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

I think the car windows should have been made bigger to provide a better view from the aisle seats. Would structural considerations have precluded that?

ExCon90 wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 7:24 pm I think the car windows should have been made bigger to provide a better view from the aisle seats. Would structural considerations have precluded that?

I think it's interesting that these cars, that have no seating in the cafe, have low windows and the Acela 1, which at least has some seating in the cafe, has high windows. Go figure.

Also, it is great to see that Amtrak has finally gone with a one piece window! It's only a little pet peeve of mine, but why does every window on Amtrak (even small Amfleet I ones) have to have a big bar running right down through the middle? Just nice to finally have a clear unobstructed view.

It is very interesting that Acela-2s can be towed at track speed. That is a big difference than Acela -1s towed only at what restrict speeds ?

kitchin wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:56 pm

west point wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:05 am My point about the CAT is that some passes there is no CAT movement others have some mainly up and down.. I do not understand the math of catenary. The power companies have to deal with it ongoing from local lines to major high voltage lines. It is apparent that PG&E did not understand it enough and had many fires caused by the lines contacting burnable fuel in California.

Back to Amtrak. It is well known that the PRR style CAT has problem if an EMU train has too many PANs that bounce can cause problems.. All the Acela-2 passes have just one pan up. I am still uncertain if one pan can supply both locos or if the one loco is able to push or pull the whole train ?.

Yes, a wire harness in the Acela II sends power the length of the train to the trailing locomotive. If the front pantograph fails, it can raise the trailing one and use that. The trucks are also interesting; it's a more unified trainset than the old Acela (see the video below).

As for the catenary, this Amtrak manger goes into great detail at 1:08:

The video was posted on these forums recently by Mass Bay RRE. There are two types of cat on the NEC. And the Amtrak manager doesn't see that changing.

Thanks for posting this, lots of great info in that presentation.

west point wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 2:43 pm It is very interesting that Acela-2s can be towed at track speed. That is a big difference than Acela -1s towed only at what restrict speeds ?

50 mph speed restriction with the coupler shrouding open as of right now.

west point wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 2:43 pm It is very interesting that Acela-2s can be towed at track speed. That is a big difference than Acela -1s towed only at what restrict speeds ?

The Acela 1s can be towed at track speed (125). The 50 only applies to running a set with the front shroud raised, being towed by another engine is 125 max

Trainset 1 returning to Hornell.

Also, the 50 mph restriction on the new trainsets only applies when 1 of the shrouds is open and not actually coupled to anything. If the trainset is bracketed, they can do track speed (79-90 mph).

Fan Railer wrote: ↑Sat May 08, 2021 7:04 am
Trainset 1 returning to Hornell.

Also, the 50 mph restriction on the new trainsets only applies when 1 of the shrouds is open and not actually coupled to anything. If the trainset is bracketed, they can do track speed (79-90 mph).

Why the return? Post-mainline-test inspections and repairs?

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Sat May 08, 2021 8:34 am Why the return? Post-mainline-test inspections and repairs?

The test set in Colorado had no interiors, going back to Hornell to finish (pun intended) the job.

8th Notch wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 7:36 pm

west point wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 2:43 pm It is very interesting that Acela-2s can be towed at track speed. That is a big difference than Acela -1s towed only at what restrict speeds ?

The Acela 1s can be towed at track speed (125). The 50 only applies to running a set with the front shroud raised, being towed by another engine is 125 max

I thought the Acela Is could only do 15mph when towed?

Max speed for HST being towed by another engine is 125. I’ve done 2 rescues personally and aside from being a nightmare to deal with when they break, you can tug them along at track speed.

I finally realized that while the power cars have a fairly good color scheme, the passenger cars look like something, paint scheme wise, that someone would slap together from the local home paint store in the middle of nowhere with only home paints to work with. Dull, boring, ugly. Closest thing I can compare it to - old cruise ships with too many coats of old paint on them seen up close. No gloss, look like they are ready for the scrap yard. Keeping in mind that these are new, semi high speed rail cars, not the image I'd want to present. Tale a look at the paint schemes of Japanese bullet or Tgv trains - those can be quite exciting. Or Brightline. Why does Amtrak go for old, dull looking?

I saw one of the new sets in the yard as my Acela approached 30th street in Philly. The attendant in First pointed it out to everyone and the response from the 10 or so people was that looked was that the new train looked pretty sharp. The attendant mentioned that he'd ridden it and was a big fan. He compared the First Class experience of Acela vs. Aveila as a nice Pontiac vs. a Mercedes.

We judge interiors by what we know - Amtrak. Few of us have seen Brightline, let alone nice European interiors. Same with exteriors - we're used to seeing dull, filthy, rusty exteriors on Amtrak, commuter and subway cars. Maybe that's what the Amtrak designers are used to.

I have been aboard more than my fair share of European trains that had exceptionally bland aesthetics. The DB ICE-1 trainsets sport a paint job that is about as bland as anything ever conceived (white with a very basic red stripe). Not impressive at all and totally ignorant of the tremendous graphic arts talent which has been present in Germany for centuries.

Both the original Acela and the new Avelia are innovators by comparison. It is a significant credit to Acela that their exterior paint scheme never quite became dated as long as it was kept clean.

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