Baggage Cars

[Shotgun7]

Looking back on what routes offer checked baggage and what routes don't, I realized something incredibly... retarted. And pretty obvious too, so tell me if it's already been mentioned here. I can see why trains like the TE and CONO were stripped of their baggage cars; they have coach baggage Superliners to make up for it... in part. But then the Cardinal comes to mind. It travels nearly the equivalent distance of Miami to DC, with both coach and sleeping cars with stops at rural towns without an airport for many miles... and it offers no form of checked baggage. Why did Amtrak decide to put baggage cars on trains like the Carolinian, Palmetto, and 66/67 Regionals that travel predominately over track served by other trains with checked baggage but neglect to add one to the already pathetic consist of an LD train that's been experiencing growing popularity?

 

[the_traveler]

and 66/67 Regionals that travel predominately over track served by other trains with checked baggage

From NYP south, yes it is served by other trains with checked baggage, but from NYP north, it is the ONLY train with checked baggage offered.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

and 66/67 Regionals that travel predominately over track served by other trains with checked baggage

From NYP south, yes it is served by other trains with checked baggage, but from NYP north, it is the ONLY train with checked baggage offered.

Unless you count the possibility of the baggage taking 49 to 448 northbound and 449 to 48 southbound and not serving any intermediate stations between BOS and NYP, but that would also introduce considerable delay, as that's probably an overnight connection in ALB in at least one direction.

But yes, the stations between NYP and BOS (apparently just PVD in both directions and New Haven in one direction) that have checked baggage at all only get checked baggage on 66/67.

 

[Rafi]

and 66/67 Regionals that travel predominately over track served by other trains with checked baggage

From NYP south, yes it is served by other trains with checked baggage, but from NYP north, it is the ONLY train with checked baggage offered.

66/67 is also the only train with checked baggage east of Richmond.

Rafi

 

[x-press]

I strongly believe that there should be MORE checked baggage on the corridor, particularly the New York-Boston segment with only one (1) train . . . and at the wee hours of the morning at that! People shouldn't have to send their baggage off a day ahead of the trip, or go back to the station the next day. Sure, most people on the corridor are day-trippers. And MOST trains shouldn't and don't have checked baggage there, but ONE out of (how many?) is not. Even if only 5% of corridor riders are more long-trippers (and I suspect it's much more), that's probably still more than ride a single long distance train. I'm not bashing LD's, but corridor users need some amenities, too.

I will agree that some . . . "interesting" quirks exist in the distribution of baggage cars on the system. As discussed, only ONE train on the heavily used New York to Boston section; NONE on the Downeaster service; ALL of the Hiawatha service Chicago-Milwaukee have checked baggage . . .

JPS

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

I strongly believe that there should be MORE checked baggage on the corridor, particularly the New York-Boston segment with only one (1) train . . . and at the wee hours of the morning at that! People shouldn't have to send their baggage off a day ahead of the trip, or go back to the station the next day. Sure, most people on the corridor are day-trippers. And MOST trains shouldn't and don't have checked baggage there, but ONE out of (how many?) is not. Even if only 5% of corridor riders are more long-trippers (and I suspect it's much more), that's probably still more than ride a single long distance train. I'm not bashing LD's, but corridor users need some amenities, too.
I will agree that some . . . "interesting" quirks exist in the distribution of baggage cars on the system. As discussed, only ONE train on the heavily used New York to Boston section; NONE on the Downeaster service; ALL of the Hiawatha service Chicago-Milwaukee have checked baggage . . .

I suspect an even bigger limit to the usefulness of checked baggage between BOS and NYP is the number of stations that don't offer it. Then again, perhaps the reason that, for example, New London CT doesn't offer checked baggage is that its ticket staff isn't there at all hours (which also leads to the question of whether shifting the baggage car to a different train that runs all the way through to Newport News would improve checked baggage service availability; there doesn't seem to be a table that shows only the NEC stations with their ticket staff hours to make this easy to figure out).

Any train that consistently uses a cab car can carry baggage in that cab car with the style of cab car that Amtrak uses; and there are a few coach-baggage superliners; other than that, there are a finite number of baggage cars. I thought that at one point the Downeaster did run with cabbages; but the other thing to note is that Amtrak has a finite number of cabbages, a finite number of electric locomotives, and an effectively infinite number of diesel locomotives, so putting a diesel on each end of a non-electrified train that needs to reverse direction without a loop or wye can be an effective way to resolve shortages. In particular, the Keystone trains tend to hoard cabbage cars without offering checked baggage service.

 

[wayman]

In particular, the Keystone trains tend to hoard cabbage cars without offering checked baggage service.

??? :blink: :blink: :blink: Keystones run with ex-Metroliner cab cars which are basically Amfleet coaches with a set of engineer's controls in one vestibule. The entire interior is passenger space.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

In particular, the Keystone trains tend to hoard cabbage cars without offering checked baggage service.

??? :blink: :blink: :blink: Keystones run with ex-Metroliner cab cars which are basically Amfleet coaches with a set of engineer's controls in one vestibule. The entire interior is passenger space.

