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Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1520980  by mtuandrew
 
east point wrote: Wed Sep 25, 2019 5:30 pm "IF" Amtrak would agree to operate these cars Amtrak would probably require them to have as many of the same parts as a V-2 car or even better the new Siemens cars.
Should New York State get its own cars, which it’s been suggested is in the offing, Amtrak won’t have a leg to stand on re: requiring a certain car type. The most they could require would be that they are mechanically compatible with the fleet (working with HEP and trainline control, standard brake types, etc.) and meet all safety requirements from Amtrak and the FRA. Even if NYS chooses not to buy its own fleet but relies on Amtrak, the most they’d have to do would be to provide for parts and service on any disparate cars; maybe the hypothetical flat domes would have to go to LIRR’s shops for service.
 #1520990  by Tadman
 
Or Harmon shops, which they would pass every day.
 #1520991  by Backshophoss
 
Harmon would be the better shop if MN accepts the contract to maintain them for the state.
They work on the entire fleet of Mu's, coach/cab cars,and locos
LIRR Hillside is more of a MU shop geared to the M-3's,M-7's and now the M-9's
 #1521018  by mtuandrew
 
Tadman wrote: Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:09 pm Or Harmon shops, which they would pass every day.
Backshophoss wrote: Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:31 pm Harmon would be the better shop if MN accepts the contract to maintain them for the state.
They work on the entire fleet of Mu's, coach/cab cars,and locos
LIRR Hillside is more of a MU shop geared to the M-3's,M-7's and now the M-9's
I don’t know the respective MTA shops, so thanks to both of you for pointing that out. Even an irregular transfer run SSYD-Harmon wouldn’t be impossible - and of course Amtrak would do running repairs.

So we have a reasonable solution should New Tork State decide that Sightseers are a worthy investment for tourism. I believe that Vermont would be interested in such cars if New York was already ordering them (as such a tourism-heavy State) and further that they would be willing to operate them as a pool. Perhaps Connecticut as well, though that’s a harder sell in my opinion.

In terms of hard sells, I think we may be looking at this backwards. Amtrak needs new cafe cars, and Stadler has a single-level product that (as far as we know) could be made 125 mph-capable. Maybe an enterprising Senator should ask Amtrak to add a qualifier for large windows on its LD cafes, the larger the windows the more points the bid scores. Obviously mechanical compatibility with the existing and future Amtrak fleet would score extra points as well, and that would encourage existing suppliers (CAF, Siemens, Alstom perhaps) to design and bid products with a Sightseer/Viewliner option.