Northeast Regional Consist Change Starting April 11th

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NTL1991

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Just as an FYI:

Beginning April 11th, Northeast Regional trains will operate with the business class car and the quiet car at the rear of the train, not at the head end as they do now. All consists should be turned by April 14th.

Typical 8-car consists will be as follows:

Locomotive

Coach

Coach

Coach

Coach

Cafe Car

Coach

Coach (Quiet Car)

Business Class
 
I saw this in another thread. Is there any explanation for why this is being changed or what the expected benefit would be for Amtrak and/or the passenger?
 
Wonder if this is because of the recent accidents? Lots of folks are squemish about riding on the front of the train, especially those that pay a premium in Biz Class and Sleepers!
 
Bob Dylan said:
Wonder if this is because of the recent accidents? Lots of folks are squemish about riding on the front of the train, especially those that pay a premium in Biz Class and Sleepers!
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I've heard it was due to horn noise reduction, but you do have a point...my parents always remind me not to ride in the first 2 or last 2 cars if at all possible.
 
Actually, this was discussed and planned some time ago. It'll help with train make up and equipment drops en route. IMHO, they never should have switched it to the head end, but they had relatively fixed consists.

This may change soon. :ph34r:
 
I do not understand this at all. In KIN and NLC, they built a high level platform just big enough for 2 doors. It says it's for "BC and Handicapped access". It is at the front of the train! If BC is now going to be at the rear, are they going to double spot every train there now?
 
the_traveler said:
I do not understand this at all. In KIN and NLC, they built a high level platform just big enough for 2 doors. It says it's for "BC and Handicapped access". It is at the front of the train! If BC is now going to be at the rear, are they going to double spot every train there now?
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Good question. :excl:

But you could theoretically solve that issue by stopping the train near the end instead of the beginning, right? No need for a double spot, just change the section of the train that stops in front of the platform.
 
U would think it would make more sense if it's this

Locomotive Coach Coach Coach Coach Coach Cafe Car Coach (Quiet Car) Business Class NER service

Locomotive baggage business class cafe coach coach coach coach palmetto/Carolinian

Locomotive baggage sleeper sleeper business class cafe coach coach coach coach silver star

Locomotive baggage sleeper sleeper business class diner cafe coach coach coach coach silver meteor/crescent
 
Well traditionally sleepers (Pullmans) were on the rear of the train and coaches were forward in the consist on most raroad a before amtrak. That was because the observation car used to be for sleepers only. And it was easier to police who walked thru the train. Now the Seaboard Airline and maybe the Atlantic Coastline had their coaches on the back and the sleepers forward. But that comes from the fact that the Seaboard's Silver Meteor was a coach streamliner originally. And the observation car was open to everyone. VIA still operates like the traditional sleepers on rear method.
 
First class / business class on rear. In times past get the high paying passengers as far away as possible from the steam loco smoke, cinders, & soot. i
 
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the_traveler said:
I do not understand this at all. In KIN and NLC, they built a high level platform just big enough for 2 doors. It says it's for "BC and Handicapped access". It is at the front of the train! If BC is now going to be at the rear, are they going to double spot every train there now?
Click to expand...
Construction is underway at KIN for full-length high-level platforms. Static signage may need to change at many small stations
The pre-recorded announcements at PVD will be abandoned, requiring agents to verbally announce every regional train leaving the station. This will only be temporary, however, as the new PIDS system with automated computerized announcements is currently being installed there, should be up and running by May. The original 30-year old Solari will be removed at that point in time.

I'm sure upper management knows about all these "issues" that will arise from the change and have decided that the costs involved with changing the consist are outweighed by the potential benefits.
 
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Upper class traditionally has been placed in the rear, where consists are turned at each end of the run. These days worldwide, turning consists is becoming more and more rare though. At least one thing that is still done the original old fashioned way here in North America. One of the prices for doing so is taking ,longer to turn a train, but usually around here there is plenty of time to do so anyway. No attempt is made to do the 3 to 6 hour turns of LD consists that is done routinely in many places at least at one end of the journey, at the non-home end for the consist. In those cases you just restock the train, hook up the engine at the other end and go.
 
