Amfleet used as a private car

I think there will still be Amfleets in revenue service come 2030, so let's not "write 'em off" just yet.

They were the only success story Amtrak has had to date with "promises made, promises kept" with a major equipment order, but as Col. Perkowski notes, they've been "ridden hard" even if the FRA considers them roadworthy.

From my "railfanning at Riverside" experience last May (hotel wouldn't let me in and my Sister takes naps) the Amfleets that passed by were clean yet they looked tired - and figure they have eight years to go.

It reminds me circa '60, flying on a DC-3 that regional airlines still operated. I flew on such.

I think Mr. Norman has the idea I have. The Amfleet 1's will continue for 8 years, but will be shifted around as the Airo fleet comes in. By 2030 or so, all 473 remaining Amfleet 1's are to be killed off.

The thing is (and I calculated this before) 83 is more than needed for replacing what's being run now in the 13-ish lines, including usage of the Amfleet II's. The Amfleet II's are roughly five years newer. I think those would go into expansion areas before Amtrak commits more Airo's to run there.

That said, 2035 or later, you got a ton of Amfleet 1/2 cars for sale that have been through everything. I really doubt you'll get any Amfleet 1's except for a few donated cars. I think we'll have them scrapped. The Amfleet 2's and cafe cars? Those may fetch a good price... and rebuilding them? I think a good guestimate is $1 Million USD.

Still, we can think of our dream rehab Amfleet cars, can't we?

By the time the Amfleets are retired, will there be worries about metal fatigue?

In view of that VIA Rail has decided to place a "Buffer" car after #1-2's - Canadian - Obs, and in the process diminishing the travel experience for those paying "Mega-Loonies" in that new ultra-luxo class they now have, as well as Amtrak now retiring all Heritage cars from revenue service, I'd think any Amfleet "after-life" is nil.

Considering that "on time-on budget" is no longer a part of any transportation equipment procurement, be it on land or in the sky, expect to see 60yo Amfleets in revenue service somewhere on the Amtrak system during 2035.

But then, there's always hope:

https://simpleflying.com/dc-3-operation/

GBN has a point. Once, everything was over engineered. Slide rules were the computational tool. Metallurgical testing was in its infancy.

Now, metallurgical testing is an advanced science, and we can precisely design equipment to meet specs…when new.

100 year lives of rail cars, even in museums, will soon be a thing of the past.

Would Amfleets be "vintage" enough? They don't have the historical "quaint" vibe to them.

Seems to me they'd be awful expensive to retrofit into sleepers. I could see them in tourist operation, perhaps. And haven't they just spent a lot on refitting them?

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Fri Jan 20, 2023 9:23 am Would Amfleets be "vintage" enough? They don't have the historical "quaint" vibe to them.

Seems to me they'd be awful expensive to retrofit into sleepers. I could see them in tourist operation, perhaps. And haven't they just spent a lot on refitting them?

Is 1975 "vintage" enough? Some Amfleets are as old as I am! And they were "refreshed" with the interior seating rebuilt.

But yes, they'll be expensive to retrofit them into sleepers, and I wouldn't consider them tall enough for bunk bed. Maybe one-bed private suites for a hotel, maybe? But still, expensive.

Before the Viewliners were ordered, experimental Ampads were installed in the ends of 2 or 3 Amfleet coaches for the Cincinnati trains. How hard was it to do that?
Will the Amfleet business car find its way into private ownership now that the current legal department hates open ended observation cars?

Rail Excursion Management Company owns three Amfleet 1 cars (2 coaches and 1 cafe) that they purchased from Amtrak. Thus three Amfleet 1 cars have already become private cars.

https://RAILEXCO.com

Yeah, but they're still in their original configurations as opposed to being gutted and retrofitted into a true private car.

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