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

 #565001  by Terrapin Station
 
BiggAW wrote:Interesting. Nonethless, they wouldn't allow them to be used for passengers. Just tagging along for the transport. It's good to see that they can transport them that way though, as opposed to a separate run.
Why would they ever run them as a separate train? I don't see why you are making it sound like they did some kind of good thing. They did the normal thing.
 #565143  by District D RTC
 
So not to pry, but does anyone know why the heck these cars actually went to NOL? I asked a contact in Washington last week when I sent this item to Otto to post, and my contact in DC said his FEMA contact knew nothing of extra cars for NOL except QUOTE "What Amtrak had agreed to provide".

That means: Perhaps Amtrak worked a deal with CDOT, but thats it. Unless someone knows different. This makes alot more sense, as neither CDOT nor LDOT acknowledge these cars in any transaction in the last year.

Now, can we PLEASE try not to over-foam at Dynamic, Steam on the corridor, M8s, BL20s or any other off topic stuff, including angry T&E replies. Seriously - ON TOPIC PLEASE!

PS - Thanks Jim for the insight provided on some off topic questions above, off topic or not it was useful....
 #565199  by CNJGeep
 
Not to get *too* far off topic
But why didn't SEPTA jump on these?
The desperately need them, and they could have bought them, instead of leasing them?
Compatibility issues with the Bombers?
 #565344  by DutchRailnut
 
Septa already has a deal on ex NJT comets, and those would be compatible with the Bombardiers they already have including spare parts.
The SPV's are very non-standard , as for trucks , body parts - manual doors etc, the electricals are same as Amfleet, but then who wants to buy 32 year old cars who have been termed lemons , seldom powered vehicles, roach coaches, porta potties etc by railbuff community for years.
 #565365  by Noel Weaver
 
DutchRailnut wrote:Septa already has a deal on ex NJT comets, and those would be compatible with the Bombardiers they already have including spare parts.
The SPV's are very non-standard , as for trucks , body parts - manual doors etc, the electricals are same as Amfleet, but then who wants to buy 32 year old cars who have been termed lemons , seldom powered vehicles, roach coaches, porta potties etc by railbuff community for years.
The big plus for these particular cars is the Budd built car body. Budd built stuff can last for years with few if any body
problems. The bodies of these cars are even today probably better than the stuff being built at present.
In my opinion, these cars are good candidates for a solid rebuilding.
Noel Weaver
 #565748  by Jeff Smith
 
The Amtrak thread on these cars seems to indicate the possibility of a lease. With CDOT contemplating service expansion (New Milford and Spfld-NH), holding an option on Amtrak power, new power coming in, and not retiring FL-9M's, they may not let them go, especially if they are that well built. Loaning them out for the summer hurricane season seems like a good option.
 #600351  by Jeff Smith
 
With Hurrican season ending, and these coaches actually used in service by Amtrak in evacuation service: (Railroad.net Amtrak Topic on Usage), does anyone know if these units will be returned to CDOT for the winter months, or wil Amtrak continue to store them in NOL? The terms of the lease were never very clear on this Railroad.net Amtrak Topic on Lease.

Any thoughts?
 #1474574  by TomNelligan
 
While riding through New Haven this morning on Amtrak, I noticed that a string of the retired "Constitution Liner" ex-SPV-2000s that had been stored behind the shops had been moved to one of the center tracks in the station, so I assume they're on their way to wherever they're going. Who bought them, for scrap or otherwise?
 #1474599  by DogBert
 
Sounds like an add-on to the current work Frontier is doing hauling away and scrapping LIRR and MN cars.
 #1474622  by Ridgefielder
 
GirlOnTheTrain wrote:The other ones are going to some tourist railroads.
The SPV's are going to tourist railroads?? The "Amtrak Budd Cars" with little arrow-slit windows? Why would you want to operate one of those in excursion service?
 #1474627  by DutchRailnut
 
One is at DRM ,two are going to Texas tourist railroad , pretty much sure other 9 will at one point head to Ashtabula for FICX.
 #1474646  by H.F.Malone
 
The ones not going to Grapevine in Texas are going to Foxville & Northern in NC.
 #1474704  by GirlOnTheTrain
 
Ridgefielder wrote:The SPV's are going to tourist railroads?? The "Amtrak Budd Cars" with little arrow-slit windows? Why would you want to operate one of those in excursion service?
Need seats when the little blue money machine comes to town? I dunno...I'll agree, sounds stupid at face value with itty bitty windows, but it's true ;)