Amtrak Siemens Charger locomotive (SC44, ALC42, ALC42E) (2015 - 1Q 2024)

[Fan Railer]

Video of Amtrak #6(18) from YouTube user Gary Perazzo.

LMAO brings me back to the EMD F series days......

 

[Agent]

Here's another video of Amtrak #6(18). It was taken in Colorado by YouTube user Metra 160.

 

[afigg]

Here's another video of Amtrak #6(18). It was taken in Colorado by YouTube user Metra 160.

Thanks for the video link. The video title is "Rare Amtrak 6 with Siemens Charger Engines". That won't be the case, if Amtrak is used to haul all the Mid-West SC-44 Chargers to Chicago over the next several years. May be "rare" to have 2 Chargers on one #6, but a Charger getting moved on #6 could be a routine sight. Amtrak may end up also moving the MARC locomotives east on #6 and #30 since they now have a lot of experience in moving locomotives from the Siemens Sacramento plant.

Also leads to the thought on whether the Coast Starlight would be used to move Chargers to Washington State. Which also raises the question of how the Siemens trainsets will get to Brightline in Florida?

 

[jis]

I am waiting to see whether AAF/FEC will contract with Amtrak or with the freight railroads to move their Chargers and Viaggios. Should start happening sometime later this year.

 

[west point]

With the heat wave the TTC will see how well the chargers will do in hot and high conditions. Do engines cool properly ?

 

[Northwest Railfan]

I sent an email to WSDOT and they confirmed the Chargers will be moved on the Coast Starlight, and delivery is expected late this year.

 

[cirdan]

I am waiting to see whether AAF/FEC will contract with Amtrak or with the freight railroads to move their Chargers and Viaggios. Should start happening sometime later this year.

Stupid question here, but seeing FEC is a freight railroad, and are presumably already able to send and receive freight cars between their own system and any railroad-served location in the US, can't they just expedite their equipment by way of whatever railroads would expedite a regular freight car doing the same trip?

 

[PVD]

Even if it is possible, it may be less expensive and quicker if arranged it with Amtrak. It may even be easier to arrange. Getting scheduled freight across the country might well be slower and more expensive. A quicker delivery on freight service might be arranged but at what cost?

 

[bretton88]

Even if it is possible, it may be less expensive and quicker if arranged it with Amtrak. It may even be easier to arrange. Getting scheduled freight across the country might well be slower and more expensive. A quicker delivery on freight service might be arranged but at what cost?

Amtrak may not want the liability of carrying another entities locomotives. However freight companies have insurance policies in place for hauling those kind of things. Another option is to load them in Oakland and ship them by boat via the Panama canal and lift them in Miami.

 

[cirdan]

Even if it is possible, it may be less expensive and quicker if arranged it with Amtrak. It may even be easier to arrange. Getting scheduled freight across the country might well be slower and more expensive. A quicker delivery on freight service might be arranged but at what cost?

It's a pretty sad state of affairs if a freight railroad can't get freight delivered by rail ...

How are the rest of rail freight customers supposed to get anything shipped?

 

[PVD]

I'm sure they can get them delivered that way, it just might not be the best way.

 

[jis]

As I said, I am just waiting to see what they do. It is possibly likely that they will move them through UP and CSX. Even Amtrak has moved much equipment by freight trains in the past.

They will have not only engines but passenger cars to move.

A detail though is that AAF is a different company from FECR (which is the railroad owned by the the Fortress Group). AAF, which is buying the equipment is a subsidiary of FECI which is owned by the Fortress Group. So AAF is not a freight railroad, and indeed it by itself cannot operate anything outside Florida, since they are not an interstate entity. So whatever is done will be done under contract with someone or the other.

 

[Agent]

Railway Age reports the first two Chargers have arrived at the test track.

 

[chakk]

I photographed these babies in Denver Union Station on 24 June.

 

[chakk]

And here's both of them aqueezed into one frame at DUS on 24 June 2016.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Railway Age reports the first two Chargers have arrived at the test track.

They have not arrived at the test track. They have merely arrived in Colorado to be moved to the test facility.

 

[Ryan]

Which is technically what the article says.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

So what happen to the four Amtrak engines that brought the two new Chargers to Denver?

Two should of gone onto Chicago, but why are there pictures with the Chargers with out any Amtrak power?

State of good repair?

Did someone fail to order the train to drop off the two extra Amtrak engines off with the Chargers at Denver?

Just thinking again, it a great picture with out the Amtrak engines block the view, but...

 

[Thirdrail7]

The 2 extra diesels returned to EMY as scheduled and have been released into their pool.. A set of diesels and a rider car will return to Den to ferry the equipment to the test facility when ready...which is soon.

 

[frequentflyer]

The pics of the Chargers look good, easy to imagine them in phase three paint when and if that day ever happens.

 

[Northeastern292]

With these new Chargers coming on-line, Amtrak should have an additional 33 P-42's available in Chicago (who knows what shape they are in), but what about the Amtrak engines in California and Washington state? CalTrans has 20 Chargers on order and WasDOT has 8. Will this free up an additional 28 Amtrak engines for LD service? I know both CalTrans and WasDOT have some of there own engines, will any of these be retired or are they looking at the Chargers as a way to get rid of any P42's they are leasing from Amtrak?

The Charger order of 33 locomotives for the Midwest is significantly more than the IL, MI, MO corridors are currently using. Don't know exactly how many P-42s might be freed up in the Midwest for use elsewhere, but it is not 33 of them. The additional locomotives will be available for expanded service frequencies and probably will be used on the 110 mph corridors to put 2 locomotives on each trainset for better acceleration.

As discussed earlier in this thread, the locomotives that will be freed up in California are F-59PHIs. With the Chargers becoming the main locomotive for the Midwest and West coast corridor services, if Amtrak decides to keep their F-59PHIs, might see them get moved east for use on some of the eastern corridor services. Probably won't be enough Chargers in revenue service until late 2017 or 2018 for the F-59s to start getting freed up.

Since the Chargers are now in testing, I thought I'd bring back the discussion about the order itself from the dead.

First, discussion needs to be present to consider Amtrak to not scrap ANY locomotives the Chargers are replacing.

Second, for each Charger that comes online, Amtrak should send the P42s, F59s and B32s through overhauls. I think we've all seen (or even experienced) a BNSF, CSX, NS or UP loco pulling a LD train. That must not make the Class I's happy when they have to pull a disabled Amtrak train.

 

[chakk]

I do remember the E8's pulling B&O's Capitol Limited and UP E9's pulling the City of Everywhere.

 

[west point]

Remember E units had 2 prime mover diesels in each unit. So if one failed still had some power. At the end of SOU RR Crescent days there were 4 E units on the train north of ATL. ~ 12.000 HP

 

[Agent]

Facebook post showing Amtrak #6(27) departed today with four engines and an extra heritage baggage car on the end (reportedly with some flat spots).

 

[Thirdrail7]

Facebook post showing Amtrak #6(27) departed today with four engines and an extra heritage baggage car on the end (reportedly with some flat spots).

That's their ride.