by Patrick Boylan
one argument could be that since Amtrak must send cars to and from Beech Grove shops anyway the Indianapolis service shouldn't get charged the same way as other trains whose sole purpose is to carry passengers. So how many days a week do the Cardinal and Hoosier State carry shopbound cars? What are the costs associated with running a train without passengers to the shops, vs adding a car or 2 to handle the passengers that might happen to stumble upon the train and decide to pay for a ride?
Is this a good analogy? An engine move has a far lower speed limit than an engine with 1 coach. How often does Amtrak feel they can justify adding on that 1 coach in order to get that otherwise slow locomotive over the railroad faster? I had a private car trip Aug 2011, part of which was special move Philly-Washington DC. We spent about half an hour moving our 3 private cars from 30th St north and then south into Race St yard, locomotive running around the private cars to tack an Amfleet coach onto the north end, just so the locomotive could run at train speeds instead of light engine speeds back from DC to Philly. I also got the impression we did an enormous amount of switching in DC, but I was snoozing in my bed, so I can't swear to how long and why and with what locomotive. In fact, as one might expect on a private car trip with open bar, I find it difficult honestly to say that the switching at Philly did actually take half an hour.
But enough digression, is it actually to Amtrak's advantage to change the Hoosier State into a deadhead move, probably not every day of the week, only when they actually need to get cars into and out of the shops? And why do the shops have to be at Beech Grove? Other posts in this thread have suggested Amtrak might move the shops somewhere closer to Chicago, how likely is that to happen?
Is this a good analogy? An engine move has a far lower speed limit than an engine with 1 coach. How often does Amtrak feel they can justify adding on that 1 coach in order to get that otherwise slow locomotive over the railroad faster? I had a private car trip Aug 2011, part of which was special move Philly-Washington DC. We spent about half an hour moving our 3 private cars from 30th St north and then south into Race St yard, locomotive running around the private cars to tack an Amfleet coach onto the north end, just so the locomotive could run at train speeds instead of light engine speeds back from DC to Philly. I also got the impression we did an enormous amount of switching in DC, but I was snoozing in my bed, so I can't swear to how long and why and with what locomotive. In fact, as one might expect on a private car trip with open bar, I find it difficult honestly to say that the switching at Philly did actually take half an hour.
But enough digression, is it actually to Amtrak's advantage to change the Hoosier State into a deadhead move, probably not every day of the week, only when they actually need to get cars into and out of the shops? And why do the shops have to be at Beech Grove? Other posts in this thread have suggested Amtrak might move the shops somewhere closer to Chicago, how likely is that to happen?