Nippon Sharyo bilevels for Amtrak corridor trains

ThirdRail7 wrote:

jamesinclair wrote:I dont understand the flat fronts at all. Surely thats not good for fuel economy?

In case you want to couple more of them together.

This exactly. Cab cars here in the US are not like those in Europe, and are sometimes stuck in the middle of the train as a blind coach car. I know the MBTA likes to do this quite often.

justalurker66 wrote:The Michigan Route uses engines at both ends of the train now that they are running 110 MPH. Not a bad idea. The benefit of push pull without cabbage or cab cars.

Doesn't sound like a good idea if you intend to save fuel and thus demonstrate the benefits of faster-running passenger rail more clearly. Some of those trains are only four cars long! (Note this video, one of the trains therein actually having three engines.)

Mcoov wrote:Cab cars here in the US are not like those in Europe, and are sometimes stuck in the middle of the train as a blind coach car. I know the MBTA likes to do this quite often

Cab cars in Europe or elsewhere also allow coupling; just no walk-through. IINM, the point about aerodynamics on cab cars saving fuel relates to the coefficient of drag; the lower the Cd, the less fuel burned.

Has anyone found any drawings or pictures of what the new cars will look like? I haven't been able to find anything.

I rode Lincoln Service train 301 last Thursday. We got to 101mph for about a minute and then we had to slow down for a freight. Rats!! 101mph sure was smooth! The best part was people looking at us from I-55 as we sailed past them.

I was hoping to go all 15 miles between Dwight and Pontiac at 110mph but the big dispatcher in the sky had other plans!

zephyrboy wrote:Has anyone found any drawings or pictures of what the new cars will look like? I haven't been able to find anything.

That is probably because the cars have not been fully designed yet. Any pics or renderings at this time are likely to be pretty generic. However, the specs for the bi-level corridor cars are based on the California Surfliners, so the new cars will likely look pretty similar. With a 2015 initial delivery date, there won't be much real news or info about the new cars for several years. In the meantime, there will be new shiny Viewliners and ACS-64 electric locomotives for the rail fans to look at.

afiggatt wrote:

zephyrboy wrote:Has anyone found any drawings or pictures of what the new cars will look like? I haven't been able to find anything.

That is probably because the cars have not been fully designed yet. Any pics or renderings at this time are likely to be pretty generic. However, the specs for the bi-level corridor cars are based on the California Surfliners, so the new cars will likely look pretty similar. With a 2015 initial delivery date, there won't be much real news or info about the new cars for several years. In the meantime, there will be new shiny Viewliners and ACS-64 electric locomotives for the rail fans to look at.

2015 is just a little over 2 years away. I hope it doesn't take several years to see more specific pictures or renderings. Someone at Nippon Sharyo will at least need to see some plans to know how to build the cars.