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  1. J

    Viewliner II Part 4: Sleeping Car production, delivery, deployment

    Depends what the complete plans are. They may plan to remove all of the modules and replace them with new ones as part of the overhaul. I know they want to remove the roomette toilets but can that be done by overhauling the existing modules either inside or outside the car?
  2. J

    Nashville to Atlanta line

    Not familiar at all (other than a quick glance at openrailwaymap and a 2005 ETT). Is the W&A sub also the route of Q025/Q026 a/k/a The Prince of Darkness?
  3. J

    Nashville to Atlanta line

    All single track with lots of 35-45 mph running. Doesn't sound very promising.
  4. J

    Williamsburg - just..(times of train to DC)?

    1.) All politics are local. North side (and their elected reps) wants "their share." 2.) The North side also has a military base (JB Langley-Eustis) and two public universities (William and Mary and CNU).
  5. J

    RFP issued for Amfleet I replacement

    NJT switches to 25kV/60Hz at Matawan. I believe they were able to extend to Matawan off the original grid ending at South Amboy.
  6. J

    Viewliner II Part 3: Bag/Dorm Car Production, Delivery, Speculation

    Knowing how FRA implements ADA (example non-ADA bathrooms closed to all passengers on the Hartford Line), I would sadly agree with this. We aren't going to see them adding the sleeper capacity back to the Night Owl.
  7. J

    Auto Train Coach Food Being Removed 1/14/2020?

    Did a sleeper get added when the coach diner was dropped? I know a "full" AT is around 17 Superliners and 33-34 autoracks and that hasn't changed after October 1. I frequently watch the Ashland rail cam whose live chat has made a game out of guessing the number of locos/Superliners/racks in...
  8. J

    RFP issued for Amfleet I replacement

    I agree. Really it's a matter of designing the transformer big enough for 25 Hz* (and European systems go as low as 16.7 Hz) and having an 11/12 kV tap and a 25 kV tap with an auto tap changer. The input inverters will handle any voltage discrepancy between 11 kV PRR and 12.5 kV MetroNorth...
  9. J

    Viewliner II Part 3: Bag/Dorm Car Production, Delivery, Speculation

    Is it really testing when they've replaced the baggage cars? Amtrak really needs 15* to reach a critical mass to assign them to two LD routes (usually 6 trainsets per route). Four trainsets can cover the eastern routes, but with crew size reductions on the East, they really should be used out...
  10. J

    New dining options (flex dining) effective October 1, 2019

    Also the salaries need to reflect time away from home living out of a bag and the long hours and lack of sleep. If a cafe car is open from 6 AM to 11 PM, then the attendant gets at most 5 hours of sleep. Less if there's clean up and start up.
  11. J

    Visualizing RR routes on maps

    Indeed, and sometimes I've found that openstreetmap (on which it's supposedly based) often has better information like mileposts. There are also times where the track overlay orange/yellow/brown/black is completely missing yet the underlying layer shows track. It's supposedly a collabroative...
  12. J

    Acela 21 (Avelia Liberty) development, testing and deployment

    I believe the A2's traction motors are frame-suspended (that is they're part of the "sprung" portion of the trucks) as are the ACS-64s. Frame suspension reduces impact on the tracks (vs nose suspended riding on the unsprung axle) and improves ride quality but requires the railroad equivalent...
  13. J

    Acela 21 (Avelia Liberty) development, testing and deployment

    A lot of that is a result of the introduction of the FRA Tier II standards during the design and production of the Acela Is. They weren't supposed to have two power cars, but a power car and a cab so they ended up with double the needed power. The design changes also caused the weight to shoot...
  14. J

    Visualizing RR routes on maps

    This one's good for the most part, it's largely based on openstreetmap info. Abandonedrails is hit or miss. Chicagorailfan has some good maps of former routes. The Amtrak tracker map is good for Amtrak routes for the most part except the BBRR segment of the Cardinal.
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