Acela & Amtrak NEC (HSR BOS-NYP-WAS and branches only)

[George_Apley]

No, but it will have the capacity if it runs EMUs on 15-minute headways. 18-minute frequency is a terrible idea in general, but it also forces HSR to also go at 18-minute frequency, and since HSR has to share tracks with the Providence Line and the New Haven Line... you see where this is going.

If intercity trains do not divert to Fairmount, the only correct way to schedule the Providence Line is a 2-overtake schedule provided here. (The schedule does not mention South Coast trains, but, if electrified, they can fit without overtakes.) If intercity trains divert to the Fairmount Line, then the one-overtake schedule becomes a bit more attractive, and it's even possible to move the overtake to Mansfield, which is less tight.

The basic problem with the Fairmount diversion: it doesn't permit higher frequency than 15 minutes on each of regional and intercity trains, not without four-tracking more of the line. If Amtrak can fill more than 4 long tph then it can afford four-tracking wherever it wants, so I'm less worried about the Providence Line, but the MBTA might want to run more than 4 tph on the Fairmount Line in the future.

EDIT: I should add, the MBTA already runs the Providence Line at 3 tph, rising to 4 if you include Stoughton and 7 north of Readville including Franklin. Regardless of electrification, wherever HSR goes, Franklin Line trains should not go: if HSR runs on the current route, there's no room for Franklin Line trains and they should all divert to Fairmount to provide extra frequency. (And, FFS, the Franklin Line needs electrification more than the Providence Line, because of the frequent stops.) If HSR diverts to Fairmount, then Franklin Line trains should stay on the Southwest Corridor, unless they're all merged into Fairmount Line trains. In either case, every Providence and South Coast train should stop at Readville to facilitate transfers.

I'm still confused about how the line can handle 15 minute headways on local 'MUs and still handle intercity HSR at the same time. Why wouldn't those intercity trains get stuck behind the locals?

 

[Alon]

I'm still confused about how the line can handle 15 minute headways on local 'MUs and still handle intercity HSR at the same time. Why wouldn't those intercity trains get stuck behind the locals?

Because the schedule would be drawn to have intercity trains enter the Fairmount Line at Readville just before local trains make the inbound trip, and terminate at South Station right after the preceding local train. With 160 km/h EMUs, the travel time difference between an intercity train and a local train on the Fairmount Line is around 10 minutes, including schedule buffer. The local train does the trip in 16 minutes and the intercity train in 6. So the local train departs Readville northbound at :12 every 15 minutes, and gets to South Station at :28; the intercity train enters the line at :10 and gets to South Station at :16, three minutes behind the local train that departs Readville at :57 and arrives at South Station at :13. Southbound, the schedules are symmetric.

The Providence Line is long, so that overtakes are unavoidable there. But they can be timed to specific track segments, one of which (Attleboro) already has four tracks.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Love the shape of those new Amtrak baggage cars!!

Good. Because that's the design for their new dining cars which should be rolling off the assembly line in a couple months once the last of these new bags are done. And that's the design they'll be going with when they greenlight the great coach replacement order for the claustrophobic AmCans. Amtrak owns the Viewliner design patents and blueprints lock, stock and can tab any manufacturer to pump out a new order without IP entanglements. It's taken them about 20 years longer than expected to finally get the funding to order Viewliners in configurations other than the original batch of sleepers that've been around since '96. But this is just the start. Eventually that's going to be the one and only single-level fleet (non-HSR variety) for the East/high-platforms region.

Viewliner's a novel design. Everything inside is a modular snap-in section that they can replace/remove by opening a latch on the end (like popping the cork), pulling out a section, and snapping in a new one. So they can change the interior livery around instead of having to make do with "that mid-70's charm" for 4 decades, can change the sleeping quarters, make a lounge car, make a different type of baggage car (pallet shipping service? centerbeams?). Or try something totally off-the-wall with a prototype car they run for a few months, then reconfigure back for normal service. Only difference is the bag cars obviously not having windows like the passenger cars do and having the bag-specific loading doors.

