Say the Magical Budd Fairy Leaves Amtrak X Cars of Their Choice...

Alright, assume that you're an Amtrak executive who's just been handed a restricted wish of sorts: You can have a slab of new cars handed to you, either brand new or very near to it (perhaps "discovered" in some railyard in very good condition) and you have the funding needed to refurbish them if anything is needed. Assuming that you are restricted to LD trains:

1) What cars do you want?

2) Where do you want to use them? What services would you focus on expanding/restoring/extending?

For the purposes of this...try not to get too outlandish, but assume perhaps a batch no larger than the Viewliner order that recently got placed, though you can pull a mix of Superliners and Viewliners. You've still got all the "normal" operating constraints...and yes, replacing existing cars is a fair use here. You're also supposed to try and make the cars...well, not turn a profit, but not lose too much money.

Anderson said:

Alright, assume that you're an Amtrak executive who's just been handed a restricted wish of sorts: You can have a slab of new cars handed to you, either brand new or very near to it (perhaps "discovered" in some railyard in very good condition) and you have the funding needed to refurbish them if anything is needed. Assuming that you are restricted to LD trains:

1) What cars do you want?

2) Where do you want to use them? What services would you focus on expanding/restoring/extending?

For the purposes of this...try not to get too outlandish, but assume perhaps a batch no larger than the Viewliner order that recently got placed, though you can pull a mix of Superliners and Viewliners. You've still got all the "normal" operating constraints...and yes, replacing existing cars is a fair use here. You're also supposed to try and make the cars...well, not turn a profit, but not lose too much money.

Click to expand...

Enough Superliners and Viewliners to go 12hr schedules on the LD's. Then enough cars to do 6 hr regionals, regular bi-level or single level, Talgo if noticeable improvement in running times. Then if the corridors have enough demand increase the LD and region frequencies as needed.

In other words enough to run a First Class/Sleeper Class limited stop express every 12hrs (combined benefits of Acela and LD) and regionals every 4-6hrs.

Of course you would need a visit from the track fairy and locomotive fairy also.....

I agree with the previous Poster, the mix on Viewliner IIs and Superliner Sleepers are desperatly needed, if nothing else just to meet the current demand on existing routes!

Consideration needs to be given to replacing more of the Heritage Diners, converting the CCCs back to more Diner Like Cars and perhaps a few Restored Domes for the Cardinal/Zephyr,Builder and Starlite to replace the PPCs when they are retired rather than putting another CCC or Sightseer Lounge on in their place! Dont think well see the 12 hour schedules any time soon, the freight traffic is picking up and UP is already tryiong to Rob Amtrak for a daily Sunset/Eagle and their dispatchers are still giving freights the right away on most of the routes! Nice dream however! :wub:

jimhudson said:

I agree with the previous Poster, the mix on Viewliner IIs and Superliner Sleepers are desperatly needed, if nothing else just to meet the current demand on existing routes!

Consideration needs to be given to replacing more of the Heritage Diners, converting the CCCs back to more Diner Like Cars and perhaps a few Restored Domes for the Cardinal/Zephyr,Builder and Starlite to replace the PPCs when they are retired rather than putting another CCC or Sightseer Lounge on in their place! Dont think well see the 12 hour schedules any time soon, the freight traffic is picking up and UP is already tryiong to Rob Amtrak for a daily Sunset/Eagle and their dispatchers are still giving freights the right away on most of the routes! Nice dream however! :wub:

Click to expand...

Fariries, Magic and sweettalking are going to do nothing but take up space.

what is needed is for a poster to price out the cost to make it work and mail a check fo the Bureau of Public Debt in Parkersburg WV

Wouldn't we need a visit from the General Electric or Bombardier Alstom fairy too?

I often meant to ask this but kept forgetting, namely of taking some Superliner 1's, or any passenger rail car for that matter, and replacing their truck assemblies with the improved versions of Superliner II? I know that the 1's and 2's ride on different truck types. Is it possible within reason?

Aside from that, my answer to the Amtrak Rolling Stock Fairy/Genie is similar to the above: enough Viewliners (but better stability and less rattling than the current fleet) and Superliners of all versions (sleeper, diner, lounge, and coach) to handle the masses. Then comes Acela II, four inches narrower and all the flaws resolved. Finally, an Amfleet III of some type.

