Colorado Railcar and the MBTA Fairmount / Indigo line

[Joel N. Weber II]

There have been proposals for various improvements on the MBTA's Fairmount line, including the possibility of using Colorado Railcar's DMU, which is apparently the only DMU that meets North American heavy rail crashworthiness standards.

But, for example, here is a claim that the diesel engine Colorado Railcar has selected is somewhat underpowered.

If there's nothing already designed that would really quite work, why not consider an EMU for the Fairmount line as well? The satellite photos look to me like there isn't yet overhead power on the Fairmount line, but if most trains only run to Readville, that's not a huge distance to have to install overhead power on.

I'm also wondering if electric locomotives end up requiring less equipment than diesels that ends up taking up less space; you don't have the diesel engine and generator, but you presumably have to replace this with equipment to convert the power to the form the traction motors need. I assume that with a DMU, there's a desire to keep the space used by the diesel engine relatively small, which may limit the power they can produce.

 

[Superliner Diner]

The Fairmount Line, aka the Readville Line, aka the Dorchester Branch, was used by Amtrak diesel-hauled trains as a detour route when the Southwest Corridor (the trough that now holds Amtrak, "T" commuter trains and "T" Orange Line trains) was being constructed, along with reconstruction of Back Bay Station. With electrification, Amtrak can no longer use that route as a bypass, but MBTA Stoughton and Providence trains could since they still use diesels. MBTA trains on the Franklin Line do use it as an alternate for contra-flow rush hour trains to avoid congestion on the mainline through the Southwest Corridor.

Electrification might make sense if a viable bypass route were needed for electric Regionals and Acelas, and the area around Southampton Yard already has catenary.

Now how that would fit in with a transitized route us another story. I don't know if the "Indigo Line" concept is still alive, but if it is it probably would not be compatible with commuter trains nor rapid transit trains as it would be a combination of both. See this for more info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairmount_Line

 

[Dutchrailnut]

As for Colorado DMU read following report:

http://www.ccmpo.org/freight/200701_RDC_te...resentation.pdf

 

[George Harris]

Dutchrailnut:

Most interesting reading. Very convincing as well. Never did understand why Colorado Railcar did not go for the stainless steel body. Its durability is beyond question. Cost, most likely. I have always like the Budd cars, even though I was dissapointed that it was not a train when I rode my first one. (Rock Island Memphis to Little Rock in 1962. At that time Rock Island, or the southern lines of it at least, took pride in their to-the-minute on-time operation.)

George