, no just joking. There have to be more train names then are in that list. Wasn't there a Comet and Meteor up there somewhere? Maybe former New Haven trains. You might just end up having to use one of the "Express" or "Flyer" suffixes.

Here we go … "Old Dominion" that just screams speed :eek:
 



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