Amtrak America - new LD train branding

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Ryan

Ryan

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Blackwolf correctly suggested that this aspeect of the discussion be broken out since it applies to all LD service and not just Viewliner 2.

Blackwolf said:
RyanS said:
It doesn't include the striping, Phase III is BACK! :)

With the launch of our new single-level long distance equipment the Viewliner II, Amtrak is also launching Amtrak America, a brand that will encompass all that is great about Amtraks long-haul trains, including those with sleeper class service. Amtraks route brands will continue, and this brand will make the conversation and overall service offerings clear to our customers and stakeholders.

Amtrak America will utilize our Phase Three striping on the single-level long distance cars as a tribute to our heritage. The first cars released from production will also carry Amtraks heritage logo in honor of our past. Amtraks current logo will return on the standard production cars.
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I think this new information might require a brand new thread to be started!

IMHO, this is HUGE news. Amtrak seems to have officially shifted the Long-Distance trains into their own very public category with this move. The LD's (at least, the single-level LD's for now) will have their own paint scheme (LOVING the return of Phase III) separate from the rest of the fleet and the very patriotic name of "Amtrak America."

That makes Amtrak have some pretty defined naming practices from this point forward:

  • Amtrak America - Long-Distance full-service routes
  • Northeast Regional - NEC standard service
  • Acela - High-speed full-service routes (but currently available only on the NEC)
  • Amtrak California - California-based standard service
  • Amtrak Cascades - Pacific northwest Talgo service
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That also suggests that the LD Amfleets are going in for a paint job. I think that it's a great move and another embodiment of Amtrak's reorganization into product lines. Hopefully this will give the LD trains a good bit of visibility here in the east, since they'll be visually different on the NEC from the regional trains (more so than just the inclusion of different shaped cars, which is probably something only us railfans will notice).
 
It will create an interesting headache on MD (Middle Distance) trains that use a mix of equipment. I doubt that they will rebrand a bunch of Amfleet I cars for use on the Palmetto or the Pennsylvanian and such. Or maybe all day trains will be clumped together with Regionals. But still there'd be the problem of those Amfleet II cars used in them.
 
jis said:
It will create an interesting headache on MD (Middle Distance) trains that use a mix of equipment. I doubt that they will rebrand a bunch of Amfleet I cars for use on the Palmetto or the Pennsylvanian and such. Or maybe all day trains will be clumped together with Regionals. But still there'd be the problem of those Amfleet II cars used in them.
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And what about the Superliners? Are they going to be rebranded too? And Superliner coach cars get around. Some are used for Michigan service, some are used in California service, some on the Heartland Flyer...

Seems like we headed back to the days of consists with a variety of paint schemes, which doesn't seem like a great idea to me.

I do see some advantages in rebranding LD service, but also risks in higher visibilty. And how many non-foamers will care or even be confused by this move?
 
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Amtrak finally has decent looking uniform consists. Guess it was time to screw things up...
 
The Davy Crockett said:
And what about the Superliners? Are they going to be rebranded too? And Superliner coach cars get around. Some are used for Michigan service, some are used in California service. Seems like we headed back to the days of consists with a variety of paint schemes, which doesn't seem like a great idea to me.

I do see some advantages in rebranding LD service, but also risks in higher visibilty. And how many non-foamers will care or even be confused by this move?
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That will also be changing here in the next few years...

Illinois, Michigan and Missouri will be getting 88 of their own "third generation Bi-Level intercity cars" starting in late 2015. California will also be adding 42 cars to it's fleet. Hopefully that will allow Amtrak to get the Superliners out of corridor service.

Much like the unique "Amtrak California" livery you might see those new cars painted in a new "Amtrak Midwest" scheme.

There is a "brand recognition" here in California. When most passengers (read: non-railfans) stand on a platform and see a Blue and Orange train... they know that's an Amtrak California train. If they see a silver train with red, white, and blue stripes they know that's a long distance train (and hopefully think of all the places it could take them).

I think Amtrak is trying to bring this to the Northeast Corridor... creating "brand recognition" between Acela, Northeast Regional, and Amtrak America trains.
 
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I really, really like this idea. Massive Kudos to Amtrak for going in this direction.

The idea of separate branding for each region and having the long-distance elevated to it's own brand (and a sexy phase III brand at that!) makes a lot of sense.

Once the mid-west corridor cars come online i don't see an issue with repainting the Superliners either.

As for the current Viewliners I assume they'll be repainted as well?
 
I also am a big fan of this move. It helps to separate LD trains from the rest, and hopefully at least raise awareness for what they do. It's good to see Amtrak putting effort into them, I've felt for a while that Amtrak Long Distance needed some love from someone who cares. Not sure if this will get them there, but it's encouraging.
 
I really hope the Midwest cars are painted in "camo ombre" with "hunter orange chic" touches. We could even mount antlers on the front end.
 
SarahZ said:
I really hope the Midwest cars are painted in "camo ombre" with "hunter orange chic" touches. We could even mount antlers on the front end.
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Haha.

We have "touches" of orange in the mostly navy blue Amtrak California paint scheme... it looks quite nice.

