SEPTA HO Scale Model Trains

Hello,
I recently got in to HO Scale Model Trains and need some sort of Septa HO Scale Comet car or Silverliner.
Any help would be great appreciated,
Thanks

rbreslow wrote:Hello,
I recently got in to HO Scale Model Trains and need some sort of Septa HO Scale Comet car or Silverliner.
Any help would be great appreciated,
Thanks

Here's a couple links that will get you started:

http://ihphobby.tripod.com/

http://islandmodelworks.com/philly.html

Please note that there is also a Model Railroading section of this board where you might want to post your question (and where this thread will probably be moved to)

http://railroad.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=32

You may also want to keep an eye on eBay for Septa models. The Walther's push-pull cars have been out of production for many years but occasionally show up, in fact, there's a cab car listed right now. Atlas AEM-7's painted in Septa livery can also be found from time to time.

IHP is a local company. They displayed at the EPTC Trolley Meet over the weekend, as did Island Model Works.

IHP has Silverliners, and even Reading Blueliners.

Hmmm are they really that expensive?

I did it like this beside the IHP IMW coming out with Silverliners. I just comparmize everything. I have 3 SEPTA RDCs, an ex RDC thats a wire car, a silverliner II and IV with four more IVs on the way. And to top it a SD45 i painted in SEPTA work colors to make it look like a RL1A.

N-Trizzy2609 wrote:I did it like this beside the IHP IMW coming out with Silverliners. I just comparmize everything. I have 3 SEPTA RDCs, an ex RDC thats a wire car, a silverliner II and IV with four more IVs on the way. And to top it a SD45 i painted in SEPTA work colors to make it look like a RL1A.

Wow

rbreslow wrote:Hmmm are they really that expensive?

Yes. These are all custom cast models of a very good quality. I can't speak for IHP (But I would assume their stuff is very good as well) but these are more expensive to make than your typical made in China plastic models.

rbreslow wrote:Hmmm are they really that expensive?

Yes, because no SEPTA model is easily obtainable. the Atlas AEM7s and the occaisional trolley are the most common SEPTA models.

Depending on your luck, the SEPTA AEM7 can be had for ~$50 to as much as $150, depending on who and where its being sold. Typically, they are sold close to MSRP, now that most hobby shops have eliminated their extra stock of them. because of the lack of coaches, SEPTA AEM7s were run again, and they probably won't be.

Walthers produced a SEPTA push-pull set of Comet II coaches and cab cars in the early 1990s, but did not get SEPTA licensing so they were discontinued. The best place to find them is at Train shows. I typically spot them at greenberg shows, but thats been my luck. Ebay is your next best bet, though their you're liable to get caught in a bidding war that drives the prices up exponentially. I've seen them go for ~$60. At train shows you can generally get a better deal, close to $30 a car.

IHP produced Comet III coaches and cabs, but they are also out of production, and the decal sets for the walthers cars are similarly gone.

IMW also makes the full range of Comet cars and their decals, but depending on the "age" of the model, some of IMW's products are better than others.

There are no good Silverliner IIs available. Gem brass produced a set of PRR Silverliner IIs, and IMW makes a resin kit. The GEMs are correctly shaped buyt are typically sold for obscene prices (considering what you get). At the same time, IMW makes a "cheaper" product but it does not look very much like a Silverliner II.

IHP is the only one to produce Silverliner IIIs. They are an EXCELLENT kit, and are easy to put together, but are scarce and vary in price. I got a pair of Silverliner III kits for only $35. I got another one apporaching $100. The original MSRP was $165, so you can expect some people want to get back their investment!

IHP and IMW both offer Silverliner IVs. the IHP one is sold RTR with some basic decoration that can be easily removed and replaced with better decals. There are no photos of the IMW silverliner IV, but generally, IHP models beat IMW in terms of detail. That said, if the IMW silverliner IVs are like the IMW Arrow IIIs, they may be Competitive models.

That said, IHP's tend to cost more as they are RTR, but you have to consider that all of IMW's models take work. if you're not much of a resin kit builder, then the extra cost of the IHP models might be worth it. Besides, and unpowered Single Silverliner IV by IHP is still cheaper than the IMW Silverliner IV.

IMW is currently king of decals though. Almost any possible SEPTA paint scheme can be achieved with the IMW decals, and they are well done. The only complaint i've seen is that ONE SEPTA logo is oriented facing the wrong way, but this is almost a nonissue, because all you need is a good exacto blade and a straight edge to "cut and paste" the logo on the model the right way.


IHP is the only one making Silverliner V MUs. IMW appears to be seeking interest, but the IHPs are already done.


Availability wise, IMWs can be had at almost any time, if they are acceptable to you. IHP on the other hand produces short runs, and they tend to sell out fast. If you live close enough to philly that you can reach the SEPTA store (a short walk from down Market Street from the Reading Terminal building, now the Convention center), then keep an eye out for Mike from IHP's updates. He usually posts here when his models are approaching delivery time and so you know to get down there as soon as possible or make reservations. They tend to sell out in DAYS, not weeks.

