Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the operations of MTA MetroNorth Railroad including west of Hudson operations and discussion of CtDOT sponsored rail operations such as Shore Line East and the Springfield to New Haven Hartford Line

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, nomis, FL9AC, Jeff Smith

 #1596918  by Silverliner II
 
west point wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 3:51 pm Is Amtrak or will it be required to remove all the 3rd rail impediments on the route. It may be SLE will have to pay for these improvements. Just a thought. Are these shoes permanently extended or are they retractable? If fixed that may be why no one thought about the problem?
The third rail shoes are permanently extended, but they will be removed from the M8 sets assigned to SLE for service.
 #1596932  by photobug56
 
Do these M8's also have pantographs?

Related question - MNCR trains that will go to Penn what that service happens - how will they be powered?
 #1597005  by 8th Notch
 
west point wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 3:51 pm Is Amtrak or will it be required to remove all the 3rd rail impediments on the route. It may be SLE will have to pay for these improvements. Just a thought. Are these shoes permanently extended or are they retractable? If fixed that may be why no one thought about the problem?
As of now, 4 dedicated sets (3rd rail shoes removed) will operate SLE. The problem with the 3rd rail shoes being ripped off kept occurring at the same under grade bridge which meant no quick fix, this is my guess as to why Metro North had no choice but to cave in. Pans will also have to be dropped at every DS on Amtrak since the MCB cannot be controlled by the
Engineer.
 #1597006  by Silverliner II
 
photobug56 wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 10:56 pm Related question - MNCR trains that will go to Penn what that service happens - how will they be powered?
Third rail will be extended from Harold to Gate and the M8's will change from pantograph to third rail westbound (and vice versa eastbound) at Gate. The M8 third rail shoes are able to run on either the Metro-North or LIRR-style third rail.
 #1597934  by Traingeek3629
 
May 24th is the date for M8s beginning service on SLE. No thru trains to STM or GCT at this time.
 #1597951  by Silverliner II
 
Traingeek3629 wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 5:36 pm May 24th is the date for M8s beginning service on SLE. No thru trains to STM or GCT at this time.
Of course, since the M8 sets assigned to SLE will be devoid of third rail shoes, there will not be any thru trains to GCT under any circumstances.
I guess I know what I'll be doing on either the 27th or 28th now....
Last edited by Silverliner II on Thu May 19, 2022 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #1597952  by robelybasis
 
SLE 1667 and another Extra train leaving NHV at 2:45 PM and arriving in NCL at 4:04 PM make up the 2 inaugural trains on Monday both in revenue service. Tuesday should see regular M8 service with the first set covering about a third of all trains. More sets will be phased in within the coming weeks.
 #1597958  by west point
 
Is there any chance Amtrak will remove that one impediment to the 3rd rail shoes? Otherwise, how is MNRR going to get those cars for overhaul to the maintenance facility at Croton?

I suppose that the shoes could be installed at New Haven to allow ferrying to Croton?
 #1597973  by robelybasis
 
All maintenance that needs to be performed on the M8 fleet is capable of being done at New Haven. Some M8s can go to Croton if they are yarded in GCT or on the western portion of the system for a bunch of reasons often but it isn't required. Everything can be performed between New Haven and Stamford.
 #1597979  by Silverliner II
 
west point wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 10:53 pm Is there any chance Amtrak will remove that one impediment to the 3rd rail shoes? Otherwise, how is MNRR going to get those cars for overhaul to the maintenance facility at Croton?

I suppose that the shoes could be installed at New Haven to allow ferrying to Croton?
Not likely about the impediment. I read somewhere (might have been further up in this thread) that the obstruction is part of a bridge structure, so that can't be changed.

But yes, the shoes can be restored to the equipment as needed, but the New Haven shops can do all necessary work on the M8's without need to go to Harmon. If they did have to go there, a diesel would be more likely to tow them there.
 #1597986  by daybeers
 
robelybasis wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:41 pm SLE 1667 and another Extra train leaving NHV at 2:45 PM and arriving in NCL at 4:04 PM make up the 2 inaugural trains on Monday both in revenue service. Tuesday should see regular M8 service with the first set covering about a third of all trains. More sets will be phased in within the coming weeks.
Interesting that they're being phased in after a long testing period. The CT Commuter Rail Council tweeted the enclosed tweet on Wednesday but deleted it about an hour later. Maybe they said something before the governor and that was a no-no? But I think it should've been announced at least a week in advance...

The poster said it's just the 2:45 extra westbound that's the inaugural that day.

Still don't understand why they haven't chnaged the schedule to reflect shorter trip times with the electrics; there will be lots of padding otherwise.
Attachments:
Screenshot_20220518-210354.jpg
Screenshot_20220518-210354.jpg (296.64 KiB) Viewed 1089 times
 #1597993  by Traingeek3629
 
Interestingly, 1646/1697 will become a bus between OSB and New London. Not sure why. They also seem to be padding the schedule even more, rather than reducing trip times.

Some specific oddities:
-30+ minute trip times between OSB and New London for certain trains. 1645 now leaves New London 8 minutes earlier, no changes to the other stops.
-1632 is given 13 minutes from Westbrook to OSB.
-1610 needs 10 minutes for Guilford to Madison
-3 Minutes Westbrook to Clinton on 1649.
-LOTS of padding from State St to Union - up to 6 minutes for what used to be two.

https://shorelineeast.com/images/docs/S ... 1VR3_1.pdf
Last edited by Traingeek3629 on Fri May 20, 2022 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  • 1
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 25