North Carolina NCDOT-Amtrak Piedmont Service

i guess nobody here has taken the trip before

This website will give you an idea of the Piedmont's on-time performance in the last few weeks. The relevant train numbers are 73 and 74.

Hope this helps.

http://www.amtrakdelays.com/

I have taken this trip many times and the departures will always be reliable since Charlotte and Raleigh are the endpoints. Typically has good timekeeping, but you can expect minor delays due to track work between Greensboro and High Point.

Nc is not going to put trains out on an inadiquite infrastructure. (We have enough problems with the CSX segments.) The double track was the hold up between Greensboro and High Point, as this is the passing point for 79/80 and 73/74. It is also saturated with NS freights. NS objected to the additional trains in the midday, sucking up heavily used capicity. Third train is still scheduled for fall 09 at this time.

By the way, we also opened the new Durham NC station this week. For pictures see; www.bytrain.org

-matthewsaggie

Glad to hear that; Durham's my home town! Glad they finally got a decent train station.

NC Piedmont Service up-date:

1. NCDOT has bought 2 used F-59's from GO Transit and they are currently being rebuilt somewhere in NY. (They had a contract to lease 2 F-40's from a leasing company in the spring, but leasing company failed to deliver units up to specifications and they were rejected by NCDOT. )
2. Last of NCDOT's coaches is expected back from rebuild this month.. Currently in Wilmington.
3. The food service car, that had been running around in the ugly/very dirty Amtrak paint is currently also in Wilmington for rebuild and is expected back soon. Will be in the blue and silver NCDOT paint scheme. It will become a vending machine car. (I can only see trouble with this for the crews)
4. Mid-day train waiting on power, may be starting in winter now. See #1 above.
5. Addition of second track between GRO and HPT about 70% complete. NS keeps taking work crews off the projects, sending them elsewhere on the system. Very frustrating.

matthewsaggie wrote: 5. Addition of second track between GRO and HPT about 70% complete. NS keeps taking work crews off the projects, sending them elsewhere on the system. Very frustrating.

Does NC have a contract with NS obliging them to finish the project by a date certain or pay penalties? (I mean, hell, NC owns the railroad, NS is just leasing freight rights.)

neroden wrote:

matthewsaggie wrote: 5. Addition of second track between GRO and HPT about 70% complete. NS keeps taking work crews off the projects, sending them elsewhere on the system. Very frustrating.

Does NC have a contract with NS obliging them to finish the project by a date certain or pay penalties? (I mean, hell, NC owns the railroad, NS is just leasing freight rights.)

I don't know if they do, but they should. Otherwise, Norfolk Southern could drag their feet indefinitely on this.

matthewsaggie wrote:NC Piedmont Service up-date:

1. NCDOT has bought 2 used F-59's from GO Transit and they are currently being rebuilt somewhere in NY. (They had a contract to lease 2 F-40's from a leasing company in the spring, but leasing company failed to deliver units up to specifications and they were rejected by NCDOT. )

Thanks for the update! Are these used F59's intended to replace the GP-40's? (As I recall, NCDOT owns two F59PHI's and two GP40's currently.)

The former GO Transit F59PH will be a new type for Amtrak. I assume that underneath, it's mechanically similar to the F59PHI.

2. Last of NCDOT's coaches is expected back from rebuild this month.. Currently in Wilmington.
3. The food service car, that had been running around in the ugly/very dirty Amtrak paint is currently also in Wilmington for rebuild and is expected back soon. Will be in the blue and silver NCDOT paint scheme.

That's good news! It'll be a sharp looking train now that the food service car isn't in the old paint scheme!

I can't say anything about why the new train isn't running but when the Piedmont left Durham this evening it had a Milwaukee Road car between the engine and the passenger cars. I believe the name of the car is Wisconsin Lakes, the car looked to be in fairly good shape, there were some spots under the windows that looked like they may have been repairs for rust. The window configuration was different from a regular passenger car.

Mr. Willy, this is likely the car you observed.

The MILW did not have a "--Lake" series of cars, however they did have a series of 10-6, the most widely produced lightweight sleeper, "Lake--'. To my knowledge, none of those cars are in revenue service today and their window confuguration is quite standard.

The MILW lounge car rides pretty poorly compared to the refurbished one(s?) in the NCDOT paint scheme. Hopefully when it is rebuilt they will fix the suspension so it rides more like the other refurbished cars.

Mr Norman,

Thanks for the info on the cars, the one with the strange window configuration is the one I saw (I think). My wife remembers the name as Wisconsin Valley. It is a shame that we couldn't have gotten at least one of the Sky Top Domes that were sitting on a barge for years before someone cut them up and hauled off the pieces, in my mind that is the best looking rail car I have ever seen. Yeah, I know about the door that needs to be on the rear end, the has to be a way to install an emergency door in a way that wouldn't have changed the look of the car too much.

Thanks again!
Willy

Let's see Mr. Willy; MILW car names --

Lake-- ;10-6 Sleeper
--River; 8Dx 4BR 6RM Sleeper
--Rapids; Parlor Skytop Obs
--Creek; 8BR Slytop Obs
--Valley; Parlor ("Wisconsin NOT within the series)
(on line community); 16Dx 4BR Sleeper
"Mt.--; 14 Sec Touralux Sleeper
"--Grove" Cafe Parlor
The Super Domes were not named in MILW revenue service

Hopefully this will help in identifying what "the Mrs." observed and that the Moderators will allow this admittedly off topic material.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:Hopefully this will help in identifying what "the Mrs." observed and that the Moderators will allow this admittedly off topic material.

It's not necessarily off topic, Mr. Norman, because the car was observed as part of the Piedmont's consist. In addition, it might be needed in revenue service on the new mid-day train (after refurbishing).