Although if you're going to paint the train in camo... you better hope they use that orange color on the noses of the locomotives and cab cars (or you're going to have a lot of cars being hit by trains that appeared to be "hidden" in the woods!)
 
Isn't Amtrak Virginia part of Northeast Regional though?

Either way it's a good thing.

I like the whole "Amtrak ______" branding. E.g. Amtrak America, Amtrak Cascades, Amtrak California, Amtrak Virginia, etc.

I wonder if the mid-west will get a branding? E.g. "Amtrak mid-america" haha
 
I'd love to see the Michigan trains branded somehow with our very successful Pure Michigan brand.

People really respond well to things like this.

The branded Michigan trains would give our state a lot of visibility when they're passing through Indiana and Illinois.

There are more people than not that have no idea where you can take a train.
 
A Michigan-specific design would be nice, but to be fair, the "Michigan Services" trains serve cities in Indiana as well.

For the Wolverine, I think it would be neat to have a design that has the Chicago skyline on one end and the Detroit skyline on the other, with some farmland, lakes, and the Indiana Dunes along the middle.

For the Blue Water, they could do a similar design, but instead of the Detroit skyline, it would have the Blue Water Bridge on the other end.

The Pere Marquette could have the same Chicago/Dunes thing along with bike trails, wineries, and maybe some tulips to represent Holland along with the GR skyline on the other end.

I'm picturing it sort of like the Michigan license plate design that's been around for a few years. I like the way they use the gradient to go from skyline to pine trees. Unfortunately, the registration stickers block both top corners of the plate and cover the design. :(

Pen-Sample_180961_7.jpg
 
I understand Amtrak is proud of the heritage and thats why they want to go the Phase III look....but

It seemed to take a good while (from a Florida perspective) to see a consistent uniform Phase IV train. I dont dislike the Phase III but I would say IV is better and more modern. The conformity of the paint seemed to make the awkward Heritage/Viewliner/Amfleet a little easier to look at. Now we will introduce these long awaited cars, in Phase III paint. That was something that would make the whole consist look even better, the Viewliner baggage and diner, replacing the older heritage. But now? I like the Amtrak America branding. But as a railfan I know I am worried too much about the look. But it is hard to imagine it looking good.
 
I am not really crazy about the "Amtrak America" and separate branding for different routes. With a push by some members of congress, the media, and the public to discontinue unprofitable routes, it will be easier to break it apart when Amtrak is nicely separated into the different brands and the unpofitable ones will just disapear. Amtrak should be marketed as a complete system, like it was intended.
 
benjibear said:
I am not really crazy about the "Amtrak America" and separate branding for different routes. With a push by some members of congress, the media, and the public to discontinue unprofitable routes, it will be easier to break it apart when Amtrak is nicely separated into the different brands and the unpofitable ones will just disapear. Amtrak should be marketed as a complete system, like it was intended.
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Hmm, that's a good point. Perhaps they could keep the Amtrak America red/white/blue with the regular branding on all of the trains and then maybe just have a skin on one of the cars? They did that with a route recently, but I can't remember which one it was. It wasn't the Egyptian thing... I'll have to search the forums when I have some time tonight. Regardless, it looked really sharp.
 
Bad idea.

For the above reason that several members have posted.

I also don't like someone stick a flag in my face to protect their funding. Or change the name to promote a feeling of national pride.

Pure politics at work here. Now the when the congress holds a meeting they have to bash "Amtrak America" even if a congress member does not use the correct title, I am sure the person who reply to the question will be saying it with ever statement.

That and the current paint colors on the cars work for me. The engines are a different issues.
 
Just as long as they don't follow the Northeast Regional example, and drop individual train names in favor of "Amtrak America 1," "Amtrak America 2," "Amtrak America 3," etc.

(Yes, I know that would be highly unlikely.)
 
Oh my.

It's not accurate to call this Phase III though -- it's not the same striping, it's subtly different striping.

Here's the actual Phase III striping:

http://www.trainweb.org/amtrakpix/paintschemes/paintschemes.html#p3c

Call this new striping Phase V, perhaps (since there hasn't been a Phase V for passenger cars, only for locos)? Or Phase IIIb? Or Phase VI? I think it's pretty cute, but it's really not Phase III.

"Amtrak America" mainly represents a matter of succumbing to a trend, in that "Amtrak California" and "Amtrak Cascades" and "Amtrak Virginia" and "Amtrak Illinois" are already in use. (Didja know about that last one?) There's also "North Carolina's Amtrak". Of course, it is also a sensible political move to make it harder for Congressmen to bash the Amtrak America trains in public.

If this branding is to have any meaning, however, I would advise that every Amtrak America train have similar equipment quality: in short, those three stripes should signal a sleeper or an Amfleet II sized seat, and you should never see corridor-density seating with this branding. It should also be possible to tell which type of seat you're buying when you make a reservation. That way there really would be a clear meaning to "Amtrak America".
 
One further comment: these new "Phase VI" stripes look like decals or vinyl or something similar, not paint.
 
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