Amtrak Plans Add 100+ New Locomotives

[TransitRider]

The story just in, Amtrak announces that will in the works to add new 100+ locomotives for their new upgrade fleets. Story can be found directly at Amtrak Add New 100+ Locomotives

How would you feel by having new 100+ locomotives on the road up/running? Would this help bring new tehcnology for travel?

 

[wayman]

How would you feel by having new 100+ locomotives on the road up/running? Would this help bring new tehcnology for travel?

100 locomotives, let's see...

Two new engines for each of the CZ's five trainsets, that's ten engines.

Plus one protect engine each at

Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings, Holdridge, McCook, Fort Morgan, Denver, Fraser, Granby, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Green River, Helper, Provo, Salt Lake City

That's 26 of them, should keep the Zephyr running all winter

Three new engines for each of the EB's five trainsets, that's fifteen engines.

Plus one protect engine each at

St. Paul, St. Cloud, Staples, Detroit Lakes, Fargo, Grand Forks, Devils Lake, Rugby, Minot, Stanley, Williston, Wolf Point, Glasgow, Malta, Havre, Shelby, Cut Bank, Browning, East Glacier, Essex, West Glacier, Whitefish, Libby, Sand Point, Spokane

That's another 40 of them, should keep the Builder running all winter

And we've still got 34 remaining. Guess we could put two protect engines in some places!

 

[SunsetLimited01]

Pretty good move Amtrak, 100+ new locomotives. I have a feeling the engines may look like either the PL42AC or it could be Evolution Series diesels. Who knows?

 

[MikeM]

My only concern is that the statement has lots of "ifs" in it. Like how the equipment will be paid for, when orders will be placed, and who whom. No doubt, as we've seen this winter, and noticed in our regular rides, lots of Amtrak's equipment has gotten a bit past it's prime and there is a real need for more capacity.

Now, I just hope in all of the buying effort they could spring for decent car washers that wash the upper windows on the sightseer lounges, or better yet some sort of mid-route train cleaning like the CZ once had???

Also, look at increasing rebuild and running repair capacity to do a quicker job of turning wreck repairs and regular scheduled refresh / maintenance of equipment?

Last but not least, perhaps create a "ghost fleet" of cars that could be pressed in service during peak travel periods, or to replace damaged cars?

 

[wayman]

Now, I just hope in all of the buying effort they could spring for decent car washers that wash the upper windows on the sightseer lounges, or better yet some sort of mid-route train cleaning like the CZ once had???

The CZ had mid-route cleaning (in Denver) as recently as my fall 2007 trip. Has it been done away with since then?

 

[anir dendroica]

Let's hope the new engines are better engineered to operate in cold and powdery snow.

The story just in, Amtrak announces that will in the works to add new 100+ locomotives for their new upgrade fleets. Story can be found directly at Amtrak Add New 100+ Locomotives
How would you feel by having new 100+ locomotives on the road up/running? Would this help bring new tehcnology for travel?

 

[Long Train Runnin']

All we can hope for is there not PL42s!! I hope they learn from NJT and go with something solid.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Now, I just hope in all of the buying effort they could spring for decent car washers that wash the upper windows on the sightseer lounges, or better yet some sort of mid-route train cleaning like the CZ once had???

The CZ had mid-route cleaning (in Denver) as recently as my fall 2007 trip. Has it been done away with since then?

They did it at Denver for me June 2009. They also did it on May 2009 for the EB before Glacier.

 

[wayman]

Now, I just hope in all of the buying effort they could spring for decent car washers that wash the upper windows on the sightseer lounges, or better yet some sort of mid-route train cleaning like the CZ once had???

The CZ had mid-route cleaning (in Denver) as recently as my fall 2007 trip. Has it been done away with since then?

They did it at Denver for me June 2009. They also did it on May 2009 for the EB before Glacier.

I don't remember it on the WB Builder in late-April 2009 ... but from about Browning to Whitefish, my gaze was focused a bit on the outside but mostly focused on my dinner date. (Er, yes, I met a girl on the train and took her out to dinner :wub: )

And on the EB EB, I had the heebie-jeebies (no, not really, just couldn't resist ) when we went through a full-out blizzard in the entire stretch surrounding Glacier.

 

[MikeM]

Maybe they mid-route washing on the CZ and I just missed it? It's been a little while since my last trip on that route, so perhaps my memory is failing, or the wash was failing that day?

On the other hand, my last trip on the Coast Starlight this spring, it looked like the car wash brushes went up the side of the cars, but stopped, so the pacific parlor car top windows were an brownish grey color. I noticed on the inbound Southwest Chief that the sightseer lounge car windows had a similar effect, so perhaps the car washers are designed for regular cars and not observation type cars? I probably have a window fetish, but I think it's something real important with scenery being the big attraction on western trains.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

There is a mobile carwasher in FTW, as I have seen it used on the Heartland Flyer between turns. But they never have rolled it up to the Texas Eagles, and the most they get is a couple guys walking and cleaning the lower windows with a mop and squeegee.

 

[blueman271]

All we can hope for is there not PL42s!! I hope they learn from NJT and go with something solid.

What are the problems with the PL42s?

 

[NorthCoastHiawatha]

All we can hope for is there not PL42s!! I hope they learn from NJT and go with something solid.

Yeah, you mean the F40PH.

 

[jis]

All we can hope for is there not PL42s!! I hope they learn from NJT and go with something solid.

What's wrong with the PL42s? They do accelarate a damn site better than the P42s

 

[Long Train Runnin']

All we can hope for is there not PL42s!! I hope they learn from NJT and go with something solid.

What's wrong with the PL42s? They do accelarate a damn site better than the P42s

From what I understand they don't handle the 1.5% grade on the mainline very well, and have wheel slip issues.

 

[jis]

All we can hope for is there not PL42s!! I hope they learn from NJT and go with something solid.

What's wrong with the PL42s? They do accelarate a damn site better than the P42s

From what I understand they don't handle the 1.5% grade on the mainline very well, and have wheel slip issues.

Could provide a concrete reference where we can check these facts?

 

[Larry H.]

Now, I just hope in all of the buying effort they could spring for decent car washers that wash the upper windows on the sightseer lounges, or better yet some sort of mid-route train cleaning like the CZ once had???

The CZ had mid-route cleaning (in Denver) as recently as my fall 2007 trip. Has it been done away with since then?

The window washer for the domes was working when we rode it in 2008. Its has always been a sore point to me that those in charge have had little regard to passenger expectations to be able to see clearly out of the windows though the great scenery which Amtrak traverses. Boarding a train with cloudy, spotty and plain dirty windows is a real turn off for "Seeing America". Granted you sort of get used to looking though it but it shouldn't be that way.

I will say that I was surprised to see crews along the route of several trains that were at the stations to wash the windows from the outside at several points which was at least a move in the right direction. The worst perhaps were when they ran the domes with the front glass so dirty you couldn't see where you were going.