Wisconsin Talgos Disposition - MI and now Pacific Surfliner

There are reports on other sites that these Talgo sets will be sent to the Pacific Northwest and will be available July 1 for service.

About time....

A very bright spot in an often dreary time.

Gee, just when there was the least amount of demand possible for the extra equipment, it shows up?...

They might have been waiting on Amtrak for a slot and crews to make the move. Kind of not surprised it's happenning right now.

But...buh...no Business Class! No table car! Not acceptable for the Cascades service!!!!

When push comes to shove anything can be done. But there were so many excuses why the Wisconsin Talgos could **NOT** be used in Cascades service which were all petty, ridiculous excuses.

wigwagfan wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2020 1:36 pm But...buh...no Business Class! No table car! Not acceptable for the Cascades service!!!!

When push comes to shove anything can be done. But there were so many excuses why the Wisconsin Talgos could **NOT** be used in Cascades service which were all petty, ridiculous excuses.

I think they can pretty easily change a few cars to business class. Aren't those seats mounted on rails? They could literally remove the seats from the outgoing cars and transplant them if they wanted to.

Tadman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 10:45 am I think they can pretty easily change a few cars to business class. Aren't those seats mounted on rails? They could literally remove the seats from the outgoing cars and transplant them if they wanted to.

Worn out seats? The seats in the old Talgos were garbage. And even when it was claimed the seats were "replaced" the "new" seats went to trash pretty quickly.

Not to mention, "Business Class" is grossly overrated but apparently there are some railfans/WSDOT folk who think it's an absolute necessity. Every time I've ridden in business class I felt ripped off.

wigwagfan wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2020 1:36 pm But...buh...no Business Class! No table car! Not acceptable for the Cascades service!!!!

When push comes to shove anything can be done. But there were so many excuses why the Wisconsin Talgos could **NOT** be used in Cascades service which were all petty, ridiculous excuses.

They are in Milwaukie for a few months before heading over there. Should be time to reconfigure a few cars.

wigwagfan wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2020 11:01 pm

Tadman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 10:45 am I think they can pretty easily change a few cars to business class. Aren't those seats mounted on rails? They could literally remove the seats from the outgoing cars and transplant them if they wanted to.

Worn out seats? The seats in the old Talgos were garbage. And even when it was claimed the seats were "replaced" the "new" seats went to trash pretty quickly.

Not to mention, "Business Class" is grossly overrated but apparently there are some railfans/WSDOT folk who think it's an absolute necessity. Every time I've ridden in business class I felt ripped off.

I prefer the older Amtrak style seats, but I'm sure I'm in a minority. Those European seats don't seem to be designed for a Portland-Vancouver ride.

As for business, I'm used to it because out east the cabin is much smaller than the coach cabin, which is the whole 80' car. It's quieter. Now if Amtrak really had their act together, they'd have trolley snack/beverage or even meal service like Eurostar or DB, making it more worthwhile.

In short, you're not wrong about first class not really being worth it.

I rode a Talgo set in 2015 in coach class and enjoyed the seats quite well. I rode it from Vancouver, BC to Seattle. What is going to be the future for the Talgos? Will all of them be retired in the short term?

njt/mnrrbuff wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 10:27 am I rode a Talgo set in 2015 in coach class and enjoyed the seats quite well. I rode it from Vancouver, BC to Seattle. What is going to be the future for the Talgos? Will all of them be retired in the short term?

There are two different generations of Talgo in service. The earlier ones had Superliner-like seats. Very good except lack of center arm rest. The newer ones have factory Euro-seating. Pass.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:10 am There are reports on other sites that these Talgo sets will be sent to the Pacific Northwest and will be available July 1 for service.

But weren't these cars supposed to be replaced by Amtrak because they were deemed unsafe and the possible cause of the Cascades derailment of 2017??? (Talgos weren't the reason. The reason for the crash is going 70 in a 30 mph zone!) Also, wasn't Amtrak even ordering more Talgo coaches for the route?

the older 1990s talgos without the enhanced crashworthiness features (i think?) are being replaced (the ones with the comfortable seats, I agree) as a way of blaming something other than deficient training for this accident

bdawe wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 2:05 pm the older 1990s talgos without the enhanced crashworthiness features (i think?) are being replaced (the ones with the comfortable seats, I agree) as a way of blaming something other than deficient training for this accident

Ok. I thought I read something on trains.com a few months ago about WDOT or Amtrak purchasing more Talgo 8 coaches to replace the existing ones. Basically replacing Talgos with Talgos it seems.