Amtrak car arrangement...

[Anonymous]

Does anyone out there know how Amtrak might arrange their cars in a passenger train ?. I recently purchased a P-42 engine, material handling car and four superliner coaches, but I'm not sure how they're supposed to be placed in a train. I've heard that the material handling cars are now pulled at the rear of the train for easy drop off. Otherwise I've been running them - engine, baggage, coach, diner, sleeper.

Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Not knowing for sure bugs the ----out of me!...

trainluver1

[dldance]

I just completed trips on train 51 and train 21.

Train 51 had the following - 3 coachs, diner, and sleeper. Our train also had a private car added at Cincinnati at the end of the train.

Train 21 had the following - baggage, sleeper, diner, lounge car, 3 coachs, and sleep. Note that the last coach and sleeper continue from the Texas Eagle to the Sunset Limited and continue to LA.

dd

[Anonymous]

So what you're telling me dldance is that there is no absolute arrangement ?.
How many engines were pulling your trains ?.

"Thanks"

trainluver1

[dldance]

1 engine on each train. Amtrak motive power is getting spread quite thin so that trains that used to routinely have 2 engines now are operated with one - unless ruling grades absolutely require 2.

dd

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

1 engine on each train. Amtrak motive power is getting spread quite thin so that trains that used to routinely have 2 engines now are operated with one - unless ruling grades absolutely require 2.

dd

I heard Amtrak had cut back to one engine per train. So how many passenger cars can a single engine pull I wonder ?.

trainluver1

[dldance]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainluver1

QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

1 engine on each train. Amtrak motive power is getting spread quite thin so that trains that used to routinely have 2 engines now are operated with one - unless ruling grades absolutely require 2.

dd

I heard Amtrak had cut back to one engine per train. So how many passenger cars can a single engine pull I wonder ?.

trainluver1

all they can afford to equip the train with!

dd

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainluver1

QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance

1 engine on each train. Amtrak motive power is getting spread quite thin so that trains that used to routinely have 2 engines now are operated with one - unless ruling grades absolutely require 2.

dd

I heard Amtrak had cut back to one engine per train. So how many passenger cars can a single engine pull I wonder ?.

trainluver1

all they can afford to equip the train with!

dd

Wow !. Those P-42s must be pretty powerful...

trainluver1

[richardy]

Generally Amtrak tries to position the diner next to the sleepers, the lounge next to the diner and the coaches next to the lounge. This arrangement keeps the foot traffic through the sleepers and the diner to a minimum. MHC were on the head end then on the rear.

I did say generally because on combined trains it will be different. It was really interesting when the CZ was three sections all the way from Chicago to Salt Lake!

[jeaton]

I think reducing the power to one unit where possible for operations had more to do with cost savings rather than a shortage issue.

Confirming richardy, for Superliner equiped trains it is engine(s), heritage baggage car, transition sleeper, regular sleepers, diner, lounge, coaches, express cars and/or Roadrailers.

Anybody know for sure? I thought the express cars did not have HEP lines and had to be on the rear. Also, they may be off now, but in November express cars could be seen on the Southwest Chief.

Jay

[mudchicken]

The AmBoxes, prior to the Roadrailers, rode up front between the power and the baggage car..... No. 5 (zephyr) was thru here yesterday in that configuration as it passed Utah Junction.

[jeaton]

Well, wrong again. That's three.

The real reason for eliminating the express business was because it blocked the view from the back of the Beech Grove.

Jay

[richardy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton



Confirming richardy, for Superliner equiped trains it is engine(s), heritage baggage car, transition sleeper, regular sleepers, diner, lounge, coaches, express cars and/or Roadrailers.

Anybody know for sure? I thought the express cars did not have HEP lines and had to be on the rear. Also, they may be off now, but in November express cars could be seen on the Southwest Chief.

Jay

Once in a while the Superliner consists were reversed, I rode the SW Chief twice with my sleeper on the rear.

I thought all of the Material Handling Cars (MHC) had HEP pass through, I'm not talking about the box cars and roadrailers. They always rode up front when I was riding western lines often.

The longest SW Chief I saw, which I was riding, was (4) F40PH, (10) MHC, baggage, transition/crew sleeper, (3) coaches, lounge, diner, (2) sleepers, diner (not in service). Being in the last sleeper I could see much of the train on the curves.

[spbed]

The one I saw pass thru Daggett had the MHC right behind the loco. If others have seen it in other places of the consist that would mean their is no real protocol where in the consist the car is placed. [:o)][:p][:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by richardy

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton



Confirming richardy, for Superliner equiped trains it is engine(s), heritage baggage car, transition sleeper, regular sleepers, diner, lounge, coaches, express cars and/or Roadrailers.

Anybody know for sure? I thought the express cars did not have HEP lines and had to be on the rear. Also, they may be off now, but in November express cars could be seen on the Southwest Chief.

Jay

Once in a while the Superliner consists were reversed, I rode the SW Chief twice with my sleeper on the rear.

I thought all of the Material Handling Cars (MHC) had HEP pass through, I'm not talking about the box cars and roadrailers. They always rode up front when I was riding western lines often.

The longest SW Chief I saw, which I was riding, was (4) F40PH, (10) MHC, baggage, transition/crew sleeper, (3) coaches, lounge, diner, (2) sleepers, diner (not in service). Being in the last sleeper I could see much of the train on the curves.

[Anonymous]

Hey guys. I had an Amtrak employee from California e-mail me out of the blue. He said that Amtrak usually limits one engine to every five passenger cars now a days, and maybe an express box or two. He said there's no certain way of making up a consist, and that it might be a diner, sleeper, coach or what ever depending on how they fall together as they pick them up.

Thanks for all of your help with this.

trainluver1

[spbed]

Watch the Ft. Madison cam from 1000 hours CDT foward. There is a A/trak that floats by every day & you can see the makup for yourself. Also, todays train had 3 locos. If you do not have the link here it is [:D][:o)][:I][:p]

http://www.livetrains.com/plugins/cam/default.asp

Originally posted by trainluver1

Originally posted by dldance
[

Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR  Austin TX Sub

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