Weird occurence on 91

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Shotgun7

Service Attendant
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Apr 9, 2007
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234
Location
Astoria, OR
Today I headed back home to Deerfield after spending a few days in and around Tampa and caught the afternoon Silver Star south. The typical Amfleet II lounge car was subbed out for a Horizon cafe... something I've never ever ever seen or heard about on any east coast long distance train, excluding the LSL. The inside actually wasn't all that different from an A-II diner-lite, except with smaller windows and a much less interesting cafe counter. Much nicer (possibly due to refurb) than most reports I've heard about Horizon equipment.

I'm just wandering how it even got on a train like the Silver Star. As far as I know, the only locations where Horizons are "based" at are Chicago (for the LSL and dozens of corridor runs) and Los Angeles (for the few Surfliners w/ single level equipment). I've heard of diners subbed out for A-II lounges and lounges subbed out for A-I cafes, but this just struck me as odd. Though the new experience was a nice surprise. Is it possible that one of the LSL's Horizons was traded off for an Amfleet II from this train?
 
Unless things have changed (and at Amtrak that is common in some areas), on a typical two day period the consists at Sunny Side are rotated out in this manner. Now this is not always the case, but below always appeared to be the most common during my time at Amtrak.

Equipment turns:

NB Silver Meteor in-bound usually turns as WB Lake Shore Limited (sometimes back as SB Silver Star out-bound)

NB Silver Star in-bound usually turns as SB Crescent (sometimes back as SB Silver Meteor out-bound)

NB Crescent in-bound usually turns as SB Silver Meteor (sometimes back as SB Crescent out-bound)

EB Lake Shore Limited in-bound usually turns as SB Silver Star (sometimes back as EB Lake Shore out-bound)

NB Palmetto in-bound keeps its equipment almost all the time (to operate as SB Palmetto down to SAV out-bound)

NB Carolinian in-bound, I have no idea how the equipment turns in SSY.

Other services (Acela, etc), I really haven't the slightest idea of them either.

So anyway, that Horizon lounge has made an appearance here in FL on numerous occasions on both the Star and the Meteor.

OBS gone freight...
 
But since the LSL's consist has been altered too much to become the SB Crescent, Star, or Meteor due to it's lacking a Heritage Diner, wouldn't it be forced to only turn back as the WB Lakeshore Limited? Because the only way for the Horizon to make its way onto any of those three trains would be for the LSL's consist to be broken in half or totally dismantled to remove that cafe and place it onto a SB train that would be, again, completely dismantled.
 
But since the LSL's consist has been altered too much to become the SB Crescent, Star, or Meteor due to it's lacking a Heritage Diner, wouldn't it be forced to only turn back as the WB Lakeshore Limited? Because the only way for the Horizon to make its way onto any of those three trains would be for the LSL's consist to be broken in half or totally dismantled to remove that cafe and place it onto a SB train that would be, again, completely dismantled.

Well that is probably the case with the LSL equipment turning back as itself due to those circumstances you mention. And SSY is known to break consists apart frequently. What I posted above would be valid only for the trains using Hertiage diners (they all had diners except the Cardinal, Carolinian, and Palmetto when I was at Amtrak) . There are many varibles which may cause that lounge to have to be used on one of the other trains. For example it can be as simple as the Amfleet lounge having to be removed from the consist due to some kind of defect and thus having to be shopped. Now it is time to have a train ready for say the Star, and the Amfleet lounge is still in the shop. The LSL equipment sitting there on track number thirty-two (or wherever) has a much needed lounge car! There it goes, it falls victim to the Star because it is leaving sooner! Yep, this is how scarce equipment seems to be at Amtrak!

OBS gone freight...
 
I'm pretty sure the Crescent never turns as a Silver, because I've never seen it, in the 4 dozen times I've seen both NB and SB, run 3 Viewliners behind the baggage.
 
I'm pretty sure the Crescent never turns as a Silver, because I've never seen it, in the 4 dozen times I've seen both NB and SB, run 3 Viewliners behind the baggage.
Well knowing that bit of information you provide, I am sure it may on occasion (most likely if someone is really late or other issue)! The NB Meteor and the SB Star both operate with three Viewliners (epecially on weekends and almost all winter). So it is very possible they can rotate out with the Crescent. I doubt it happens a lot due to the arrival and departure times of those particular trains unless (as has been mentioned) one is really late inbound the night before. Train #92 almost always turned as train #19 during my tenure at Amtrak, but that was when #19 ran only two Viewliners. So with the sleeper consist on the Crescent being as you say it is right now, I will venture to say they are currently turning #98's eqipment to be #91 the next day, and turning #20's equipment to be #19 the next day being #91 leaves before #19, and under normal circumstances #98 arrived before #20. Of course for all we know SSY may be chopping every consist apart and building a new train for each job! They are known to do that sometimes.

OBS gone freight...
 
Last summer i rode the Cardinal roundtrip between Newark and Cincinatti. On the return trip we had a horizon lounge car vice the amfleet II that we had on the outbound round. The reason i bring this up is because its possible for horizons to make it to SSY on trains other than the LSL.

P.S. A couple of years ago while i was taking NJT from the city back home i saw the northbound crescent making its way into NYP and im pretty sure that the car numbers of the last two coach cars were 9842 and 9843. I dont know if that was because that trainset was at one point the NB Meteor or if someone was just to lazy to change the signs when those cars got put on to the Crescent trainset.
 
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