D.Carleton Hold onto your hats because I'm about to agree with an Amtrak decision. Many moons ago I was heading home on a Florida train back when it still split into two sections at Jacksonville. Back then Amtrak still used baggage-dorms rebuilt from US Army hospital cars. The baggage-dorm had been bad ordered in Washington so they put on a 10&6 sleeper for the crew. Now, what to do with the Miami bound baggage south of Jax? I vividly recall the onboard crew stuffing bags into every crevice of that 10&6 at Jax for the trip. The stop-gap fix for this was converting some surplus coaches in to baggage cars; the cars with the rollup doors in the middle. A baggage car is more that a shell with no windows and a couple of big doors but they have made it work in the interim. Would I have rather seen 50 more sleeping cars? Absolutely. But, if checked baggage and express service are to continue to be offered then the new cars are necessary. Furthermore, with the heritage dining cars coming out of service that pushes the heritage baggage cars even further into odd-replacement-parts category as they would be the last equipment left in national service with pre-Amtrak (non-standardized) components. As for Sam's question of greater revenue, probably not. This order replaces extant capacity. Lower maintenance costs (if CAF USA did its job correctly) will be a plus.
Hold onto your hats because I'm about to agree with an Amtrak decision. Many moons ago I was heading home on a Florida train back when it still split into two sections at Jacksonville. Back then Amtrak still used baggage-dorms rebuilt from US Army hospital cars. The baggage-dorm had been bad ordered in Washington so they put on a 10&6 sleeper for the crew. Now, what to do with the Miami bound baggage south of Jax? I vividly recall the onboard crew stuffing bags into every crevice of that 10&6 at Jax for the trip.
The stop-gap fix for this was converting some surplus coaches in to baggage cars; the cars with the rollup doors in the middle. A baggage car is more that a shell with no windows and a couple of big doors but they have made it work in the interim. Would I have rather seen 50 more sleeping cars? Absolutely. But, if checked baggage and express service are to continue to be offered then the new cars are necessary. Furthermore, with the heritage dining cars coming out of service that pushes the heritage baggage cars even further into odd-replacement-parts category as they would be the last equipment left in national service with pre-Amtrak (non-standardized) components.
As for Sam's question of greater revenue, probably not. This order replaces extant capacity. Lower maintenance costs (if CAF USA did its job correctly) will be a plus.
They would have been better off to buy 50 new coaches and convert 50 Amfleet II to baggage cars.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
1. Some supporters of LD services justify them as a series of overlapping short corridors. Checked baggage is not compatible with short corridor operations.
2. Checked baggage and baggage cars cause long dwell times in stations. Consequently, the use of checked baggage in separate cars was largely discontinued in most passenger services in the world.
3. Baggage beyond what can be placed overhead should be accommodated in spaces at the end of coaches.(and sleepers).
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
Dave: Buying 50 new baggage cars is emblematic of what is wrong with Amtrak management.
Sam, I cannot believe that Amtrak had to buy 50 new baggage cars. It would seem to me that Beech Grove could have economicaliy upgraded existing baggage cars to handle 125 mphs speeds, Not even new trucks, just replacing springs and shock absorbers with the most modern available, new roller bearings, couplers, brakes, etc. New cabling for push-pull operation and future electric-controlled breaking, etc. I was under the impression that most existing Amtrak baggage cars are stainless steel construction, and such bodies don't rust or wear out. Look at the 48-year old R32 subway cars still running around after two overhauls but no major rebuilding in much tougher service.
I also wonder if Amrak has built into these new cars provision for future electric-controlled braking? And push-pull operation?
Some of the cities and towns you mention may not have Amtrak rail service but do have Thruway bus connections, for whatever that is worth.
Are the existing Horizan coaches or any Amfleet OK for 125 mph? As you know I do support long distance trains for all the reasons I have stated. But I would agree with you the major investment with limited funds should be for the best possible equpmenet for the CORRIDORS where the nessecity for the service is proven and where losses can be minimized and even possibly operating profits realized. Older Amfleet equipment can have new interiors. Again, I think a Sky-Chefs-Wilton Caterers-Acela approach to long distance dining is appropriate for the problems Amtrak faces.
oltmannd Good video! Joe's a good cheerleader . (Still not a fan of all those new baggage cars....)
Good video! Joe's a good cheerleader . (Still not a fan of all those new baggage cars....)
Good cheerleader! Perhaps! Fast and loose with facts! Yep!
Amtrak's long distance trains connect America! Really! Here are the major cities (population of 100,000+) that are overlooked in Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Denton, Killeen, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen, McKinney, Midland, Odessa, and Wichita Falls. Drop it down a notch, i.e. to 50,000, and you get a lot more cities not served by Amtrak. And this is just in Texas. Add in the other states, and the claim that Amtrak's long distance trains are an important link in the U.S.'s national transportation system is over the top.
Irrespective of the color scheme, the new cars will increase Amtrak's depreciation expense and may acerbate the losses incurred by the long distance trains. The key question is whether the new equipment will generate greater marginal revenues than marginal expenses?
On my wall is a print of Robert West's "The Monocoque," a GE Transportation commissioned painting of two AMD-103's crossing Lake Pontchartrain with a seeming endless string of Viewliners in Phase III paint. Now it appears that just may happen.
081552 There's a great Amtrak video that goes along with this blog post that shows the new cars under construction and complete. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHAGdl5J0uw&feature=player_embedded
There's a great Amtrak video that goes along with this blog post that shows the new cars under construction and complete.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHAGdl5J0uw&feature=player_embedded
From Amtrak's blog:
With the launch of our new single-level long distance equipment – the “Viewliner II”, Amtrak is also launching Amtrak America, a brand that will encompass all that is great about Amtrak’s long-haul trains, including those with sleeper class service. Amtrak’s route brands will continue, and this brand will make the conversation and overall service offerings clear to our customers and stakeholders.
Amtrak America will utilize our Phase Three striping on the single-level long distance cars as a tribute to our heritage. The first cars released from production will also carry Amtrak’s heritage logo in honor of our past. Amtrak’s current logo will return on the standard production cars.
I saw one picture on the Amtrak blog today talking about the new Viewliner IIs, which are expected to be introduced into service in 2014. One of the pictures had a baggage car in Phase III paint. Question is: are they using Phase III for all new cars, just a few, or repainting them all again??
http://blog.amtrak.com/2013/10/coming-soon-new-long-distance-cars/
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