From what the Amtrak crews on RR.net who are getting their qualifying training on these Viewbags say, the door configuration is pretty slick for faster loading and can definitely slide in way, way bulkier items than the old cars could. Solid build, nice attention to detail on the little things. Also...much more bicycle-storage friendly than the old bags. Should pay some quick dividends with bike transport policy changes once they get all of 'em in service and settled in.


EDIT: Actually, the bike transit nerds might want to check out the RR.net Viewliner II thread, Amtrak subforum. Last couple pages of it has been a pretty engrossing sidebar on just how much better these things are for bikes and what promo/discount possibilities that uncorks.

 

[Jahvon09]

Good. Because that's the design for their new dining cars which should be rolling off the assembly line in a couple months once the last of these new bags are done. And that's the design they'll be going with when they greenlight the great coach replacement order for the claustrophobic AmCans. Amtrak owns the Viewliner design patents and blueprints lock, stock and can tab any manufacturer to pump out a new order without IP entanglements. It's taken them about 20 years longer than expected to finally get the funding to order Viewliners in configurations other than the original batch of sleepers that've been around since '96. But this is just the start. Eventually that's going to be the one and only single-level fleet (non-HSR variety) for the East/high-platforms region.

Viewliner's a novel design. Everything inside is a modular snap-in section that they can replace/remove by opening a latch on the end (like popping the cork), pulling out a section, and snapping in a new one. So they can change the interior livery around instead of having to make do with "that mid-70's charm" for 4 decades, can change the sleeping quarters, make a lounge car, make a different type of baggage car (pallet shipping service? centerbeams?). Or try something totally off-the-wall with a prototype car they run for a few months, then reconfigure back for normal service. Only difference is the bag cars obviously not having windows like the passenger cars do and having the bag-specific loading doors.

From what the Amtrak crews on RR.net who are getting their qualifying training on these Viewbags say, the door configuration is pretty slick for faster loading and can definitely slide in way, way bulkier items than the old cars could. Solid build, nice attention to detail on the little things. Also...much more bicycle-storage friendly than the old bags. Should pay some quick dividends with bike transport policy changes once they get all of 'em in service and settled in.


EDIT: Actually, the bike transit nerds might want to check out the RR.net Viewliner II thread, Amtrak subforum. Last couple pages of it has been a pretty engrossing sidebar on just how much better these things are for bikes and what promo/discount possibilities that uncorks.

So, you're also saying that those old dinosaur AmCans (business, quiet car & coach rail cars) will eventually be replaced also? I hope so, because in the winter, there is no heat in some of those damn things! They are so cold & drafty!

Weren't they also in use since the mid '70s? Budliner made them. It'd be so nice to see ALL of the cars have the same shape & style as the Viewliner & the shiny luster of the new baggage cars!

I imagine that all of the cars are having their style & shape adopted from the original Viewliner long distance cars, hence the new name Viewliner to be given to all of them. I just hope that they make the mattresses for the top bunks ticker!

Also, the new baggage cars were given back the old flavor of the old logo & the old red white & blue stripes running the entire length of the cars. They look so sexy! Also, they feature new wider double-door entries, like on some of the subway cars!!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL2pmkaGI0U



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHAGdl5J0uw

 

[Jahvon09]

And you're right about the "AmCans! They look like old long cans on wheels! Hah!

 

[Nexis4jersey]

The Amcans are up for replacement with a push-pull type single level car design...

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

So, you're also saying that those old dinosaur AmCans (business, quiet car & coach rail cars) will eventually be replaced also? I hope so, because in the winter, there is no heat in some of those damn things! They are so cold & drafty!

Weren't they also in use since the mid '70s? Budliner made them. It'd be so nice to see ALL of the cars have the same shape & style as the Viewliner & the shiny luster of the new baggage cars!

I imagine that all of the cars are having their style & shape adopted from the original Viewliner long distance cars, hence the new name Viewliner to be given to all of them. I just hope that they make the mattresses for the top bunks ticker!