The Rail Jenie can bring out all the positive changes needed for 180mph Acela trains to ply the NE Corridor as well as other routes where high speed rail needs have been identified (Chicago to Detroit, the various California and Texas and Florida routes, etc.). The routes of the Silver Star, Meteor, Palm, and Auto Train have CSX's cruel joke of single tracked, congestion stricken, and bad maintenance syndrome, bedeviling all of them -- fixing all that nonsense is my 2nd wish to the Rail/Track Genie. The 3rd would be to finish double tracking the Sunset Limited's UP route.

I know a Bonus Genie to conjur up a little witch/warlock craft as needed, but it's been hard to reach nowadays..

:-D

Slumbercoaches Slumbercoaches Slumbercoaches I would ask the fairy for an order of single level and a new bi-level design.

I think Amtrak could benefit from three classes of service on its LD routes. In this plan first class would get a few more perks to make it feel like the good old days, with second class getting little more than a bed and being second in line for dinner service.

If I had anything left I would get a few more viewliners to bring back some overnight services ( twilight shoreliner, Silver palm, Montrealer, etc)

And heck maybe a few more overnight services out west but now I am getting ahead of myself

NE933 said:

I know a Bonus Genie to conjur up a little witch/warlock craft as needed, but it's been hard to reach nowadays..

Click to expand...

I've a few witch friends. Let's see what they can whip up!

Anderson said:

Alright, assume that you're an Amtrak executive who's just been handed a restricted wish of sorts: You can have a slab of new cars handed to you, either brand new or very near to it (perhaps "discovered" in some railyard in very good condition) and you have the funding needed to refurbish them if anything is needed. Assuming that you are restricted to LD trains:

1) What cars do you want?

2) Where do you want to use them? What services would you focus on expanding/restoring/extending?

For the purposes of this...try not to get too outlandish, but assume perhaps a batch no larger than the Viewliner order that recently got placed, though you can pull a mix of Superliners and Viewliners. You've still got all the "normal" operating constraints...and yes, replacing existing cars is a fair use here. You're also supposed to try and make the cars...well, not turn a profit, but not lose too much money.

Click to expand...

Oh, well, I though this was a "which routes would you open up if you found a box full of rolling stock ("Thats all locked up with locks!"), where would you introduce new trains? Or replace existing equipment?

Well, considering that if I found a box full of 120-250 rail cars, Amtrak would have an immediate equipment surplus. With this, the new rolling stock can be put on existing trains while the older cars go back to Beech Grove to be upgraded with modern amenities like Wi-fi and better trucks, enabling them to handle higher speeds.

On current routes, I would introduce:

A second Heartland Flyer

Another Silver train.

Another train along the Water Level Route (LSL's route)

Two more trains between Dallas and San Antonio.

Corridor service between Boston and Albany.

Several trains between MSP and CHI.

A Lincoln-Chicago Train.

Another daily train directly serving Kansas City and Chicago.

2 more Missouri River Runners.

A second ATL-NYP train.

Several SAS-HOU trains.

Another daily train between New Orleans and Chicago.

A second Capitol Limited.

A second Little Rock-St Louis train.

A second Glenwood Canyon-Denver train.

A second train between SF and LA.

A second train between Cincy and Chicago.

Really, that's all I can think of at this point (using existing routes).

Little Rock-St. Louis is the only one there that surprises me...I'd never thought of that. ATL-NYP and a lot of the other lines have come to mind (direct LA-San Francisco could work if the CA Gov't decided to use ED to get access on that overcrowded pass); Glenwood Canyon-Denver seems to have the demand for either a contracted ski train "riding along" with the CZ (albeit with the added advantage of more distance covered), and the Silvers keep coming up. But Little Rock-St. Louis...how did that come to mind?

Anderson said:

Little Rock-St. Louis is the only one there that surprises me...I'd never thought of that. ATL-NYP and a lot of the other lines have come to mind (direct LA-San Francisco could work if the CA Gov't decided to use ED to get access on that overcrowded pass); Glenwood Canyon-Denver seems to have the demand for either a contracted ski train "riding along" with the CZ (albeit with the added advantage of more distance covered), and the Silvers keep coming up. But Little Rock-St. Louis...how did that come to mind?

Click to expand...

Little Rock - St Louis is currently served by Amtrak in the middle of the night. An additional train would provide daylight service. Although it's probably going to be state-supported train.

Superliner 3: To restore service on Pioneer, North Coast Limited, Desert Wind, and Floridian, as well as expand current consists on current routes, expand current spare factors, and provide daily Sunset Limited from Florida to LA, 275 cars, consisting of 35 Transition Sleepers, 68 Standard sleepers, 21 Parlor cars, 30 Dining cars, 23 lounge cars, 68 coaches, and 30 coach baggages. (the numbers are precise, based on either my assumption for what a consist would need, or amtraks published PRIIA data, assuming 20% spare factors on all new equipment. I added 10 Transitions to the top as there is a current shortage.)

