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

[Agent]

I caught Amtrak #6(30) leaving the Ottumwa, Iowa station just before noon today (Sunday) with P40 824, P42 4, ALC-42 315, ALC-42 317, and ALC-42 316.

 

[Agent]

The three newest Chargers left Chicago last night on Amtrak #30(04). Chicago Line RailfanProductions caught this eastbound Capitol Limited at Chesterton, Indiana.



Today, this train was filmed by DMV Area Railfan at the Rockville, Maryland station.

 

[west point]

The ALC42Es make a lot of sense. Ex. An alc42E starts in BOS or NYP. After leaving WAS where the catenary stops runs to Norfolk on diesel. A short piece of catenary or maybe a 489 car allows diesel to shut down for the layover. Enroute the RVR might have a short section of catenary to get best acceleration out of the station and saving brakes arriving by regeneration. That is if RVR gets the planned ownership of the station tracks not CSX.

 

[sitzplatz17]

The ALC42Es make a lot of sense. Ex. An alc42E starts in BOS or NYP. After leaving WASH where the catenary stops runs to Norfolk on diesel. A short piece of catenary or maybe a 489 car allows dieel to shut down for the layover. Enroute the RVR might have a short section of catenary to get best acceleration out of the station and saving brakes arriving by regeneration. That is if RVR gets the planned ownership of the station tracks not CSX.

Agreed, I think the ALC42Es will be a great solution for the next 20-30 years while (if?) electrification gains ground. Ideally Virginia would take over a good chunk of the WAS-RVR route and even build out the future SEHSR alignment and look to electrify. As you open more electrified routes, you simply change where the switchover point is without having to worry about engine storage or shunting. Theoretically you could electrify in small phases. E.g. WAS to ALX, then ALX to LOR, etc etc etc. since it doesn't really matter where you lower the panto and switch to diesel.

Would love to see this kind of methodology out here on the Cascades. Electrify SEA-TAC an SEA-Everett and have some ALC42Es run electric on those portions and switch Sounder to electric too. A person can dream...
But if the ALC42Es prove themselves it could be a great stopgap for a lot of places.

 

[Pipp]

Is Amtrak currently still running the Chargers on the California Zephyr or has that stopped?

 

[Agent]

There are not currently any Chargers on the California Zephyr.

 

[Agent]

Brand new Chargers AMTK 318 and 319 are on the move on Amtrak #6(03). Sky Rider filmed this eastbound California Zephyr yesterday.



Adam Ghimenti also filmed this train at West Sacramento.

 

[Agent]

I caught #6(03) in Ottumwa, Iowa this morning. The train was only thirteen minutes late out of the station.

 

[GreysonGrey247]

I caught #6(03) in Ottumwa, Iowa this morning. The train was only thirteen minutes late out of the station.

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I was on that train exact train, bedroom, Glenwood Springs, CO to Osceola, IA. We sat outside Granby for 30 minutes and almost an hour at Denver. Made up for it in the night apparently. Fellow passenger said we were going over 80 mph according to an app he had. It was a very bumpy night, even the crew was talking about getting no sleep.

 

[jis]

MODERATOR'S NOTE: About a dozen post on the topic of electrification of freight railroads has been moved to its own thread at:

https://www.amtraktrains.com/thread...ight-railroads-in-the-us-pros-and-cons.83635/
Please continue discussion of generic issues in electrification of freight railroads in the US in that thread, and leave this thread for discussion of the design, production and deployment of Siemens Chargers of various sorts.

 

[Touchdowntom9]

Would anyone know a reason why Amtrak Chargers have a nose cone that has hoses and ports exposed compared to say the VIA rail Charger (which looks absolutely fantastic)? I heard it is because they like to use to Locos back to back to pull trains, but why wouldnt they just have a loco on the front and back of the train like brightline (or the rest of the world for that matter)?

 

[GDRRiley]

Would anyone know a reason why Amtrak Chargers have a nose cone that has hoses and ports exposed compared to say the VIA rail Charger (which looks absolutely fantastic)? I heard it is because they like to use to Locos back to back to pull trains, but why wouldnt they just have a loco on the front and back of the train like brightline (or the rest of the world for that matter)?

Amtrak outside of a few corridor routes does not top and tail locos as most coaches are not setup for MU control

I'm not sure why amtrak and the states went with the ugly default nose design for the SC44. the ALC42 looks a lot better

 

[Touchdowntom9]

Amtrak outside of a few corridor routes does not top and tail locos as most coaches are not setup for MU control

I'm not sure why amtrak and the states went with the ugly default nose design for the SC44. the ALC42 looks a lot better

I assume you mean the view liners etc, because the Venture cars shouldn’t have any problem top and tailing right?

 

[Trogdor]

Amtrak outside of a few corridor routes does not top and tail locos as most coaches are not setup for MU control

I'm not sure why amtrak and the states went with the ugly default nose design for the SC44. the ALC42 looks a lot better

I’m pretty sure all coaches used in corridor service (and a handful of LD coaches) have MU capability.

 

[jis]

I’m pretty sure all coaches used in corridor service (and a handful of LD coaches) have MU capability.

Indeed, most if not all Amfleet Is, and Horizon cars are train lined. Any bi-level equipment that are used in push pull mode trains are also train lined. These include some Superliners too.

 

[edwardjtracey]

Is there any update on the development of the new ALC42-E (dual eletric/diesel) locomotives?

