Uniq. Eqpmt Sightings: Private Varnish (PV's), Charters, etc

[jhdeasy]

Saw they were on rear of Palmetto. Wonder if they will have to be on rear of train #29 or will HEP pass thru them. If on rear of 29 will be a long walk for passengers !

Yes, HEP can pass thru these cars. That is a requirement for private cars to be certified to operate on Amtrak. So they could be positioned on the head end of train 29.

This is a deadhead positioning move, so only F&N representatives are onboard these 6 cars.

[jhdeasy]

Pacific Railroad Society’s 1956 vintage UP sleeper NATIONAL FORUM was scheduled to make a pair of roundtrips between Los Angeles and San Diego today (11/17/2019) on Pacific Surfliners. Unfortunately, these trips had to be cancelled when the car failed an air brake test due to a cracked fitting on a brake cylinder hose which allowed an unacceptable amount of air leakage.

It’s unfortunate this problem was not discovered in time to perform the necessary repair.

[John_Perkowski]

That’s happened more than once to PRS.

[Train2009]

Last Sunday 11/17 I caught NYC 43 and Hickory Creek headed north on Amtrak Empire Service Train #233 in Hastings, NY.

[jhdeasy]

During the AAPRCO - Amtrak liaison conference call in November 2019, Amtrak officials noted private car mileage was down more than 50% and private car revenue was down by an unspecified amount. The comparison was to a period 2 years ago, before the Anderson era increases in the private car tariff.

[gregorygrice]

Pacific Union on 19(11) NYP-NOLA

[John_Perkowski]

During the AAPRCO - Amtrak liaison conference call in November 2019, Amtrak officials noted private car mileage was down more than 50% and private car revenue was down by an unspecified amount. The comparison was to a period 2 years ago, before the Anderson era increases in the private car tariff.

Anyone who is surprised at this is on drugs…But I will bet you somebody at Amtrak was…

Thank you, Mr. Deasy.

[Tadman]

During the AAPRCO - Amtrak liaison conference call in November 2019, Amtrak officials noted private car mileage was down more than 50% and private car revenue was down by an unspecified amount. The comparison was to a period 2 years ago, before the Anderson era increases in the private car tariff.

Anyone who is surprised at this is on drugs…But I will bet you somebody at Amtrak was…

Thank you, Mr. Deasy.

I don't think anybody is surprised at this and they shouldn't be. Here we have a very good example of the difference between what an MBA teaches you and what a few years on the railroad will teach you.

MBA: Take your revenues, subtract your costs, add up your profit. If it's a loss, raise your prices accordingly. If the market won't bear that, stop the services.

Railroad reality: We've got a price that shows a paper profit to haul an extra 80 tons of steel on the back of the Builder or LSL, but then the car shows up and it needs turned, has bad brake pads, someone on board is drunk, their radios aren't charged, flat spots, minor fire, water leak, the connection from the other train is late or bustituted... long term we lost money in a small way on each one and have to have a couple extra head count in each terminal to deal with the BS.

Keep going back to Mr. Anderson being an airline guy. This means he's an operations guy, but has no soft spot for streamliners or whatever. I have firsthand accounts from RFE's telling me that half the time a PV shows up, it needs some babying. That has a cost. Not only is it a cost, it's an irregular and unpredictable cost. It's easy to predict the cost of setting out cars in Albany or Spokane, it's done every day by the same guy. The same task in Ann Arbor for a few PV's 2x/year requires lots of special coordination, and it's much harder to predict and track with any statistical certainty.

Look, I love PV cars. I'm going to track down the Crescent when it gets here tomorrow with one. But I totally understand why they are cracking down. It's not really the moneymaker we all think it is. If it were, the guy who is trying to boost operational profits would probably keep them around.

[jhdeasy]

Pacific Union on 19(11) NYP-NOLA

801045 Northern Pacific 549 (dome)
800007 BABBLING BROOK

train 49(12) from ALB to CHI
train 59(13) from CHI to NOL

While in New Orleans, the owner of these three cars will be checking on a shop’s progress on refurbishing his former NP North Coast Limited dome sleeper. That car may be completed later in 2020.

[jhdeasy]

Private car 801002 traveled from NOL to WAS on train 20(13) then from WAS to CLT on train 79(15) for movement to the Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway.

This car is the former UP 9011 dome lounge observation, later Autotrain 543 and various private owners.

http://trainweb.us/DOMEmain/picUP9011h.jpg

http://trainweb.us/DOMEmain/picUP9011f.jpg

The car recently attained Amtrak PV certification after spending several years at a shop in New Orleans.

[Tadman]

Whats with the funny ribbing on the roof of the car?

[ExCon90]

... and for that matter, the uneven spacing?

[jhdeasy]

Whats with the funny ribbing on the roof of the car?

These ribs or fins were found on the roof of some UP 8000 series dome diners and some UP 9000 series dome lounge observation cars. They were on the short end of the car. That would place them over the kitchen of the dome diners.

None of the UP 7000 series dome coaches had this feature.

I cant answer the question, but I am curious, so I will have to reach out to some friends who own former UP domes to see if they know the answer.

[jhdeasy]

I’ve spoken with a few current and former owners of Union Pacific dome lounge cars and dome diners.

Those fins on the roof are most commonly know as buffers. The intended purpose was to alter air flow across the dome glazing to provide better visibility, especially in rain, snow and sleet conditions.

They would only work as intended if they were forward of the dome in the direction the car was moving; that would require the dome diners to operate with the kitchen end forward, and the dome lounge cars to operate with the vestibule end forward.

Over the years, the buffers were removed from some of these dome cars, and buffers were re-installed in other dome cars.

[Tadman]

Odd sighting on the NB Crescent today (12/26) about a mile north of New Orleans station). One P42, four amfleet, one baggage mid-train, four more amfleet. No sleeper, no diner.