Also, the new baggage cars were given back the old flavor of the old logo & the old red white & blue stripes running the entire length of the cars. They look so sexy!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL2pmkaGI0U



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHAGdl5J0uw

Not imminently, since they've got to swallow the end of this Viewliner contract, the Superliner corridor car contract, and the Charger diesel locomotive countract bang-bang-bang this year, next year, year after. Probably looking more like bids in 1-2 years, cars in 4-5 years.

The 145 Amfleet II's, the long-distance configuration, are first to go. They're newer than the Amfleet I's on the NEC by about 5 years, but because they're LD cars out every single day the odometer reading are way higher. They're shot.

Then probably the 95 Horizons, which are basically like our commuter rail single-levels (right down to the harsh lighting) with corridor seating, are likely next. Riders perennially rank those the worst cars on the system, and their manual doors suck in cold weather so they have to play keep-away from the East coast with them. After these new bi-level cars flood the Midwest and West they'll be running out of places to assign them.

Then, last, are all 460-something Amfleet I's. Which are the oldest, but still a little better condition than the II's and not the black sheep of the fleet like the Horizons. It'll take awhile to replace nearly 500 cars, so probably won't be gone-gone until 2022-24.


Eh...that's a metric shitload of new cars coming almost every year for the rest of the decade. At the end of the day it's all good.



BTW...they are taking a couple of the original Viewliner sleepers and prototypes that had been sitting out-of-service for heavy repairs for years and years and are doing them up in a coach configuration. I think LD, not corridor. But they're gonna road-test a couple configurations and see if they can fine-tune it to something they like when it's time to plunk $$$ for the real coach cars.

And that's what's cool about these modular snap-in sections: you can hack together a prototype interior right in the shop, snap it in, and try before you buy. Then snap it out, change it, and try something else.

 

[Jahvon09]

With all aspects of this new ultra-modern fleet replacement program being put in place, you'd think that they would also be closer to getting the wheels in motion for their new higher-speed corridor plan, but I think that's gonna take some more time to try to get going.

 

[Jahvon09]

Not imminently, since they've got to swallow the end of this Viewliner contract, the Superliner corridor car contract, and the Charger diesel locomotive countract bang-bang-bang this year, next year, year after. Probably looking more like bids in 1-2 years, cars in 4-5 years.

The 145 Amfleet II's, the long-distance configuration, are first to go. They're newer than the Amfleet I's on the NEC by about 5 years, but because they're LD cars out every single day the odometer reading are way higher. They're shot.

Then probably the 95 Horizons, which are basically like our commuter rail single-levels (right down to the harsh lighting) with corridor seating, are likely next. Riders perennially rank those the worst cars on the system, and their manual doors suck in cold weather so they have to play keep-away from the East coast with them. After these new bi-level cars flood the Midwest and West they'll be running out of places to assign them.

Then, last, are all 460-something Amfleet I's. Which are the oldest, but still a little better condition than the II's and not the black sheep of the fleet like the Horizons. It'll take awhile to replace nearly 500 cars, so probably won't be gone-gone until 2022-24.


Eh...that's a metric shitload of new cars coming almost every year for the rest of the decade. At the end of the day it's all good.



BTW...they are taking a couple of the original Viewliner sleepers and prototypes that had been sitting out-of-service for heavy repairs for years and years and are doing them up in a coach configuration. I think LD, not corridor. But they're gonna road-test a couple configurations and see if they can fine-tune it to something they like when it's time to plunk $$$ for the real coach cars.

And that's what's cool about these modular snap-in sections: you can hack together a prototype interior right in the shop, snap it in, and try before you buy. Then snap it out, change it, and try something else.

I'm not too familiar with the certain models or names of the cars. But I DO know that those ancient dinosaur AmCans, as you like to refer to them as, I can only say one thing; Gotta go!

I'm pretty certain that they've been rebuilt multiple times, but it is now time to cut the cord with those cars, get new more efficient shiny ones and put those old cars out to pasture. Hopefully, the new cars will have overhead stowage bins like the ones featured on the Acela trains!

