Amtrak Capitol Limited Thread

[inlogan]

I was on the special 930 train in a roomette. The Howard University and Morgan State University marching bands booked the coaches to go to the Chicago Football Classic. They had a late afternoon game so they were able to get the departure time changed to 10pm. They had a few extra coach cars added and their own dining car added after their coaches too. We did share the sightseer lounge and they were able to buy stuff at the cafe section of the main dining car. In Chicago they actually let us board early around 7:30pm where they served dinner in the sleeper section dining car since it would have been too late at 10pm. They didn't tell us this in advance so I had dinner already and just sat in my roomette for two hours instead of the Metropolitan lounge. So in the end they served three full meals to the sleeper passengers. It was actually a great trip because we got to go through western Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh during daylight. Also since there were only a couple of stops, the sleeper section never got very crowded at all.

[Tadman]

This would be a great use of the Horizons as surge fleet after the midwest bilevels are introduced. You could have a person that actively markets such service to universities, alumni associations, boyscouts, tour operators, sports leagues, etc... College kids and boyscouts don't need a super nice train car. You could attach the surge coaches to the end of a normal train and because they're point-to-point, they don't need to worry about train length for station stops.

[ExCon90]

That would lead to an interesting reversion to mid-century practice, when large railroads had full-time sales reps calling on Rotary, Elks, Boy Scouts, sports teams, Boston Symphony, Metropolitan Opera, you name it, booking excursion business. Later, the conventional wisdom was that everybody would fly from then on, but as the skies become less and less friendly there might be some disposition to try rail again when equipment such as Superliners is available.

[mtuandrew]

This would be a great use of the Horizons as surge fleet after the midwest bilevels are introduced. You could have a person that actively markets such service to universities, alumni associations, boyscouts, tour operators, sports leagues, etc... College kids and boyscouts don't need a super nice train car. You could attach the surge coaches to the end of a normal train and because they're point-to-point, they don't need to worry about train length for station stops.

I'm picturing the cheapest of cheap Gallery cars for a western surge fleet, with Horizonized Comets as the surge fleet to the east. Yes, I know, Amtrak doesn't use either type of car, but as long as both use Amtrak-standard fixtures, GSI-70 trucks, and standard electric/braking systems, they shouldn't be THAT hard to keep up.

But, that's neither here nor there.

[ExCon90]

But the thing that made excursions relatively remunerative back in the day was that the equipment used was already fully depreciated--boy, was it ever--and thus involved no acquisition costs, just what was required to keep it running. I would think that acquiring additional equipment, however cheap, would tilt the economics too far in the wrong direction considering that it would be idle much of the time; at least the Superliners are already on the property. Also, for first-time train riders, who would probably constitute a large majority of the ridership, bi-level cars might provide an incentive to ride.

[bdawe]

This would be a great use of the Horizons as surge fleet after the midwest bilevels are introduced. You could have a person that actively markets such service to universities, alumni associations, boyscouts, tour operators, sports leagues, etc... College kids and boyscouts don't need a super nice train car. You could attach the surge coaches to the end of a normal train and because they're point-to-point, they don't need to worry about train length for station stops.

I'm picturing the cheapest of cheap Gallery cars for a western surge fleet, with Horizonized Comets as the surge fleet to the east. Yes, I know, Amtrak doesn't use either type of car, but as long as both use Amtrak-standard fixtures, GSI-70 trucks, and standard electric/braking systems, they shouldn't be THAT hard to keep up.

But, that's neither here nor there.

Gallery cars have high floors and lower-level walk-through, and as such would be no more useful save for capacity than any other coach being hauled on the back of a superliner

[Tadman]

But the thing that made excursions relatively remunerative back in the day was that the equipment used was already fully depreciated--boy, was it ever--and thus involved no acquisition costs

Bingo. This is why I like the idea of using the Horizon fleet as a surge/charter fleet. There's 86 coaches times 74 seats for total capacity of 6,000+ people. You could run them all summer for the Boyscout trains, every fall saturday for college football, then you have yearly tournaments like the Final Four and Superbowl.

Per the above quote, they're already bought and in relatively good condition. They also have no future in corridor service due to the manual doors, so the only alternative is scrappage.

[dowlingm]

With Amtrak having been LEANed as much as it has, is there sufficient power and crewing to make this into anything sustainable as posited above?

[ThirdRail7]

With Amtrak having been LEANed as much as it has, is there sufficient power and crewing to make this into anything sustainable as posited above?

I'd think the main issue is power. The diesel fleet is taking a serious pounding with not a lot of relief in the immediate future.

[electricron]

Bingo. This is why I like the idea of using the Horizon fleet as a surge/charter fleet. There's 86 coaches times 74 seats for total capacity of 6,000+ people.
Per the above quote, they're already bought and in relatively good condition. They also have no future in corridor service due to the manual doors, so the only alternative is scrappage.

I'll agree that the Horizon rolling stock is unacceptable for corridor service because of the manual doors, as is, but automatic doors could be installed on them during a mid-life or service life extension refit. I'm not sure if it would be wise to do so, but let's not dismiss this possibility without serious consideration. MBTA, NJT, & SEPTA have been running Horizon's sister Comets on the Corridor for decades, so the cars can operate successfully on it with the appropriate doors.

[Ryand-Smith]

Hey all. So I may be going to Northern ohio this june, and as I hate flying yet refuse to drive 14+ hours all the way to Sandusky Ohio, I am looking into the Capital Limited/Northeast Regional into Ohio.

From what I see, the train arrives early and leaves late (which is fine with me, I can burn a day walking/watching movies till my hotel lets me check in, and check in and work on things at the Amtrak till the Capital arrives), but how are superliners and on time performance of the Capital? How is the countryside early morning/overnight, and I assume the slow time is because of crossing through B&O's old coal tracks?

Thanks in advance everyone.

[Rockingham Racer]

I don't understand why you're asking the question about the scenery. Since you don't want to fly, and don't want to drive, you'll have to take what you get on the train.

[Greg Moore]

Superliners are fine. I assume you're going coach? Get an upper level seat and enjoy what view you can get.

I've never done the Capitol Limited, but don't think you'll have any real issues.

Ontime performance can vary, go to Amtrak's site and there's a link someplace to look up on-time performance for specific days.

Generally trains will leave on time from their endpoints. But after that, hard to guarantee.

[Tadman]

The equipment is very comfortable, sleeper or coach. Also, the trip is slow because you're crossing mountains in PA and MD so it's no speed demon.

[hi55us]

Definitely snag a seat in the sightseer lounge for the segment through Maryland. I love the views through Harper's Ferry and the Cumberland Pass.

For this quick overnight trip I would probably be comfortable going with a Coach seat since the arrival into Sandusky is in the middle of the night. For the 12:40 AM departure be sure to check out the status of the train on amtrak.com. There might be a delay leaving Chicago.

The superliner is my favorite Amtrak equipment - even better than the Acela - enjoy the journey!