Circulation of Amtrak's Rolling Stock

[ColdRain&Snow]

Recently, I have been going through some of my trip pics and noticing that certain rolling stock in them has been reported on other trains at later dates. A few examples I noted:

--Edward L. Ullman Sleeper: Rode it on the CZ in August 2009; saw video of it on the CS recently.

--Dash 8-32BWH #507: Running second in a January 2010 CS trip; read on TO later that it was having engine trouble in San Diego on the Surfliner.

From what I have learned so far, I understand that rolling stock gets moved around due to equipment substitutions when cars or engines are bad-ordered (hope I used that term correctly). And when rolling stock needs to be repaired, I understand that it gets moved to the Amtrak yards that make the repairs. I saw that in January with a Genesis engine being deadheaded to LA due to a bad onboard computer.

So, how/why does Amtrak move its rolling stock around the network in general when it's not for the reasons above? Do they have set schedules where say, sleepers circulate between route X/Y/Z in a given year? And do they move the locomotives around to different routes each year, perhaps to spread around the wear/tear since some routes like the CZ may be more difficult on the engines than flatter routes such as the SL? Or maybe it doesn't matter at all, and Amtrak just shifts assets around on an ad-hoc basis as situations require?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for any info as I have always been curious how this works.

 

[zephyr17]

Recently, I have been going through some of my trip pics and noticing that certain rolling stock in them has been reported on other trains at later dates. A few examples I noted:
--Edward L. Ullman Sleeper: Rode it on the CZ in August 2009; saw video of it on the CS recently.

--Dash 8-32BWH #507: Running second in a January 2010 CS trip; read on TO later that it was having engine trouble in San Diego on the Surfliner.

From what I have learned so far, I understand that rolling stock gets moved around due to equipment substitutions when cars or engines are bad-ordered (hope I used that term correctly). And when rolling stock needs to be repaired, I understand that it gets moved to the Amtrak yards that make the repairs. I saw that in January with a Genesis engine being deadheaded to LA due to a bad onboard computer.

So, how/why does Amtrak move its rolling stock around the network in general when it's not for the reasons above? Do they have set schedules where say, sleepers circulate between route X/Y/Z in a given year? And do they move the locomotives around to different routes each year, perhaps to spread around the wear/tear since some routes like the CZ may be more difficult on the engines than flatter routes such as the SL? Or maybe it doesn't matter at all, and Amtrak just shifts assets around on an ad-hoc basis as situations require?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for any info as I have always been curious how this works.

A lot of it is just expediency. Say a train comes in to Chicago with a bad order sleeper, or one that just requires inspection. It is pulled out of the consist, the work is done. Let's say that the SWC then comes in with a problem sleeper, so the newly repaired/inspected sleeper that came in on the CZ will now go out on the SWC.

They generally don't "move" the equipment around the system, per se. The consists are just reshuffled as needed at various maintenance bases/hubs around the system, such as Chicago and Los Angeles. Comes in on one train, goes out on another.

There are only a few trains they try to keep a captive or dedicated consist for, such as the Empire Builder, and to an extent the Coast Starlight. Only the Auto Train has a truly dedicated consist, for one thing, its end points (Sanford and Lorton), are not the terminals for any other train, so swapping capability is limited.

 

[AlanB]

Only the Auto Train has a truly dedicated consist, for one thing, its end points (Sanford and Lorton), are not the terminals for any other train, so swapping capability is limited.

Even the Auto Train isn't totally captive. Yes the cars there don't regularly mix with the rest of the system's Superliners any more. They used to when the Sunset ran to Orlando though. But other than the specially rebuilt cafe cars that always come back to the AT after the annual inspections, a sleeper sent out for example, may or may not return to the AT later.

 

[zephyr17]

They used to try to keep the AT an all Superliner II consist. Is that still the policy? Or will they mix in any Superliner type now?

 

[AlanB]

They used to try to keep the AT an all Superliner II consist. Is that still the policy? Or will they mix in any Superliner type now?

