Amtrak Horizon Cars
In 1988, Amtrak was looking to expand their passenger car fleet. Budd had recently exited the railcar business, so Amtrak turned to Bombardier. The Horizon cars debuted in 1989, sporting two different variations of Phase III. One with wide bands, and one with narrow bands. Both were seen in service simultaneously. Around 1996, Amtrak started repainting the Horizon fleet into Phase IV, as well as converting a handful of coaches to long distance cars. In the early 2000s, Amtrak once again began to repaint the Horizon cars into the current Phase VI, which they have worn ever since. Included as an added bonus, is the Amtrak California Horizon cafe car, which was frequently seen on the west coast until the late 2010s when they were pulled from service. As of early 2025, all Horizon cars are out of revenue service, with an uncertain future. It is currently not known if they will return to the rails, or be repainted into the new Phase VII.
There is also a Phase VI coach sporting Polar Express decals. These cars ran as a special Christmas train out of Chicago, and some cars remained in revenue service well beyond the event before the decals were removed. It was not uncommon to see a Polar Express coach in regular Midwest service several months beyond the holiday season!
– As of early 2026, a small number of Horizon coaches returned/ are expected to return to revenue service. Two coach cars have been added to the pack in Phase VII paint. There are currently no Phase VII Cafe cars, and it is unknown if there are any of that type returning to service. Should they appear in the future, I will add them to the pack.
Phase III Narrow – Coach & Cafe – Available from 1989
Phase III Wide – Coach & Cafe – Available from 1989
Phase IV – Coach & Cafe – Available from 1996
Phase VI – Coach & Cafe – Available from 2002
Phase VI – Polar Express Coach *See description – Available from 2010
Phase VII – Coach – Available from 2026
Amtrak California – 53509 Pacific Horizon – Available from 2013
– This mod is a reskin pack of MrCheesecake’s SEPTA Comet II pack, with trucks from his Viewliner I pack, as well as audio from NEC stuff! Huge thanks to MrCheesecake for allowing me to publish this reskin pack!
– Please note, there are a handful of small details that are not prototypically accurate. These include permanently fixed stairs, sliding doors on cars of all eras, Cafe cars retain coach interiors, and the Comet II underbody detail. I felt these details were small overall.
– All horizon cars reach a top speed of 125mph, and older liveries are set to phase out shortly after the next livery is revealed in the timeline. For example, Phase III coaches continued to be seen into the mid 2000s, though they cannot be purchased new beginning in the mid 90s.
– If any issues are discovered, please feel free to send me a message! I’m fairly new to the reskin game, and I am prone to making errors that are seen only after release! Thanks for your patience!
Thanks for your interest in my reskin work!
Revisions:
Old revisions of this mod are available below. Click the link to download.
