Siemens HSR Train in front of CA State Capitol

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Blackwolf

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Oh, I'll TOTALLY be checking this out.

http://www.kcra.com/news/bullet-train-mockup-turns-heads-at-capitol/31435338

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —A woman stared for several minutes as a crane hoisted huge jigsaw-like pieces off a flatbed truck and placed them on the west steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento.

"I give up," the woman told a California Highway Patrol officer standing nearby. "What is it?"

When fully assembled, it will be a 50-foot-long, life-sized model of a bullet train.

The German engineering company, Siemens, plans to open the mock-up to public visits Wednesday and Thursday.

"We thought it would be a good idea to show people how high-speed rail will look in California," said Armin Kick, Siemen's director of high-speed rail for the United States.

The mock-up includes passenger seats, a snack bar and a driver's compartment.
 
Alright, so I went out after lunch today and took a tour of the Siemens exibit on the West Lawn of the California State Capitol.

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I'm sure its just coincidence that the placement is photogenic!

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Nice bit of signage for the entry que to tour the exhibit. Inside a small tent was a few Siemens employees and posters with information on the various products the company's Sacramento plant produces. There was a television monitor showing the building process for the Amtrak ACS-64 locomotives, and touting their 125mph speed capability.

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There is a dedicated press filiming location, and it was in use by one of the local news agencies interviewing a Siemens executive when I stopped by.
 
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At the back side of the tent was a poster outlining the Velaro family of trains that Siemens produces, and according to the company representative I spoke with just before snapping this photo, he said that the Velaro 26 was the specific model being used for California's bid.

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The "cockpit" of the mock-up. You could sit in the engineer's seat and pretent to open the throttles if you wanted!

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Another view of the engineer's control cab.

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View looking back into the mock-up cafe and First Class seating area.
 
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Mock-up of a 'self-serve' Cafe, complete with menu and a few items to grab.

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Another information board talking about Siemens products, this time inside the train.

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Lounge area of the Cafe, with the LSA station in the background.

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Table seating showing the First Class accomodations available (2x1 leather reclining seats that actually are pretty comfortable to sit in!)
 
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Last shot of the interior: First Class seating does not seem to have very good seat pitch when configured for normal rows. I'm 5'8" and felt I was in United Economy, save for the wider leather seat! (Hopefully the real thing has better spacing!)

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Looking at the other side of the mock-up. This was the side lawmakers inside the Capitol saw, complete with a little slogan.

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Train's a-comin'!
 
Just a note: The numbers aren't model numbers, they're the number built of each model.
 
Things like seat pitch, spacing and choice of colors are not decided by Siemens but by the customer.

Siemens will make the train to whatever specification is required.
 
Very nice! I like the setting, which by odd coincidence lets the lawmakers read the advertising.
The do understand marketing.
 
Interesting that they're using the Velaro E (the Spanish one) as the base model for the US market instead of one of the more newer models such as the D or E320.

peter
 
Things like seat pitch, spacing and choice of colors are not decided by Siemens but by the customer.
You would think that they would then want to show a best-case scenario to try to wow the crowds. Is anyone going to be impressed by a train that looks like economy class on an airplane?
 
But the real train when deployed will look more or less like this. It certainly won't look like the Maharajah Express. So why display things that won't be?

Specifically in this case the real selling point is the short running time, i.e. a characteristic shared with planes, and not extreme luxury anyway. There really is no reason to believe that the accommodation will be any more spacious than on Acelas or California Cars.
 
Interesting that they're using the Velaro E (the Spanish one) as the base model for the US market instead of one of the more newer models such as the D or E320.

peter
CAHSR is looking for a proven model with a good track record. Seimens might feel that the Spanish Velaro fits our requirements best.

Or it was the easiest model to build as a wooden mockup.
 
Interesting that they're using the Velaro E (the Spanish one) as the base model for the US market instead of one of the more newer models such as the D or E320.

peter
CAHSR is looking for a proven model with a good track record. Seimens might feel that the Spanish Velaro fits our requirements best.

Or it was the easiest model to build as a wooden mockup.
Based off from the paint scheme, which admittedly is just the Siemens house colors, it would most closely represent the newest Velaro TR.

But when it all comes down to it, CAHSR isn't going to be buying Velaro Es, TRs, or e320s, They're going to be be buying Velaros made for the US. Which is how the Velaro thing works. They're all basically the same, Siemens just tweaks the interior, paint scheme, and a few mechanical bits to meet the operating companies requirements.

If I had to guess we will end up with the Velaro US.

peter
 
Looks Nice! Can't wait for this and the dedicated HSR infrastructure to put the NEC and Acela to shame! 200MPH+ vs In Theory 150MPH. This fall when I'm in Europe, hope I can ride the new Eurostar based on the similar train as the mockup instead of the current TGV based one.
 
Interesting that they're using the Velaro E (the Spanish one) as the base model for the US market instead of one of the more newer models such as the D or E320.

peter
CAHSR is looking for a proven model with a good track record. Seimens might feel that the Spanish Velaro fits our requirements best.

Or it was the easiest model to build as a wooden mockup.
Based off from the paint scheme, which admittedly is just the Siemens house colors, it would most closely represent the newest Velaro TR.

But when it all comes down to it, CAHSR isn't going to be buying Velaro Es, TRs, or e320s, They're going to be be buying Velaros made for the US. Which is how the Velaro thing works. They're all basically the same, Siemens just tweaks the interior, paint scheme, and a few mechanical bits to meet the operating companies requirements.

If I had to guess we will end up with the Velaro US.

peter
Calaro!
 
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