AEM7 Disposition (and other motors - HHP8)

amtrakhogger wrote:

Tadman wrote:There's been a lot of chatter about the soon-to-be-retired toasters and the possibility of sending some to Septa or Marc. Given that the toastersare probably going to be scrapped after the ACS fleet arrives, would it make sense to even trade any Amtrak-owned motors that are in really good shape for commuter motors that are in especially bad shape? Either way 100t of metal goes to the torch and Amtrak gets their $40k for the scrap (figured at $0.20/lb per metalprices.com) Further, both Amtrak and commuter fleets were probably bought with some/all federal money, so it ensures the federal money goes the longest way possible.

Not to be picky, but there is a lot of copper in the locomotive as well and that fetches $2.00+ per pound. (Prices found on a NJ scrapyard site.)

Cast steel or cast iron, is worth more than plain scrap steel too , plus the transformer coils.so maybe scrap price is closer to 100k???

Just a guess on my part but I suspect a small number of the best AC units will indeed be held either for emergencies, heavy travel or whatever. They might not be brand new but they could be very useful in the event a major problem showed up with the new units or for extra heavy travel during holiday periods.
Noel Weaver

EVERY aem7 AC unit is push pull capable. The only DC units push pull capable are the 915,947,949,950,951,952, and 953. Not sure what dutch means about mods being made to make them pp capable? The rumor that has been floating around for a bit is that some Remans will remain for the keystone trains because, the new motors are a waste of 8000+ hp for a 5 car train. Another rumor has some going to Marc in exchange for there aem7 and HHPs so that amtrak could collect there scrap value. I will believe it when I see it. I been around the railroad long enough to know better. In regards to septa, I have heard talk from a few of there bosses about them showing interest in a few acs64s. I don't see that happening. Marc has apparently approached amtrak about adding a few 64s to its order so they could have a few and amtrak told them to get there units on there own, or at least that's what I heard!!

I don't know if it warrants its own thread until some concrete info materializes, but I'm very curious to see what happens to the HHP-8's. Obviously 15 years or less is not a long lifespan for modern electric power, but if they are returned to Bombardier, do they have any value beyond scrap? Are the trucks the same as those on the Acela Express locomotives? I imagine some other stuff, from any shared mechanical components to minor things like doors, windshields, etc. could be cannibalized if needed for Acela parts.

Matt Johnson wrote:I don't know if it warrants its own thread until some concrete info materializes, but I'm very curious to see what happens to the HHP-8's. Obviously 15 years or less is not a long lifespan for modern electric power, but if they are returned to Bombardier, do they have any value beyond scrap? Are the trucks the same as those on the Acela Express locomotives? I imagine some other stuff, from any shared mechanical components to minor things like doors, windshields, etc. could be cannibalized if needed for Acela parts.

Billable hours for the lawyers who get to negotiate that testy contract settlement?

Got a feeling these are going to be sitting motionless in a yard for a very very long time before somebody has permission to harvest so much as one dashboard knob from them.

As far as the HHP-8 systems and components, yes they are the same as those on the power cars.

LIRR272 wrote:As far as the HHP-8 systems and components, yes they are the same as those on the power cars.

Not really. There are no major drop in interchangable parts between the HHP-8 and the Acela, and that includes trucks traction motors and brakes. Even the computers have minor differences between major differences in software and minor differences in input output cards etc.

But seeing as how Bomb owns the HHP8 and acela trains, and Alstom is the parts vendor/supplier when bomb takes the engines back if Amtrak buys the Acela trains I doubt you will see any kind of parts exchange happen there, at least not as simply as oh hey this is the same lets take it and use it here! Not without some big money spending.

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that the HHP8's are going to make great razor blades in a few years. I just can't see any other use for them, when you account for gearing, gauge, voltage, age, and condition. They just don't fit anywhere else in the world.

What about stripping the HHP8's out, and using as cab cars?
How much longer does Amtraks lease on them run for ?

David Benton wrote:What about stripping the HHP8's out, and using as cab cars?
How much longer does Amtraks lease on them run for ?

They don't seem to track well, and if you ever sit in an Amfleet directly behind one it's quite a sight to see it bouncing and swaying all over the place at 125 mph! I would think that poor tracking characteristics probably make any conversion less likely.

Not to mention I'm sure the lease prohibits such conversion. I bet BBD is just waiting for Amtrak to pull such a stunt so they can pounce with their lawyers.

I don't recall whether they still run either SLE or MARC Penn Line, but could Amtrak use the Hippos for contract service?

I think that depends on what is in the contract. If Amtrak can break the lease early (and save money), and they have enough ACS to cover schedules, logic would dictate that there is little reason to retain the Hippos for any traffic. I get the feeling that, given the poor reliability of the HHP, they're on short time.

Tadman wrote:I think that depends on what is in the contract. If Amtrak can break the lease early (and save money), and they have enough ACS to cover schedules, logic would dictate that there is little reason to retain the Hippos for any traffic. I get the feeling that, given the poor reliability of the HHP, they're on short time.

And the sooner Amtrak and BBD part ways, the sooner bygones can become bygones. The fact remains that Bombardier is a very well-qualified company in the HSR field, despite the limitations of Acela Mark 1, and both companies could really benefit from letting their contentiousness cool down so BBD has an actual shot at the next Acela bid.

Well said.