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What Amfleet cars were pulled by the Amtrak gg1's?

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  • Member since
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What Amfleet cars were pulled by the Amtrak gg1's?
Posted by DAVID FORTNEY on Friday, February 3, 2017 3:27 PM

Were they phase 1 or 2 or combination of both or something else? 

Thanks for your help

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Posted by MidlandPacific on Friday, February 3, 2017 9:13 PM

Probably both I and II.  The Am Is were delivered between 1975 and 1977, and the last G hauled train was in 1980.  Livery transitions tend to be multi year affairs, because the cars usually get the livery redone when they come in for one of the larger PMs, like an annual, or an overhaul.  So there tend to be periods when you can see multiple liveries in one train.

http://mprailway.blogspot.com

"The first transition era - wood to steel!"

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Posted by ACY Tom on Friday, February 3, 2017 10:12 PM

If Midland is correct that the GG1's were withdrawn in 1980 (Edit: Ed, below, says 1981), then Amfleet I's were certainly hauled by them. The Amfleet I's were generally used in Northeast Corridor service, which was home turf to the G's. The Amfleet II's are a bit more iffy. There were 125 Amfleet II coaches and 25 Amfleet II lounges ordered in 1980 to replace aging maintenance-intensive Heritage cars. (Edit: Info from Ed, below, says the first II's were delivered 1981). Some of the very first ones might have been used in long distance trains that were hauled by GG1's for a portion of their run, but this would have lasted only a very short time before all the GG1's were withdrawn. So I guess the answer is, "Maybe, for a short time."

For those who don't know, the two groups of Amfleet cars look very similar, except that Amfleet I's have vestibules on both ends, while Amfleet II's have only one vestibule. The window arrangement is the same because the Amfleet II's were rushed into production because of a dire need to replace the old cars. A different window arrangement would have required re-engineering the structure of the sides, and there wasn't time for that. The Amfleet I's have more seats with less leg room because they were always intended for short trips. Since the II's were intended for long distance runs, they have different, more spacious restrooms and more space between seats for more legroom. Since the window arrangement is unchanged, some Amfleet II coach seats have a better view than others due to better alignnment with the windows.

Tom 

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Posted by gmpullman on Saturday, February 4, 2017 10:37 PM

DAVID FORTNEY
Were they phase 1 or 2 or combination of both or something else? 

Plenty of basic Amfleet information here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amfleet

The last 40 of Amtrak's GG1s were retired on May 1, 1981. Thirteen GG1s continued service with New Jersey Transit, only six of which were in service, with the last run on October 29, 1983.

If I recall correctly there were some Amfleet cars on the last run specials run by NJT.

OR are you asking about the "Paint Phase" which is generally the term used to describe the progression of the Amtrak Paint schemes? The Amfleet cars wore many paint styles including the five "phases" of red-white and blue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak_paint_schemes

Here's a photo of Amtrak 10001 which was converted from an Amfleet I to a track inspection car.

Regards, Ed

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Posted by ACY Tom on Sunday, February 5, 2017 9:50 AM

Now and then we would get a Long Distance consist in which an Amfleet I was put in place of the usual Amfleet II. This was always an inconvenience for all concerned, but it did occasionally happen.

Tom

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Posted by NorthWest on Sunday, February 5, 2017 12:09 PM

Late in life Gs did haul Amfleet 1s in Phase II paint to sub in for the ailing Metroliner cars. They had fun at high speeds as the brakes for the lighter Amfleet cars had much more trouble stopping the quite large mass of the GG1 from higher speeds than even the earlier lightweight streamliner cars.

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