PHASE 4 IS BACK

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I would of kind of hope that for phase III , but sadly were losing what's left of it.
 
I had no problem with Phase III and I quite liked it. However, it was begining to fade and as times chaged I think Phase IV was a nice replacement. Though the laval lamp/flying breast implant scheme (Phase V) was just stupid. :blink:
 
“Until their psychedelic colors fade and peel, there will still be plenty of Acela-scheme Amfleet cars plying the Northeast Corridor, resembling sideways lava lamps with their weird colored blobs floating around the cars’ windows, but now it seems that what you see now is all you are likely to ever get.” :D :lol: :D :lol:
 
Look what I saw last Friday! Car 21465 I *think* -- first one of them to come flippin through Alexandria this year I bet!

082302-6.jpg
 
Sometimes at a distance the thin red stripes of phase IV look like pink. One phase type might not look good on everything. Example phase IV might look good on Superliners but it dosen't looks as good on the Genesis units as phase III would IMO. Things would be kind of boring if everything wore the same phase. Some things look good in a vareity of phases.
 
It might be blasphemous for me to say this but I actually like phase V on the Genesis units. What's worse is I have no idea why I do but I absolutly hate the phase V Amcans. :)
 
Tristan said:
Look what I saw last Friday! Car 21465 I *think* -- first one of them to come flippin through Alexandria this year I bet!
You sure Tristan? I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that the "new phase-IV" units had the new Amtrak "wave" logo, and that also uses a different typeface than the older Amtrak text in that photo, but I could be wrong...
 
Am I sure of what? I'm sure I haven't seen anything with the old Northeast Direct logo on it in a dog's age if that's what you were asking
 
ok... well, dunno, I have no idea really. I had a car with a NortheastDirect logo on a NortheastDirect train (wow, imagine that!)... oh fine, Acela Regional, in April 2002.

I wonder if the "reincarnated phase 4" cars still have the NortheastDirect logo? If so, then it's pretty obvious that's what Gunn wants to change Acela Regional back to.
 
The car Tristan posted is not the new phase IV. You can tell because there is no red safety stripe at the botom of the car, plus I don't believe the new phase IV car has a NED logo. The new cars are suposedly to have the Amtrak name with the new wave logo. Like this.
amtraklogo.gif
Though I expect it would be white so it is visable against the dark blue back round.
 
JongSuk said:
Things would be kind of boring if everything wore the same phase.
I think it's important for Amtrak to try to pick one and stick with it. Sure, we rail fans like seeing different phases, but it makes good business sense to use the same logo and colors since it helps people who may not know a lot about Amtrak recognize them more easily. After all, when was the last time you saw a business that used a number of different logos for itself? Not too common... for a reason.

Phase IV is a good choice. And Phase V definitely looked weird on those Amfleets.
 
Yes there should be one logo for amtrak(the old logo was better). A business don't have too many different (well atleast a commonly)logos for

itself, but some have atleast more than one color scheme being used.
 
I don't mind different paint schemes on trains like "Surfliners", "Cascades", and "Acela Express". Though 3 different phases applied to an Amfleet just doesn't look good. One of the most good looking trains in my opinion is the Auto Train. Its two locos are in Phase IV, the rest of the train is Phase IV Superliners (no mix of heritage and phase III) and most of the Auto Carriers are in Phase IV.
Amt838%20Train%2052%20Aquia%20VA%20.jpg
 
You know the other day when I saw train 52 the second unit was in phase V. Then, that evening it was the leading unit on train 53. I know some people like the whole trainset matching , but two or more phases aren't that bad if they look alright together. I always thought the trains 52/53 look best with phase III units, because they look odd in phase IV.(phase III and IV work with each other)
 
I like the PV Genesis paint -- I think it matches most of their other schemes
 
Amfleet said:
I don't mind different paint schemes on trains like "Surfliners", "Cascades", and "Acela Express".
I agree, for specific trains it's fine to have different paint schemes. I'd like to see a return of Phase IV, and I bet Gunn will have this happen. P42's and HHP-8's look OK in phase 5, but they don't match the Amfleets, so I think they should go back to 4 (nothing better than a nicely coordinated train!). Phase 5 is good on an Acela because they didn't attempt to force a new scheme onto old equipment; the scheme matches the equipment design. Though I think if there are ever future Acela paint designs being reconsidered, I think more use of red and blue, like in phase 4, would be good. It is an American railroad, after all — the colors could suggest America, just like the name Amtrak does.
 
Amtrak quit puttin red white and blue on their equipment when the government started this major dissing that they're doing now <_<
 
All this paint was a cover up. Amtrak thought by divding it's copy into many business units, and painting trains in seperate colors it would make them look more like individual companies. No, it just made things worse. Paint is not a finacial cover up. :blink:
 
I am also guilty of liking the unique paint schemes used on the state sponsored trains (Capitols, San Joaquin's, Surfliners and Cascades) :)
 
I think there are major changes going on with Amtrak that we're not hearing about. A few clues are: One, refurbishment programs must be starting up again if all new cars a getting Phase VI. Also reports have it that more Superliners are back on the road. According to trainorders.com, Western trains have been carrying up to 4 sleepers and 5 coaches. Gunn is starting to show his stregth and in my opinion Amtrak will be revived.
 
I like to see matching paint schemes in a consist. The Fun Train had one of the best and the wave actually flowed from car to car.

As far as Gunn, he's got his hands full. Beechgrove posted jobs, then pulled them before they were filled. Even though Gunn said he was going to hire and rebuild, with or without money, someone with more power put a halt to his plans. Could this be a subtle sign that the $1.2 billion is in jeopardy? Gunn's biggest hurdle is having to answer to ignorant politicians, while trying to play catch-up on all the deferred maintenance from the Warrington regime.

In my opinion, The constant painting was a cunning ploy to divert attention away from the deteriation of the LDT's, while he used the LDT's money to build Acela. We are still stuck in this mentality. V/L's are being re-carpeted, the undercarriage painted black, then thrown back in service without any real maintenance being done. This is the fault of the current management and they are not receptive to changes. I'll be glad to see some changes in management in the coming months.
 
Joe,

That was exactly Warringtons plans. It took 3 years to get the Acela thing rolling in the Northeast and before it was even completed the entire plan fell apart within 6 days. Warrington and Co. left Amtrak LD's with unrefurbished and dirty Superliners to Viewliners with window shades missing, curtains falling apart, and a failing computer system (trains DO NOT need computers to run efficently). Plus a severe shortage of equipment. I'm cofident Gunn will do the right thing.
 
I wish confidence was all it took! I still believe this is an ongoing battle between Amtrak and the Feds. Why are they refusing to release funds already allocated for repairs?

While Amtrak has more political support than before, we are seeing that this administration is not listening to people. If Dubya is not willing to acknowledge world opinion concerning Iraq, you can bet he is going to follow his agenda with Amtrak. We have many major problems in this country, and he thinks starting a war will jumpstart the economy. All this will do is divert peoples's attention from everyday problems and the big wheels keep turning.
 
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