Amtrak to get new locomotives

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MikefromCrete said:
The press release is still not posted on Amtrak.com. Could this be "fake news?"
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I doubt it. TBH, I wasn't supposed to post it; but I didn't know at the time. A friend of mine regularly sends me links to news articles & such about Amtrak, usually from the closed-off sections of Train Orders. He had just sent me something else from TO, then sent this. Since I had not seen it before & didn't see anything online about it, I shared it. Twasn't till much later I found out he had gotten it from a friend of his who is a manager @ Amtrak & it wasn't supposed to have gone public. At that point it was too late to do anything about it.

I trust the source as being real, but can't say when a public announcement will be made (don't know).

peter
 
Good reasons have been posted why Amtrak would go this route. I would add-

1. Maybe the Siemens is not the be all end all locomotive many think it is. It may be great for corridor service but not so great long distances.

2. A GE freight locomotive with a full cowl is most likely much cheaper than specialized pax locomotive.

3. A locomotive sharing 90 % of its parts with North America's dominant freight locomotive must be cheaper to maintain and stock parts for.

4. Sad to say, but when a freight locomotive hits a vehicle, damage is minimal or scratched paint on the cow catcher. Compared to the bruised noses on the Genesis locomotives.

My guess, if Amtrak goes this 6 axle route, would not be surprised to see more one unit long distance trains.
 
Indian Railways routinely operates 24 car express trains at upto 80mph using a single one of these 4500HP EMD GT46PACs Co-Co units known better as WDP-4B in India

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_GT46PAC#/media/File:The_WDP-4B_class_Locomotive_of_Indian_Railways.jpg

There is also a dual cab variant known as WDP-4D, And there is a Bo-Bo variant known as WDP-4. All of them also come with a HOG (Head On Generation) variant, which would be referred to in the US as HEP.

They routines run from one end of the country to the other on long haul runs of trains that run on routes that are not fully electrified yet, so runs of over a thousand miles is not unusual.

They are not Tier 4 compliant as they use a variant of the EMD 710-16 prime mover.
 
I would expect the Empire Builder,CZ, and Starlight to have two units, maybe only in peak season. But everyone else to use one unit.I wander if this present CEO thinking, why are we using two thorough breds when one Clydesdale will work.
 
Dutchrailnut said:
the ES44AC is a design of over 10 years old , it only had 4 traction motors (A1A-A1A) so what would be gained ?? 200 hp over a P42 barely enough to make up for extra weight .

Not so sure ride is going to be comfortable at that speed in a lead sled of such dimensions. not to mention extra maintenance of the 6 wheel trucks and problems with clearances in North East ?

I doubt you will see much in terms of potential purchase, as locomotive in no way would conform to PRII requirements.
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I'm pretty sure the ET44AC has 6 traction motors, I didn't see anything in the e-mail that indicated they would be using the ET44C4.
 
CREW-DORM#2524 said:
Word on the street is they are for Auto Train.
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Oh. Well, that would work. Most passenger trains need "passenger gearing" so they can decelerate quickly to a stop and accelerate quickly away from a stop; for fuel efficiency you really want regenerative braking as well. You want a passenger unit.

But the Auto Train has practically a freight profile, being point to point, with only one intermediate stop for the crew change, and a very long heavy consist.

Also the Auto Train will never need to exceed the top speed of these locos (whereas the Lake Shore Limited already does need to, and the Texas Eagle, Coast Starlight, and others might need to in the forseeable future).
 
PerRock said:
I got sent an internal press release via a friend from Amtrak (he doesn't work for Amtrak). I'll work on getting a link to it. But in essence it states that GE will be installing HEP into two Tier 4 ES44ACH locomotives to evaluate the performance of the locomotives in a "passenger-oriented environment." They mention that the current fleet of P40/2s is slated to be replaced by the end of FY 2025.

