Railroad Forums 

  • Amtrak ACS-64 Sprinter Discussion

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1553296  by liftedjeep
 
USRailFan wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:03 am
Martin Baumann wrote: Thu Sep 17, 2020 8:59 am Are 601 and 627 permanently retired?
How long had 601 been in service? It might not beat P40 819 as the shortest-lived Amtrak loco, but it's got to be pretty high up on the list?
#601 began testing along the NEC in February of 2014, with its first revenue run on March 1st. The derailment of train #188 occurred on May 12th, 2015, which means #601 was in service for just over 14 months.

Ben
 #1553297  by USRailFan
 
liftedjeep wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:19 am
USRailFan wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:03 am
Martin Baumann wrote: Thu Sep 17, 2020 8:59 am Are 601 and 627 permanently retired?
How long had 601 been in service? It might not beat P40 819 as the shortest-lived Amtrak loco, but it's got to be pretty high up on the list?
#601 began testing along the NEC in February of 2014, with its first revenue run on March 1st. The derailment of train #188 occurred on May 12th, 2015, which means #601 was in service for just over 14 months.

Ben
The two P42s wrecked at Wendover in 2001 likely had shorter careers too then?
 #1555966  by Pensyfan19
 
According to this picture, ACS-64 #645 is a PRR sticker unit, and has been for at least a few months. Does anyone know of any unofficial Amtrak "sticker units" for either the sprinters or other locomotives for Amtrak?
 #1555968  by liftedjeep
 
Pensyfan19 wrote: Tue Nov 03, 2020 5:42 pm According to this picture, ACS-64 #645 is a PRR sticker unit, and has been for at least a few months. Does anyone know of any unofficial Amtrak "sticker units" for either the sprinters or other locomotives for Amtrak?
If that photo is indeed legit, I would bet my paycheck that an Amtrak employee slapped that sticker on while the Sprinter was shopped. I have not heard a thing about any official Amtrak "sticker units".

If I recall correctly, something similar took place a few years ago with a Septa City Sprinter.
Ben
 #1556158  by R36 Combine Coach
 
rcthompson04 wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 11:01 pm Amtrak is basically part of the PRR core passenger service with others tacked on.
Much like Conrail would basically be PC (much of USRA staff was PC) with several other roads merged in.
Even the stenciled "CR" lettering on locomotives in the early CR days was PC font.
 #1581365  by rcthompson04
 
Is there a problem with the Sprinters? I have now been on or seen about 10 Keystones bookended by locomotives and seen a few rather short NE Regionals with two locomotives. I figured they were short on Metroliner control cars for the Keystones at first, but the rather short Regionals with two locomotives make me wonder if it is a Sprinter problem.
 #1581367  by twropr
 
The Keystones are bi-directional; their schedules do not allow time for the equipment to be turned on the wyes at NY or Harrisburg. With many cab cars out of service for unknown reasons, the only way to operate a bidirectional train is with a motor on each end. This also happens with diesels on trains such as the Downeaster, Vermonter and Blue Water.
Andy
 #1581384  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Having a Sprinter on both ends of the Keystone is great as that makes very good acceleration even better, a must for a route where many of the stations are close to each other. It's no surprise that many Ex-Metroliner Cab Cars are out of service. Obviously we all know that they won't be around forever. There is a possibility that once more of the brand new Siemens Intercity trainsets enter revenue service, we could see very few Northeast Regionals using Sprinters. However, the Sprinters will be needed on the long distance trains between NYP-DC.
 #1581385  by CNJGeep
 
I can tell you firsthand that those trains with two motors go like the clappers, it's better than MUs.
 #1581388  by MACTRAXX
 
Buff: The new Amtrak fixed-consist train sets are going to be *fully compatible* with the ACS64 Sprinter motors.
The new dual-mode motors will be used on routes that are partially electrified such as Virginia or Empire services.
The ACS64 Sprinters will remain in regular NEC fully electrified service...MACTRAXX
 #1581402  by frequentflyer
 
MACTRAXX wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:25 pm Buff: The new Amtrak fixed-consist train sets are going to be *fully compatible* with the ACS64 Sprinter motors.
The new dual-mode motors will be used on routes that are partially electrified such as Virginia or Empire services.
The ACS64 Sprinters will remain in regular NEC fully electrified service...MACTRAXX
Many trains run off the NEC to points in Virginia and Amtrak wants to increase frequencies. Will be interesting to see how long the Sprinters fit in this operation. There will be less NEC only trains in the future outside of Acela.
 #1581500  by dt_rt40
 
CNJGeep wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:58 pm I can tell you firsthand that those trains with two motors go like the clappers, it's better than MUs.
In the olden days of me riding to work in DC on MARC's former cross-honored Amtraks, one morning I got an Amtrak 151 pulled by 2 ACS-64s. CNJGeep is right, the engineer didn't gun it at every station, but leaving Edgewood was breathtaking. It almost felt like we were on a WMATA metro train. I've never experienced such fast acceleration on any non-subway train and that includes riding various non-MU high speed trains in Europe.
Last edited by dt_rt40 on Thu Sep 30, 2021 9:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • 1
  • 196
  • 197
  • 198
  • 199
  • 200