Viewliner 2: I'd order the viewliner option order, as It would probably cover my desire to see a third Silver frequency, Daily cardinal, and some sort of Three Rivers/Broadway Limited restoration.

Viewliner 3: 150 Viewcoaches and 25 Viewlounges, to bump the Amfleet IIs into intermediate distance services such as Carolinian/Palmetto/Pennsylvanian/NEC Business class, and 15 Parlor cars for Silver Service trains.

jimhudson said:

I agree with the previous Poster, the mix on Viewliner IIs and Superliner Sleepers are desperatly needed, if nothing else just to meet the current demand on existing routes!

Consideration needs to be given to replacing more of the Heritage Diners, converting the CCCs back to more Diner Like Cars and perhaps a few Restored Domes for the Cardinal/Zephyr,Builder and Starlite to replace the PPCs when they are retired rather than putting another CCC or Sightseer Lounge on in their place! Dont think well see the 12 hour schedules any time soon, the freight traffic is picking up and UP is already tryiong to Rob Amtrak for a daily Sunset/Eagle and their dispatchers are still giving freights the right away on most of the routes! Nice dream however! :wub:

Click to expand...

Good insight Jim. I'd only like to add to what has already been posted~ the UP exists to make money~ if one of the UPS hot shots was late when I was still working UPS paid nothing, zero, zilch to the UP. Being late didn't help UPS or the UP but maybe it will give a better perspective as to why we sat hours in a siding in west Texas on # 1 and watched three hot shots pass us going in the SAME direction.It can, and probably will, happen again. And I don't care what the banners say about giving Amtrak priority in the Omaha bunker~ prove it. :help:

had8ley said:

jimhudson said:

I agree with the previous Poster, the mix on Viewliner IIs and Superliner Sleepers are desperatly needed, if nothing else just to meet the current demand on existing routes!

Consideration needs to be given to replacing more of the Heritage Diners, converting the CCCs back to more Diner Like Cars and perhaps a few Restored Domes for the Cardinal/Zephyr,Builder and Starlite to replace the PPCs when they are retired rather than putting another CCC or Sightseer Lounge on in their place! Dont think well see the 12 hour schedules any time soon, the freight traffic is picking up and UP is already tryiong to Rob Amtrak for a daily Sunset/Eagle and their dispatchers are still giving freights the right away on most of the routes! Nice dream however! :wub:

Click to expand...

Good insight Jim. I'd only like to add to what has already been posted~ the UP exists to make money~ if one of the UPS hot shots was late when I was still working UPS paid nothing, zero, zilch to the UP. Being late didn't help UPS or the UP but maybe it will give a better perspective as to why we sat hours in a siding in west Texas on # 1 and watched three hot shots pass us going in the SAME direction.It can, and probably will, happen again. And I don't care what the banners say about giving Amtrak priority in the Omaha bunker~ prove it. :help:

Click to expand...

What UP is doing is supposed to be illegal under the law that gives Amtrak priority. (The priority law is as old as Amtrak, but...) Apparently back in 2008, a law was put into place that gave the FRA some serious teeth in their enforcement. The FRA really needs to come down hard on UP for doing things like this, regardless how hot their trains are. Gee, how about a fine worth more than the revenue of each of those trains that pass Amtrak?

I don't have a link to the exact law, but it was apparently under an FRA document about "How Amtrak gets delayed" and such. One example they show is dispatches giving priority to "Hotshot" intermodals.

If UP keeps on doing this, then the following should happen:

1) UP will not be allowed to be given any money for double-tracking the sunset corridor.

2) Amtrak can legally be allowed to pay their rent to UP, as UP is violating their contract.

3) Every UP train that gets priority over Amtrak gets heavily taxed to the point where all profits are erased.

If UP doesn't like this, then they can give Amtrak the priority.

A couple of thoughts:

I'd re-introduce service through Madison, WI, as the train works its way across Wisconsin, in both directions. I realize that this particular dream assumes that I have some funds for upgrading of tracks.

An additional train between Saint Paul & Chicago, along the existing route through Wisconsin (serving Madison, of course). Then a train between Winnipeg, MB, and Chicago, serving as yet another frequency of service between Grand Forks, ND, along the Builder route, through Saint Paul, to Chicago. Winnipeg and its suburbs have a population of over 700,000, and it makes sense to me to offer service between Chicago, Wisconsin, St. Paul, & Winnipeg before any service along the old North Coast Hi route.