NHAirLine wrote:CDOT is really screwing themselves by going to EMUs with the need for straight high-level platforms, which are going to be a lot tougher if they ever extend to Westerly.
How so? The catenary is there, high levels are going up on track 1 soon, and at some point higher frequencies will justify electric power. Plus with EMUs dwell/slow down/start up times at stations can be reduced, etc. which will no doubt please Amtrak. And when the time comes to extend service to Westerly the station will need to be ADA accessible per federal requirements so new high levels will have to put in somewhere at the station anyway on way or another. The Syosset LIRR station is also on a curve and no problems there with spotting trains on the platform. It's New London and Mystic that will be the more difficult ones to deal with as they have some of the sharpest curves and (as I said earlier) they'll have to be ADA compliant if they're going to get commuter service that could see significant boarding numbers.
They should go to loco-hauled Electric. Amtrak should have some toasters available soon... Get some 125mph cars somewhere and they could almost run a toaster flat out until it was time to slam on the brakes for the next station!
Other than the Amfleets- of which there are no cars to spare for commuter runs- and the Acela coaches there's no other 125mph rated coaching stock to snag at the moment. And until the Amfleet III order is placed no one is building anything remotely close at the moment. And besides 125mph is just too fast for SLE operations anyways. And that's not even because of the extensive curvature of the route. The distance betweens stations makes it moot. Better to have equipment that can accelerate/decelerate faster (such the M8s)
They are sized for 6-8 car trains, like MBTA, not the dinky little 4-car things we see.
I don't recall ever seeing either the Geeps or the P40s push/pull more than 5 cars per engine. I remember in the summer of 2000 seeing a number of SLE trains with such a consist. There are photos of a Yale Regatta special which has 2 Geeps and 7 SPV coaches. And the 2011 Sailfest fireworks special had 2 Geeps bracketing 8 Mafersas. So it sure sounds like those engines can only haul so much on their own. Though for NHHS, at least in the near term, 5 cars just might be more than enough per train even in the AM and PM peak. And if ridership levels warrant longer trains, whose to say 2 engines couldn't be used then?
lirr42 wrote:I think they were in poor shape out of the box, but they have gotten worse since (other than painting over the logos ConnDOT did not and is not doing much to keep them running).
Well they were essentially work train engines by that time. Maybe a stint or two on the Auto Train, but other than that they were never meant to be commuter locos to begin with.[/quote]
I personally like riding behind these engines really good sounds of engine while its in both push and pull mode
Agreed. I always loved hearing them push a train out of the station. Gave me quite a thrill when I was younger
