It's Final - Amtrak Announces the "Federal"

[battalion51]

True, I've ONLY travelled 5354 miles between 06/01-06/02, and a mere 17915 on my pass since June of last year.

 

[Superliner Diner]

One final note on the Palmetto, it is now dropping the second engine at JAX for the next day's 90, similar to what 92-91 are doing (92-91 have suspended the engine switch off temporarily as they are not carrying RoadRailers, they also now have an AEM-7 to Washington where they pick up a P-42).

I can confirm that there is an engine left in JAX overnight. I saw one P-42 when I passed through on #97 on Thursday afternoon, and I saw another when I was in town the next day.

I have to say that 92 does indeed carry Roadrailers though, I saw them added to the train when I got off that train in JAX on Friday night. The train passes the station on the mainline track at speed, and then it stops underneath the Edgewood Avenue overpass and it backs up onto the siding track closest to the station, where the Roadrailers are already sitting. I assume that someday soon these may be eliminated once their current contract expires. #92 ran with one P-42 south of JAX, but a second one was added to the point so it could handle the extra load.

 

[battalion51]

SD, what I am saying is current as of this week, unless your trip was this week than your information is what was occuring a few weeks ago. Right now there is not enough RoadRailer traffic for both the Palmetto bug and the Star to carry RoadRailers. Also keep in mind that the Palmetto does have better transit times that the Star, as the Palmetto bug goes via Florence, whereas the Star goes via Columbia. Manifests for the past week do not show the Star picking up RoadRailers, while the Palmetto bug has continued to recieve them. Also keep this in mind, it is impossible for the Star to carry RoadRailers while it has an electric engine. The reason for this is that they are not set up to read EOT devices, while the road diesels can read EOT's (except the P-32-8). So right now, there are no RoadRailers for the Star.

 

[AlanB]

SD, what I am saying is current as of this week, unless your trip was this week than your information is what was occuring a few weeks ago.

B51,

SD was in JAX, this past Thursday the 17th and again on Saturday the 19th. So his info is current, in fact you probably passed him on one of your runs last week.

He went down to FL on Wed the 16th to Tampa. Then he ran up to JAX on 92 on Saturday and returned to Tampa on Sunday.

 

[battalion51]

Well I passed him on 98 Wednesday. I guess it's one of those things where when the RoadRailer demand is there they do it, if there's no demand no RoadRailers. The system works like this though for RoadRailers on the Star. When a RoadRailer comes in on 91 it will go out on the next day's 92. So if no RoadRailers come in the next day the train will just have the one engine to be dropped at WAS in favor of the AEM-7.

 

[Superliner Diner]

B51,
SD was in JAX, this past Thursday the 17th and again on Saturday the 19th.  So his info is current, in fact you probably passed him on one of your runs last week.  

He went down to FL on Wed the 16th to Tampa.  Then he ran up to JAX on 92 on Saturday and returned to Tampa on Sunday.

Actually it was #92 on Friday evening and #91 on Saturday morning. As I recall from the heyday of express shipments on Roadrailers, the southbound train that took the Roadrailers down from Philly to Jacksonville was #89, not #91. #92 was the northbound run. Why they chose #89 and #92 I don't know. Unlike the 8 Roadrailers I saw attached to #92 in JAX on Friday evening, there were none brought in on #91 on Saturday morning. Some might have come in on #89 in the wee hours overnight while I was in JAX. As I mentioned, overnight the engine that is left in JAX overnight changed. It was engine 44 one day and engine 63 the next. And engine 5 was added to the front of #92 the day I arrived.

While Alan and I within 4 months both experienced the engine change on #97 in Washington, I would assume that those trains carrying the Roadrailers (presumably #89 and #92) still have their engine change in Philadelphia.

 

[Superliner Diner]

Well I passed him on 98 Wednesday.

No, on Wednesday night I was leaving Philadelphia on #97. Did you miss your stop, B51? :lol:

 

[battalion51]

I would assume that those trains carrying the Roadrailers (presumably #89 and #92) still have their engine change in Philadelphia

Yes this is true, any train that has an EOT on the end MUST have a diesel until it loses the EOT, as only diesels are set up to read them. So this is why 89, 90, 91, and 92 usually carry the diesel to Philly, EOT's. Now, if they don't have an EOT they can change at WAS or PHL. If they have an E-60, PHL, AEM-7 or HHP-8 usually WAS, but that's not a guarantee. There really is no rhyme or reason to which train has RoadRailers, if the Post Office delivers in time for 89 they go on 89, if not to 91 they go. Same for 90-92, although 92 usually carries the load because it goes out first, but stuff has been left before by the day crew to go out on 90. If the stuff is on Station 1 in JAX, 92, Station 2, to 90. That's the way it is. And sorry SD, I didn't pass you then, I got messed up on what day you were doing what.