The future of the SEPTA fleet

Broadway wrote:Going to be a few years before you see those Siemens loco's, they are tooled up to build diesels for someone now and guess who has to wait.

LOL doesn't SIEMENS have another building plant in the country ? Or is all the trains built at just one plant specifically for U.S. Orders....all i know is that if i see ROTEM in the running im gonna scream....but SEPTA said in their reports that the locomotive must be a B+ Grade Rating...with other qualifications.

Siemens currently builds the Sprinter series in Sacramento. The company had a second facility (assembly & delivery only) at Elmira Heights which did MBTA's Blue Line cars, that was formerly ABB/Adtranz and now CAF.

It is all but official: SEPTA is purchasing ACS-64 Locomotives!

Paul Nussbaum, Philadelphia Inquirer wrote:SEPTA plans to spend up to $154 million for 18 new Regional Rail locomotives, the authority's biggest railroad acquisition in a decade.

[...]

The SEPTA board is expected to approve the purchase on Thursday, with the locomotives to be delivered in 2018.

SEPTA is buying 13 "Cities Sprinter" ACS-64 locomotives to be built by Siemens Industry Inc., the German conglomerate, at its Sacramento, Calif., factory. The purchase price includes an option for five additional locomotives.

18 units is far more than sufficient to replace 8 "meatballs". This implies a push-pull fleet expansion (with new coaches).

R36 Combine Coach wrote:18 units is far more than sufficient to replace 8 "meatballs". This implies a push-pull fleet expansion (with new coaches).

Yep, new bilevel coaches are also on the radar. I just hope the meatballs can hang on for three more years.

Well wait; it says 18 then 13. Which is it?

base order 13, with options for 5 more

SEPTA is planning to replace its fleet of electric locomotives,
seven AEM-7 and one ALP-44, with an order for the Siemens
ACS-64.

If the SEPTA board approves the order tomorrow, thirteen
engines will be ordered, with five options.

Wow, that's great news. It's good to see that SEPTA is getting some attention after a long stretch of relative neglect. I hope that this order really works out for them and that we do not have a repeat of the MARC HHP-8 situation.

One question though: If ACS-64 stands for Amtrak Cities Sprinter, will the SEPTA electrics be renamed SSS-64? SEPTA Suburbs Sprinter! Lol

Is SEPTA gonna buy the ACS-64 with the exact same specs as Amtrak's or will they ask for modifications?
and I noticed an error on the article
AEM-7's and ALP-44 aren't in service on the Lansdale/Doylestown line at all (NIMBYs...) and they forgot about the Media/Elwyn and West Trenton lines using the engines

The electric locomotives would replace eight aging engines operating on the Lansdale-Doylestown, Paoli-Thorndale, Trenton, and Wilmington-Newark lines, and add capacity to other regional lines.

Has SEPTA ever ordered equipment off the shelf? I would be extremely surprised if they ordered them as-is.

SCB2525 wrote:Has SEPTA ever ordered equipment off the shelf? I would be extremely surprised if they ordered them as-is.

AEM7s.

Sometimes SEPTA gets stuck with oddballs such as RL1s that one-time deals.

zebrasepta wrote: AEM-7's and ALP-44 aren't in service on the Lansdale/Doylestown line at all (NIMBYs...) and they forgot about the Media/Elwyn and West Trenton lines using the engines

ZS:

There is more then just NIMBY opposition to using the AEM7s and ALP44 on the Lansdale-Doylestown Line...

From what I recall each time they have tried using a push-pull train on a peak hour express such as the North
Penn Limited they had problems keeping the schedule meaning the train ran late more then it was on time and
there is the problem with the small capacity substation on the Doylestown Branch as well along with the NIMBY
complaints about the motor noise from these locomotives when they are stored in the Doylestown yard...

I also remember that the RDG side power supply limits the use of push-pull trains to only two and they have
both been assigned to two West Trenton peak hour expresses and at one point one of these trainsets was
assigned to a Warminster peak round trip...With these new locomotives if SEPTA plans on adding more RDG
side push pull trains the power supply needs to be beefed up to accomodate them and if not most of the new
multilevel trains will be going on the Paoli-Thorndale, Wilmington-Newark and Trenton Lines...

This new equipment will be a significant improvement for the Regional Rail system and hopefully SEPTA does
operate more push-pull trains on more lines that can use them...

MACTRAXX

zebrasepta wrote:Is SEPTA gonna buy the ACS-64 with the exact same specs as Amtrak's or will they ask for modifications?
and I noticed an error on the article
AEM-7's and ALP-44 aren't in service on the Lansdale/Doylestown line at all (NIMBYs...) and they forgot about the Media/Elwyn and West Trenton lines using the engines

The electric locomotives would replace eight aging engines operating on the Lansdale-Doylestown, Paoli-Thorndale, Trenton, and Wilmington-Newark lines, and add capacity to other regional lines.

I believe the commuter rail variety is going to have a software downrate, but the actual physical parts are the same. The Amtrak units have their performance software-optimized to the hilt to do intercity, and computer brain is where they end up being overkill for commuter rail duty. They're way different from AEM-7's in how much that matters vs. the actual metal and moving parts, so programmed-to-fit ends up being the difference that makes them appropriate for SEPTA duty. In the sense that using an Amtrak ACS-64 at SEPTA stop spacing and distances would probably wear them out faster over the span of 20 years, and the inverse--Amtrak using a commuter-rail optimized one--would wear them out faster vs. the intercity variety. Despite every rivet, wire, resistor, and motor being 99% identical. That's how much 'electronics' over 'electricity' is the difference-maker with these 21st century models.

Brave new world and all that. . .

MACTRAXX wrote:

zebrasepta wrote: AEM-7's and ALP-44 aren't in service on the Lansdale/Doylestown line at all (NIMBYs...) and they forgot about the Media/Elwyn and West Trenton lines using the engines

ZS:

There is more then just NIMBY opposition to using the AEM7s and ALP44 on the Lansdale-Doylestown Line...

From what I recall each time they have tried using a push-pull train on a peak hour express such as the North
Penn Limited they had problems keeping the schedule meaning the train ran late more then it was on time and
there is the problem with the small capacity substation on the Doylestown Branch as well along with the NIMBY
complaints about the motor noise from these locomotives when they are stored in the Doylestown yard...

I also remember that the RDG side power supply limits the use of push-pull trains to only two and they have
both been assigned to two West Trenton peak hour expresses and at one point one of these trainsets was
assigned to a Warminster peak round trip...With these new locomotives if SEPTA plans on adding more RDG
side push pull trains the power supply needs to be beefed up to accomodate them and if not most of the new
multilevel trains will be going on the Paoli-Thorndale, Wilmington-Newark and Trenton Lines...

This new equipment will be a significant improvement for the Regional Rail system and hopefully SEPTA does
operate more push-pull trains on more lines that can use them...

MACTRAXX

Oh yeah, I forgot about the power constraints on the RDG side