Also, I'll be so bloody glad when the much older dining / cafe cars are replaced! Hopefully, the new ones will have more room, seating wise. They ARE having new ones made, also in the shape of the Viewliner cars.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

I'm not too familiar with the certain models or names of the cars. But I DO know that those ancient dinosaur AmCans, as you like to refer to them as, I can only say one thing; Gotta go!

I'm pretty certain that they've been rebuilt multiple times, but it is now time to cut the cord with those cars, get new more efficient shiny ones and put those old cars out to pasture. Hopefully, the new cars will have overhead bins like the ones featured on the Acela trains!

Also, I'll be so bloody glad when the much older dining / cafe cars are replaced! Hopefully, the new ones will have more room, seating wise. They ARE having new ones made, also in the shape of the Viewliner cars.

The Viewliners are a lot taller and should be able to accommodate overhead storage. You'll get some idea what their ultimate coach configuration is going to be when they finish rebuilding those few long out-of-service sleepers into coach prototypes. Those should be out there next year sometime for revenue tests, although obviously with only a few prototypes to go around it's luck-of-the-draw if you ever get to ride the inside of one.


Right now these are the single-levels they have on the roster that are up for retirement.

-- Amfleet I (built 1974-75; originally 492 units now 470+ with some in long-term storage). These are the corridor coaches. Up to 84 seats, with some being configured as cafe or business cars.

-- Amfleet II (built 1980-81; originally 150 units now 145). These are the LD coaches. 59 seats, some configured as dinettes. Only way to tell apart from an Amfleet I on the outside is the slightly larger windows.

-- Metroliner cab cars (built 1968-69 as Metroliner EMU's, converted to cab cars 1982-2007; originally 61 units now 17 with many stored or scrapped). These were the gov't-funded experimental high-speed EMU's for private Pennsylvania RR that were the first stab at an Acela-like HSR service on the NEC. So infamously unreliable and breakdown-prone they never moved at their rated speed and ended up setting back the cause for HSR in the U.S. by 30 years. Amtrak inherited these lemons upon its inception and retired them all from self-powered service in 1982. Since they have engineer's cabs at each end and coach seating they did work as push-pull cabs. They started using many of them for that purpose as-is...simply with the pantograph dropped, in later rebuilds fully demotorized as de facto Amfleet cabs. Budd had so many extra Metroliner shells lying around its factory after the original 100+ order was cut short by all the problems they were having that it developed the Amfleet coach as an excuse to use those last shells...and basically saved the company in the process because as coaches they were basically the most reliable purchase anyone's made in the last 70 years. Impossible to tell a Metroliner apart from an Amfleet I except for the end cap with the engineer's cab.

-- Horizons (95 ordered, 95 in-service; built 1988-89). Some cafes and cafe/business configurations. These are "Comet"-class design, which is exactly the same as all of the MBTA's single-level coaches. Interior configured for corridor service more or less identical to an Amfleet I, but they have that harsh commuter rail lighting. Banished to Midwest and West because manual doors require conductor assistance, and they don't want that mixing on the NEC. Rough ride quality, and problems with stuck doors and plumbing on the toilets. Most of them being displaced by the Superliner corridor cars on-order for Chicago hub, so most of the Horizons will be put on reserve as a 'swing' fleet.



Of these the Metroliners are in most urgent need of replacement because of their age, small numbers, and fact that when Amtrak's more powerful next-gen diesel locomotives are delivered they'd really like to convert all non-LD, non-NE Regional trains to push-pull to save the expense of a second locomotive. Which means they need more cabs. Probably the first new Viewliner configuration they order next.

Horizons are being displaced by bi-levels and definitely aren't going to be appearing East except in cases of equipment shortages (e.g. Thanksgiving/Xmas travel extras) because the East Coasters would hate them even more than the Midwesterners do. So with most probably being stored they're easy to retire.

Amfleet II's go before the I's because they've been ridden into the ground on LD routes and are in much poorer condition. And there'll be less need for them overall when the Superliner III bi-levels get ordered and banish the II's to just the handful of LD routes operating out of New York or other low-clearance places.

