[pmcgurin]

I bought an Athearn N Scale F59 PHI in 2006 when I lived in Dallas, because I had been riding the commuter train daily to work. I bought this from ebay, but I couldn't find the passenger cars for the Dallas/TRE line. This loco runs as well as Kato E8/9s do. I looked this up on spookshow.net, and gleaned that I had a Korean-made loco. Spookshow did say that he thought this item had limited appeal. What I am wondering is if this model uncommon, possibly because of low production or sales, and is this why I have not found the Bombardier passenger cars for sale for Dallas/TRE?

I don't think I would want to buy the cars now, but I did wonder if there just aren't many of these? The loco runs fine, perfectly actually. I wonder if it can be upgraded with a decoder. I got the impression from Spookshow that you either got the version with a decoder and sound or not.

 

[pmcgurin]

The Dallas F59PHI:

 

[pmcgurin]

I did some research on this and Dallas/TRE uses some F59PHI locos with an RDC on the other end of the commuter train for the return trip. They now use bi-level commuter cars in between. When I rode this line to work in 2006 to 2007 they used RDC cars with single level passenger cars in between. So, the F59PHI for Dallas/TRE is not a fantasy, it really runs. I am not going to build a replica of this line, though. The Athearn Bombardier cars must have been too limited in production to be able to find them at an affordable price.

 

[GTW son]

I have the same problem with Ontario's GO Transit coaches.
I did find an a Model Power Go loco years ago.
Athearn did a run of GO coaches years ago, they were expensive then and astronomical today because of there apparent rarity.

 

[pmcgurin]

Yes, the Metrolink cars I found on eBay were from $200 to over $300. I think I saw the Metrolink F59PHI going for over $150. This isn't crazy in today's market, but the Dallas cars would probably be real collector's items.

 

[Viperjim01]

There is a metro link 4 cars and loco buy it now on feebay. Ran 15 minutes. All Athearn

 

[pmcgurin]

The only Dallas/TRE car I saw was a Bombardier control car for $139.99. The only Dallas/TRE F59PHI I saw in the sold listings went for $249.99, making the conclusion obvious, since I have nothing to run with mine and am not going to get any. Well, I had wondered if these Athearn locos and cars were uncommon, and I guess they are.

 

[pmcgurin]

I have the same problem with Ontario's GO Transit coaches.
I did find an a Model Power Go loco years ago.
Athearn did a run of GO coaches years ago, they were expensive then and astronomical today because of there apparent rarity.

You have confirmed that these cars are too uncommon to expect to find any. Thanks.

 

[GTW son]

They do pop up on eBay from time to time, the original Athearn GO 3 coach set is in the $500 range while singles are in the $120-140 range.
I did find on at a local train show for $90 cash last month, only had $75 cash on me that that day and seller wouldn't move on the price. Plus different couplers between my loco and the coach.
May take a while but I'll find a set.

 

[pmcgurin]

With patience you will usually find what you are looking for. I don't think I am going to bother trying to get the Dallas set. Good luck GO coaches. I read, incidentall6y that GO Transit had sold some F59PHIs and coaches to Dallas/TRE.

I had been looking for a Kato Amtrak smoothside set of 6 cars for years. Usually they were $200 to $300. I recently got the set on ebay for $120. So, you never know when you get a break.

 

[DonR]

It would be very unusual to find a loco that
could not be updated with a DCC non sound decoder.
There could be a problem finding space
for a DCC sound speaker, but the actual DCC
electronics should fit in. There are decoders
especially sized for N scale.

Don

 

[GTW son]

 

[GTW son]

Sniffing around this morning and found this thought you may be interested

 

[Old_Hobo]

Even the most popular and numerous pieces become hard to find after a long period of not being in production….you’ll just have to be patient and keep looking, probably for a long time….and that still won’t guarnatee you will ever find any….

If anything, this hobby teaches you patience, as well as the importance of not procrastinating and grabbing the item as soon as you can when it becomes availabl, before it disappears….

 

[pmcgurin]

View attachment 582928

Thanks for that. With this item on one end, a few passenger cars in the middle and an F59PHI on the other end you would have a consist like what the Dallas/Trinity system uses now. I have no idea how long you would have to search for these items, probably years.

 

[pmcgurin]

Even the most popular and numerous pieces become hard to find after a long period of not being in production….you’ll just have to be patient and keep looking, probably for a long time….and that still won’t guarnatee you will ever find any….

If anything, this hobby teaches you patience, as well as the importance of not procrastinating and grabbing the item as soon as you can when it becomes availabl, before it disappears….

This is very true. As an example, I bought the Kato Amtrak phase I smoothside set around 2001. I wanted an observation car to cap it off, and looked and looked until I finally found the six car main set at a reasonable price a few weeks ago. Around twenty years because I didn't think to act right away around 2001. Now those sets are coming available again, probably from estate sales, but the prices are usually over $200. So, you have to act when the opportunity presents itself. I might have let this set pass by, but reading the post about the Alaska RR passenger set woke me up.

 

[GTW son]

Your welcome, that is a steep price for one car but its there right now. Hind sight being 20/20 I should have got the extra $15 to buy that GO coach but it meant leaving, finding a bank, finding parking again the lot was jammed. Excuses, excuses....
Is the Dallas Trinity like or affiliated with the DART?
My wife's sister lives in University Park in Dallas, we took the DART downtown some years back when it had only been open for a few months.
They seem to share the same paint scheme.

 

[pmcgurin]

DART is Dallas Area Rapid Transit. DART goes in the Dallas area, and I believe TRE, Trinity Rapid Express, goes over to Fort Worth. I used DART for a year while I worked there, but I never went to Fort Worth. I think the two lines meet in the north of Dallas.

I don't think I am going to pursue the Bombardier cars. Too much money and I just finished putting light kits in the Amtrak and Great Northern cars. The Kato light kits are not fun to install.

 

[GTW son]

10-4 sound like me and the GO coaches, one day we'll trip over a set for a price we can live with and, presto....

 

[GNfan]

It depends on how much you want a Dallas/TRE train on your layout. You could buy that Ebay control car, pair it with your locomotive, add some generic Kato commuter bi-levels between them and call it "close enough". $140 is more than I'd pay for an N scale car, but that does seem to be "the going rate" for those Bombardier cars due to their rarity.