Smoothness of the Ride

[ThayerATM]

Y'All will have to correct me if I'm wrong, but I have some observations, and some questions about the "ride" of the Amtrak equipment.

On our most recent trip (just got back) I had a chance to ride on several types of cars (mostly "newer" cars, or recently refurbished cars).

The rails felt smoother in the newer cars, which I'm assuming were Amfleet II cars. The same tracks on the way back felt rougher when we were in cars that were described to me as "older" cars (there were some distinct differences on the inside). I'm guessing these were Amfleet I cars.

And then there was a Heritage car that felt like it had no springs at all, and the ride was really rough.

I would have thought that as the cars were "modernized" the trucks would have been replaced, or updated.

Is this all in my imagination? :unsure:

 

[jis]

The rails felt smoother in the newer cars, which I'm assuming were Amfleet II cars. The same tracks on the way back felt rougher when we were in cars that were described to me as "older" cars (there were some distinct differences on the inside). I'm guessing these were Amfleet I cars.
And then there was a Heritage car that felt like it had no springs at all, and the ride was really rough.

I would have thought that as the cars were "modernized" the trucks would have been replaced, or updated.

Is this all in my imagination? :unsure:

The quality of ride would also depend on the state of maintenance of the trucks, springs and dampers in the car irrespective of its age. For example, the Pioneer III trucks on which the Amfleets ride are pretty good when they are in good state of repair, but are notoriously bad riders when they have not had their maintenance done in a timely manner.

 

[ScottC4746]

Y'All will have to correct me if I'm wrong, but I have some observations, and some questions about the "ride" of the Amtrak equipment.
On our most recent trip (just got back) I had a chance to ride on several types of cars (mostly "newer" cars, or recently refurbished cars).

The rails felt smoother in the newer cars, which I'm assuming were Amfleet II cars. The same tracks on the way back felt rougher when we were in cars that were described to me as "older" cars (there were some distinct differences on the inside). I'm guessing these were Amfleet I cars.

And then there was a Heritage car that felt like it had no springs at all, and the ride was really rough.

I would have thought that as the cars were "modernized" the trucks would have been replaced, or updated.

Is this all in my imagination? :unsure:

I took SS Ltd #1 in June 2009 and #1 January 2010 on the exact same age and style equipment and was super smooth between HOS-SAT on route 1 but super bouncy and rough on route 2 in the same section. The SL Attendant said there was a lot of freight during the night so we were bounced more because we weigh less than the frieghts do.,

 

[ThayerATM]

Y'All will have to correct me if I'm wrong, but I have some observations, and some questions about the "ride" of the Amtrak equipment.
On our most recent trip (just got back) I had a chance to ride on several types of cars (mostly "newer" cars, or recently refurbished cars).

The rails felt smoother in the newer cars, which I'm assuming were Amfleet II cars. The same tracks on the way back felt rougher when we were in cars that were described to me as "older" cars (there were some distinct differences on the inside). I'm guessing these were Amfleet I cars.

And then there was a Heritage car that felt like it had no springs at all, and the ride was really rough.

I would have thought that as the cars were "modernized" the trucks would have been replaced, or updated.

Is this all in my imagination? :unsure:

I took SS Ltd #1 in June 2009 and #1 January 2010 on the exact same age and style equipment and was super smooth between HOS-SAT on route 1 but super bouncy and rough on route 2 in the same section. The SL Attendant said there was a lot of freight during the night so we were bounced more because we weigh less than the frieghts do.,

Like big trucks chewing up the highways faster that little automobiles, I'm sure that that freight trains chew up the rails faster than the little Amtrak trains. In the long haul, it's really true.

But in two days, I don't think that the freights can make a "discernable" difference to the rails, unless something derails.

I'm inclined to think it has more to do with newness or maintainance. And we all know that a Heritage baggage car is seldom maintained for rider comfort.

So my big question remains... Is there an objective difference in the undercarriage between Heritage, Amfleet I, Amfleet II, cars, and is there any deliberate difference is the way they're maintained?