I's are last because there's so many more of them to replace that they're better off purging the smaller numbers of the other 3 vehicle classes first. It's not like 500 units can just be pumped out overnight. Also, they will have more reserve units onhand when the Midwest corridor bi-levels are in-service, because Amfleet I's supplement the Horizons on many routes and even go out to California to deal with their car shortage. Those will all come home to East Coast to give the rest of the active fleet cushion and more shop time to safely increase their lifespan to the back end of the replacement order.


So, yes...you're going to have to put up with them on your NE Regional for another 10 years, unfortunately. But the upside is there'll be more of them coming back East when all these ongoing bi-level orders ease the car shortage. So in exchange for the 10-year wait you'll be getting a good 8 years of less-crowded Regionals with more cars available to run them. And they will get replaced. It just can't be overnight with them juggling such a fury of locomotive, bi-level, and single-level orders more or less 2 at a time for a decade straight. It's basically the most all-new passenger equipment anyone in this country has tried to order in that short a span of time in almost 100 years. So...can't quibble too much with the results. Especially when the replacements--Superliner/bi-level based or Viewliner/single-level based--are such battle-tested designs. We know it's going to be a high-quality product.

 

[Jahvon09]

The Viewliners are a lot taller and should be able to accommodate overhead storage. You'll get some idea what their ultimate coach configuration is going to be when they finish rebuilding those few long out-of-service sleepers into coach prototypes. Those should be out there next year sometime for revenue tests, although obviously with only a few prototypes to go around it's luck-of-the-draw if you ever get to ride the inside of one.


Right now these are the single-levels they have on the roster that are up for retirement.

-- Amfleet I (built 1974-75; originally 492 units now 470+ with some in long-term storage). These are the corridor coaches. Up to 84 seats, with some being configured as cafe or business cars.

-- Amfleet II (built 1980-81; originally 150 units now 145). These are the LD coaches. 59 seats, some configured as dinettes. Only way to tell apart from an Amfleet I on the outside is the slightly larger windows.

-- Metroliner cab cars (built 1968-69 as Metroliner EMU's, converted to cab cars 1982-2007; originally 61 units now 17 with many stored or scrapped). These were the gov't-funded experimental high-speed EMU's for private Pennsylvania RR that were the first stab at an Acela-like HSR service on the NEC. So infamously unreliable and breakdown-prone they never moved at their rated speed and ended up setting back the cause for HSR in the U.S. by 30 years. Amtrak inherited these lemons upon its inception and retired them all from self-powered service in 1982. Since they have engineer's cabs at each end and coach seating they did work as push-pull cabs. They started using many of them for that purpose as-is...simply with the pantograph dropped, in later rebuilds fully demotorized as de facto Amfleet cabs. Budd had so many extra Metroliner shells lying around its factory after the original 100+ order was cut short by all the problems they were having that it developed the Amfleet coach as an excuse to use those last shells...and basically saved the company in the process because as coaches they were basically the most reliable purchase anyone's made in the last 70 years. Impossible to tell a Metroliner apart from an Amfleet I except for the end cap with the engineer's cab.

-- Horizons (95 ordered, 95 in-service; built 1988-89). Some cafes and cafe/business configurations. These are "Comet"-class design, which is exactly the same as all of the MBTA's single-level coaches. Interior configured for corridor service more or less identical to an Amfleet I, but they have that harsh commuter rail lighting. Banished to Midwest and West because manual doors require conductor assistance, and they don't want that mixing on the NEC. Rough ride quality, and problems with stuck doors and plumbing on the toilets. Most of them being displaced by the Superliner corridor cars on-order for Chicago hub, so most of the Horizons will be put on reserve as a 'swing' fleet.



Of these the Metroliners are in most urgent need of replacement because of their age, small numbers, and fact that when Amtrak's more powerful next-gen diesel locomotives are delivered they'd really like to convert all non-LD, non-NE Regional trains to push-pull to save the expense of a second locomotive. Which means they need more cabs. Probably the first new Viewliner configuration they order next.

Horizons are being displaced by bi-levels and definitely aren't going to be appearing East except in cases of equipment shortages (e.g. Thanksgiving/Xmas travel extras) because the East Coasters would hate them even more than the Midwesterners do. So with most probably being stored they're easy to retire.