Will be so glad to leave the change-of-engines at New Haven, Connecticut behind ... when they are rolled-out.

 

[Touchdowntom9]

Is there any update on the development of the new ALC42-E (dual eletric/diesel) locomotives?

Will be so glad to leave the change-of-engines at New Haven, Connecticut behind ... when they are rolled-out.

From what I can tell, they are nearly identical to the standard Siemens diesel charger ordered by Amtrak--the differences are found in the first coach behind the locomotive where they have the ability to draw power and have 2 additional traction motors. I think that is a big selling point so that they have a unified fleet in the northeast outside of the Acela for reducing maintenance costs.

 

[Touchdowntom9]

Is there any update on the development of the new ALC42-E (dual electric/diesel) locomotives?

Will be so glad to leave the change-of-engines at New Haven, Connecticut behind ... when they are rolled-out.

We spend a half a billion $ to save a 100 seconds of travel time in NJ for the Acela, but dollars to donuts we can save 10-15 minutes by using a dual mode vs an engine switch for pennies on the dollar in situations like the above mentioned in New Haven. Amtrak really has to grab that low hanging fruit wherever possible in addition to those massive projects

 

[GDRRiley]

We spend a half a billion $ to save a 100 seconds of travel time in NJ for the Acela, but dollars to donuts we can save 10-15 minutes by using a dual mode vs an engine switch for pennies on the dollar in situations like the above mentioned in New Haven. Amtrak really has to grab that low hanging fruit wherever possible in addition to those massive projects

low hanging fruit would be continued expansion of electrification on routes the states own and modernizing the existing system.
Combine that with 1 orgnaization doing all timetable work on the NEC which would increase capacity some.

Is there any update on the development of the new ALC42-E (dual eletric/diesel) locomotives?

Will be so glad to leave the change-of-engines at New Haven, Connecticut behind ... when they are rolled-out.

Nothing public. if I understand right they still don't have the exact configuration finallized and that wont happen till mid 2023

 

[west point]

low hanging fruit would be continued expansion of electrification on routes the states own and modernizing the existing system.
Combine that with 1 orgnaization doing all timetable work on the NEC which would increase capacity some.


Nothing public. if I understand right they still don't have the exact configuration finallized and that wont happen till mid 2023

These train sets may have some high performance specfications. What the planned max operating high speed will have a big effect on many operations. If somewhat higher than 125 then the powered axels and wheel size will need to bigger than the present ACS-64s. Leave that for upscaling the below.

For operating at 125 then the same axel configuration as ACS-64s may be appropriate. 1600 HP per axel with short time ratings higher. Preliminary specs has the first car behind the loco with a front powered truck. If same truck as the ALCs then same wheel arrangement will provide another 3200 HP on the train set. That will give great acceleration and addition traction capacity to add more cars to some train sets up to train revenue cars lengths of about 1200 feet per train set.

NNow if only a part above comes about the quicker accelerations will help both under wire and on diesel. Understand that new inverters may be coming that are somewhat lighter in weight,

I am sure the above is only a WAG and not a SWAG.

 

[jis]

The first car that carries the pantograph and HV transformer has both trucks powered.

 

[GDRRiley]

The first car that carries the pantograph and HV transformer has both trucks powered.

got a link to that? every bit of info I've seen has only the first truck powered

These train sets may have some high performance specfications. What the planned max operating high speed will have a big effect on many operations. If somewhat higher than 125 then the powered axels and wheel size will need to bigger than the present ACS-64s. Leave that for upscaling the below.

Which an EMU could beat and even a high performance electric would ACS-64 aren't slouches and if amtrak wanted a more modern one there are electric locos with 9MW of power.

For operating at 125 then the same axel configuration as ACS-64s may be appropriate. 1600 HP per axel with short time ratings higher. Preliminary specs has the first car behind the loco with a front powered truck. If same truck as the ALCs then same wheel arrangement will provide another 3200 HP on the train set. That will give great acceleration and addition traction capacity to add more cars to some train sets up to train revenue cars lengths of about 1200 feet per train set.

they are chargers first so I'd expect the same ~1000hp per axle. giving a total of ~6000hp under the 6800HP continuous and 8600HP peak of an ACS-64

 

[jis]

got a link to that? every bit of info I've seen has only the first truck powered

Truth be told, I don't know whether the design will be implemented fully. I do not have the design document, which was published in a paper at a technical conference in Europe, in a form that I can link to, so I will just copy one relevant diagram as fair use, which shows the design electrical schematic which provides for both trucks to be powered.

Interestingly in the APV each truck is powered by a single inverter whereas on the main loco each axle is powered by a separate inverter.

 

[GDRRiley]

Truth be told, I don't know whether the design will be implemented fully. I do not have the design document, which was published in a paper at a technical conference in Germany, in a form that I can link to, so I will just copy one relevant diagram as fair use, which shows the design electrical schematic which provides for both trucks to be powered.

Interestingly in the APV each truck is powered by a single inverter whereas on the main loco each axle is powered by a separate inverter.

I figuring no one knows for sure outside of some amtrak staff but thats really interesting

 

[jis]

low hanging fruit would be continued expansion of electrification on routes the states own and modernizing the existing system.
Combine that with 1 orgnaization doing all timetable work on the NEC which would increase capacity some.

I have recently heard that ConnDOT wants to fund the electrification of the Springfield line. That would eliminate power mode change at New Haven.

Of course dual modes will still be useful to run the proposed Inland Route service between New York and Boston.