# Mini travelogue....Raleigh to JAX....3/15-16



## Foodman53 (Mar 16, 2004)

As reported earlier, I now have a grandaughter in Raleigh. In response to a $7.90 "rail sale" fare, I returned to JAX on #91 Monday evening.

Well, Monday evening turned into a 1:30 am Tuesday morning departure...but, no big deal!! The "big deal" was the ride. I've ridden trains for both pleasure and a living for nearly 25 years, but this was the only time that I've really been concerned for the train's safety!.....Either the 160 miles of CSX track between Raleigh and Columbia, SC was the poorest quality on the system, or the two Amfleet coaches that I sat in, #25115, and #25004, had totally worn their underframe and suspensions out. I've had smoother rides mud bogging on a gravel road....seriously!! I tend to fault the cars....these were two absolute beasts. There was so much up and down, and/or side to side movement...I was convinced that we'd derail at 79 mph. These coaches actually, honest to God, bounced so dramatically, that they unhinged locked fold down trays.

Now, from Columbia, SC on into Jacksonville, the ride was 90 percent smoother...telling me that track was a lot of the issue...but, there was still far too much vibration in the coaches to make me comfortable.

I did get hold of the mechanical supervisor in Hialeah(Miami), suggesting that he pull #25004 and 25115 from the consist for a major inspection, if not heavy shop work.

I wonder if this wasn't a "pin up" train, put together at Sunnyside Yard...beacuse the time table pockets in the rear of the coaches contained "Lake Shore Limited" schedules, rather than "Atlantic Coast Service"

Either way, Amtrak didn't score any points on this ride for many reasons. By the way, #91 arrived in JAX at 11:00 am....3 hours and 17 minutes late!

Finally home......from the "Florida Funnel"

Foodman 53


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## P40Power (Mar 16, 2004)

I think the Lake Shore consist continues on now as the Silver Star explaining the schedules in the pockets. Back in 97, when I rode the Lake Shore the opposite was true. The pockets had Atlantic Coast train schedules and no Lake Shore schedules.

But rough riding can be hairy. The Post Road Branch up in this neck of the woods is incredibly rough since its poorly maintained stick rail and last time I rode on it there were a few times I thought the train was going off the rails.


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## Amfleet (Mar 16, 2004)

Yes, the Lake Shore Limited and Silver Star share consists. Most likely Sunnyside didn't do much to check out any of the mechanics on the equipment. Hialeah will take a more time to check over the train and I'm glad you were able to contact them.


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## battalion51 (Mar 16, 2004)

The LSL consist of 48 does indeed turnover to be the consist for 91 the next day, meanwhile 92's consist turns over to be the consist for 49 the next day. This is done so that the equipment cycles through Hialeah more often, making every car able to reach the (not so) master mechanical village within 4 days.


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## Foodman53 (Mar 16, 2004)

Interiorlly and exteriorlly, 25004 and 25115 looked as if they'd been "rode hard and put up wet." Granted they'd been "on the job" for more than 12 hours when I'd got on in Raleigh after midnight, but neither of these cars had seen a 90, or 180-day maintainence cycle in a while. The carpet and upholstry was old and nearly worn out, and there was standing water in the lavatory of the "115" when I made a visit...a little pungent!!

The "004" and the "115" were the 2nd & 3rd coaches in a consist of 4. The 1st looked as if it had been recently remodeld, and the destination tags over the seats were "Orlando" or points south. Coach #4 wasn't in use...having a bar in front of it to prevent movement in it.........So, the "beasts" were the

_"Plessy vs Ferguson...separate vs equal"....local coaches_

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_A little dramatic, I know....it's the history teacher taking over...lol_

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_But, I hope that Amtrak will be good to their word. They told me that they'd pull these two from the consist for inspection and/or repair. Seriously, had an FRA inspector been onboard, they would have shut the train down!!_

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_I know that there was snow in New York today, but what is killing the "Silver Service" departures from NYP over the past few days?? Is the consist switching with the LSL adding to the departure problems?_

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_Most people can deal with a late train.....but, no one should have to deal with an unsafe one...for any reason._

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_Well, "soapbox"..or "bully pulpit" time is done...Thanx for listening!!_

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_From the "Florida Funnel"_

_Foodman53_


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## battalion51 (Mar 16, 2004)

Foodman, I can almost guarantee you thr cars have had their 90 and 180 day inspections, as Amtrak will not operate the cars without those inspections. Just because a car goes in for its 180 day does not mean that the car gets a new interior, far from it actually. A 90/180 day simply is an overall integrity check. The car is inspected for mechanical defects, springs, suspension, wheels, air conditioning, electrical, etc. While they might replace cushions, e-clean the car, or shampoo the car does not mean that its done to every car every inspection, the company would simply go broke if they did that. Every car recieves new cushions and carpets approximately every 2-3 years. Now there are exceptions to this i.e. the pride and joy, they get new stuff about once every 6 months, but that's the Business Units decision to do that, not national. Don't mistake what I'm saying for "Every car rides like a dream," because they don't, I know of at least half a dozen cars that need to be looked at (28012 the worst among them). But the car you ride in will stay on the rails, no matter how much it seems to rattle, because I guarantee you there are many freight cars that ride a lot worse and stay on the rails.


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## Foodman53 (Mar 16, 2004)

Granted, I know that every car rattles, but, this was so unusual to the point where it was frightening...even to someone like me who has taken a ride or two.

Indeed, there was a significant difference in interior upholstry and furnishing from the 1st coach, compared to the two "beasts".....Also, the 1st coach was the only one in the "Phase 5" decals, so, it probably had recent work.

