Electric Keystone service returns

Does anyone know if the catenary on the Keystone Corrider is the same as that of the New Haven electricifation project (constant tension)?

Catenary is still the same design that was there in the 1930s. The signal system looks the same also, and probably it's still the same 4-aspect cab signal system that the PRR installed.

How's the OTP now?

On Monday (Nov 6) four consecutive eastbound Keystones on the NEC had the cab car leading; photographed at Fairhill, Philadelphia.

train 644
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558505
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558506

train 646
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558517
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558518

train 648
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558507
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558508

train 650
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558509
http://chuchubob.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=558510

Bob

Five Cars on all those trains? They must be really hopeful about the ridership...

Why do some of the cabs have amfleet II style doors and some Amfleet I style doors?

And where can Keystones stopping at Princeton Junction do 125 anyway? Is the wying really worth?

Thanks for those photos...I've got to get on board a Keystone one of these days and ride aboard one of the cab cars. It's the closest I'll get to riding aboard an original Metroliner MU!

I wonder, do the Metroliner cabs have a different ride quality than Amfleet coaches, given that they ride on different trucks?

benltrain wrote:Five Cars on all those trains? They must be really hopeful about the ridership...

Some of the trains are quite full. Not SRO by any means, but the extra car does leave some room for expansion and makes the trip more plesant. There's also plenty of demand on the NEC portion of the run and nobody's going to be interested in adding cars in philly after doing all the work to eliminate the need to change engines...

Why do some of the cabs have amfleet II style doors and some Amfleet I style doors?

All of the cab cars were rebuilt without automatic door openers. Some of the door windows are larger (like Amfleet IIs) but all doors are manual. Some are quite decrepit, too and only work with some brute force.

The origional Metroliner MUs were famously poor riding cars. A lot due to the track, no doubt. Though, honestly, my Harley's smoother at 120 than the Amfleet Metroliners was. The Acela? I rode it once, wasn't impressed by the ride at all.

The Kawasaki LIRR bilevels, and most big K stuff in general, is decent. The M-7s are horrid. Most anything built was old style cast trucks? Forget it, the ride's a joke.

Oddly, the best riding inboard bearing cars I've ever been on? PATH's stuff, or the SEPTA BIVs.


Oh, and cab car leading on the NEC? Saw it saturday.

Nasadowsk wrote:The Acela? I rode it once, wasn't impressed by the ride at all.

Where'd you ride it? Do I recall you saying once that you only took it to New Haven? The ride quality is better between Boston and New Haven than New Haven and New York.

Lucius Kwok wrote:This doesn't look good for on-time performance, which was averaging 83% in the last 12 months. The past two days it's been 39.3% and 35.7%, including one delay of 1 hour 12 minutes.

Code: Select all

Keystone OTP

      Delay in minutes (at HAR)
Train   10/30/06  10/31/06
 MODERATOR'S NOTE:  Data snipped, you may find it in Mr Kwok's original post.

      Delay in minutes (at final destination)
Train   10/30/06  10/31/06
Again, data snipped

   OT         11        10  (within 10 minutes)
Trains        28        28
  OTP      39.3%     35.7%

Where on the net can I get those stats?

motor

Edited by a Moderator 11/7/06

motor wrote: Where on the net can I get those stats?

motor

From Amtrak.com, use the train status form.

Lucius Kwok wrote:

motor wrote: Where on the net can I get those stats?

motor

From Amtrak.com, use the train status form.

Thanks.

Yeah, it was NY New haven, but the overall ride just didn't seem that great. It was better than the Amfleets, but not the 'amazingly smooth' better I had read about.

On the flip side, I took NJT's Riverline a while back, not expecting much for a ride, but was quite surprised - even if the cars are a bit noisy (the track noise dominated over engine, which you can barely hear), the ride itself was quite smooth. A bit better sound insulation in the floors, better seating, they'd make a good commuter car for light use lines (think the numerous rotting ROWs around NJ), though they're too small for intercity (though it's a shame Stadler's FLIRT car can't be run in the US, it'd be ideal for small Amtrak routes, and it has amazing punch to it, plus is effectively all low floor)

By far the smoothest riding car I've been on is the Viewliner sleeper. I think the Amfleets would be more pleasant if they ran on the type of trucks used on the Viewliners. I'll try to check out a cab car on one of the Keystones in the near future.

One thing I notice about the rebuilt cab cars is that they removed the small bathroom window.

Someone has been running radio ads in the Lancaster area advertising the "increased frequency, decreased time, and all-electric service" of the new Keystone Line trains.

I don't know if these ads are Amtrak, PA, or even a third party. Can't hurt to advertise, though!