Amfleet article in Trains

[oltmannd]

I enjoyed the Amfleet article in the latest Trains.  Being around and being a fairly frequent Empire and NEC rider at the time, it made me hopeful for Amtrak.

I remember going down to the platform at NYP to catch my train to Philadelphia and being greeted by Amfleet the first time.  Wow.  New.  Not too hot, not too cold, very comfy seats.  Trays at the seats.  Power doors that worked.  Shiny and new.

Once they got the AEM7s to pull them - where you could feel the near steady pull all the way up to 100 mph - it made me grin every time.

My most unusual ride in Amfleet was on the Shenendoah in an Amfleet roomette.

https://blerfblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/war-stories-episode-14-chillicothe.html

The other smile-maker was the Rohr Turbos which arrived slightly later.

https://blerfblog.blogspot.com/2022/03/turboliners-more-than-just-train.html

The worst ride I had in Amfleet was when Amtrak subbed an 84 seater for my sleeper from GCT to Chicago.  Not fun.

The best ride, I think was two or three times I used the Maple Leaf to get from Phila to London ON.  It was winter and there was plenty of snow and a bright sunny day all the way up the Hudson and then along the Mohawk.  Worst part is decelerating from near 100 down to 79 west of Schenectady.

What are your Amfleet stories?

[Overmod]

I made arrangements through one of my father's friends to go see the first Amfleet cars at the Budd plant and go through the facility to see how they were jigged and assembled (as I was working on a high-speed passenger-train design at the time).  This was when I was still in high school, and I brought a couple of friends along.

You will appreciate where this story is going when I tell you I worked in a trip to the Enola engine facility 'on the way there'.  That was an interesting place in 1974; there was so much power running so many places that I actually felt it unsafe, in Eliza-crossing-the-ice fashion, to get across the tracks between the parking lot and the engine-house office; as it was, someone in GG1 4801 had to blow the horn at me when I didn't appreciate how he was moving...

What I had not realized was that the Budd Red Lion plant wasn't actually in Red Lion, but on Red Lion Road in Bustleton, only a few miles away from where I had spent the night in Swarthmore.  That meant a very truncated visit from outside the fence by the time I eventually got there, but I've liked Amfleet ever since.

I was amused that they appeared to have sourced the door-open warning from the same place McDonald's got their 'fries are ready!' device.   Made me hungry whenever I heard it...

In the early years of riding, during the first abortive NEC 'improvement to 150mph' in the Carter administration, there were problems with lateral compliance on the air-bag secondary suspension, accompanied by maddening giggling from all the little plastic interior-trim pieces rubbing against each other.  By the approximate time of the Chase wreck in 1987, much of this had been reduced, although I don't know the actual technical details how.

AEM7s were fun because they just didn't have the starting adhesion for long consists, which was no problem because they could be started very slow without damage.  Usual procedure was such that you had to be looking out the window to realize when the train started moving; once it got up above about 25mph you'd get the same Katy-bar-the-door acceleration that made Don smile.

It was interesting just how fast the Amfleet cars could be made to run once they had high-speed power that wasn't heavy for its power and threw tires during required fast braking.  I was in Princeton Junction in late 1986 and coming up the stairs next to the station building to get to the then westbound platform when I heard an approaching train.  By the time I had actually gotten up the remaining 3 or 4 steps to get into view, the train was already 'there' -- it was a three-car consist and it went by like a thrown knife - wham!wham!wham!wham! and was gone.  Looking at videos of the high-speed Acela testing through the same location much later, this was considerably faster than 130mph...  

[oltmannd]

Overmod

In the early years of riding, during the first abortive NEC 'improvement to 150mph' in the Carter administration, there were problems with lateral compliance on the air-bag secondary suspension, accompanied by maddening giggling from all the little plastic interior-trim pieces rubbing against each other.  By the approximate time of the Chase wreck in 1987, much of this had been reduced, although I don't know the actual technical details how.

I'm pretty sure the problem was "false flange" wheel wear and 100% disc braking.  Amtrak added some single shoe tread braking to help keep wheels "true".   WABCO had a trade name for the product...I can't recall.  Something -Pack.  

[zugmann]

Overmod

What I had not realized was that the Budd Red Lion plant wasn't actually in Red Lion,

Did you get the whole way to Red Lion, PA before realizing that?  I guess back in '74 the Ma & Pa still ran there.  That would have been worth it, honestly. 

 

[BaltACD]

oltmannd

I'm pretty sure the problem was "false flange" wheel wear and 100% disc braking.  Amtrak added some single shoe tread braking to help keep wheels "true".   WABCO had a trade name for the product...I can't recall.  Something -Pack.  

Belive it was 'Wabco-pac'

[Overmod]

zugmann

Did you get the whole way to Red Lion, PA before realizing that?

Made it all the way through several vicious thundershowers, too.  And had one of the hubcaps detach leaving Enola and one of the enginemen stomped it.

When I realized there was no Budd plant to be found, I did look around for the Maryland and Pennsylvania -- were they running a 44-tonner then? -- but I was more mortified for ASSuming I knew where the Red Lion plant would be to pay much attention.  It was particularly sad when my godfather, who we were staying with overnight on the return trip too, laughed right out loud and asked why we hadn't said something: he knew EXACTLY where that Budd plant was, and how to get there.  

Not my finest hour.

[zugmann]

I had to look it up.  But they had some emd end-cabs at the time. 

[oltmannd]

BaltACD

 

 

oltmannd

I'm pretty sure the problem was "false flange" wheel wear and 100% disc braking.  Amtrak added some single shoe tread braking to help keep wheels "true".   WABCO had a trade name for the product...I can't recall.  Something -Pack.  

 

 

Belive it was 'Wabco-pac'

 

Hah! Yup. That's it.  Memory is the second thing to go.  Can't remeber what's first...

[Ulrich]

I enjoyed the Amfleet article as well, and I'm glad to hear that Amfleet 2 will likely be around until 2030... I still have a chance to ride them.  

There are some interesting parallels between Amtrak's experience with Metroliner and VIA's experience with the LRC. In both cases the motive power proved problematic.. but the coaches themselves have carried on for decades. The LRC coaches are also monocoque, although they have fewer seats and bigger windows, and to me they look better, but the look of Amfleet coaches is growing on me. 

In the 80s VIA sometimes assigned their oldest locomotives.. the FA's to help pull the LRCs.. that was quite a sight.. an FA leading an LRC, with the FA leading because I'm guessing they were not equipped with HEP.  Best of all was an FA pulling an LRC with some VIA heritage coaches thrown in... something I'm sure VIA management tried to avoid but which we railfans enjoyed!

 

 

[Overmod]

oltmannd

Memory is the second thing to go.  Can't remember what's first...

That's easy!  It's... well, I had it on the tip of my tongue.  Give me time and I'll get back to you.

[Ulrich]

Overmod

 

 

oltmannd

Memory is the second thing to go.  Can't remember what's first...

 

 

That's easy!  It's... well, I had it on the tip of my tongue.  Give me time and I'll get back to you.

 

 

Memory..