Amtrak In Oct. TRAINS

[WhoozOn1st]

Buy, beg, borrow, or... Well, I don't advocate theft. But if you can lay your hands on a copy of the October issue of Trains magazine you'll be pleased, I think, by the greater-than-usual Amtrak content. Amtrak isn't the magazine's cover story, as it was a while back, but a fair portion is given over to our favorite passenger railroad:

"Beech Grove To The Rescue" is a look at Amtrak's heavy shops in Indiana - with a glance at the Bear, Delaware operation as well - and gives a decent rundown of the use to which Amtrak's economic stimulus money has been put.

"Beating the rental car blues" covers the issue of acquiring wheels at Amtrak destinations, and includes a table of train stations with the easiest car rentals, with some surprises.

Regular feature "Ask Trains" answers the eternal question "What's the deal with baggage cars?" and a monthly columnist sheds light on some dastardly doings surrounding Amtrak's recently-ended tenure as contract operator of Virginia Railway Express.

On the non-Amtrak front, the edition reports on the progress of light rail in Dallas, and visits rain-soaked railroading around Seattle. Both cities are potential sites for future Amtrak Unlimited Annual Gatherings.

 

[DAWall]

It's a very interesting read. One item that surprised me. They are going to put the 8400 Viewliner diner on Superliner II trucks. And just as an FYI for everyone, as of when Trains went to press with this article in April, the diner was only 3 percent complete. So it has a long way to go. Also as a point of interest, they show a picture of what the kitchen area of 8400 will look like. (the plan is taped to the inside of the car)

 

[Guest]

:hi: Thanks for the heads up Whooz! Notice that your PV, the Big Dome, is back in action on the Siurfliners, glad you gave permission to let Amtrak send it back East for a brief spell on the Cardinal (a ride not to miss! :wub: )and Adirondack! Also feel that your potential cantidates for a Gathering can be topped by Oakland and Portland,Oregon (aka Chez_traveler West! ^_^ ), nothing against Dallas but as Yogi Berra didn't say," it's too popular, no-one goes there anymore!" :lol:

 

[GregL]

That issue was a good one. Several years ago Beech Grove had an open house, and I couldn't go,sure wish they would have another! Would love to see it sometime!

GregL

 

[WhoozOn1st]

I thought the most interesting - and troubling - aspect of the Beech Grove article was how closely, and accidentally, avoided was the loss of institutional knowledge and specialized skills in passenger railcar rehabilitation.

If all those veterans had retired without the opportunity to transmit their expertise to new workers, Amtrak, and yet another facet of America's industrial capacity, would have been in a worse place than they already are.

 

[NE933]

I thought the most interesting - and troubling - aspect of the Beech Grove article was how closely, and accidentally, avoided was the loss of institutional knowledge and specialized skills in passenger railcar rehabilitation.

If all those veterans had retired without the opportunity to transmit their expertise to new workers, Amtrak, and yet another facet of America's industrial capacity, would have been in in a worse place than they already are.

oH, but it already has and all of us ARE in the awful place. Generational loss of specialized craft expertise is directly responsible for 8400 being only 3% complete, after having been there for over a year and a half. I would scrap this horror film of broken hopes with the original shell and let CAF do their thing with the Viewliner 2 diners. Amtrak would be better releasing the workers on this fragmented abortion onto the Superliner fleet. Then what I would do is make the Cardinal and the Lake Shore Limited Superliner trains, as is often done when one of the regular trainsets are delayed beyond the time to properly clean and turn it around. Doing this would free up lots of Viewliners to expand the consists of both Florida trains, plus Crescent, and restore sleeper on trains 66/67 (Night Owl).

 

[AlanB]

I thought the most interesting - and troubling - aspect of the Beech Grove article was how closely, and accidentally, avoided was the loss of institutional knowledge and specialized skills in passenger railcar rehabilitation.

If all those veterans had retired without the opportunity to transmit their expertise to new workers, Amtrak, and yet another facet of America's industrial capacity, would have been in in a worse place than they already are.

oH, but it already has and all of us ARE in the awful place. Generational loss of specialized craft expertise is directly responsible for 8400 being only 3% complete, after having been there for over a year and a half. I would scrap this horror film of broken hopes with the original shell and let CAF do their thing with the Viewliner 2 diners. Amtrak would be better releasing the workers on this fragmented abortion onto the Superliner fleet. Then what I would do is make the Cardinal and the Lake Shore Limited Superliner trains, as is often done when one of the regular trainsets are delayed beyond the time to properly clean and turn it around. Doing this would free up lots of Viewliners to expand the consists of both Florida trains, plus Crescent, and restore sleeper on trains 66/67 (Night Owl).

Forgetting the issue of Superliner's don't fit into Penn Station, if Amtrak had enough Superliner's to equip the LSL & the Card sitting around, they'd already be using them on the Western trains, either to simply expand the current consists or perhaps to run a new train. There aren't enough spare Superliners to equip both trains; even after the wreck repairs are done.

