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West Coast Amfleet cars question

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West Coast Amfleet cars question
Posted by ejjski on Friday, October 19, 2012 9:09 PM

At times there are several Amfleet cars used on the Pacific Surfliner and Cascades service. Are these cars ever rotated to the East Coast? If so, how are they transferred?

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Posted by erikem on Saturday, October 20, 2012 12:59 AM

I rather doubt that the Surfliner's Amfleet cars are rotated east. My recent experience is that #599 is typically Amfleet.

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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, October 20, 2012 10:59 AM

Where does 599 run? I could not find it in the Amtrak timetable.

Johnny

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Posted by erikem on Saturday, October 20, 2012 11:37 AM

599 is the sole express train on the LOSSAN corridor, departs SAN 7:07AM Mo-Fri, arrives LAUPT 9:35AM. I've been taking it about once every other week for the last two months, as the stop time in Solana Beach is very convenient for me.

- Erik

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Saturday, October 20, 2012 9:29 PM

An occasional   is rotated back to Beech Grove for overhauls. usually behind the SW chief and Hoosier. do not know if the car is useable if the space is sold. would certainly be useable westbound.

Now that the LAX  maintenance facility is in full operation there may be less ferrying of the cars ? 

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Posted by Southwest Chief on Friday, October 26, 2012 12:00 AM

blue streak 1

An occasional   is rotated back to Beech Grove for overhauls. usually behind the SW chief and Hoosier. do not know if the car is useable if the space is sold. would certainly be useable westbound.

On the Southwest Chief a repaired, or to be repaired, Amfleet is usually right behind the locomotives and in front of the baggage car.  Usually the first car in the train.  It would not be in service.  Just ferried between Los Angeles-Beech Grove.

It's rare, but I have seen them tacked on the rear of the train as well.  Although a rear car is much more common with a Pacific Surfliner double decker or Pacific Parlor car when they move between Los Angeles-Beech Grove.

But these cars are always out of service regardless of their position on the Southwest Chief. 

Of course, if an Amfleet (or other single level car) was on the rear of the Southwest Chief you could never get into it from the train.  The diaphragm door height doesn't match.

OK, there is an an extremely rare exception.  This occurred when I saw the business car Beech Grove (made from a wreck damaged Amfleet) on the rear of the Southwest Chief.  There was an extra Superliner Transition Dorm coupled to it to allow connection to the rest of the train.

Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, CO
Click Here for my model train photo website

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Posted by ejjski on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 5:31 PM

Southwest Chief

blue streak 1

An occasional   is rotated back to Beech Grove for overhauls. usually behind the SW chief and Hoosier. do not know if the car is useable if the space is sold. would certainly be useable westbound.

On the Southwest Chief a repaired, or to be repaired, Amfleet is usually right behind the locomotives and in front of the baggage car.  Usually the first car in the train.  It would not be in service.  Just ferried between Los Angeles-Beech Grove.

It's rare, but I have seen them tacked on the rear of the train as well.  Although a rear car is much more common with a Pacific Surfliner double decker or Pacific Parlor car when they move between Los Angeles-Beech Grove.

But these cars are always out of service regardless of their position on the Southwest Chief. 

Of course, if an Amfleet (or other single level car) was on the rear of the Southwest Chief you could never get into it from the train.  The diaphragm door height doesn't match.

OK, there is an an extremely rare exception.  This occurred when I saw the business car Beech Grove (made from a wreck damaged Amfleet) on the rear of the Southwest Chief.  There was an extra Superliner Transition Dorm coupled to it to allow connection to the rest of the train.

Do they rotate Amfleet cars back from the west coast with one from the Northeast Corridor? I'm sure they can but do they?

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Posted by Southwest Chief on Thursday, November 1, 2012 12:06 AM

ejjski

Do they rotate Amfleet cars back from the west coast with one from the Northeast Corridor? I'm sure they can but do they?

Not sure on that. 

Does the Northeast Corridor use Amfleet II's?  Don't know as I've never been east of Chicago by train. 

The LA pool is mostly, if not all, Amfleet I's.  But I suppose if an Amfleet is needed in the Northeast,  LA can send one or two and vice versa. 

They are all pretty much in the same IVb paint now.  So telling Amfleets apart is hard as their car numbers can be difficult to spot.

Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, CO
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Posted by aegrotatio on Thursday, November 8, 2012 12:57 PM
The moment that Metroliner service was discontinued in the very early 2000s, the Amfleet II cars all fled the Northeast Corridor. They were replaced by rebuilt Amfleet I cars as they became available.

I miss those coaches. They have much nicer seats than Amfleet I has.

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Posted by oltmannd on Saturday, November 10, 2012 5:06 PM

aegrotatio
The moment that Metroliner service was discontinued in the very early 2000s, the Amfleet II cars all fled the Northeast Corridor. They were replaced by rebuilt Amfleet I cars as they became available.

I miss those coaches. They have much nicer seats than Amfleet I has.

Metroliner Service trains were Amfleet I with 60 seats per car, not Amfleet II.  You can tell because the I's have vestibules at both ends and the II's are single ended.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=357155&nseq=3

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by aegrotatio on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 1:23 PM
I didn't know that. I do remember that the interiors of the Metroliner coaches were very different than the slower trains' coaches (Northeast Direct, Northeast Regional, etc.) The seats featured that ball-knob to recline the seats, and had leg rests as well as foot rests. The interiors were also colored differently. While I don't doubt your assertion, that picture is from the holiday rush--anything goes on those trains during the holiday rush.

I think I'm confusing the differences between pre-Capstone project and Capstone coaches instead of the differences between Amfleet I and Amfleet II coaches.

Oh, and I hate this new editor running my paragraphs together. What a pain in the neck.

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