Tadman wrote: ↑Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:09 pm
Or Harmon shops, which they would pass every day.
Backshophoss wrote: ↑Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:31 pm
Harmon would be the better shop if MN accepts the contract to maintain them for the state.
They work on the entire fleet of Mu's, coach/cab cars,and locos
LIRR Hillside is more of a MU shop geared to the M-3's,M-7's and now the M-9's
I don’t know the respective MTA shops, so thanks to both of you for pointing that out. Even an irregular transfer run SSYD-Harmon wouldn’t be impossible - and of course Amtrak would do running repairs.
So we have a reasonable solution should New Tork State decide that Sightseers are a worthy investment for tourism. I believe that Vermont would be interested in such cars if New York was already ordering them (as such a tourism-heavy State) and further that they would be willing to operate them as a pool. Perhaps Connecticut as well, though that’s a harder sell in my opinion.
In terms of hard sells, I think we may be looking at this backwards. Amtrak needs new cafe cars, and Stadler has a single-level product that (as far as we know) could be made 125 mph-capable. Maybe an enterprising Senator should ask Amtrak to add a qualifier for large windows on its LD cafes, the larger the windows the more points the bid scores. Obviously mechanical compatibility with the existing and future Amtrak fleet would score extra points as well, and that would encourage existing suppliers (CAF, Siemens, Alstom perhaps) to design and bid products with a Sightseer/Viewliner option.