Still all Superliner II's, except for the cafe cars which are Superliner I's.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

The Ullman sleeper is still in the CS equipment pool as of last week. The three sleepers were SII transform SII sleeper the Ullman and SII. Meanwhile 28 ran with a SII and 8 was runnning with SI refurbs. I am currently on 30 on car 32056 a SI refurb with even a more recent finish than the two on 8... Has touch buttons rather than push buttons I think it was refurbed back in 2006.

I feel sorry for those in the 3000 car which is an overheating SII.

 

[printman2000]

Only the Auto Train has a truly dedicated consist, for one thing, its end points (Sanford and Lorton), are not the terminals for any other train, so swapping capability is limited.

Even the Auto Train isn't totally captive. Yes the cars there don't regularly mix with the rest of the system's Superliners any more. They used to when the Sunset ran to Orlando though. But other than the specially rebuilt cafe cars that always come back to the AT after the annual inspections, a sleeper sent out for example, may or may not return to the AT later.

The deluxe sleepers are also captive to the AT, correct?

 

[AlanB]

Only the Auto Train has a truly dedicated consist, for one thing, its end points (Sanford and Lorton), are not the terminals for any other train, so swapping capability is limited.

Even the Auto Train isn't totally captive. Yes the cars there don't regularly mix with the rest of the system's Superliners any more. They used to when the Sunset ran to Orlando though. But other than the specially rebuilt cafe cars that always come back to the AT after the annual inspections, a sleeper sent out for example, may or may not return to the AT later.

The deluxe sleepers are also captive to the AT, correct?

Correct! Forgot about those.

 

[jis]

I was on "Edward L. Ullman last year on Southwest Chief. So over time it does get around too.

 

[MattW]

So any maintenance on the AT's stock is handled at Sanford unless they just can't handle it for whatever reason, at which point I assume something deadheads up from Lorton to DC to be serviced there or to go somewhere else?

 

[AlanB]

So any maintenance on the AT's stock is handled at Sanford unless they just can't handle it for whatever reason, at which point I assume something deadheads up from Lorton to DC to be serviced there or to go somewhere else?

Sanford can handle just about anything, short of major wreck repairs and refurbishments. So other than the annual inspections, which I believe are done at Beech Grove since that's a two week procedure and ties up the shops in Sanford too long and often include refurbishment work, all other work would be done in Sanford.

They would never send a car to DC for work, as Sanford can do things that DC cannot. DC would send the car to Beech Grove or even Sanford for work, before Sanford would send a car to DC.

 

[Hytec]

Speaking of bad-ordered equipment, there was a locomotive swap-out situation 6-8 years ago when the Sunset was still running Coast-to-Coast that smeared egg all over Amtrak's face.

After the P-40/42s had been assigned to the Sunset full time, Amtrak closed the fuel stop at Pensacola, FL that had been required for the F40s. One day in mid-July, every available P40/42 assigned to Orlando, FL either had been bad-ordered or was out on the road, so one of the few remaining F40s was assigned to the westbound Sunset. Needless to say, without getting refueled in Pensacola, the F40 ran out of fuel in Gulfport, MS. Sadly it did not stop near the station downtown, but 5 miles away in the middle of a wooded swampy area.

As I said, it was in the middle of July in south Mississippi and hot as Hades with the sun beating down on the cars. The F40 was no longer supplying HEP, so there was no air conditioning, and the windows on Superliners do not open. What made it worse was that the pax could not be allowed off the train due safety and liability of walking on the ballast and in the wooded swampy area.

After about 3 hours, a CSX freight loco, dispatched from ~50 miles away, arrived and coupled to the rear. It then dragged the train, including the dead F40, back about 3 miles to a passing siding, where it ran around the train and coupled to the F40. The CSX loco then dragged the Sunset the 100+ miles into New Orleans, by-passing all intermediate stops. All told, the pax were on that non-airconditioned train for more than 7 hours before being allowed to detrain into NOL terminal, and air conditioning.

Obviously, this was not one of Amtrak's finer moments. :angry: