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Viewliner

Engineer
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Aug 23, 2002
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Since Amfleet is telling everyone about his new site, I might as well mention mine. My page features Amtrak News, Amtrak Photos, NJ Transit Photos, Viewliner Information (of course :) ), a Viewliner Roster (Surprise :lol: ), and Metro North RR, and LIRR Photos as well. I'd like to know your opinions, or if you find any errors.

Click Here to visit Amtrak Online- An unofficial Amtrak Website.

Thanks for viewing, enjoy the page.

If you'd like to submit something (which I'd appreciate), like a Photo or a trip report, send mail to [email protected].

Also, thanks to the following users for their submissions:

AlanB (Photos)

Amfleet (Photos)

Bill Haithcoat (Photos)

Miami Joe (Resource for the Viewliner Roster and Information)

Have a Happy and healthy holiday everybody. :)
 
I'll PM you with some things, otherwise it's a good site so far. :)
 
Ok, I don't know too much about Metro-North, but I saw on your website, Viewliner, the Comet cars. Those look very similar to the Horizon fleet that we use in the midwest for hub and corridor service. Do you know if they are the same?
 
You're right, the Comet II's (NJ Transit) a.k.a. Shoreliner (Metro North) cars are basically the same as the Horizon cars, in fact if you put a Comet II in Amtrak colors, it would closely resemble a Horizon. Inside, its geared for commuters, which might be more cramped than a Horizon (If thats possible :lol: ). They were both built in the '80s, by Bombardier (I think). The Comet II's were delivered for NJT Service just before its inception.

Other than the Comet II, no other cars resemble the horizon, as the Comet I's are for low-level platforms only (except cab cars) so it has different doors. NJT's Comet III's, IV's and V's are even more different, because they have center double doors for High-level Platforms (something only the Northeast has).

Ironically, tommorow is NJTRO's (New Jersey Transit Rail Operations) 20th anniversary, the first train departed Hoboken at 12:30 am on January 1, 1983.

So Happy 20th NJT!!! :)

abrnjt%20ALP-44%204420a.jpg


abrnjtcometII.jpg


abrnjt5680.jpg
 
I still remember the old Erie Lackawana commuter MU's from when I was a child visiting relatives in Union...they looked ancient then. I wonder if any of those are still around?
 
tp49 said:
I still remember the old Erie Lackawana commuter MU's from when I was a child visiting relatives in Union...they looked ancient then. I wonder if any of those are still around?
Click to expand...
Not anywhere on the NJT System. The only MU's NJT uses are Arrow III's, which you can find pics of on my site (they're no prize either).

Does anyone have any pics or something they'd like to submit to Amtrak Online- an unofficial amtrak website?
 
I rode a train of Arrow MU's last Friday from Trenton to NYP, they were horrid to sit in and the acceleration is terrible too. Also could not find the bathrooms on the darn things. I can't wait to see their demise.
 
tp49 said:
I rode a train of Arrow MU's last Friday from Trenton to NYP, they were horrid to sit in and the acceleration is terrible too. Also could not find the bathrooms on the darn things. I can't wait to see their demise.
Click to expand...
Due to the High Maintenece Costs, NJT is done with MU's. I reccomend a ride on the comet IV's, Comet II refurbs, but particularlly the New Comet V's. Check out the Interior (and Exterior Pics) of them on my site as well.
 
Viewliner said:
tp49 said:
I rode a train of Arrow MU's last Friday from Trenton to NYP, they were horrid to sit in and the acceleration is terrible too.  Also could not find the bathrooms on the darn things.  I can't wait to see their demise.
Click to expand...
Due to the High Maintenece Costs, NJT is done with MU's. I reccomend a ride on the comet IV's, Comet II refurbs, but particularlly the New Comet V's. Check out the Interior (and Exterior Pics) of them on my site as well.
Click to expand...
Saw some of the Comet V's in a yard somewhere in the Meadowlands on the outbound trip. They look sharp. I was on a mixed consist of Comet's on my outbound pushed by an ALP-44. It is always fun to ride a different road and NJT to Philly (Trenton and a SEPTA connection) is a great way to do it (and inexpensive too :) )
 
I've seen a few ALP-46's both at Sunnyside and in the yard near the Meadowlands (5 tied up together) and a couple running around the system when I rode NJT last week.

