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  • Acela Disposition Discussion

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1495534  by east point
 
frequentflyer wrote:[ Again, Amtrak's actions are telling, they want to RETIRE the trains and be done with them and apparently BBD.

I have loved my rides on the Acela, its nice ride,and its America's first, "high speed train" (at least to the public and media). It looks fast and cool.................But apparently its too expensive or mx intensive even for even lowly regional work.

Oue group generally agrees but who knows what is going to happen? If demand for AM-1s and-2s on whtever routes should increase Amtrak might need the -1s for seats on the NEC. One person here noted that if regional ridership should increase much above forecast in the time line of AX2s entering service the nine car regional might need so many more cars that some regionals would become -1s . No likely ? Probably not but as Amtrak management we would not preclude using AX-1s since Gateway bores will not be completed that limits more Amtrak trains thru NYP !
 #1495536  by east point
 
Final thought . The AX-1s could be combined into one train set with 12 cars or so and just a power car on either end. That train would
certainly provide many seats for any train but be unable to run AX-2 speeds . Maintenance two less power cars ! Of course there is still the length limit of trains at BOS !
 #1495543  by ApproachMedium
 
dowlingm wrote:
frequentflyer wrote:Why keep a fleet that will be a mx headache. BBD is not going to continue support. One cannot abuse the Acela like you can with five Amfleets and a Sprinter.
do you have explicit knowledge of whether BBD will continue support? Look at what they are doing with MARC's HHP-8s.

For me I would think Keystone Acela a good idea if something could be worked out with PA and BBD, but there would have to be a sense that the fatigue life of the sets would be long enough to bother doing so.
What is being done with the HHP-8s is set up by a firm in Florida. BBD is not explicitly supporting them otherwise. The Acela HST is now owned by Amtrak and very likely will be disposed of after they start to get new sets in service. They are a massive cost headache and they have a huge impact on track destruction. The ride quality is very poor even after undergoing a major overhaul in 2008. The acela sets each have an impact analysis device that rides onboard that reports track problems. I believe its since been abandoned because the acela power cars are a horrible judge of the track with their heavy bottoming out and the trailing power cars constantly getting horrible truck hunting thru interlockings.

The best thing amtrak can do is 1:1 dispose of a set the moment a new set is put in service. Part of the huge cleaning out of Bear DE was to enable amtrak to park the sets as they go out, keep some for spare parts on hand till all others are out of service and then scrap them all together.
 #1495544  by ApproachMedium
 
east point wrote:Final thought . The AX-1s could be combined into one train set with 12 cars or so and just a power car on either end. That train would
certainly provide many seats for any train but be unable to run AX-2 speeds . Maintenance two less power cars ! Of course there is still the length limit of trains at BOS !

NO acela sets will be combined! Not one of the Acela S&I shops is set up to handle a trainset longer than they already are. The sets MUST stay within their current lengths to get in and out of the shop as when the train arrives overhead power is isolated and grounded and the trains are worked on off ground power until any high voltage work needs to be done that requires the overhead. This space limitation is also for derails, switches, etc for blue flag protection of the workers.
 #1495925  by Matt Johnson
 
ApproachMedium wrote: The best thing amtrak can do is 1:1 dispose of a set the moment a new set is put in service. Part of the huge cleaning out of Bear DE was to enable amtrak to park the sets as they go out, keep some for spare parts on hand till all others are out of service and then scrap them all together.
I would hope maybe at least one set makes it to a museum.
 #1495945  by mtuandrew
 
Matt Johnson wrote:I would hope maybe at least one set makes it to a museum.
RRMPA seems like a great recipient, considering that they already have an AEM-7 and an E60MA. It’ll be another six years at least until they get one, but still. (Same with a few Amfleets.)
 #1496025  by mtuandrew
 
I know the rated maximum speed of the ACS-64 is 125 mph, and I remember reading that they’re tested for a 10% overspeed. Do they have the guts to get all the way from 137 mph to 150 mph with a single car (the original AX geometry car) in tow, under close FRA supervision per run?
 #1496072  by R36 Combine Coach
 
mtuandrew wrote:RRMPA seems like a great recipient, considering that they already have an AEM-7 and an E60MA. It’ll be another six years at least until they get one, but still. (Same with a few Amfleets.)
An Acela trainset would be fitting side by side with Metroliner 860, depicting evolution of high speed rail.
 #1496643  by ApproachMedium
 
mtuandrew wrote:I know the rated maximum speed of the ACS-64 is 125 mph, and I remember reading that they’re tested for a 10% overspeed. Do they have the guts to get all the way from 137 mph to 150 mph with a single car (the original AX geometry car) in tow, under close FRA supervision per run?
As far as I know the top speed that the ACS and SC44 did together on the corridor is about 143mph.
 #1502898  by SouthernRailway
 
Since emerging-market countries (is that the politically correct term?) now have high-speed trains, and countries like the US have typically sold their old trains to emerging-market countries in the past, perhaps the Acelas could be sold to a railroad in an emerging-market country?
 #1502930  by CHTT1
 
SouthernRailway wrote:Since emerging-market countries (is that the politically correct term?) now have high-speed trains, and countries like the US have typically sold their old trains to emerging-market countries in the past, perhaps the Acelas could be sold to a railroad in an emerging-market country?

Most of these "emerging" countries have better equipment than the U.S.
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