Amtrak Horizon Passager Cars.

[battalion51]

It depends on the train. It's usually in the middle of the train though.

 

[Amtrak Railfan]

Is the seats on the Horizon Cars are very old?

 

[Amfleet]

Is the seats on the Horizon Cars are very old?

Well, if the car is unrefurbished then the seats date back to around 1988. They are quite similar, if not the same, than the seats found in an unrefurbished Amfleet I Coach. Refurbished cars have seats that are only a couple years old and upolstered in a green fabric with the same pattern as a Superliner II Coach seat.

 

[battalion51]

Umm, actually white fabric is used in SII coaches. The green material is found in deluxe bedrooms (on both Viewliners and Superliners) as well as in Heritage Crew dorms.

 

[Amfleet]

Umm, actually white fabric is used in SII coaches. The green material is found in deluxe bedrooms (on both Viewliners and Superliners) as well as in Heritage Crew dorms.

Never said the Horizon seats were the same color, they just have that crazy looking Superliner II pattern, in green. Also, aren't the seats in Superliner II Coaches a gray/pink, not white?

 

[battalion51]

Well I think of them as white. :lol:

 

[Amfleet]

Well I think of them as white. :lol:

Now B-51, there is a big difference between white and pink. :lol: Unless your color blind of course.

 

[battalion51]

Well I was talking more about the grey than I was the pink. If you ask me what color the Concept 2000 seats are,t hose are blue, even though there are grey streaks in them as well. I generally look more at the main color. :lol:

 

[Amtrak Railfan]

What kind of sound does the Horizon Passager Cars make to close the doors?

 

[P40Power]

Squueeek Squuueeek BAMM chich click

In translation

The squeeks are the door being closed ( it needs a little oil) the bamm is the shutting of the door, and the chich clink is the locking of the handle! Thats the best translation I can do

 

[battalion51]

Horizon cars if I'm not mistaken only have manual doors, similar to that of an Amfleet II. The cars with auto doors are the Amfleet I's, Acelas, Pacific Surfliners, and California cars. Everything else is manual.

 

[EmpireBuilderFan]

Horizon cars if I'm not mistaken only have manual doors, similar to that of an Amfleet II. The cars with auto doors are the Amfleet I's, Acelas, Pacific Surfliners, and California cars. Everything else is manual.

Add the Cascade Talgos to that list of automatic doors. There's even an automatic step that comes out when the door opens.

 

[AlanB]

You can also add Metroliner equipment and the Turboliner trains to that list.

Additionally while the conductor may not be able to control the doors, due to lack of controls in the Amfleet II's, aren't the Viewliner doors capable of auto control? :unsure:

 

[battalion51]

Negative. The Viewliner doors swing in ala Superliner. I forgot about the Turboliner, but the Metroliners kinda fall under Amfleet I in my book.

 

[AlanB]

Negative. The Viewliner doors swing in ala Superliner. I forgot about the Turboliner, but the Metroliners kinda fall under Amfleet I in my book.

I wasn't sure about that, although honestly I never really paid attention to the Viewliner doors. It just seemed logical that they would build the new equipment with auto-doors.

As for the Metroliner equipment, most of the current equipment falls under the Amfleet I design, however there is Metroliner equipment that pre-dates Amfleet I equipment that is still in use.

Hence my statement that Metroliner equipment has auto-doors, since it is kind of in its own world.

 

[Amfleet]

It just seemed logical that they would build the new equipment with auto-doors.

Then one would argue than why weren't automatic doors installed a Superliner I or II equipment even though they were built after the Amfleets. For the cost it probably not worth it for LD trains to have automatic doors just because there will always be an attendant to open up the door to the cars at which passengers are to board. You wouldn't want passengers boarding in Dining Cars, Lounge Cars, or Crew Cars.

 

[AlanB]

It just seemed logical that they would build the new equipment with auto-doors.  

Then one would argue than why weren't automatic doors installed a Superliner I or II equipment even though they were built after the Amfleets.

I'm sure that cost was a big factor in not placing auto-doors on the Superliners and Viewliners. However with the cost of that equipment coming down, coupled with the fact that all trains being manufactured today have auto-doors, one might start to find auto-doors on new equipment if and when Amtrak ever gets the funding for new equipment.

For the cost it probably not worth it for LD trains to have automatic doors just because there will always be an attendant to open up the door to the cars at which passengers are to board.

Well that's not really true, as many times there is only one coach attendant for three cars. Of course this is only a problem when detraining, as during boarding one actually wants to control the boarding/seat assignment process.

You wouldn't want passengers boarding in Dining Cars, Lounge Cars, or Crew Cars.

That's an easy one to fix, you just keyout or lockout those doors. This gets done all the time on trains. In fact on many occasions I've seen the doors on the cafe car locked out on the Acela's during boarding. Not all crews seem to do this, but on many occasions I have seen this done.

 

[tp49]

Keying out the doors is common practice on the 88xx California cafe cars which have no revenue seating. This is also routinely done on the LIRR'sMU's when they keep a set of cars closed on off peak trains or when a door malfunctions.

 

[battalion51]

Keying out doors is also common place on longer trainsets in small stations, i.e. BWI and New Carrollton.

 

[Amfleet]

Keying out doors is also common place on longer trainsets in small stations, i.e. BWI and New Carrollton.

I take it though that to key out doors a crew member most go to those to the specific cars to make sure they don't open. I don't see how they could do it from one door as the trainsets are not unified and are broken up at any given time to swap out equipment an so forth. So there is no set door line up.

 

[battalion51]

What you do is you go in the electrical locker and just switch off the door mechanism. It's a fairly complicated process of flipping a switch. :lol: This can bite you in the butt sometimes though die to consist siwtching, i.e. one Conductor will set a car not to open, it gets shuffled in the consist, and then the next Conductor gets caught off guard when the doors don't open.

 

[AlanB]

What you do is you go in the electrical locker and just switch off the door mechanism. It's a fairly complicated process of flipping a switch. :lol: This can bite you in the butt sometimes though die to consist siwtching, i.e. one Conductor will set a car not to open, it gets shuffled in the consist, and then the next Conductor gets caught off guard when the doors don't open.

On subways and commuter equipment, it's even easier than flipping a switch in an equipment locker. You literaly just turn a key in the door panel. Hence the phrase "keying out".

 

[Viewliner]

From experience on njt, you can open just one door using the local button.

 

[battalion51]

Well this is true on any equipment with auto doors. What we're talking about though is more than one set of doors opening, but not all doors opening.

 

[Viewliner]

Well this is true on any equipment with auto doors. What we're talking about though is more than one set of doors opening, but not all doors opening.

I'm going to Short Hills Tomorrow, should I Look for that feature on the equipment? :blink: