Bad News for a Heritage Dining Car

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Wow, I was expecting the entire roof, for 15 feet or more, to have been "can opened" shear off. This looks more like a simple fender bender. :D
 
Neil_M said:
printman2000 said:
Yeah, not too bad at all. Unless there is some structural damage we can not see.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't have liked to be stood under it though......
Click to expand...
Would have needed some serious car cleaning where I was standing (not to mention a change of underwear) if I'd been standing there when it happened.... :blink:

But it doesn't look too bad, so hopefully it'll be back before long. Just hope the car didn't freeze up or something else while it was left sitting there alone.
 
Looks like they were attaching a piece of metal to cover the gash. I assume it is a temporary measure to keep the damage from getting worse. I am doubting they will actually use the car before doing permanent repairs. Just my gut feeling, don't know that for sure.
 
If that temporary repair does the job and meets FRA standards, I doubt they'd do a more permanent job. If they have to, my guess is this car will make only one more trip- to the scrapper. The Heritage fleet is in the very twilight of its revenue life. The lengths and money put into repairing cars goes down as they age.

That car is 8551, ex Chicago, Burlington and Qunicy "Silver Diner" 194. It was built by Budd in 1948(!) for the California Zephyr. That means it is old enough to collect social security, being 62 years old. Keep in mind that the Superliner I diners people have talked of retiring with the next order are precisely half that age. Putting thousands of dollars into repairing that thing when it is going to be gone within 5-6 years (Viewliner diners delivered or not, in all likelihood) means that picture-perfect repairs makes not sense.
 
Green Maned Lion said:
It was built by Budd in 1948(!) for the California Zephyr. That means it is old enough to collect social security, being 62 years old.
Click to expand...
Former Amtrak execs must now run Social Security. People are now kept working until they are 67 years old. :blink:
 
Reported on another forum (by a person who said he wasthe engineer on the Amtrak train that was hit)...

There was insulation as well as sheet metal torn up all along the edges....as well as broken pipeage sticking out too. In that pic those pipes had to have already been cut off to put those patches back on.
Click to expand...
So it seems this is just a temporary patch. Maybe just to get it to Beech Grove where they will then decide if it is worth fixing. Lets hope they decide to fix it. I assume they will get insurance money for the damage.
 
Green Maned Lion said:
If that temporary repair does the job and meets FRA standards, I doubt they'd do a more permanent job. If they have to, my guess is this car will make only one more trip- to the scrapper. The Heritage fleet is in the very twilight of its revenue life. The lengths and money put into repairing cars goes down as they age.
That car is 8551, ex Chicago, Burlington and Qunicy "Silver Diner" 194. It was built by Budd in 1948(!) for the California Zephyr. That means it is old enough to collect social security, being 62 years old. Keep in mind that the Superliner I diners people have talked of retiring with the next order are precisely half that age. Putting thousands of dollars into repairing that thing when it is going to be gone within 5-6 years (Viewliner diners delivered or not, in all likelihood) means that picture-perfect repairs makes not sense.
Click to expand...
Being one of the more famous and historical cars, I would hope its final trip would be to a museum, perhaps the Illinois Railway Museum. Then it can be "undone" and restored to original interior and exterior.
 
I'll be keeping my eye on the rail car auctions. Maybe this will make a historic trip to the location of my new kitchen/dining room / lounge.
 
Green Maned Lion said:
I'll be keeping my eye on the rail car auctions. Maybe this will make a historic trip to the location of my new kitchen/dining room / lounge.
Click to expand...
Just out of curiosity, where does Amtrak post surplus car sales? I've seen sites like Ozark Mtn Railcar, but those seem more focused on reselling private cars.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top