Elvis may have left the building, but he's alive at NJT :)
 
Viewliner said:
tp49 said:
I rode a train of Arrow MU's last Friday from Trenton to NYP, they were horrid to sit in and the acceleration is terrible too.  Also could not find the bathrooms on the darn things.  I can't wait to see their demise.
Click to expand...
Due to the High Maintenece Costs, NJT is done with MU's. I reccomend a ride on the comet IV's, Comet II refurbs, but particularlly the New Comet V's. Check out the Interior (and Exterior Pics) of them on my site as well.
Click to expand...
Yet oddly, NJT is the only commuter RR in the area that seems to believe that MU's aren't the right type of cars to buy. Metro North, LIRR, SEPTA, even the State of Conneticut, all believe that MU's are the way to go. Plus as we've noted here in conjunction with Amtrak, putting all of your eggs in one basket is risky. If you have MU's or at least an extra engine, then one can often keep the train moving in the event of an engine failure.
 
What you said makes sense Alan, I find Push-Pull Cars more comfortable than the MU's, fortunately NJT doesn't span the distances Amtrak does so it takes less effort for a rescue engine to reach the train (like the Ethan Allen Express the other day that broke down).

I think it would make sense to have a rescue engine at "Key" stations in NJT's case if they put all their eggs in one basket. For example on the Morris and Essex Lines (MidTOWN Direct) it would help to have a rescue engine at New York/Hoboken, Summit, and Dover/Gladstone just in case.
 
Viewliner said:
tp49 said:
I still remember the old Erie Lackawana commuter MU's from when I was a child visiting relatives in Union...they looked ancient then.  I wonder if any of those are still around?
Click to expand...
Not anywhere on the NJT System. The only MU's NJT uses are Arrow III's, which you can find pics of on my site (they're no prize either).
Click to expand...
While I admit that they are no longer used as MU's, technically it is still possible to ride in an Arrow I MU car. If one is lucky enough to catch a train running with a Comet IB car, then you are sitting in what used to be an Arrow I MU.

The Comet IB class is really Arrow I MU cars that were overhauled in the late 1980's and converted to push-pull cars. All of the traction motors and other associated MU parts were removed during the overhaul.
 
Did not realize that Amtrak does the ticketing for Shore Line East, now I know who to get tickets from.
 
Amtrak does not do ticketing for Shoreline East. That ticket happens to be for a Coach accomadation on an Unreserved Acela Regional train betweenNew London, CT and New Haven, CT. However, it is not for any particular unreserved Amtrak train and can possibly be lifted on a Shoreline East train (not sure though). That ticket is not valid on any reserved train.
 
Amfleet said:
Amtrak does not do ticketing for Shoreline East. That ticket happens to be for a Coach accomadation on an Unreserved Acela Regional train betweenNew London, CT and New Haven, CT. However, it is not for any particular unreserved Amtrak train and can possibly be lifted on a Shoreline East train (not sure though). That ticket is not valid on any reserved train.
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Amfleet,

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that ticket was indeed purchased by Superliner Diner (a very reliable source), for a trip he just made on a Shoreline train.

Apparently, at least at some locations, Amtrak and it's ticket agents do indeed sell tickets for the Shoreline East service. I'm not sure if Amtrak does it at all stations, or just some. Trust me, SD knows an Amtrak ticket agent when he sees one.
 
Oops, I thought that ticket was for an Amtrak train, but I didn't know that Amtrak ticket agents sold Shoreline East tickets on Amtrak ticket paper. :blink:

Alan, you can burst my bubble anytime because new information will just pop right out! :D
 
By the way Amtrak unreserved fare for that ride would cost $28 bucks, not

$7.75 and there are no railsale tickets for the NEC.
 
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