K-Line 21" Surfliners, Real Gems

I actually have several current favorites, most of which I have already posted here and they include the NYC Superliners.

But most favorite are the ones I have worked on extensively myself and they include, in particular, Lionel's aluminum 21" Texas Special cars and the 21" ABS UP Excursion Train cars.

I've posted at length here and on the old forum about what I have done with these. As a blast from the past here's the video of the first car I did some five years back, which is the Stephen F. Austin observation or "bar car." This is how it looks on the rails with the full lighting system on:



Please forgive the hokey Gene Autry music, which I forgot I added as the backing track.

I’ve never seen a passenger car I didn’t like. But the K-Line 21” Surfliner set is in my top five. I had plenty of chances to order them back when they were cataloged, but at the time I didn’t have a connection with them and I had other pre-order fish to fry.

Over the years after I acquired the sets that I wanted I focused on the Surfliner set. Of course, they were very difficult to find. After years of occasional searches for them, I gave up and ‘settled’ for the MTH Premier set. A very nice set, but they weren’t K-Line’s.

After moving to Southern California I now see them all the time. Especially at the San Diego Santa Fe station, sitting there gleaming in the sunshine. Or rolling on by while sitting at the beach. Then I found a few cars on eBay, the set I found at a semi local train show and then a couple more on eBay. So far I have eight of the ten Surfliner cars K-Line made. I have one MTH Premier F59 diesel for power. I need a couple more to operate all the sets!!

My other favorites in no particular order are:

Golden Gate Depot PRR Congressional 12 car set
Golden Gate Depot Santa Fe El Capitan 11 car set
K-Line California Zephyr 10 car set
Lionel Acela set
K-Line B&O 21” Columbian set
K-Line Great Northern 21” Empire Builder set
K-Line Northern Pacific 21” set
K- Line Santa Fe 21” Super Chief
Golden Gate Depot Southern Pacific Daylight 
I could go on and on....... 

The Lionel Empire State Express, The MTH Santa Fe Blue Goose and the Golden Gate Depot GM Train of Tomorrow.

Passenger cars I like are the Heavyweights. Seems my time except on one trip on a SF Super Chief when I came back from Nam, all my trips were on Heavyweights, somehow a plane wasn't what I wanted, besides, cleared my head. Traveling from NY to Illinois on NYCs and when I was in the service traveling home on trains.
But, I admire all passenger trains and cars. They are a beauty to behold, both steam and Diesel.