Longest Amtrak train

[Texan Eagle]

That looks way familiar. Between Gurpa and Gajhandi on the Grand Chord? Is this your 6 hours behind schedule Mumbai Mail via Allahabad?

Yes, that is a very late-running Howrah-Mumbai Mail in the hills between Gurpa and Gajhandi on the Grand Chord.

 

[Donctor]

Why not, they are a part of the train?

From the line number thread:

EMPIRE BUILDER — 5 sets
2 cars CHI-MSP (seasonal)

----|---- [CHI-SEA] Heritage Baggage
0732|0832 [CHI-SEA] Superliner Dorm/Sleeper
0731|0831 [CHI-SEA] Superliner Sleeper
0730|0830 [CHI-SEA] Superliner Sleeper
----|---- [CHI-SEA] Superliner Diner
0711|0811 [CHI-SEA] Superliner Coach
0712|0812 [CHI-SEA] Superliner Coach
----|---- [CHI-PDX] Superliner Sightseer Lounge
2714|2814 [CHI-PDX] Superliner Coach
2715|2815 [CHI-PDX] Superliner Coach/Baggage
2730|2830 [CHI-PDX] Superliner Sleeper
0709|0809 [CHI-MSP] Superliner Coach*

* seasonal


LAKE SHORE LIMITED — 3 sets

----|---- [CHI-BOS] Heritage Baggage
4820|4920 [CHI-BOS] Viewliner Sleeper
4841|4941 [CHI-BOS] Amfleet II Coach
4840|4940 [CHI-BOS] Amfleet II Coach
----|---- [CHI-BOS] Lounge (Horizon or Amfleet I Dinette, or Amfleet II Lounge)
4833|4933 [CHI-NYP] Amfleet II Coach
4832|4932 [CHI-NYP] Amfleet II Coach
4831|4931 [CHI-NYP] Amfleet II Coach
4830|4930 [CHI-NYP] Amfleet II Coach
----|---- [CHI-NYP] Amfleet II Lounge
----|---- [CHI-NYP] Heritage Diner
4811|4911 [CHI-NYP] Viewliner Sleeper
4812|4912 [CHI-NYP] Viewliner Sleeper
----|---- [CHI-NYP] Heritage Baggage

If you don't count bags, the LSL still has 1 more car.

48/49 don't have a lounge right now

 

[mfastx]

This thread would be a bit better with pictures and videos of said trains, no?

 

[The Davy Crockett]

This thread would be a bit better with pictures and videos of said trains, no?

you could try YouTube...

 

[mfastx]

you could try YouTube...

It's been done, lol.

 

[PerRock]

you could try YouTube...

It's been done, lol.

Here is a vid of my submission:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=imXO3qFSODc

peter

PS: and after watching the vid, I counted 22 cars, not counting the Cabbage at the beginning, as it's only the ITCS protection unit & not hauling baggage).

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Oh, but I have been on it with 30 cars, though three of them were deadhead.

I have to wonder, with VIA's HEP configuration of dual 440v lines running both sides of the cars, what their consist limit is?

And here's a 30 car Ocean on Nov. 9, 2005.

VIA #15 OCEAN w/b Truro, NS

6420 F40

6409 F40

6431 F40

8622 Baggage

8113 Coach

8138 Coach

8117 Coach

8506 Skyline Dome

Chateau Dollard

Chateau Richelieu

Chateau Salaberry

Acadian Diner

Chateau Argenson

Chateau Iberville

Chateau Bienville

Chateau Levis

Chateau Closse

Chateau Maisonneuve

Fairholme Diner

Chateau Jolliet

Dawson Manor

Hunter Manor

Stuart Manor

MacDonald Manor

Chateau Lauzon

Louise Diner

Chateau Marquette

Osler Manor

Grant Manor

Thompson Manor

Allan Manor

Chateau Laval

Glacier Park Dome Observation

Total:

3 - F40's

30 - cars (Including: 21 Sleepers + 3 Diners)

 

[Texan Eagle]

This thread would be a bit better with pictures and videos of said trains, no?

There you go, see not one but

 

[Montanan]

Don't quote me on this, but I believe I've read somewhere that for operational reasons, Via has reduced the maximum length of the Canadian, so the 30-car trains are a thing of the past. (And even a 30-car train didn't carry as many people as you might think, since the capacity of a sold-out Budd sleeping car is only about 22 or so.)

The longest Amtrak train I've ever been on was a couple of years ago, when a derailment in Illinois caused the Zephyr and Southwest Chief to be combined into a single train, and detoured over the old Santa Fe route between Galesburg and Joliet.

 

[afigg]

Ok, if we are going beyond regularly scheduled Amtrak trains with the VIA Canadian, doubled up LD trains, long trains in India, etc. One of the key specifications for the ACS-64 electric locomotives is that they are to be able to pull 18 cars at 125 mph. Would not expect to see that happen very often in normal service! However, it is one of the specifications, so it will have to be confirmed as part of the testing of the first unit or units. So there will be the opportunity for the eagle eyed or alert railfan to take a video of an ACS-64 hauling 18 Amfleets (maybe with some Viewliner IIs) in deadhead test runs on the NEC between WAS and NYP. Ideally a video of the train blasting through a station at 125 mph.