Like I said...the trackage between Raleigh and Columbia may be rough, but this was too "out of the ordinary" to be only a track issue!

Foodman from the "Funnel"


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## Amfleet (Mar 16, 2004)

The tracks between Richmond all the way to Jacksonville via Fayettville, Florence, and Savannah ride like hec However, on the more inland route that the Silver Star takes, the tracks a much smoother as freight traffic is not as heavy. So I would guess about 75% of that rough ride was due too freight trains tearing up the tracks you were riding over. Another factor is that the Coaches are on the rear of the train, where the ride tends to be more rough than the center or head end of the train. Also, you may have been in a Coach where there was a flat on one (or a few) of the wheels that makes the car rattle. As for the interior condition, Amtrak is supposedly slowly replacing seat cushions, upolstery, and carpeting on unrefurbed equipment. When a car goes in for a PM, the interior condition is supposed to be checked and if it is really bad I'm sure it is noted or dealt with.


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## battalion51 (Mar 16, 2004)

I have noticed an improvment in cushion condition, especially in sleepers. The cushions look, new firm, and pretty clean in most cars. Slowly but surely, they're improving.


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## Amtrak OBS Employee (Mar 17, 2004)

Amfleet said:


> The tracks between Richmond all the way to Jacksonville via Fayettville, Florence, and Savannah ride like hec However, on the more inland route that the Silver Star takes, the tracks a much smoother as freight traffic is not as heavy. So I would guess about 75% of that rough ride was due too freight trains tearing up the tracks you were riding over.


With the exception of the CLB-SAV portion of the "Star's" route, I beg to differ with you on which is rougher track! The "Meteor" and "Palmetto" route (old ACL) is in much better shape. The trackage between CLB-SAV carries lots of freight traffic, too. However, the trackage between SOP-CAM is in such poor shape, it is absolutely amazing the train stays on the rails. As a matter of fact I believe in this area (SOP-CAM), where the track is all jointed rail, the maximum posted speed is only about sixty miles per hour. And it feels like the train is rolling about ninety miles per hour! When the old Heritage crew and diner cars bump, grind, and bounce around the way they do in these places, that shows outright problems with the trackage. Also, CSX has other freight routes into and out of HAM. Therefore, the trackage the "Star" uses between CLB - CYN (Cary, NC) doesn't see that much freight traffic.

The "Cresent" which uses NS rails for the majority of its trip (and uses the same equipment as the "Silver" trains), rides a hell of a lot smoother, due to the fact NS takes better care of their trackage as a whole in my opinion!


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## Foodman53 (Mar 17, 2004)

Amtrak OBS Employee made my point exactly!! That CSX trackage from Raleigh through Southern Pines, Hamlet, Camden....to Columbia, SC was just that bad!!......I would think that , indeed, the old CSX "A" line....Rocky Mount/Fayetteville/Charleston/Savannah, would be smoother. The line is all double tracked from Richmond through to Jacksonville, and not only does the Silver Meteor and Palmetto take this route....so, does most of CSX's time-sensitive freight, including the "Tropicana Juice Train", and UPS TOFC/stack intermodel.

Now, from Columbia to Savannah, the line was silky smooth. In fact, the "hoghead" may have been doing in the 85 to 90 mph range...giving how swift and easily he was passing traffic on the parallel US 341!!

A "socio-economic" diversion...Due to #91's lateness, this was the first time ever that I had run CLB/SAV in daylight. Granted, most of the area was farmland and/or small towns, but I was stunned at the overwhelming abject poverty that I saw on both sides of the track, particularly there in Southern South Carolina....primarily consisiting of once stately.....now broken down ...homes and abandoned business, factories, mills, etc.

Now this wasn't the NE Corridor blight that we're all accustomed to, but it was depressing at very least. All the "poverty programs" from LBJ's "Great Society" to whatever "W" is cooking up via "tax cuts" has missed this area completely!!

Maybe the Lord wanted me to have taken this trip....just to be more thankful as to what I do have!!!

Contemplative.....from the "Florida Funnel"

Foodman53


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## battalion51 (Mar 17, 2004)

Foodman53 said:


> Amtrak OBS Employee made my point exactly!! That CSX trackage from Raleigh through Southern Pines, Hamlet, Camden....to Columbia, SC was just that bad!!......I would think that , indeed, the old CSX "A" line....Rocky Mount/Fayetteville/Charleston/Savannah, would be smoother. The line is all double tracked from Richmond through to Jacksonville, and not only does the Silver Meteor and Palmetto take this route....so, does most of CSX's time-sensitive freight, including the "Tropicana Juice Train", and UPS TOFC/stack intermodel.


Actually the route is not all double track. The route alternates between single main and Double Track. The Double Track sections for the most part are really long sidings (about three miles long) that can be run at track speed. The line is still generally single track except through a few areas like the JAX-Folkston "Funnel" Savannah, Charleston, Florence, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, and Richmond.



> Now, from Columbia to Savannah, the line was silky smooth. In fact, the "hoghead" may have been doing in the 85 to 90 mph range...giving how swift and easily he was passing traffic on the parallel US 341!!


 First of all, that "hoghead" up front was probably one of the best Engineers in JAX. The JAX-SOP route is the highest paying, and therefore highest seniority job in JAX, the higher the Seniority, generally the better you are. As for doing 85 to 90, that's physically impossible. JAX Dispatch center tracks how fast you're going based on GPS readings and time between signals. Also, the bossmen and mechanical will randomly download the tapes off the engines, which record your every move. If they catch you doing anything better than 80 your butt is on the street for at least 30 days. These aren't the old days when you could go how fast you desire, these are the days of extreme regulation and monitoring.


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