Amfleet II's go before the I's because they've been ridden into the ground on LD routes and are in much poorer condition. And there'll be less need for them overall when the Superliner III bi-levels get ordered and banish the II's to just the handful of LD routes operating out of New York or other low-clearance places.

I's are last because there's so many more of them to replace that they're better off purging the smaller numbers of the other 3 vehicle classes first. It's not like 500 units can just be pumped out overnight. Also, they will have more reserve units onhand when the Midwest corridor bi-levels are in-service, because Amfleet I's supplement the Horizons on many routes and even go out to California to deal with their car shortage. Those will all come home to East Coast to give the rest of the active fleet cushion and more shop time to safely increase their lifespan to the back end of the replacement order.


So, yes...you're going to have to put up with them on your NE Regional for another 10 years, unfortunately. But the upside is there'll be more of them coming back East when all these ongoing bi-level orders ease the car shortage. So in exchange for the 10-year wait you'll be getting a good 8 years of less-crowded Regionals with more cars available to run them. And they will get replaced. It just can't be overnight with them juggling such a fury of locomotive, bi-level, and single-level orders more or less 2 at a time for a decade straight. It's basically the most all-new passenger equipment anyone in this country has tried to order in that short a span of time in almost 100 years. So...can't quibble too much with the results. Especially when the replacements--Superliner/bi-level based or Viewliner/single-level based--are such battle-tested designs. We know it's going to be a high-quality product.

So you're saying that some or all of the original Viewliner cars will be rehabbed & converted over to taller coach cars. That is good! It would save them money over having entirely new coach cars made!

Also, it is amazing that 1 new electric locomotive can pull a ten-car long distance train!

And as for the Viewliner cars, there doesn't seem to be that many out there. The Silver Meteor & Silver Star only use 3 on each train.

I wouldn't be surprised if the new diesel locomotives are in the shape of the Viewliner cars!

 

[EricS]

I believe he's referring to the 3 prototype Viewliners (built in the 1980s?), not the existing Viewliner I sleepers.

One of the original Viewliners is a dining car that is operating now - I could be mistaken, but I do not believe that car is being changed from a diner to anything else. As for the other 2 prototype Viewliners, I'm not sure what is happening with them. At any rate, though, you're only talking about a few cars, not a new fleet of coach cars.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

So you're saying that some or all of the original Viewliner cars will be rehabbed & converted over to taller coach cars. That is good! It would save them money over having entirely new coach cars made!

Also, it is amazing that 1 new electric locomotive can pull a ten-car long distance train!

And as for the Viewliner cars, there doesn't seem to be that many out there. The Silver Meteor & Silver Star only use 3 on each train.

I wouldn't be surprised if the new diesel locomotives are in the shape of the Viewliner cars!

There's only a few new Viewbags in revenue service. A majority of the fleet is delivered, however. Just like any new railcar it has to go through X miles of 'burn-in' testing before it's accepted into revenue service. So most of them are on test trains at the moment. Crews on any given route also have to be qualified on the equipment before it's assigned to that route, so they're being deployed by crew base one-by-one and will start popping up in revenue service whole regions at a time. They should be getting through testing much more quickly now that we're in the warm months.


The Sprinter locomotives can power 12 full coaches. The new Charger diesels will have similar capacity. You'll still see LD trains running with 2 locomotives at all times because the dining cars take a ton of electricity off the locomotive's generator to run, and the sleepers likewise require more juice than a coach. So they need the 2-locomotive lash-ups on the LD's for the onboard electricity more than they do the hauling power. But the power boost means that the few diesel corridor services still running with 2 locomotives will go 100% push-pull, and any monster LD's (like the Auto Train) that still require 3 locomotives will shrink back to 2 for cost savings and more additional locomotives to assign elsewhere. Much like when they migrated to the GE Genesis from the old F40PH's 20 years ago the more powerful generators let them use fewer locomotives to power the same trains. Northeast Regionals will continue always running double-ended in electric territory for the acceleration advantage. So on the NEC-proper it's only the state-sponsored routes that run express and/or with shorter trains like the Keystones/Pennsylvanian, Vermonter, Carolinian which would go push-pull (and I think all of them already are...definitely the Keystones and Vermonter).

