The summer of the AC failures: 2007?

[x-press]

Have reports of AC failures gone way up this year? I've heard a lot of reports on this and other boards, and experienced two myself (although they were on other cars).

Is there a particular part failing? Bad maintenance? Just bad luck?

I honestly can't remember ever experiencing one myself in the past (doesn't mean they didn't happen, but suggests they were more rare).

JPS

 

[battalion51]

It's normal summer time. It seemed like every summer when I was on the road 2-3 times a week we'd have to keep hitting the override, pull the popsicle trick, or get the AC looked at in Sanford. It's pretty much standard operating procedure during the summer.

 

[AlanB]

I know that I hit one failed unit on my CZ trip going westbound this summer. Things caught up at night or clouds were around, basically whenever the sun wasn't on the car. But otherwise if the sun was out, it would get quite warm in the car. Especially the bedroom end of the car. It got warm enough to melt the chocolates that my mom had brought with her.

 

[x-press]

I know that I hit one failed unit on my CZ trip going westbound this summer. Things caught up at night or clouds were around, basically whenever the sun wasn't on the car. But otherwise if the sun was out, it would get quite warm in the car. Especially the bedroom end of the car. It got warm enough to melt the chocolates that my mom had brought with her.

Alan,

I just got back from an eastbound Zephyr trip this week, and the last sleeper (which we had to go to for restrooms until they fixed our's at Denver) was practically an inferno. The heat hit you like a wall as you walked in, and I was and am convinced that the heat was on (it wasn't particularly hot out). The attendant, who seemed near tears, finally "bad-ordered" the car at Denver, and wouldn't accept more passengers.

Most disturbing, according to this attendant, the car had come out of chicago malfunctioning, and then continued through Emeryville without getting fixed!

I learned a bit about my girlfriend's travel tolerances: Four hours late? No problem. Mediocre food? Fun, like camping! Walking to another car for toilets . . . Houston, we have a problem.

JPS

 

[AlanB]

Well in my case, the problem was strickly the A/C unit's failure to keep up with the heat generated by the sun. The heat was definately not on in the car.

But the car probably should have been B/O'd at Chicago. Our attendant told me that the car seemed fine when he was setting it up in the yard, but he did admit that the car had been under cover during that time. When they backed the train down to CUS was when he first started noticing a problem.

And it was only at the bedroom end of the car. While not rosy, if you went downstairs or to the roomette end, things were cooler than down where I was in the A room. Each night things would eventually cool down enough for sleeping, and by morning I needed to pull up both the blanket and the sheet.

But each day by noon, things were once again getting quite warm.

 

[battalion51]

For those of you who don't know, the floor heaters are always on in the cars. The A/C cools the car and the floor heaters keep the temperature balanced. That's why when the A/C goes out, it gets real hot real fast. I don't know that there's a way to cut out the floor heaters on the cars. While the system doesn't seem to make sense, that's the way it is.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

For those of you who don't know, the floor heaters are always on in the cars. The A/C cools the car and the floor heaters keep the temperature balanced. That's why when the A/C goes out, it gets real hot real fast. I don't know that there's a way to cut out the floor heaters on the cars. While the system doesn't seem to make sense, that's the way it is.

Bat51, actually it is the "overhead" heat which stays on all the time. The floor heaters are usually kept turned off at the breaker until they are needed (if they work) to heat the car in the cooler weather. The overhead heat, however, has to stay on (partly of the reason you already mentioned as well as) to help eliminate the condensation so it can drain properly, and keep the coils from freezing up. I have seen some attendants cut the overhead heat off in order to try to make passengers comfortable, but it only works for a little while. I have noticed problems with water dripping (and it is not when it is raining outside) where it doesn't need to when I find out the overhead heat is has been turned off. Then usually a short time later if the overhead heat is not turned on, then the coils freeze up and the A/C doesn't work at all until they thaw.

I seem to notice on many of our cars seem to be low on refrigerant at least one time or another which tells me it leaks out. I personally believe that mechanical could do a better job with the maintainence issues with the A/C systems at the end terminals. But the folks in mechanical are so stressed with time constraints, improper staffing, and lack of tools and materials to name a few as well. And there are those few who just don't seem to care it seems. OBS gone freight.....

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

I seem to notice on many of our cars seem to be low on refrigerant at least one time or another which tells me it leaks out.

Great time of day!!! I am so smart!!! That is one ignorant looking statement there on my part!

Well duh!!! :lol: :huh: :blink:

Anyway, that was supposed to read "which tells me it (the refrigerant) leaks out "frequently" due to leaks not being repaired when it is determined the refrigerant escapes!

OBS gone freight....

 

[had8ley]

I seem to notice on many of our cars seem to be low on refrigerant at least one time or another which tells me it leaks out. I personally believe that mechanical could do a better job with the maintainence issues with the A/C systems at the end terminals. But the folks in mechanical are so stressed with time constraints, improper staffing, and lack of tools and materials to name a few as well. And there are those few who just don't seem to care it seems. OBS gone freight.....

Back in the "right and ready" days we were delayed leaving New Orleans on #2 for 2'30" account the A/C did not work (it didn't work out of LA). Curiosity got the best of me so I found where the problem was. It took two hours for two carmen to empty a large tank of freon into a visibly leaking A/C unit in the lounge car. A deaf and blind man could see and hear where it was leaking from. Overheard conversation from the two "fixers"~ "That's OK, we needed the overtime anyway." When they ran out of freon we were on our way.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

Back in the "right and ready" days we were delayed leaving New Orleans on #2 for 2'30" account the A/C did not work (it didn't work out of LA). Curiosity got the best of me so I found where the problem was. It took two hours for two carmen to empty a large tank of freon into a visibly leaking A/C unit in the lounge car. A deaf and blind man could see and hear where it was leaking from. Overheard conversation from the two "fixers"~ "That's OK, we needed the overtime anyway." When they ran out of freon we were on our way.

And why does this not surprise me? :lol: :blink:

OBS gone freight...

 

[AmtrakFan]

In 2003, I took 3 Amtrak Trips, all 3 of them had AC Failers in a Horizon Coach, Superliner Sleeper (just my room) and a Pacific parlor car, at least the Toliets were in a Good State of Repair.

 

[New train passangers]

In 2003, I took 3 Amtrak Trips, all 3 of them had AC Failers in a Horizon Coach, Superliner Sleeper (just my room) and a Pacific parlor car, at least the Toliets were in a Good State of Repair.

A couple of weeks ago, as first time train travelers, we had a sleeper and took the Coast Starlight south from Eugene, OR to LA. For the entire trip the parlor car A/C was defunct. We were told by Amtrak personnel that it had been out for "awhile". The car was uninhabitable as the day went on; the 3pm wine tasting was not enjoyable as the car was just too darn hot to relax and enjoy the ambiance and scenery.

 

[amtrak_russ]

there was a ac failure on the cap when i took it