Though I know there's wild variability on the NEC, what is the standard consist on some of the corridor operations? I'm particularly wondering about the Cascades (where I'm hearing talk of very long trains), but also the Chicago Hub trains.
Standard Consists for Regional Trains
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Ryan
Court Jester
There really isn't a lot of variability on the corridor. Outside of 66/67 it's mostly power, BC, QC, coach, cafe, 3 or 4 coaches.
Cascades trains have a lot of cars, but they're really short.
Cascades trains have a lot of cars, but they're really short.
There's far more variability on Chicago hub trains than there is on the NEC.
Hiawatha is usually P42, 6 coaches (mostly Horizons, with one or two Amfleets thrown in), NPCU
Wolverine/Blue Water and Lincoln Service share equipment, which is typically P42, club-dinette, three to six coaches (during busy periods, the Wolverine can go up to eight or nine cars total), and a second P42 or NPCU. A couple of the Lincoln Service trains do not have the second unit, and get wyed in STL.
Pere Marquette runs with a P42, three Superliners, and an NPCU.
Quincy service runs with a P42, club-dinette, and three coaches.
Carbondale trains run with a P42, club-dinette, three or four coaches, and whatever extra equipment is necessary to meet the minimum axle restrictions on the CN because CN apparently doesn't know how to properly maintain grade crossings.
Out west, the Cascades runs with an F59 or P42, a Talgo trainset (which consists of 12 or 13 total cars depending on the set), and an NPCU. The Talgo trainsets have a power car on one end, a baggage car on the other, two business class cars (I think roughly 30 seats each, but don't know the exact count), a dining car (just tables), a bistro car (cafe), and the rest are coaches with up to 40 seats each (capacity varies, because some are designated as accessible cars and others aren't).
Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin service run with one engine (F59, P32 or P42) and four or five bi-level cars, one of which is either a Superliner snack coach or a California cafe/lounge. The last coach is a cab car, which enables push/pull service.
Pacific Surfliner runs with an F59 and five or six bi-level cars, including one Surfliner business class, a Surfliner coach/cafe, and the rest are Surfliner or Superliner coaches, with the cab/baggage/coach at the end for push-pull service. There are also two single-level sets running in Surfliner service. The one that has been out there for a while uses a P32, club-dinette, three coaches, and NPCU. The second set has been in use as a replacement set since this Summer, to enable Surfliner cars to be refitted with WiFi capability. That set runs with an F59, Amfleet I business class, club-dinette, four or five coaches, and NPCU.
Hiawatha is usually P42, 6 coaches (mostly Horizons, with one or two Amfleets thrown in), NPCU
Wolverine/Blue Water and Lincoln Service share equipment, which is typically P42, club-dinette, three to six coaches (during busy periods, the Wolverine can go up to eight or nine cars total), and a second P42 or NPCU. A couple of the Lincoln Service trains do not have the second unit, and get wyed in STL.
Pere Marquette runs with a P42, three Superliners, and an NPCU.
Quincy service runs with a P42, club-dinette, and three coaches.
Carbondale trains run with a P42, club-dinette, three or four coaches, and whatever extra equipment is necessary to meet the minimum axle restrictions on the CN because CN apparently doesn't know how to properly maintain grade crossings.
Out west, the Cascades runs with an F59 or P42, a Talgo trainset (which consists of 12 or 13 total cars depending on the set), and an NPCU. The Talgo trainsets have a power car on one end, a baggage car on the other, two business class cars (I think roughly 30 seats each, but don't know the exact count), a dining car (just tables), a bistro car (cafe), and the rest are coaches with up to 40 seats each (capacity varies, because some are designated as accessible cars and others aren't).
Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin service run with one engine (F59, P32 or P42) and four or five bi-level cars, one of which is either a Superliner snack coach or a California cafe/lounge. The last coach is a cab car, which enables push/pull service.
Pacific Surfliner runs with an F59 and five or six bi-level cars, including one Surfliner business class, a Surfliner coach/cafe, and the rest are Surfliner or Superliner coaches, with the cab/baggage/coach at the end for push-pull service. There are also two single-level sets running in Surfliner service. The one that has been out there for a while uses a P32, club-dinette, three coaches, and NPCU. The second set has been in use as a replacement set since this Summer, to enable Surfliner cars to be refitted with WiFi capability. That set runs with an F59, Amfleet I business class, club-dinette, four or five coaches, and NPCU.
The NEC Regional trains used to have a lot of variability--you'd find a business or ex-Club car thrown into the Coach section of the consist more offen than not, especially on the WAS-NYP trains. Those days ended a couple of years ago.
Related question now that we have such great information on corridor consists. On which corridor routes do the onboard staff assign you to a car or seat upon boarding? While I understand why this is done (crew convenience, pax who don't know which doors open at their stops, saving seats for families, etc.), I'm not a fan of this practice.