 

[railiner]

IIRC, didn't Amtrak used to have a self-imposed arbitrary limit of 18 cars on their trains? I believe that number was arrived at by the limit of the longest platform at Pennsylvannia Station, New York. I seem to remember Florida trains of that length pulled from NYP by one of those big E-60's.

Prior to Amtrak, I believe Union Pacific's combined, so-called "City of Everywhere" carrying sections destined to Denver, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Portland would also stretch out close to 30 cars from Chicago to North Platte....

 

[Anderson]

IIRC, didn't Amtrak used to have a self-imposed arbitrary limit of 18 cars on their trains? I believe that number was arrived at by the limit of the longest platform at Pennsylvannia Station, New York. I seem to remember Florida trains of that length pulled from NYP by one of those big E-60's.

Prior to Amtrak, I believe Union Pacific's combined, so-called "City of Everywhere" carrying sections destined to Denver, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Portland would also stretch out close to 30 cars from Chicago to North Platte....

Amtrak has such a limit IIRC (Auto Train carriers excluded and unusual circumstances notwithstanding). However, the combined Silver Meteor/Champion of 1979 would get up to 28, which was probably a "normal" Amtrak record. As to pre-Amtrak...if I'm not mistaken, when SP combined the Sunset with the Golden State, there was a time when that train would get up into the high 30s.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I recall curving through the Rockies on an 18 superliner car combined CZ, Pioneer and Desert wind.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

There are several trains in India that are 24 cars these days. And surprisingly they are all pulled by single electric engines, usually WAP4 or WAP7 Co-Co units.

Most of the popular long-distance express trains in India are now 24 car long, and pulled by a single electric or diesel locomotive. I once had the fortune of riding in a 24 car long train being pulled by a single 3100hp diesel locomotive, over a section involving significant grades. It was fun to hear the poor locomotive growl as it chugged its way through the hills!

It is fun to ride in such extra-long trains, especially when you can see the whole length snaking ahead on curves. Here's is one photo from my recent India trip, taken from the 21st car looking ahead. There were 2 more cars behind me, making it a 23 car train.

Edit: Just realized, after the 23 passenger carrying cars there was one High Capacity Parcel Van making it a 24 car consist overall, the maximum currently allowed on Indian Railways for passenger trains.

Nice! Care to explain the Mumbai Mail?

I remember seei9ng a pictures of a super long train in Mongolia. No link; does anybody have an idea.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I recall curving through the Rockies on an 18 superliner car combined CZ, Pioneer and Desert wind.

Too bad it don't happen no more!

 

[railiner]

I recall curving through the Rockies on an 18 superliner car combined CZ, Pioneer and Desert wind.

Too bad it don't happen no more!

Yes sir! Those were the days....one of the rare Amtrak trains that had two full diners. They were called by the on board service crews "The Chicago Diner", or "The Los Angeles Diner" according to their crew base. The "Chicago Diner" went to Oakland. The Pioneer got its food service car at Salt Lake City. Can't recall if it was a diner or SSL.

 

[CREW DORM #2524]

I think the Auto Train runs up against the HEP limitation for consist length, so even if there were more cars to be added, during peak season the Auto Train is already as long as it can be.

Specially considering that Amtrak or is it FRA(?) does not allow split double HEP circuits in a train with two sections being fed from two different HEP source, which is a common practice in India on super long trains.

There is nothing prohibiting split HEP. Auto Train is at its limit as far as current drawn thru the HEP cables. There has been talk of outfitting the rear portion of the consist with a generator in hopes of being able to add more cars.

 

[jis]

I think the Auto Train runs up against the HEP limitation for consist length, so even if there were more cars to be added, during peak season the Auto Train is already as long as it can be.

Specially considering that Amtrak or is it FRA(?) does not allow split double HEP circuits in a train with two sections being fed from two different HEP source, which is a common practice in India on super long trains.

There is nothing prohibiting split HEP. Auto Train is at its limit as far as current drawn thru the HEP cables. There has been talk of outfitting the rear portion of the consist with a generator in hopes of being able to add more cars.

Good to know. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Blackwolf]

I know their LD fleet is super-old and they're refurbishing it. What is their corridor fleet (i.e. the Quebec/Ontario services) made up of? The LRCs?

VIA has two "Long-Distance" fleets in reality. The Montreal to Halifax Ocean is normally assigned an all Renaissance-equipped route with three dedicated consists, but currently (and this has been the case over the past few winters) one of the consists has been taken out of service to rehab the rapidly aging interiors while upgrading the handicap access to meet new requirements. While this is happening, a stainless steel Budd consist is substituted. Outside this one route, all the other LD trains (Canadian, The Pas, Winnipeg-Churchill, Gaspe', Prince Rupert) use the vintage Budd-built stainless steel cars that are circa 1950's.

