Amtrak California NPCU Test Runs

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The vehicle actually hit the side of the train. The locomotive, coach/baggage, and a coach were affected. I know the locomotive and the coach/baggage derailed for sure and I believe the other coach did as well. They didn't fall over per say... More just leaned over.

The Cafe Car, another coach (I presume), and the cab car/coach were not affected.
 
The damage to the P42 (AMTK 94) was comparatively minor, it's been back in service for a while now.
 
Blackwolf said:
X said:
Yes, 8204, and the coach in front of it, 8030, were the cars struck in Hanford, doing nearly a million dollars in damage to each car!
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Ouch! Nearly $1 million to each? I wonder just how much more damage it would have taken before talk begins of scrapping and replacement with one of the new bi-levels on order.
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2 or 3 times that amount, even 6902 hasn't been scrapped yet.

Caltrans won't give up on a car unless they absolutely have to, if they did there wouldn't be any Cab cars left! Alstom is quite skilled at returning damaged cars to service, so it's almost always cheaper, both in the short and long term, to do so.
 
Blackwolf said:
X said:
Yes, 8204, and the coach in front of it, 8030, were the cars struck in Hanford, doing nearly a million dollars in damage to each car!
Click to expand...
Ouch! Nearly $1 million to each? I wonder just how much more damage it would have taken before talk begins of scrapping and replacement with one of the new bi-levels on order. Certainly one of the major disadvantages of cab cars vs. locomotives.
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Amtrak brought back cars with well north of $1 Million in damage thanks to the Stimulus. A few cars, including the Deluxe Sleeper wrecked in the Auto Train accident several year ago, were north of $2M.
 
roadman3313 said:
And that explains that... hopefully nothing like that in the Northern California Pool!
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Well, there was the California Coach that derailed in the Oakland wash rack, then spent 3 years out of service being "repaired" 4 times in a row by 3 different entities. But I think the "Wash Rack Special" is a story to be told in person, there's nothing about it on the internet.

Nothing 'Out of service, never to return' though.
 
X said:
roadman3313 said:
And that explains that... hopefully nothing like that in the Northern California Pool!
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Well, there was the California Coach that derailed in the Oakland wash rack, then spent 3 years out of service being "repaired" 4 times in a row by 3 different entities. But I think the "Wash Rack Special" is a story to be told in person, there's nothing about it on the internet.

Nothing 'Out of service, never to return' though.
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You know, I have this bottle of 20 year old Scotch... And I only live in Sacramento... :giggle:
 
No NPCU today... just 2004 in the lead with 2015 right behind on train 717. Strange seeing two Amtrak California Locomotives in a row leading a train...

Couldn't see the rest of the consist it... riding CC 746 home after work and just passed 717 as it was waiting for us to clear just outside of Martinez. 717 is about 30 minutes down due to train congestion. 746 is about 10 minutes down but was given priority to switch in front of 717 at the split to clear the trackway.

I know the NPCU was in the yard over the weekend (Saturday at least) AFAIK. Wonder how the testing went?
 
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What's interesting is that the current San Joaquin bi-level consist for 712/717 has roughly 320 revenue seats (not counting the non-revenue seats in the cafe car.) The single-level consist will have either 256 or 320 revenue seats (depending on if they use 4 or 5 Comet cars) which means there will be little to no capacity reduction (on a train that's frequently not sold out.)

That will allow Amtrak California to reassign the 3 coaches that are used on this run to the other CC/SJ consists. The extra cars are needed on the SJ route... some of the runs do fill to near capacity (especially the 702 on Saturday morning.)

My question is... what becomes of the second single-level consist?

Amtrak California could use it to break up another bi-level consist (giving them 6 coaches for use in the other consists, along with 2 more spare cab and cafe cars.) They could also use it to start up another run on the SJ.

The other option is to use it on a consist that would overnight in Fresno. Theres been a lot of talk over the years about adding a morning run from FNO to BFD and a night run from BFD to FNO. The thought is the current first departure of the day from Fresno to LA is a bit late (9:55a>2:30p) and the last return from LA is a bit early in the day for people heading to Fresno (3:20p>8:18p.)

I personally am pulling for option #2 but I realize that would involve a lot more than just getting a consist in place.
 
The two locomotive train is on CC 533 today. Kind of surprised it still has two unless there was a problem with one and the other hasn't been disconnected yet. Was on SJ 712/717 yesterday so I guess the set rotated to the CC.

As for the NPCU... haven't seen it out since last week unless it made it out today?

712/717 are generally not a crowded runs. 713 and 714 on the other hand tend to be very busy, especially on the weekend (Fri and Sun) where they generally reach near-sell out conditions. If you had to pick one round trip, 712 to 717 is the best candidate to experiment with.
 
The pictures of Amtrak California's Cab Control Unit #90218 Oakland. I love Fresno, although I have never actually been there. But from the pictures Fresno is a great railroad destination. It is a great city because of the Amtrak Trains that come down there. It is a greater place to see trains. It is a great place to go if you are a railfan. That would be my railroad destination. I always have wanted to see Amtrak California's Cab Control Unit #90218 Oakland. It is a great place to go...is Fresno.
 
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