"These tests are scheduled to continue through the duration of 2017 and will coincide with future programs involving the testing of new single-level passenger equipment on long-distance trains." (Viewliners?)

peter
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Considering the fact that GE has demonstration units already built for prospective freight railroads looking to test power, and I'm sure that some of them are of the "heavy" variety that is annotated by the H in the type designator, I would expect the program to be operational at about the middle of July.
 
Well as I understand it, the GE Dash 8-32BWH, which is based on freight engine wasn't a great success. What would make this any different? I think on the CS, one of the consists permanently uses a GE Dash 8-32BWH.
 
Remember the DASH fleet was never going to be big in the first place. It held Amtrak over till the Genesis started to arrive. How quickly we forget how unreliable the F40s had became because of deferred maintenance.
 
One of the things former Delta CEO Anderson did at Delta was not to buy the "new and shining" but the slightly used and much cheaper aircraft.

If GE is offering a product that will meet 95% of Amtrak's needs for a much cheaper price and lower operating costs, I can see him making this low CAPEX move to solve Amtrak's locomotive problem. Not only that, it would allow Amtrak to outsource more of the locomotive work.

A single blunt nose freight GE locomotive pulls a long distance train cheaper than two Genesis, and with lower operating costs, now that GE is offering to cover more maintenance of the locomotive just GE covers the maintenance of their jet engines with the airlines.

Now will it look aesthetically pleasing? No, but it will get the job done.
 
Please tell me where we have divulged into fantasy? Our "speculations" are based on the original post of GE letting Amtrak kick the tires on some Tier 4 locomotives. Now if Siemens is golden child everyone here states, and has been posted a couple of times Amtrak has options with them to cover the Genesis fleet then why do the GE test?

I am more of a aviation nut and frequent flyer than railroad foamer. The incoming ex Delta CEO is not enamored with the latest or greatest hardware. There is a reason why Delta is still flying MD88s and 25 year old A320s from NWA, they are paid for and get the job done. The A320s are presently going to through rehab to keep them fresh ( as a pax, you wouldn't know how old the aircraft is anyway), again, they are paid for.

If the original post is wrong we have just wasted 3 pages of posts on nothing, but if it is true................
 
Actually even if it is true we could still have wasted three pages. But it is all interesting anyway.

I don't think this business about testing a POC with a couple of GE units has anything to do with Anderson though. that is the fantasy part, if that is being implied. This was something that must have been in the works quite independent of anything to do with Anderson's appointment.
 
neroden said:
CREW-DORM#2524 said:
Word on the street is they are for Auto Train.
Click to expand...
Oh. Well, that would work. Most passenger trains need "passenger gearing" so they can decelerate quickly to a stop and accelerate quickly away from a stop; for fuel efficiency you really want regenerative braking as well. You want a passenger unit.

But the Auto Train has practically a freight profile, being point to point, with only one intermediate stop for the crew change, and a very long heavy consist.

Also the Auto Train will never need to exceed the top speed of these locos (whereas the Lake Shore Limited already does need to, and the Texas Eagle, Coast Starlight, and others might need to in the forseeable future).
Click to expand...
Previously six-axle passenger locomotives (P30CH, etc.), based upon freight designs, have been rated for about 100 mph, which is also the maximum design speed for the Superliner passenger cars they'd be hauling.

jis said:
Boy - this group can really run off on a wild fantasy trail based on next to nothing! :p
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It remains to be seen whether this thread represents fantasy or not.
 
A Voice said:
Previously six-axle passenger locomotives (P30CH, etc.), based upon freight designs, have been rated for about 100 mph, which is also the maximum design speed for the Superliner passenger cars they'd be hauling.
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True, though a minor point of clarification is that I believe the Superliner IIs are technically good for 125 mph like the California/Surfliner bilevels, but since they're used interchangeably with the Superliner Is with their 100 mph trucks, Amtrak never bothered to certify 'em for 125. Either way, 90 mph is the max speed of any of the long distance trains in diesel territory currently with the exception of the Lake Shore Limited, which can hit 110 mph briefly in New York.
 

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