The Charger diesels are supposed to look very much like the Sprinters since they're both Siemens products derived from the same design. Should be end of the year when the first completed unit goes into testing at the Siemens plant. This is the closest there is to an up-to-date rendering:

vs.

Last-ever revenue run of the oldest unrebuilt AEM-7DC electrics was 4 days ago on Wednesday, and the HHP-8 lemons have been gone since November. The only old electrics left are the 29 AEM-7AC's that were remanufactured between 1999-2006 and still in good condition. Those are the ones they'll attempt to sell or lease to some commuter rail operator like MARC or SEPTA if they can shake down any interest, since they'd easily last another 10 years on lighter commuter rail duty. Swedish Transport also uses nearly identical electrics in freight and commuter service, so they might take them if there's no interested U.S. buyers (and will probably bid on most of the parts from the kaput scrap units since they're rebuilding lots of their units). Expect those remaining AEM-7's to last for another year as revenue reserves and work equipment as Amtrak keeps them in ready-to-run shape for sale. (No, the T can't buy any of them because not all Providence Line commuter rail platform tracks are wired yet.)

 

[Jahvon09]

There's only a few new Viewbags in revenue service. A majority of the fleet is delivered, however. Just like any new railcar it has to go through X miles of 'burn-in' testing before it's accepted into revenue service. So most of them are on test trains at the moment. Crews on any given route also have to be qualified on the equipment before it's assigned to that route, so they're being deployed by crew base one-by-one and will start popping up in revenue service whole regions at a time. They should be getting through testing much more quickly now that we're in the warm months.


The Sprinter locomotives can power 12 full coaches. The new Charger diesels will have similar capacity. You'll still see LD trains running with 2 locomotives at all times because the dining cars take a ton of electricity off the locomotive's generator to run, and the sleepers likewise require more juice than a coach. So they need the 2-locomotive lash-ups on the LD's for the onboard electricity more than they do the hauling power. But the power boost means that the few diesel corridor services still running with 2 locomotives will go 100% push-pull, and any monster LD's (like the Auto Train) that still require 3 locomotives will shrink back to 2 for cost savings and more additional locomotives to assign elsewhere. Much like when they migrated to the GE Genesis from the old F40PH's 20 years ago the more powerful generators let them use fewer locomotives to power the same trains. Northeast Regionals will continue always running double-ended in electric territory for the acceleration advantage. So on the NEC-proper it's only the state-sponsored routes that run express and/or with shorter trains like the Keystones/Pennsylvanian, Vermonter, Carolinian which would go push-pull (and I think all of them already are...definitely the Keystones and Vermonter).

The Charger diesels are supposed to look very much like the Sprinters since they're both Siemens products derived from the same design. Should be end of the year when the first completed unit goes into testing at the Siemens plant. This is the closest there is to an up-to-date rendering:

vs.

Last-ever revenue run of the oldest unrebuilt AEM-7DC electrics was 4 days ago on Wednesday, and the HHP-8 lemons have been gone since November. The only old electrics left are the 29 AEM-7AC's that were remanufactured between 1999-2006 and still in good condition. Those are the ones they'll attempt to sell or lease to some commuter rail operator like MARC or SEPTA if they can shake down any interest, since they'd easily last another 10 years on lighter commuter rail duty. Swedish Transport also uses nearly identical electrics in freight and commuter service, so they might take them if there's no interested U.S. buyers (and will probably bid on most of the parts from the kaput scrap units since they're rebuilding lots of their units). Expect those remaining AEM-7's to last for another year as revenue reserves and work equipment as Amtrak keeps them in ready-to-run shape for sale. (No, the T can't buy any of them because not all Providence Line commuter rail platform tracks are wired yet.)

I like the looks of the New Siemens Charger diesel engines! The one on the left in the first pic gives a more defined look similar to the Sprinter! It shows the side of it.

