Acela II (Alstom Avelia Liberty): Design, Production, Delivery, Acceptance

Ben: Good picture of the three equipment types at Penn Coach Yard.
That vantage point is well known thanks to our own Chuchubob...

Everyone: I have had coining a nickname for the new Acela train on my mind for some time...
During the stay-at-home I was watching videos of the test train - and that nickname is:

"Gators" as in "Alligator" or "Crocodile"

With that thought the 1956 song and lyrics by Bill Haley and his Comets came to mind:
"See you later, Alligator (After 'while Crocodile)"
https://youtube.com/watch?v=b3MmRz3XohM
What is hard to believe this song is now 64 years old as of 2020
Older than just about all of our Forum members including myself...
I always liked this song with the subtle thought of going away - or
in the case of the Acela train traveling...

My original thought was that the cab motors reminded me of horses - and that they
could be even individually named after thoroughbred racing champions such as the
famous Secretariat - but after more viewing and taking note to the topic about the
design of these new trains I feel that "Gator" is more appropriate.
With the distinct cab design there IS a resemblance...

Does anyone agree-and could this be a new "pet nickname" for the new Acela train sets?

So Long, That's All; Goodbye...MACTRAXX

MACTRAXX wrote:Ben: Good picture of the three equipment types at Penn Coach Yard.
That vantage point is well known thanks to our own Chuchubob...

Everyone: I have had coining a nickname for the new Acela train on my mind for some time...
During the stay-at-home I was watching videos of the test train - and that nickname is:

"Gators" as in "Alligator" or "Crocodile"

With that thought the 1956 song and lyrics by Bill Haley and his Comets came to mind:
"See you later, Alligator (After 'while Crocodile)"
https://youtube.com/watch?v=b3MmRz3XohM
What is hard to believe this song is now 64 years old as of 2020
Older than just about all of our Forum members including myself...
I always liked this song with the subtle thought of going away - or
in the case of the Acela train traveling...

My original thought was that the cab motors reminded me of horses - and that they
could be even individually named after thoroughbred racing champions such as the
famous Secretariat - but after more viewing and taking note to the topic about the
design of these new trains I feel that "Gator" is more appropriate.
With the distinct cab design there IS a resemblance...

Does anyone agree-and could this be a new "pet nickname" for the new Acela train sets?

So Long, That's All; Goodbye...MACTRAXX

I think the powercars look kinda like sneakers, so I've been referring to them as "shoes." I've also seen them referred to as "platypuses" (platypi?)

The Crocodile was a famous Swiss electric motor from long ago if I recall. And the Frisco was famous for naming their E8's after race horses.

I'm getting ready to name the one in Philly Hangar Queen.

Matt Johnson wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 10:34 am I'm getting ready to name the one in Philly Hangar Queen.

Curious as to why.

Hasn't moved since the DC publicity run a few weeks ago.

Still waiting for FRA certification from the Test center in Pueblo,that PR run was done as a 1 shot move to test fit the set at Acela shop at Ivy City yard./

Duck-billed Platypus is what jumped to mind.

Matt Johnson wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:00 pm Hasn't moved since the DC publicity run a few weeks ago.

Doesn't mean that it's a shop queen.

Backshophoss wrote:Still waiting for FRA certification from the Test center in Pueblo,that PR run was done as a 1 shot move to test fit the set at Acela shop at Ivy City yard./

This is most likely the case. These things don't happen overnight.

It only takes one bureaucrat worried about his job to muck up certifications.. Job protection.

Acela150 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:28 pm Are we still going on about the horn? Yes, it's not the traditional K5LA. Get over it. Amtrak isn't in the business of pleasing Railfans with the horn of a train. They're in the business of moving people where they need to go.

I don't think "pleasing Railfans" was the motive when Robert Swanson invented the chime horn in the 40s, or when he and Deane Ellsworth developed the K5LA for Amtrak in the 70s. And as recently as 20 years ago, Amtrak specifically had the hybrid K5LA made on a dual manifold setup to suit the first gen Acelas and give them a unique sound. Such a shame we don't have real railroad guys in charge anymore.

Matt Johnson wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:00 pm Hasn't moved since the DC publicity run a few weeks ago.

Really? I was pretty sure I had seen more recent shots in different parts of the NEC, in part because of publicity and in part because I think they were doing some testing.

Amtrak706 wrote:Such a shame we don't have real railroad guys in charge anymore.

The "real" railroad guys and gals are the ones who have figured out how to run a passenger rail company that serves the entire country with ever decreasing levels of taxpayer support.

Depending on how you look at bankruptcies and government land grants there are precious few railroads that have ever even come close to this achievement. Santa Fe and New York Central are probably the only two that were even in the ballpark.

Amtrak deserves tremendous credit for sticking it out through thick and thin. Whether they were told to run or not they could have just thrown up their hands and said, "we need another billion or we're done" on several occasions. They didn't and I have a lot of respect for the people who stayed on the job year after year, decade after decade and rebuilt what others had squandered.



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MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:22 pm Ben: Good picture of the three equipment types at Penn Coach Yard.
That vantage point is well known thanks to our own Chuchubob...

Everyone: I have had coining a nickname for the new Acela train on my mind for some time...
During the stay-at-home I was watching videos of the test train - and that nickname is:

"Gators" as in "Alligator" or "Crocodile"

With that thought the 1956 song and lyrics by Bill Haley and his Comets came to mind:
"See you later, Alligator (After 'while Crocodile)"
https://youtube.com/watch?v=b3MmRz3XohM
What is hard to believe this song is now 64 years old as of 2020
Older than just about all of our Forum members including myself...
I always liked this song with the subtle thought of going away - or
in the case of the Acela train traveling...

My original thought was that the cab motors reminded me of horses - and that they
could be even individually named after thoroughbred racing champions such as the
famous Secretariat - but after more viewing and taking note to the topic about the
design of these new trains I feel that "Gator" is more appropriate.
With the distinct cab design there IS a resemblance...

Does anyone agree-and could this be a new "pet nickname" for the new Acela train sets?

So Long, That's All; Goodbye...MACTRAXX

How does one get to this vantage point?

The area is located underneath the upper platform level at 30th Street Station. I believe it may have once been a parking lot, but it is now no longer in use. There is an entrance to the area at the corner of Arch & N. 30th Streets.

Ben