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ACS-64s are not currently running between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, due to problems with push-pull operation which have not been made fully public. They are assigned indiscriminately to other runs between Boston and Washington, apparently just mixed in the pool with the rest.
 
Fair enough, but not the answer I was hoping for.

I was hoping I could track them down a bit easier than that if they were being introduced on set turns, nut never mind.
 
William W. said:
Interesting sight in DC Union Station. If I'm not mistaken, there's an ACS on the CL. I assume it is being moved from Chicago.
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When was the photo taken? I would have though #618 would have reached DC earlier this week, but they may have kept it in CHI for a few days.

According to a report on railroad.net, only 6 HHP-8s remain in service. If Siemens is shipping new units every several weeks, the HHP-8s may not be long for active service on Amtrak.
 
I don't know what the highest number is for an ACS-64 in operational service is at present, but I was on Regional #152 on Saturday (Aug. 9) from WAS to NYP which was pulled by #614. Has enough miles on it already to have built up a coating of bug splatter on one end. But in summer, I guess 1 NEC trip might be enough to do that.
 
Bug splatter? That's nothing, haha. The VA Service Regional I was on a few days ago had what was left of a fairly large bird stuck to the front of the locomotive.
 
Any reports on 612 or 613 in test runs or actually in service? I remember reading about some problems when they were ferried back east.
 
afigg said:
William W. said:
Interesting sight in DC Union Station. If I'm not mistaken, there's an ACS on the CL. I assume it is being moved from Chicago.
Click to expand...
When was the photo taken? I would have though #618 would have reached DC earlier this week, but they may have kept it in CHI for a few days.

According to a report on railroad.net, only 6 HHP-8s remain in service. If Siemens is shipping new units every several weeks, the HHP-8s may not be long for active service on Amtrak.
Click to expand...
As I stated today on the above board, "....and then there were 5." Take your pictures while you can.

JNaismith said:
Any reports on 612 or 613 in test runs or actually in service? I remember reading about some problems when they were ferried back east.
Click to expand...
612 has been in revenue service for at least a few weeks. 613 completed test runs but needs a few mods before it enters service. So far, 7 units are approved for any BOS train (except 66 and 67) service.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Agent said:
AMTK 619 is on Amtrak #6(16), and will be arriving in Chicago later today. It came through Batavia, Iowa running four hours and twenty minutes late.
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Thanks for the update. I did not see any reports about #619 being moved from the Sacramento plant, which says that we have reached the point where shipments of new ACS-64s are routine.
Still, when #619 gets to the NEC, it will be a bit of a milestone as the 20th unit shipped. The official plan a few years ago was to order 20 new electric locomotives to replace the AEM-7DC units. The plan changed to order 70 units to replace the entire electric locomotive fleet, so the delivery of the 20th unit matches the earlier plan order size. As it turns out, the HHP-8s may go to storage first.
 
Do the HHP-8s still break down constantly? I see them used quite a bit on MARC, so they can't be that bad. I'd imagine that MARC would take the opportunity to snap up the retired HHP-8s to replace their AEM-7s.
 
No, MARC wants absolutely nothing to do with them.

They're even more awful in start-stop commuter service.

They're so bad (and the AEM-7 rebuild was such a disaster), that MARC has no plans to purchase electric locomotives and plans on retiring all of the electrics and running an all diesel fleet.
 
Really? That's interesting. Seems like a waste to me, to not use perfectly good catenary. Then again, the next time a bunch of catenary gets ripped down, it's smooth sailing for MARC.
 

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