They look just as streamlined and sexy as the Sprinter! Yeah, the AEM-7's though, look ugly, dirty & nasty.

So they are planning to replace the GE Genesis locomotives as well? Looks like Amtrak is making sweeping changes & modifications to just about ALL of its fleet of cars and locos!

Also, the Sprinter is no slouch when it comes to speed! It "flies" between 128 & Providence! You'd almost think that you were on the Acela! It's a pretty cool loco, and it MOVES!

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

I like the looks of the New Siemens Charger diesel engines! The one on the left in the first pic gives a more defined look similar to the Sprinter! It shows the side of it.

They look just as streamlined and sexy as the Sprinter! Yeah, the AEM-7's though, look ugly, dirty & nasty.

So they are planning to replace the GE Genesis locomotives as well? Looks like Amtrak is making sweeping changes & modifications to just about ALL of its fleet of cars and locos!

The Charger base order is just for state-sponsored fleet expansion, because they're really thin on equipment in the Midwest and California. If the states exercise the first option order on the contract it retires the smallish fleet of F59PHI corridor locomotives used only in California and on the Cascades route, lets them pull the few P32-8WH "Dash 8" locomotives that are in revenue service and assign them exclusively to work duty (most of them already are on work duty, since they're weaklings at pulling longer trains), and return some Genesis engines back into the national pool. Which in turn will let them scrap all the stored and wreck-damaged Genesis units that are out-of-service instead of holding them for future repair. The third and final option displaces all 200+ Genesis diesels with exception of the New York dual-modes, which aren't due for replacement till 2020.

So, yes, if the base order is a success in 2016 they will most likely drain the complete options and overturn the entire straight-diesel fleet by 2018 and be left with just the Sprinter, the Charger, the Acela power cars, and a couple more years of the 17 dual-mode Genesis units until that separate replacement decision gets hashed out.

 

[Jahvon09]

Here's the Sprinter when it was in the testing stage at Siemens test track.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbHIUFajhbM

 

[Arlington]

The new Charger diesels will have similar capacity. You'll still see LD trains running with 2 locomotives at all times because the dining cars take a ton of electricity off the locomotive's generator to run, and the sleepers likewise require more juice than a coach. So they need the 2-locomotive lash-ups on the LD's for the onboard electricity more than they do the hauling power. But the power boost means that the few diesel corridor services still running with 2 locomotives will go 100% push-pull, and any monster LD's (like the Auto Train) that still require 3 locomotives will shrink back to 2 for cost savings and more additional locomotives to assign elsewhere.

Amtrak's Silver Star is dropping its diner for a market test as a bargain overnight NEC-Florida train (the test runs July 1 to Jan 1 2016 or so). Any sense
1) How many more coaches you can run if you don't have a diner?
2) How close could an LD come to 1 loco if it had no diner and only new more-energy-efficient Viewliners (LED lights, no in-room toilet)
3) If a Charger would permit 1 loco operation from both a HEP and hauling power standpoint on a V-II, diner-free train?

 

[EricS]

It's worth noting that a couple of long distance Amtrak trains regularly do operate with only one locomotive - City of New Orleans and Texas Eagle.

 

[Jahvon09]

There IS a train that runs from Savanna, GA to New York's Penn Station and it looks like an all-coach train with no Viewliner cars, I think.

I would never ride that one for the simple fact that there are no Viewliner sleeping cars with it! It's a straight all-coach train, and if you're riding from Savanna to New York, sitting in those coach seats for that long a period, it is going to be pretty unbearably uncomfy after a while!

I would not ride a train like that for that long a period with no Viewliner cars!

But I thought that I read that only the roomettes won't have toilets in the new Viewliner cars.

 

[Arlington]

^ The Palmetto has no sleepers. It also has no diner. Thanks to llow costs it has the lowest losses, by far, of any Amtrak Long Distace train. The point is not to ride the whole way, the point is to serve the mid-length markets that overlap all along the way like NY-Richmond and DC-Savannah (just like basically.nobody (about 1% )rides an Acela all the way from Boston through to DC)