 

[Trogdor]

oH, but it already has and all of us ARE in the awful place. Generational loss of specialized craft expertise is directly responsible for 8400 being only 3% complete, after having been there for over a year and a half. I would scrap this horror film of broken hopes with the original shell and let CAF do their thing with the Viewliner 2 diners. Amtrak would be better releasing the workers on this fragmented abortion onto the Superliner fleet. Then what I would do is make the Cardinal and the Lake Shore Limited Superliner trains, as is often done when one of the regular trainsets are delayed beyond the time to properly clean and turn it around. Doing this would free up lots of Viewliners to expand the consists of both Florida trains, plus Crescent, and restore sleeper on trains 66/67 (Night Owl).

Actually, part of the reason 8400 hasn't been worked on is because the workers have been working on other equipment instead. Lots of Superliners have been coming out of Beech Grove in the past few months, including a handful that had not turned a wheel in revenue service this millennium prior to this summer.

You'll never make the Lake Shore a Superliner train. It simply won't make sense. (To say it is done "often" is an gross overstatement, unless you consider once or twice per year to be often.) Besides, there aren't enough Superliners (not even dead ones sitting around Beech Grove) to make the Lake Shore and Cardinal both Superliner trains, especially if you want to see any of the other route improvements implemented.

The 8400 will be done. It's not like there is a stockroom full of Viewliner diner parts just waiting to be installed in that car. They have to be designed, ordered (or fabricated), and delivered first. It's just that getting a few dozen other cars up and running in the mean time took priority.

 

[AlanB]

The 8400 will be done. It's not like there is a stockroom full of Viewliner diner parts just waiting to be installed in that car. They have to be designed, ordered (or fabricated), and delivered first. It's just that getting a few dozen other cars up and running in the mean time took priority.

I also wonder if part of the delay on 8400 was due to the fact that it is supposed to serve as the test bed for the newly designed modules that will go into the new Viewliner II dining cars. There would have been little need to rush work on that car until Amtrak was actually sure that they were buying Viewliner II's and signed a contract for them, which IIRC, just happened last month.

 

[NE933]

No I have not forgotten Superliners can't fit into NYC; what I mean't was to make the Cardinal chicago to Washington, DC, and the Lake Shore Chicago to Boston. At Albany passengers for NYC transfer to a P32DM and Amfleet consist into Penn Station. The idea is intended as a temporary measure until CAF's awaited date of October 2012, when the first cars are born.

 

[AlanB]

No I have not forgotten Superliners can't fit into NYC; what I mean't was to make the Cardinal chicago to Washington, DC, and the Lake Shore Chicago to Boston. At Albany passengers for NYC transfer to a P32DM and Amfleet consist into Penn Station. The idea is intended as a temporary measure until CAF's awaited date of October 2012, when the first cars are born.

I wasn't trying to suggest that you had forgotten that, my apologies if that's the impression I gave. I was trying to say "putting that issue aside that they don't fit, Amtrak doesn't have enough Superliners to do what you're suggesting." If they did have enough, then the fact that Superliner's don't fit would become an issue.

And it would be a big issue. It wouldn't stun me to find that you'd lose half the ridership of that train by forcing a transfer in Albany. Ridership on the Boston section did that when that side had a transfer; it's since gone way back up thanks to the through service. But still, NY probably accounts for 1/3 to 1/2 that train's ridership, halving it would not be a good idea.

Finally, I don't believe that Boston can handle Superliners either. There could be catenary issues and there would be a huge issue with the fact that neither Back Bay nor South Station has any low level platforms, and therefore there would be no way to get on or off the train.

 

[Donctor]

No I have not forgotten Superliners can't fit into NYC; what I mean't was to make the Cardinal chicago to Washington, DC, and the Lake Shore Chicago to Boston. At Albany passengers for NYC transfer to a P32DM and Amfleet consist into Penn Station. The idea is intended as a temporary measure until CAF's awaited date of October 2012, when the first cars are born.

I wasn't trying to suggest that you had forgotten that, my apologies if that's the impression I gave. I was trying to say "putting that issue aside that they don't fit, Amtrak doesn't have enough Superliners to do what you're suggesting." If they did have enough, then the fact that Superliner's don't fit would become an issue.

And it would be a big issue. It wouldn't stun me to find that you'd lose half the ridership of that train by forcing a transfer in Albany. Ridership on the Boston section did that when that side had a transfer; it's since gone way back up thanks to the through service. But still, NY probably accounts for 1/3 to 1/2 that train's ridership, halving it would not be a good idea.

Finally, I don't believe that Boston can handle Superliners either. There could be catenary issues and there would be a huge issue with the fact that neither Back Bay nor South Station has any low level platforms, and therefore there would be no way to get on or off the train.

I think Amtrak looked at that a while back and determined that BOS can't fit Superliner.