For the corridor fleet, they use all three classes of passenger car. It all depends on which train you pick time-wise in the schedule that generally dictates your class of railcar. For instance, me and my wife will be on Train #57 between Montreal and Toronto next Tuesday and it will be an all Budd stainless steel consist (VIA calls this their HEP-II fleet, meaning the cars were originally steam heated but upgraded to Head End Power, then upgraded again so that the cars have MU cables to allow for either a cab-car or locomotives on both ends; they are identified by having both the blue stripe and a smaller reflective yellow stripe above the windows.) Meanwhile, Train #61, which departs on the same route one hour later is equipped with an LRC consist. Train #659, which departs Montreal at 4 PM, is a Renaissance-equipped train.

If you are curious, you can tell what each train will be equipped with by going to VIA's website and checking out the scheduled routes. Scroll your cursor over each train number, and the URL for the connecting information page on that train will contain in the last three characters either HE2, REN, or LRC; and now you know how to tell what equipment you'll be rewarded with!

 

[jis]

Nice! Care to explain the Mumbai Mail?

What is there to explain? That is the train that you see in the picture posted by Texan. Normally it would pass that particular section in darkness, but it was in daylight this day because it was running late. I identified the section from the photo since that is on what used to be my old stomping grounds. There are a few railroad sections that I could qualify for with relatively little effort, and that section used to be one of them. It is on the Grand Chord line that is one of the main routes from Kolkata to Delhi.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I know their LD fleet is super-old and they're refurbishing it. What is their corridor fleet (i.e. the Quebec/Ontario services) made up of? The LRCs?

VIA has two "Long-Distance" fleets in reality. The Montreal to Halifax Ocean is normally assigned an all Renaissance-equipped route with three dedicated consists, but currently (and this has been the case over the past few winters) one of the consists has been taken out of service to rehab the rapidly aging interiors while upgrading the handicap access to meet new requirements. While this is happening, a stainless steel Budd consist is substituted. Outside this one route, all the other LD trains (Canadian, The Pas, Winnipeg-Churchill, Gaspe', Prince Rupert) use the vintage Budd-built stainless steel cars that are circa 1950's.

For the corridor fleet, they use all three classes of passenger car. It all depends on which train you pick time-wise in the schedule that generally dictates your class of railcar. For instance, me and my wife will be on Train #57 between Montreal and Toronto next Tuesday and it will be an all Budd stainless steel consist (VIA calls this their HEP-II fleet, meaning the cars were originally steam heated but upgraded to Head End Power, then upgraded again so that the cars have MU cables to allow for either a cab-car or locomotives on both ends; they are identified by having both the blue stripe and a smaller reflective yellow stripe above the windows.) Meanwhile, Train #61, which departs on the same route one hour later is equipped with an LRC consist. Train #659, which departs Montreal at 4 PM, is a Renaissance-equipped train.

If you are curious, you can tell what each train will be equipped with by going to VIA's website and checking out the scheduled routes. Scroll your cursor over each train number, and the URL for the connecting information page on that train will contain in the last three characters either HE2, REN, or LRC; and now you know how to tell what equipment you'll be rewarded with!

I've been trying to pull up the information, but am having trouble following your explanation. Maybe you could elaborate further about this in the VIA topic area? This would be helpful to know for booking corridor trains. Thanks! :hi:

 

[Blackwolf]

I've been trying to pull up the information, but am having trouble following your explanation. Maybe you could elaborate further about this in the VIA topic area? This would be helpful to know for booking corridor trains. Thanks! :hi:

It used to be a little easier, but VIA recently changed their website just a little bit. I'll see if I can break the process down a little bit more to make things easy.

Go to VIA's website.

Using their booking widget, type in the city pair you want to travel between. I'll put in Montreal to Toronto, one way, for this example. Click search.

A new page will open, and on it will list all of your options for trains. I use Firefox for my browser, so when I hover my cursor over a link, on the bottom of my screen will pop up the URL address of the connecting web page. As such, if I hover my cursor over the underlined train number on VIA's scheduling page, I can look at the URL without actually opening the page. If your browser does not do this, the next step is to click on a train number, then look at the URL in the address bar after it loads.

 

Example: javascriptpenClassInfo(3,'&t0=57&e0=HP2&s=0')

 

HP2 = Budd Stainless Steel cars.

LRC = Bombardier Light, Rapid, Comfortable cars.

REN = Alstrom Renaissance cars.

 

Hopefully that helps!!

 

[mfastx]

Here is a vid of my submission:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=imXO3qFSODc

peter

PS: and after watching the vid, I counted 22 cars, not counting the Cabbage at the beginning, as it's only the ITCS protection unit & not hauling baggage).

Great vid, thanks.

There you go, see not one but

Thanks for sharing.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Hopefully that helps!!

It did! :hi: Thanks! :hi:

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Nice! Care to explain the Mumbai Mail?

What is there to explain? That is the train that you see in the picture posted by Texan. Normally it would pass that particular section in darkness, but it was in daylight this day because it was running late. I identified the section from the photo since that is on what used to be my old stomping grounds. There are a few railroad sections that I could qualify for with relatively little effort, and that section used to be one of them. It is on the Grand Chord line that is one of the main routes from Kolkata to Delhi.

Oh, sorry!

What are its destinations?

Why so many pax?

Which class of train?

What locomotives?

By the way jis, are you Indian?