The end has come For 22 highliners

Well Guys it time to say by to the Highliners Now.Metra put a advertisede out for the sale of 22 Highliners in the Fridays Sun times.Kind of sad to see this happing now we all know the end is Not faraway for the cars.

I wouldn't call it sad. The new cars have AC traction, don't require painting, and have bathrooms. Some MED riders may be dissapointed to see them go, but I'm sure most will appreciate the smoother ride and on-board lavatories. The old Highliner fleet was only designed to last around 20-25 years, so new rolling stock has been long overdue on the electric district.

Other than Azcon or Pielet, who would buy 22 beat-ass highliners? TerryC might have a way to convert them into SD70MAC's though... (haven't heard from that guy for a while)

Tadman wrote:Other than Azcon or Pielet, who would buy 22 beat-ass highliners? TerryC might have a way to convert them into SD70MAC's though... (haven't heard from that guy for a while)

hahahaha

In all seriousness, though, yeah, they're pretty much useless to any secondhand owner. I can see IRM getting a couple and then maybe parting out a third while it's being scrapped (possibly getting some extra motors, etc), but other than that, who's going to buy? Hollywood should be paying attention, if they're looking for a large supply of disposable passenger rolling stock for movie train wrecks, Metra has it...

I'm not sure about that one. We'll have to wait and see. It's simply a matter or where the hell would we put the cars!

You know, they should transfer 6-8 of them to the Shore for use during holiday peak periods, etc... Ever try taking a train in during xmas season or July 4? I did last July, and I was lucky to get one of the last seats at Beverly Shores. After EC, there were no seats and no standing room - people were turned away at Hegewisch. As Hegewicsh is technically a Metra operation, it might behoove them to keep 6-8 HL's around to help their Hegewicsh passengers.

The Highliners are high-level boarding only. THere are low-levels dispersed throughout NICTD line.

Thats what the inflatable slides are for, like the ones on airplanes.


In representing the CSS I'd have to say...where are we gonna put 6-8 more cars? It's fun enough out there to fit the 68 we have now.

PRRGuy wrote:In representing the CSS I'd have to say...where are we gonna put 6-8 more cars? It's fun enough out there to fit the 68 we have now.

Haha, NICTD's starting to sound like IRM now!

Except we don't have that 800 anymore, south shore freight can use all the power they can get.

You and the damn 803, PRRGuy ...

Tadman Scribed...

"Other than Azcon or Pielet, who would buy 22 beat-ass highliners? TerryC might have a way to convert them into SD70MAC's though... (haven't heard from that guy for a while)"

I had to laugh at that one as well (and have been wondering the same thing for a while on the last part of that...).


byte then chimed in with...

"Hollywood should be paying attention, if they're looking for a large supply of disposable passenger rolling stock for movie train wrecks, Metra has it..."

Depending on the price of scrap, or what Metra would ask for them, it's probably cheaper for them to digitally recreate train wrecks these days on a computer than actually wreck them.

Komachi wrote: Depending on the price of scrap, or what Metra would ask for them, it's probably cheaper for them to digitally recreate train wrecks these days on a computer than actually wreck them.

Very true. I know it would never happen because CGI is easier to deal with, but I'm hoping it happens anyway - because if Hollywood gets ahold of them, you can be sure they'd be placed in some hilariously out-of-place situation (let's be honest here: is the MED a top spot for filming a movie, other than a foamer video?). I can just imagine a train of Highliners being pulled by a diesel across the desert in some action film, minus pantographs (if they even go that far..) and cheaply painted to look like Amtrak Superliners. Then a helicopter comes out of nowhere and blows them up or something. Cut to flaming interior of the train, obviously filmed in a Metrolink Bomb car...

Ever see Mission Impossible? They're chasing a TGV with a helicopter, and they try to kill Tom Cruise by running the chopper so close to the top of the train that the blades cut him. Never mind the catenary, which would have stopped the chopper cold before they got close...