I don't know how Amtrak ended it's relationship with Grandluxe, but is it possible that Amtrak is owed money? This caused me to start thinking. Can they go after Colorado Railcar assets? Here's a wild idea: Amtrak takes over Colorado Railcar and builds it's own railcars.
From what I've read, Colorado Railcar was not that sophisticated an operation, Yet they built some beautiful rail cars. I have ridden the Ultradomes in Alaska and they were very impressive. The quality seemed high and the designs are the most exciting railcar configurations ever built.
So the situation I envision is that Amtrak takes all Colorado Railcar assets, designs, equipment, etc., and builds it's own equipment. If Colorado Railcar can build the cars they did, Amtrak is certainly capable of building their own fleet of single-level baggage/dorms and glass-top coaches, sleepers, diners, lounges, etc. Perhaps new double-deck next generation "Ultra Superliners". Think of the possibilities.
Also, Amtrak could operate a railcar building business and build Ultradomes for luxury travel clients (i.e., Alaska tour companies) and also DMUs and commuter railcars for transit agencies throughout the country.
It's a simple idea . . . Amtrak builds it's own cars in-house and saves time and lots of money.
CG9602: Would probably be easy to implement physically but .......... can't you hear the politicians howling especially those that opposed AMTRAK in the first place? My reply is "you opposed getting new cars; now there are not enough manufacturers available so we have to do it ourself and we will have to speed up Rader and Beech Grove as well for both rebuilds and new cars".
Amtrak has plenty of ability to construct new cars. Colorado Rail Car does have one thing that Amtrak doesn't have much of - the ability to do the design work on new cars. Perhaps they should think about corralling the designe engineers cut loose by Rader.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
If you love your post office service and the way your money is being squandered in the social security Ponzi scheme you would love to ride in a train car designed and built from the ground up by the US government. Bad idea.
Amtrak was formed to relieve railroads of the burden of operating passenger trains without regard to cost, needs, etc. of the passenger train; i.e. the (selling) focus was to relieve freight railroads of the costs. After that, Amtrak was charged with running passenger trains without consideration of future equipment needs and with few incursious into the ownership and operation of their own tracks. Beech Grove was considered the "car" asset, Wilmington, DE the electric locomotive assset, and I believe Chicago the diesel asset. But underfunding for even these purposes have put Amtrak where it is today (general, broad, lets stay away for all the pro and con and philosophical arguements as discussed on so many other threads). Until there is a defining of Amtrak, its role in future passenger rail operations, and its share in the future infrastructure of our transportation system it would be a hard sell for it to take over Colorado Rail or anyother currntly non owned property or project. Or, should and why should Amtrak get into the car manufacturing business?
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ndbprr If you love your post office service and the way your money is being squandered in the social security Ponzi scheme you would love to ride in a train car designed and built from the ground up by the US government. Bad idea.
And just how many other freight and package carriers serve EVERY point in the United States while charging the same rate? Many government agencies at all levels enjoy a favorable reputation for service and efficiency.
Wow what a pessimist. Don't you remember the PCC? How about if there were standardized
commuter rail cars available at all times for any city that wanted to add a few? Say a low-
profile double deck commuter rail car was designed to be usable anywhere in the country and
it was "off the shelf" ready and available for any municipality that wanted one. Sure there would
be certain options (e.g., door type, door location, stairwell location, cab equipped or bathroom equipped),
but the basic design is standardized for all of North American use.
No long bidding process, no lack of equipment suppliers, no unknown costs. An "off-the-shelf" "state-of-the-
art" modern day PCC!
In most developed countries, it has been shown that public transportation must be government supported. In the United States we believe in "private enterprise," and assure perpetuity of the "free market" transportation system by sabotaging our passenger railroads through policy which is environmentally and socially unsound. We sabotage our railroads by denying Amtrak good equipment. We sabotage our railroads by making the passenger-car industry shrivel, and leave talented designers and craftsmen unemployed.
Why is government car-building a bad idea, and free access to a government-controlled track system a good idea? I could probably dream up some reasons, but again: it has been shown all over the world how to operate a passenger railroad, and government car factories are not essential to its success. If the government supports a national transportation system, there will be plenty of work out there for passenger car craftsmen.
"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." Daniel Burnham
No doubt. But having Amtrak grab some rare expertise that floating around on the market now wouldn't be a bad idea. If ever a place needed new ideas.....
Amtrak does a good job with their wreck repairs and conversions - at least the quality of the work is good. And, they have assembled passenger car kits for DC Metro. So, under the right circumstances, some new car work could be done by Amtrak.
Compared to the early days, Amtrak is fairly standardized. They have 4 basic passenger car types - Amfleet, Horizon, Superliner and Acela. I suspect that a lot of the undercar equipment on Amfleet and Horizon is identical - AC equipment for example. Pre-Amfleet, you usually had one or two "hot" cars on an NEC train, after Amfleet, I have never found a "hot" car in a train.
Sure, it is a great idea to have a standardized set of cars with a limited list of options. Among other things that makes the business much more attractive for a manufacturer as there is the potential for a reasonably steady order stream from diverse customers. However to accomplish it, the feds have to insist the individual users participate as a condition of receiving any federal assistance. That concept isn't new, all sorts of state road related laws or standards are federally mandated.
However, I am very hesistant about the concept that Amtrak itself get into the car building business. To put it nicely, Amtrak's record of effective management of employee productivity is not great. The poster child for that problem is the story of Mr. Gunn himself filling the water tank of his private car in Chicago while three employees stood around and debated whose craft should undertake that action.
You mean PCC cars? Presidents Conference Cars? The presidents referred to were the presidents of the particpating trolley and rapid transit systems, not the the President of the USA. And some of these systems back when the Conference convened in the 30's were still in private hands. Therefore it cannot be deemed a government, a federal government, operation.
PCC cars were not a cookie-cutter design but more of a set of standardized modules that could be assembled to meet a specific operator's needs. Body lengths could vary, cars could be double-ended, etc.
Maglev In most developed countries, it has been shown that public transportation must be government supported. In the United States we believe in "private enterprise," and assure perpetuity of the "free market" transportation system by sabotaging our passenger railroads through policy which is environmentally and socially unsound. We sabotage our railroads by denying Amtrak good equipment. We sabotage our railroads by making the passenger-car industry shrivel, and leave talented designers and craftsmen unemployed. Why is government car-building a bad idea, and free access to a government-controlled track system a good idea? I could probably dream up some reasons, but again: it has been shown all over the world how to operate a passenger railroad, and government car factories are not essential to its success. If the government supports a national transportation system, there will be plenty of work out there for passenger car craftsmen.
I'll qualify this by stating that I'm Pro -Amtrak and Pro- Passenger rail within reason but as far as your larger point about nationalizing the railroad system and making it open access please come up with a modern, 2009 example where this is working out really well...............
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Amtrak does not need the physical assetts of CRC to build new rolling stock. Pkcing up some of the designers for their staff may be a good idea, but Amtrak built the current replacements for the Brill "Bullets" of the Philadelphia and Western - Red Arrow - SEPTA Norristown Line (SEPTA 100). No great shakes for looks, but reliable, fast, and comfortable.
Amtrak does good bodywork. Beyond that it is a matter of assembling components from suppliers, trucks, wheels, brakes, heating, air conditioning, windows, doors, communications equipment, batteries, inverters, lighting, spark arrestor, seats, modular restrooms. etc. And for commuter cab cars, add control equpment.
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