If Amtrak is doing this for NEC and, as one poster said, to reduce noise level in the quiet car and business class car, it would seem logical that they would also do this for LD trains. The Palmetto has seen the return of the BC car to the rear, although they felt the need to put the baggage car behind it. I assume this was done to facilitate switching in Washington where additional coaches are switched on for the NEC portion.

If horn noise is the reason for the change, it is somewhat ironic this was done on the NEC where there are very few grade crossings or need to blow the horn. Perhaps the real reason for the change is, like the Palmetto, to make it easier to add/reduce coaches to meet demand. A shocking thought that the consist would actually be adjusted to meet demand which could improve revenue as well as equipment utilization.
 
the_traveler said:
I do not understand this at all. In KIN and NLC, they built a high level platform just big enough for 2 doors. It says it's for "BC and Handicapped access". It is at the front of the train! If BC is now going to be at the rear, are they going to double spot every train there now?
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Kingston is *currently* being rebuilt to have three tracks and full length high level platforms.https://nec.amtrak.com/content/kingston-station-capacity-expansion

New London is a mess. I expect they'll have to stop all trains on the northbound platform, at least until they build a new southbound platform. Maybe they'll build a crossover and shift everything one track to the east.
 
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Palmland said:
If Amtrak is doing this for NEC and, as one poster said, to reduce noise level in the quiet car and business class car, it would seem logical that they would also do this for LD trains. The Palmetto has seen the return of the BC car to the rear, although they felt the need to put the baggage car behind it. I assume this was done to facilitate switching in Washington where additional coaches are switched on for the NEC portion.

If horn noise is the reason for the change, it is somewhat ironic this was done on the NEC where there are very few grade crossings or need to blow the horn. Perhaps the real reason for the change is, like the Palmetto, to make it easier to add/reduce coaches to meet demand. A shocking thought that the consist would actually be adjusted to meet demand which could improve revenue as well as equipment utilization.
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The horn blows a lot on the NEC. Every commuter station the train goes through gets a horn blown.
 
Horns blow for stations only if the train is running on the track directly adjacent to the station platform. East of New Haven, since there are only two tracks, I imagine every station gets a "salute", but I believe I've seen videos of Acela trains blasting through a station without blowing the horn. I think they have train-actuated, automatic announcements that go something like "Please stand back; a train is approaching the station".
 
Palmetto said:
Horns blow for stations only if the train is running on the track directly adjacent to the station platform. East of New Haven, since there are only two tracks, I imagine every station gets a "salute", but I believe I've seen videos of Acela trains blasting through a station without blowing the horn. I think they have train-actuated, automatic announcements that go something like "Please stand back; a train is approaching the station".
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They can pass through many stations without blowing the horn. And the announcement used at stations up that way is "Train approaching. Please remain behind yellow line."
 
Palmetto said:
Horns blow for stations only if the train is running on the track directly adjacent to the station platform. East of New Haven, since there are only two tracks, I imagine every station gets a "salute", but I believe I've seen videos of Acela trains blasting through a station without blowing the horn. I think they have train-actuated, automatic announcements that go something like "Please stand back; a train is approaching the station".
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That is the TAMS system, and unless it's faulty (usually a track circuit issue), the trains aren't required to sound their horn. Acelas fly through Kingston at 150mph without sounding any horn.

If the TAMS is down, dispatch will notify the train crew and require them to sound the horn at the station.
 
With Business Class and the Quiet Car on the rear you can add and remove coaches from the Virginia trains with one crew adding or removing the coaches, doing the move with one crew. Switching the loco and coaches together. Often the passenger load drops dramatically south of Washington so if there is a shortage of coaches having more flexible consists might alleviate the shortage.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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In Washington and Boston this also has the benefit of Business Class passengers boarding closest to the station--and the drawback (I imagine) of lots of coach passengers running into the second car not knowing it's the Quiet Car.
 
Acela150 said:
That's a simple fix by having a Conductor stand by the Business Class car stating that Business Class is here and Quiet Car is the next car.
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And you think the the people "running" to get a good seat are going to pay attention to the conductor? A problem with the quiet car, at least for me, is that the signage is not obvious. I'm looking for a seat and am not paying attention to signs hanging from the ceiling.
 
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