Here are photos of some of the available SEPTA stuff you can get

GEM Silverliner II





IHP Silverliner III



IHP Silverliner III Kit components



IHP Express Kit/SEPTA Store Silverliner IV



Atlas AEM7



Walthers Comet II Coach & Cabs

SEPTA Porn

N-Trizzy2609 wrote:SEPTA Porn

DAYUM ! Nice.

N-Trizzy2609 wrote:SEPTA Porn

only problem there is that SEPTA didn't really have all those RDCs. they had coaches and Snack-bar coaches built from RDC3s with the "canadian" ends. by the early 80s, only RDC-1s were operating, the snack bar coaches lasting only as long as the crusader and wall street were rolling.

SEPTA bought one RDC3 that it promptly rebuilt into an RDC1.

I have a few IMW models and you can see the improvement over time with each. One notable improvement is the thinner shell. It's easier to work with and saves a lot of time during preparation especially when it comes to removing the flash. The first models I had needed this attention, the later ones didn't.

I know for a fact that every HO kit IMW offers definitely come with all that you needed to build up a kit; window inserts in particular.

The only thing you need to purchase after-market with the IMW kits are couplers, coupler mounts and the appropriately sized wheelsets.

mlrr wrote:I have a few IMW models and you can see the improvement over time with each. One notable improvement is the thinner shell. It's easier to work with and saves a lot of time during preparation especially when it comes to removing the flash. The first models I had needed this attention, the later ones didn't.

I know for a fact that every HO kit IMW offers definitely come with all that you needed to build up a kit; window inserts in particular.

The only thing you need to purchase after-market with the IMW kits are couplers, coupler mounts and the appropriately sized wheelsets.

This is true, and nothing is more annoying than thick flash!

Almost every kit, i think you still need to buy separate windows for some of the comet cars.

Still, i'd like to see these silverliner IVs. They should be arriving shortly, yet still no photo.

Let me add that the problem CAB is referring to with IMW SEPTA decals is in regards to the Silverliner II set. The decal that would be applied to the fireman side on the non-pantograph end (The right side if looking at the face with no pantograph) is not correct. The SEPTA logo and wording need to be flipped. (See here for a shot of the problem end.) Also, judging from N-Trizzy's models, there is an issue with decal length. (See here for what I mean.)

The Silverliner IV set however looks excellent. Most common details look to have been replicated well, they fit the IHP model well, and I imagine that they will be just fine on the IMW model if/when we get to see preproduction photos or a market release.

Also, there's nothing on the market yet suitable for Silverliner IIIs in the modern phase. The S-IIIs have a thicker window band than both the S-IIs and S-IVs, and there's nothing available to do the wide end bands on those cars. (This is where CAB will probably say that no one cares about modern SEPTA anyway, lol.)

Mirai Zikasu wrote:Let me add that the problem CAB is referring to with IMW SEPTA decals is in regards to the Silverliner II set. The decal that would be applied to the fireman side on the non-pantograph end (The right side if looking at the face with no pantograph) is not correct. The SEPTA logo and wording need to be flipped.

But again, a simple fix with a sharp exacto blade. the length might be another problem, but since i haven't physically used these decals, and i don't know how much of an overlap may have been used on N-trizzy's models, i wouldn't say that for sure.

Also, there's nothing on the market yet suitable for Silverliner IIIs in the modern phase. The S-IIIs have a thicker window band than both the S-IIs and S-IVs, and there's nothing available to do the wide end bands on those cars.

Is it really that much thicker?

You can use silverliner II decal sets for them. What you would do is let a little bit of the decals overlap, then uses a sharp exacto to "shear" them away after its dry. True, this is a difficult process, but it can be done. I had to do a similar process to clear the windows when i applied Amtrak decals to one of my Metroliner cab cars. you just need a fresh razor and some care. I'm not sure i could describe in words the motion you need to make, but if you hold the blade at a 90 degree angle to the edge of the window, with a lateral angle, you can make a smooth stroke down that will cleanly shear off excess decal around the shape of the opening.

I can't be sure that there will be enough decal to do this well, but there might. I don't plan on painting my third Silverliner III in the modern paint, even though i thought about it for a LONG time (since my only memmories of them are in the new scheme, and they're all going away now).

(This is where CAB will probably say that no one cares about modern SEPTA anyway, lol.)

[/quote]

As far as Modern SEPTA, i totally disagree! I love modern SEPTA, even if they are getting rid of my oldies. Of all commuter systems, procuring modern SEPTA equipment is the easiest thing you can do. Short of the RL-1s and some akward wire train equipment, it is all easily available. Now that SEPTA is phasing out the Silverliner IIs and IIIs, all you need are IVs and Vs, both of which are imminently available by IHP through the SEPTA store, and possibly IMW some time in the near future.

Not that these are cheap, but they are out there and will likely continue to be out there as long as Mike makes a killing through the SEPTA store. At this point, all you'd need are some two push pull sets (maximum run on any SEPTA line at one time), which with patience can be found through Ebay and train shows (I nearly have a second train, just need three more coachs and a new AEM7. I actually have 4 junk SEPTA coaches but i don't know if i can save them).

I only model the "old" style SEPTA stuff since i've decided to stay back in the 70s where they have E44s and GG1s. I can't have it all...