first day of the Sprinter

[sp2353]

I rode the Sprinter on the first day, March 9, between Escondido and Oceanside. It was great.

It was standing room only, with four car trains.

[blue streak 1]

Humm: wonder if that will translate to more riders on the Coaster and METRA?

[Jack_S]

I went down to Oceanside via Surfliner to rde the Sprinter on Sunday March 16th with 3 other members of the RR Travel Meetup Group.  3 of us went from Fullerton and one joined us at Irvine.  We got to Oceanside on time at 9:14 and walked the short distance to the Sprinter terminus.  A 1-car train came in and we left at 9:33, on time.

The ride was smooth, except we could feel a definite small lurch as the transmission shifted.  What sp2353 calls a 4 car train is actually 2 cars. We talked to the engineer in Escondido and he educated us.  Each articulated set is counted as one car since it cannot be separated.  But it is a very long articulated car.  It is easy to see that when a 2nd car is hooked up that is as long as the platforms will handle.

The weekday schedule is for departures every 1/2 hour.  Weekends are every hour, but with lots of joyriders this week they were running a weekday schedule with 1-car trains.  We counted 10 articulated 1-car sets.  Since the weekday schedule requires 4 train sets to operate properly, they have enough rolling stock to run four 2-car trains with one spare in reserve.

The DMU units have two 600 hp Mercedes diesels, one in each end of the articulated car, and a control cab in each end.  Power transmission is direct drive thru a 5 speed transmission.  I suspect some kind of automatic shifter and fluid drive instead of a clutch, but I forgot to ask.  Essentially each car is like one of those articulated buses except, of course, there's no steering wheel.  I forgot to check for foot pedals.

 Oops!  Have to go pick up my wife at work.  More later.

Jack

[espeefoamer]

I rode the Sprinter on Wed. March 12. It was a very smooth ride and the car was about 3/4 full both ways.

[MP57313]

I plan to ride this month - have the passenger counts settled down to normal?  And - what do you think of that new signal bridge in Oceanside?  Never thought I'd see one on the Surfliner route!

[al-in-chgo]

Nothing like riding in a brand-new passenger car! 

BTW does the new line use bi-levels and if so, gallery or two-storey?  - a.s.

[MP57313]

BTW does the new line use bi-levels and if so, gallery or two-storey?  - a.s.

I made it out there Friday April 4.  The cars are actually split-level.   The center, where the boarding doors are, is at platform level, while either end is elevated slightly.  Here's a pic taken while it was on layover at the Oceanside terminal, before most of the passengers got on board.  Passenger counts seemed pretty good to me, considering it was a mid-day round trip. $4 day pass - how can you lose?

[gardendance]

we've got a slightly different split level arrangement here in New Jersey on the River Line.

I notice in the photo that the Sprinter has luggage racks in the lower level, and just a small articulated section between the front and back passenger areas.

NJ Transit's River Line has the luggage racks only in the upper level, and the section connecting the 2 front and back passenger areas is about 20 to 30 feet long and contains the engine.

River Line photos

http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?42990 from lower level looking at upper level and operating cab. luggage racks are just above the upper level windows

http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?50418 interior looking at lower level, no luggage racks, and front-back connector

So where do they put the engine in the Sprinter?

[MStLfan]

I believe the Sprinter is made by Siemens (Desiro type?). The NJT unit looks like it is Swiss made (by Stadler).

In the Sprinter the engines are under the high level seating.

greetings,

Marc Immeker

[al-in-chgo]

we've got a slightly different split level arrangement here in New Jersey on the River Line.

I notice in the photo that the Sprinter has luggage racks in the lower level, and just a small articulated section between the front and back passenger areas.

NJ Transit's River Line has the luggage racks only in the upper level, and the section connecting the 2 front and back passenger areas is about 20 to 30 feet long and contains the engine.

River Line photos

http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?42990 from lower level looking at upper level and operating cab. luggage racks are just above the upper level windows

http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?50418 interior looking at lower level, no luggage racks, and front-back connector

So where do they put the engine in the Sprinter?

If the River Line is NJT's Camden to Trenton line, I've ridden it and thought it was excellent.  It's an articulated trainset with the diesel-electric engine where the "accordion" would otherwise be.  It gets up to about 60 mph between stations, with outstanding acceleration and smooth braking.  Since it doesn't require external electricity, it seems to me to be a very viable alternative to RDC's.