I know the Cascades likes to assign to seats at major stations and to cars at others, and I've been assigned to a car on the Illini/Saluki out of Chicago. NEC is free-for-all. What about the other Chicago hub routes?
Related question now that we have such great information on corridor consists. On which corridor routes do the onboard staff assign you to a car or seat upon boarding? While I understand why this is done (crew convenience, pax who don't know which doors open at their stops, saving seats for families, etc.), I'm not a fan of this practice.
I know the Cascades likes to assign to seats at major stations and to cars at others, and I've been assigned to a car on the Illini/Saluki out of Chicago. NEC is free-for-all. What about the other Chicago hub routes?
On the NEC, you have the fixed Acela consists, the Regionals, the LD trains, medium distance, and the shorter Keystones. Other than the Acelas, the coach cars are all Amfleets. Some variability, but, yea, I would not call it a lot.
However, the Regionals that I have seen lately all had at least 4 coaches after the cafe car. I was in DC, near Union station, this afternoon and saw a long Regional being backed into WAS which had 5 Am 1s after the cafe car. So consist was toaster, BC car, 2 Am 1s, cafe car, 5 Am 1s which is a lot of seats. Don't know how common that is. Has anyone been monitoring the lengths of the typical Regionals lately, between the growth in ridership and with the stimulus restorations having been completed?
sitzplatz17
Lead Service Attendant
They are a fundamentally different type of coach car. They are based on the Spanish talgo trains which I believe we're built to be particularly short for the tilt technology they employ. if I remember correctly each car is about half the length of a typical Amfleet or Superliner car.Anderson said:
Talgo train sets are also permanently attached, they can't easily be separated from one another as each car end shares a single axel with another car end. The cascades equipment is really some of the most unique Amtrak equipment out there.
Sitzplatz,
It certainly sounds it. Now I'm wondering if there are any advantages to that type of car...it sounds more like the old Aerotrain than anything I can think of, and it's interested seeing an "actual" articulated set in use in the vein of the old Burlington Zephyrs.
It certainly sounds it. Now I'm wondering if there are any advantages to that type of car...it sounds more like the old Aerotrain than anything I can think of, and it's interested seeing an "actual" articulated set in use in the vein of the old Burlington Zephyrs.
the_traveler
Engineer
Well for one thing, the Talgos (with their tilt) can run faster. The "speed limit" signs even have 3 limits! Such as:
- T - 90
- P - 79
- F - 60
...79 makes no sense whatsoever for P if T can go faster, since 79 for P is (almost always) related to the signaling rules.
The P is more limited due to the sharp curves. It's just like Acela can go faster around the curves in the NE than the Regional's. You have to consider the impact on the passengers as you go around a curve. With tilt, that impact is less at 90MPH than without. So Talgos get to go faster than conventional passenger equipment.
But no Talgos currently go 90 mph, because the highest passenger speed anywhere on the cascades route is 79.
You're more likely to see something like
T-63
P-55
F-35
(or something like that, I don't have a timetable handy to see what the freight speeds would be).
You're more likely to see something like
T-63
P-55
F-35
(or something like that, I don't have a timetable handy to see what the freight speeds would be).
S
Sactobob
Guest
When the Talgos were introduced between Portland and Seattle, the scheduled running time was reduced from 3 hrs 55 minutes to 3 hrs 30 minutes. There are lots of speed-restriced curves on the line between Seattle and Portland.
Mackensen
Lead Service Attendant
I've experienced this practice on all three Michigan trains. Most times I'm traveling BC so I don't really mind/notice. I've never seen a Wolverine or Blue Water with less than four coaches total (BC + 3 regular), and I've ridden one of the expanded ten-car consists. That was the only time I ever saw two cafes.
When/where was the ten-car consist? And is there really enough business, even with 10 cars (total), to justify two cafe cars? Also, is this done frequently anywhere?
Mackensen
Lead Service Attendant
4th of July weekend (2010) between Chicago and Pontiac. I've only ever seen that long a consist (a) on weekends or (b) when there was a special group. Otherwise the maximum is usually six (BC + 5). There were enough passengers that Amtrak triaged everybody in the Great Hall, then led us down in groups to the run-through track. I didn't try to reach either cafe car to see whether business justified it, but that train felt full. If nothing else it would be an incredibly long walk from one end to the other.
I can see that...9/10 might well be a breaking point for length requiring a second cafe car, while another (i.e. a third) might not be needed until you'd have 20+ cars in the consist.
As to that number of passengers...on the one hand, that is impressive given what that implies. On the other hand, I suspect we may be seeing more and more of that as time goes by on super-peak days.
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