henry6You are being picky and anal in your criticism. Precisely, the catenary itself, physically, did not fail, MNRR did not fail, nor did Amtrak. Con Ed failed, its power feed failed while its back up system is off line for major overhaul.
That tone is pretty rude, henry. What you say is like blaming the manufacturer of the generator on a diesel locomotive when it fails. It still means the system is not working. If Con Ed is unreliable, perhaps Amtrak and MNRR need to return to having their own power source, as the old NH did at Cos Cob?
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
You are being picky and anal in your criticism. Precisely, the catenary itself, physically, did not fail, MNRR did not fail, nor did Amtrak. Con Ed failed, its power feed failed while its back up system is off line for major overhaul. However, you should raise the question if it is wise for electric railroads to rely on purchased electricity or generate their own? or buy some and generate some? or buy from more than one supplier? or? If you are talking flexibility, then you must ask and answer these questions and act accordingly.
As for buses and planes being more flexible: yes. Same with automobiles and shoes. But the constant costs, etc. puts rail ahead of them in commuter instances and electric rail with speed and expense ahead of regular rail especially in commuter work as well as high speed long distance trains. An how flexible is a two mile long traffic jam or snow clogged roads on the ground or that snow storm or dense fog and high winds in the air?
And RCD, from what I've read on MNRR and Amtrak sites, Amtrak power is being changed at New Haven which is natural as they have facilities there and not anywhere closer to New York city...and they can stay out of the way of the MNRR traffic by running right through to and from New Haven.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
It appears Amtrak is using back-to back P32AC-DM pairs or P32AC-DM/P42 pairs to pull trains complete with AEM7s or HHP8s over the dark stretch. Though I haven't been able to confirm this I would bet the diesels are put on at New Haven and run right into Penn on third rail. That would make sense for where mechanical department folks would be available to minimize add/drop time. The main catch is the small size of the P32 pool.
henry6 First...today's problem has nothing to do with the cat or Amtrak or MNRR. Con Ed, the power supplier failed and the railroads are at the mercy of the power company on this. Second, the cat in this area has been upgraded and the program is approaching New Haven at this time. LIkewise, catenary replacement programs are working south through NJ, too.
First...today's problem has nothing to do with the cat or Amtrak or MNRR. Con Ed, the power supplier failed and the railroads are at the mercy of the power company on this. Second, the cat in this area has been upgraded and the program is approaching New Haven at this time. LIkewise, catenary replacement programs are working south through NJ, too.
If the wire is de-energized, irrespective of the source, the wire has failed as an energy conduit. It is useless even if is hanging pretty.
One of the downsides of an electrified railway (heavy as well as light rail) is a major power failure usually brings the whole system to a halt. DART's light rail system has been shut down on several occasions during the past couple of years because of cat failures.
On the other hand, buses and airplanes, which are much more flexible than trains, can frequently work around an impediment. So too can diesel or other powered locomotives as long as they have an alternate route.
Much of the cat on the NEC is an antique or of antiquated design compared to those in Europe or Asia.
I wonder how the wire failures on the NEC compare in number and intensity to wire failures on other rail systems, i.e. Japan, France, Denmark, etc.?
Checking MetroNorth's website give you a better picture. Power is off west of Stamford to Woodhaven on MNRR and to wherever the break is between MNRR and AMtrak's line to Penn Sta. There are some dual service locomotives being used by MNRR I presume which can do the 3rd rail in to GCT. Amtrak is using diesels apparently between New Haven and NYP but not sure if they pull an electric to pan into NYP from some point. I posted on the Transit forum which might bring answers to your question RCDRYE.
Due to the Con Ed feeder failure Metro North's New Haven Line has no overhead traction power. Amtrak's service bulletin states that Acelas are cancelled through Sunday, and extra cars are being added to regionals which are using Diesel power. Anyone have details on how this is being done? As far as I can remember Amtrak's traction power ends east of New Haven, and doesn't resume until west of New Rochelle. I assume trains are still required to enter Penn Station behind electrics.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.