8400

[Acela150]

8400 was spotted at the Penn Coach Yard this evening. I'm going to try to get some shots tomorrow! Although I spotted it from a distance she looked great!

 

[cpamtfan]

It's currently doing high speed tests on the NEC.

 

[Donctor]

It was in and out of CHI a few times. Looked cool.

 

[PerRock]

Has no one gotten a picture of it yet?

peter

 

[Acela150]

Has no one gotten a picture of it yet?

peter

I got a few shots of it today!

 

[afigg]

Has no one gotten a picture of it yet?

Yes, external photos are now showing up. For example: http://nomis.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2729630. Interior pics are going to be of the most interest.

According to posts on another forum, the 8400 was running between PHL and NYP today as part of train 812/813 with an AEM-7 and 2 Amfleets. 812 shows up in the Amtrak status page as leaving PHL 32 minutes late this morning. It was road tested to 120 mph and is back in Philly. It reportedly may go out for more testing on Sunday morning. Opportunity for the serious foamer to catch it on video running at 120-125 mph in NJ?

If there is this much buzz about a single restored diner, imagine how much there will be when the first several Viewliner IIs show up!

 

[Acela150]

Here is my shot. I also took one more. Along with some shots of Septa going into the Lower Level of PHL but did not Post those. Mine are better! :giggle:

 

[scoostraw]

Hey guys I'm on 48 now. I've had this trip planned for a while and was hoping I was going to catch the new diner. No such luck of course.

I just came from breakfast and I asked the waiter "When are you going to get the new dining car?". His reply was "Next Wednesday". So we're close I think.

(Sent from somewhere west of Erie, PA sitting at a red board)

 

[Dutchrailnut]

And If you believe a waiter knows what equipment is assigned even for next day, then I got a bridge to sell you.

I don't even believe 8400 will go in revenue service, 8400 is currently only assigned to Amtrak engineering dept.

 

[Trogdor]

And If you believe a waiter knows what equipment is assigned even for next day, then I got a bridge to sell you.

I don't even believe 8400 will go in revenue service, 8400 is currently only assigned to Amtrak engineering dept.

While I'll agree that the crew on the train won't know exactly what equipment will get assigned when, you're wrong in saying the 8400 won't go into service. It is slated to go into service within the next week. Possibly as early as tomorrow's 49.

 

[user 1215]

Might be the same sort of answer a conductor gives when in South Carolina/Georgia:

Passenger: "Where are we?"

Conductor: "Woodlands"

Passenger: "Ok, thanks!"

...Woodlands being the fact that you've been in a tunnel of trees for the past 2 hours...

 

[Ryan]

And If you believe a waiter knows what equipment is assigned even for next day, then I got a bridge to sell you.

I don't even believe 8400 will go in revenue service, 8400 is currently only assigned to Amtrak engineering dept.

While I'll agree that the crew on the train won't know exactly what equipment will get assigned when, you're wrong in saying the 8400 won't go into service. It is slated to go into service within the next week. Possibly as early as tomorrow's 49.

Indeed, there's no way that Amtrak spent megabucks on a diner to not use it in revenue service.

 

[afigg]

And If you believe a waiter knows what equipment is assigned even for next day, then I got a bridge to sell you.

I don't even believe 8400 will go in revenue service, 8400 is currently only assigned to Amtrak engineering dept.

While I'll agree that the crew on the train won't know exactly what equipment will get assigned when, you're wrong in saying the 8400 won't go into service. It is slated to go into service within the next week. Possibly as early as tomorrow's 49.

Indeed, there's no way that Amtrak spent megabucks on a diner to not use it in revenue service.

To quote Joe Boardman's column in the August/September issue of Amtrak Ink magazine: "Work on the 8400 car — a Viewliner diner that was built as a prototype and then sidelined for years — is complete and it will be deployed on the Lake Shore Limited on a permanent basis." One would hope the president of the company would know what the plans are for the 8400.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

since lake shore consist turns for one of star trains does 8400 travel from Miami to Chicago ??

it won't be permanent on Lake shore if it turns for those trains, infact it would be on lake shore only every fourth day or so ;-)

 

[scoostraw]

And If you believe a waiter knows what equipment is assigned even for next day, then I got a bridge to sell you.

I don't even believe 8400 will go in revenue service, 8400 is currently only assigned to Amtrak engineering dept.

Hey don't shoot the messenger. I'm only reporting what was told to me. And he didn't reply immediately. He had to think as if he knew a date and was figuring out what day of the week that was.

In this case yes I do think the crews would know when the car is coming online. I find it hard to believe that Amtrak would just put the new car into service without some training of some kind. The equipment and systems have got to be all different. So it doesn't surprise me that crew members would know ahead of time.

 

[Ryan]

Don't mind Dutch, he can be a bit ... grumpy at times.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I'm sure when 8400 does come on line, the first few runs will be a bit rough as the crew figures out how to get everything done quickly and smoothly and troubleshoots any lingering bugs. Hopefully pax on those runs will realize what is going on and be forgiving.

 

[R30A]

As the Lake Shore turns as the Lake Shore in CHI, and the Lake Shore turns as the Lake Shore in NYP, I don't see how it will end up in Miami for the next few months.

 

[Anderson]

On the LSL's turning pattern: During the winter, the train sets get exchanged from time to time between the LSL and the Silvers...mainly to get the equipment out of the cold for a bit. But it is strictly a seasonal thing.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

I believe its not only to thaw out sets but also to cycle cars via Coach shop in Hialeah, cause Beech Grove is not car maintenance, mainly overhaul and wreck repair.

 

[Ryan]

I'm pretty sure that's done on an as-needed basis for individual cars, not cycling whole consists.

 

[R30A]

Outside of the winter, the Lake Shore operates a different train than any other train out of NYP, both in consist and in orientation. The whole consist does not go south except for when it is scheduled to "to thaw"

 

[Acela150]

Outside of the winter, the Lake Shore operates a different train than any other train out of NYP, both in consist and in orientation. The whole consist does not go south except for when it is scheduled to "to thaw"

Thanks for telling us something we already knew.. :help: Also you might want to check your grammar to to thaw? :help:

Anyway. 8400 has been gone from PCY for a couple days now and hasn't shown up anywhere else AFAIK. But still keep your eyes peeled for it!

 

[AlanB]

I believe its not only to thaw out sets but also to cycle cars via Coach shop in Hialeah, cause Beech Grove is not car maintenance, mainly overhaul and wreck repair.

Hialeah is indeed home base for the Viewliners. Save heavy overhauls and quick fixes in a yard, most work on Viewliners is done in Hialeah. During the spring, summer, and fall cars are rotated as needed to go down to Hialeah as 92 day inspections come due or other work is needed. During the winter months the LSL's consist is kept intact and after a Chicago run it heads south as either a Silver or the Crescent for thawing in the warmer climes.

 

[Steve4031]

How do they handle the Boston section? Those cars would travel between chicago and Boston all winter unless they are switched around in Chicago.