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  • Siemens Venture Single Level Cars for CA/IL/Midwest

  • 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

 #1561987  by Ridgefielder
 
These things look great- big improvement over Amfleet.

Have said this in other forums but I don't think we appreciate just how old a lot of Amtrak rolling stock is. There was heavyweight Pullman equipment in service on A-Day that was newer then than the Amfleets are now.
 #1561990  by Gilbert B Norman
 
What a testament to Budd, who could design a car that has been in service for over forty five years, that still "don't look all that bad".

P-Road was building P-70's until about 1930, and they were in Amtrak service until the Amfleets replaced them. They did "look their age".
 #1562017  by eolesen
 
Sure, it's a testament to Budd, but private industry would have already replaced their equipment at least twice since 1971...
 #1562104  by eolesen
 
Nah, I'll disagree. Had railroads been free to decide what to keep vs. having to go thru a government approval process to discontinue or reduce service, we might still have privately operated service today. It's pretty well proven that as government interference gets pulled away, private companies prosper.
 #1562106  by R36 Combine Coach
 
eolesen wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 3:18 am Nah, I'll disagree. Had railroads been free to decide what to keep vs. having to go thru a
government approval process to discontinue or reduce service, we might still have
privately operated service today.
The other viewpoint is that government subsidies, with the U.S. Postal Department carrying mail on
passenger trains kept service running into the 1960s. For a more contemporary look at this issue,
look up the Alaska Bypass system, an example of government subsidies (again by the postal system)
keep a cottage industry of air carriers thriving to serve rural Alaska villages.
 #1563005  by Pensyfan19
 
USRailFan wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 6:42 am You still see passenger coaches dating from the mid 60s in use in major European countries like Germany.
Heck, up until a month ago the Island Line on the Isle of Wight (Britain) was using converted subway cars from 1938! Besides that, I think there are still some coaches (the British Rail Mark 2) which have been in service since 1964, and many multiple units that have been in service since the 1970s.

On the topic of these new Siemens coaches, they have started testing on more routes in the Midwest. Any word on how they're doing? I remember seeing a video from last July of CALDOT coach testing and it's door didn't close on the first try. Any problems like that in the Midwest coaches?
 #1563006  by David Benton
 
Isle of wright is a short run , with a restrictive tunnel, preventing use of normal stock.
mk2's long gone(except excursions), mk3's been scrapped, and mk4's stored.Mostly because of the move to EMU/DMU.
 #1563055  by Greg Moore
 
Capitol Limited I believe is still Superliner equipment, so even if the new cars are in service, it's highly unlikely you'll be riding on them.
 #1563114  by Ridgefielder
 
eolesen wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 2:04 am Sure, it's a testament to Budd, but private industry would have already replaced their equipment at least twice since 1971...
I'm not too sure about that. To look away from the rails for a moment-- there are plenty of Boeing 737's and such from the 1970's that are still flying.
 #1563128  by rohr turbo
 
Ridgefielder wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:43 pm ...there are plenty of Boeing 737's and such from the 1970's that are still flying.
Actually no 1970s era 737s have flown in US scheduled passenger service since 2008 (Wiki). Possibly a handful might still be flying in 3rd world countries. Mechanical systems eventually wear out and need replacement, especially if passenger lives are at stake.
 #1563129  by R36 Combine Coach
 
VIA probably has an older average fleet age. The HEP Budd fleet dates to early-mid 50s, northern Ontario
RDCs 1956, the LRC coaches early 80s. Only the Renaissance fleet is younger (1995-1996 built shells,
assembled and in service 2002).

The Silverliner IVs and Arrows are about the same age as Amfleets and still running strong.
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