Horizon Coach Numbering

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battalion51

Engineer
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Aug 23, 2002
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A couple of questions regarding the Horizon fleet. Are all cars MUable? Second, did most of the coaches start in the 540xx series and get renumbered to 545xx when they got ADA setup or what? Also what the differnece between a non ADA and an ADA Dinette? Thanks y'all.
 
IIRC the whole Horizon fleet is Mu able. They were specifically built for short haul push pull service. Then some were converted to midrange service.

Not 100% shure of the differences in the dinnettes, but I presume they added a handicap restroom for the cars serving as a business class/dinnette.
 
I've been wondering about the Horizon ADA/numbering system, too. What particularly confuses me is why certain cars being remanufactured at Beech Grove right now (540xx coaches, and the 530xx to 580xx club-dinettes) aren't being converted to ADA standards. Since they're basically removing the entire interior and putting in all new furnishings anyway, it would *seem* like a logical thing to do.

Oh well. The Horizon fleet seems like the "forgotten" fleet at Amtrak anyway. The Amfleets have a billion and a half different configurations, and they're being rebuilt and renumbered and repainted all the time. I'd say a good 1/3 or so of the Horizon fleet is still in the Phase III paint. Sometime in the 1990s or so, a bunch of the cars got upgraded with new seats, hard walls instead of carpeted walls, and the addition of a pair of electrical outlets at each seat pair. But until the recent remanufacturing, nothing else was ever done to the cars.

The Amfleet Is got Capstoned (even though some of the same equipment had been "Northeast Directed" a few years earlier). The Horizons were actually slated for *RETIREMENT* under the Warrington administration. Go figure.
 
I have to say I agree with the Capstone move during the Warrington era. The Amfleets were (and some still are) showing their age, and in the whole Acela Regional love affair it was necessary to ugrade the Amfleets with new cushions, carpeting, interior color schemes, and electrical outlets. I do still the Acela paint on Amfleets was stupid. Long live IV!
 
battalion51 said:
I have to say I agree with the Capstone move during the Warrington era. The Amfleets were (and some still are) showing their age, and in the whole Acela Regional love affair it was necessary to ugrade the Amfleets with new cushions, carpeting, interior color schemes, and electrical outlets. I do still the Acela paint on Amfleets was stupid. Long live IV!
I concur. Thoe amfleets with their originol intirior have long overdue for replacement seat cushions.
 
One need not rebuild the entire car to replace the seat cushions (Horizons are a perfect example of that).
 
We're talking about more than cushions here with the Amfleets, the entire car was starting to look worn. The overhaul has done wonders to the feeling in the cars. Also remember the Amfleets are a good 12-15 years older than the Horizon fleet.
 
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