I bet I got confused by this thread which talks about ``cab cars'' going from the Vermonter to the Keystone trains, and not really clearly realizing what the Metroliner cab cars are and that they're out there.

 

[AlanB]

I thought that at one point the Downeaster did run with cabbages;

AFAIK, the Downeaster still does run with a cabbage.

 

[x-press]

I thought that at one point the Downeaster did run with cabbages;

AFAIK, the Downeaster still does run with a cabbage.

It was running a cabbage the last time I rode (last July). Whatever they're running with, they do not offer checked baggage, according to the schedule.

Hey, I'm not saying there's enough demand to justify it on that particular line . . . then again, what's up with EVERY Chicago-Milwaukee train offering it???

 

[Mark]

I thought that at one point the Downeaster did run with cabbages;

AFAIK, the Downeaster still does run with a cabbage.

It was running a cabbage the last time I rode (last July). Whatever they're running with, they do not offer checked baggage, according to the schedule.

Hey, I'm not saying there's enough demand to justify it on that particular line . . . then again, what's up with EVERY Chicago-Milwaukee train offering it???

The Hias run, (back and forth without being turned), with cabbages so they automatically have the checked baggage space in those units. They aren't carrying an extra car, the cab control cars were built that way so by default all of the Hias can have checked baggage service. Both Chicago and Milwaukee are full service stations so why not? Checked baggage is canceled when a cabbage goes down and a second P42DC is subbed in for the push pull.

 

[HP_Lovecraft]

It was running a cabbage the last time I rode (last July). Whatever they're running with, they do not offer checked baggage, according to the schedule.

It is strickly as a control car. They do not have the ability to turn around in Portland.

Usually, the baggage area is just used to hold storage for the nearby Cafe.

I'm told they can store bikes in there as well, but the conductors usually just place them in the area reserved for wheelchairs.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Amtrak operates 10 classes of baggage capable conveyances. Five of them are Heritage classes, and the others are not. The Heritage cars can fit into NYP. The others can't.

Heritage: 71 Active

Baggage Cars: These are cars built as baggage or baggage-dorm cars for other railroads and converted to HEP and to full baggage if they were originally dorms. All but a handful (possibly only one- 1188, originally 1501, which was U.S. Army baggage-dorm 89549, built by St. Louis Car Company in 1954) are Budd built. There are 31 of these cars active, from 1132-1260. These generally have two sliding cargo doors per side and no vestibule doors.

Coach Conversion Baggage Express: These are Budd built cars originally 44 or 48 seat chair coaches from the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. There are currently 22 of these cars active on the system. They have a single roll up garage-type cargo door, and a dutch-style vestibule door per side.

Coach Conversion Mail Cars: Most of these originally fell into the other coach conversion class, but a few don't. They were converted to carry mail. You'll find them on occasion. They are outwardly identical to the Coach Conversion Baggage Express cars except they say "U.S. Mail Only" on the side. Since Amtrak lost the mail contract, they are used as regular baggage cars. There are 14 such cars active.

Twilight Shoreliner Baggage Cars: I don't know if they are confined to 66/67 use anymore, but they presumably were originally. I am not sure what differentiates them, if anything. I have never seen pictures of them with specific paint or such. They are 1953 Budd baggage cars built for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. There are 2 cars active.

Piedmont Baggage Combines: There are two cars in this category, owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. They are 400101 Yadkin River and 400102 Haw River. They are both Ex. U.S. Army St. Louis Car Company cars. Yadkin River was an army Kitchen car, 89546, from 1953, and is labeled as a Coach/Baggage. Haw River was a Hospital car, I haven't found its number yet, and is labeled as a Combine- normally I'd assume it was a Coach/Bag, but I'm not sure.

Non-Heritage: 87

Ex-F40 "Cabbage" cab-baggage vehicles: Can you call this a car? I dunno. Anyway, they are F40 shells with their engines removed, used as cab cars, with space for baggage to go where the prime mover used to be. They were, of course, built by General Motor's Electro-Motive Division. They can't fit into NYP, and there are 22 of them active (90200-90413)

Superliner I Coach/Baggage cars: These were built by Pullman-Standard, Like all Superliners, they do not fit into NYP, and there are 42 of them active. They seem to be often used redundantly on Superliners that already have a baggage car, why I do not know.

California Car Coach/Baggage cars: These were built by Morrison-Knudson for Amtrak California service, and are not owned by Amtrak- they are owned by the State of California. Regardless, there are 6 of them active in the system.

Pacific Surfliner Cab/Coach/Baggage cars: These were built by Alstom. Some were given to other California service, and some are for Surfliner service. 12 of them operate in Surfliner service, and 5 in other California service. A total of 17 of them are active.

Now then, I think quite a bit of Superliner baggage service could be met with Superliner Coach/Baggage cars (possibly more than one per train). Currently, the City of New Orleans (3), Texas Eagle (4), and Empire Builder (6) are generally required, which leaves 29 availible, and they could easily cover the Sunset Limited and Capitol Limited. But whatever.