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

[piemadd]

A flag flying on a flag pole will be mounted with the blue (stars) towards the flagpole. When moving forward, the flag will fly with that part leading, and stripes trailing.

When an image of a flag is painted/affixed to the surface of a moving vehicle, it must be positioned such that the blue is leading when that vehicle is moving “forward.” Hence the appearance of it being mirrored.

You will find this on the right side of any (properly positioned) moving vehicle, be it a train, bus, airplane, etc.



They can be MUed. I don’t think any LD Chargers have operated standalone in revenue service yet. All have operated with P42s in a multiple-unit configuration.

We're probably going to see them running standalone soon. I've seen 301 and 302 run together with a P42 on the Empire Builder, but when they switch over to only using 2 engine trains again my best guess is that we should see standalone service.

 

[piemadd]

Can chargers and P42s work in multiple control / multiple unit or are the chargers being towed dead?

They can MU but right now they are being towed dead as they haven't been accepted by Amtrak yet. That is why they're in Wilmington, DE now.

 

[billosborn]

300 and 302 (along with 301) have been in service for over a month. This morning, 300 and 302 passed the Skykomish Virtual Railfan webcam at about 8:55 AM., They were pulling the Seattle portion of the Empire Builder, with no P42's along. Looks like they took off the "training wheels".

 

[Cal]

300 and 302 (along with 301) have been in service for over a month. This morning, 300 and 302 passed the Skykomish Virtual Railfan webcam at about 8:55 AM., They were pulling the Seattle portion of the Empire Builder, with no P42's along. Looks like they took off the "training wheels".

They've been running solo for a good amount of time already. Seem to be doing well.

 

[cirdan]

308 is the "old" (although completely new) paint scheme. 309 is the "new" paint scheme.

I wonder if we will be seeing any P42s repainted to this scheme, or whether at this late stage in their life it's not considered worth the effort.

 

[jis]

I wonder if we will be seeing any P42s repainted to this scheme, or whether at this late stage in their life it's not considered worth the effort.

One of our friends who is one of the chief designers of the new paint schemes has not alluded to any further plans to repaint any P42s. All the new paint schemes discussed have been about ALCs.

What I am curious about now is what livery will be applied to the ITCs. Will it be some variation on the theme of Phase VII or something else?

 

[user 14106]

A flag flying on a flag pole will be mounted with the blue (stars) towards the flagpole. When moving forward, the flag will fly with that part leading, and stripes trailing.

When an image of a flag is painted/affixed to the surface of a moving vehicle, it must be positioned such that the blue is leading when that vehicle is moving “forward.” Hence the appearance of it being mirrored.

You will find this on the right side of any (properly positioned) moving vehicle, be it a train, bus, airplane, etc.



They can be MUed. I don’t think any LD Chargers have operated standalone in revenue service yet. All have operated with P42s in a multiple-unit configuration.

They have operated standalone on the Seattle section of the Builder west of Spokane during the recent 3 unit operation (the lone P42 led the Portland cars.) When they first put them on the Builder they carried a second P42 that I believe would go with the Chargers on the Seattle section which has now been removed and I believe the chargers are now considered to be good - I think the only reason the one P42 remains is due to being in a 3 engine operating period. I would expect when they drop back to 2 engines for warm season the two chargers will go alone.

 

[CSXfoamer1997]

I wonder why Amtrak would want to use an Auxiliary Power Car rather than simply just a locomotive with 2 or 3 different power modes?

 

[CCC1007]

I wonder why Amtrak would want to use an Auxiliary Power Car rather than simply just a locomotive with 2 or 3 different power modes?

Probably to have a simpler (Read: Cheaper) locomotive.

 

[CSXfoamer1997]

Also, with Amtrak ordering a good number of trainsets to replace the Amfleet I's and a majority of the ACS-64's, I wonder a few things...

- What locomotive(s) will they use for the Lake Shore Limited since diesel power is banned in New York Penn?

- What will they replace the Amfleet II's with for the single-level long-distance trains?

- Could they possibly replace the Viewliner II's with straight Siemens Venture cars specifically designed for long-distance?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Also, with Amtrak ordering a good number of trainsets to replace the Amfleet I's and a majority of the ACS-64's, I wonder a few things...

- What locomotive(s) will they use for the Lake Shore Limited since diesel power is banned in New York Penn?

- What will they replace the Amfleet II's with for the single-level long-distance trains?

- Could they possibly replace the Viewliner II's with straight Siemens Venture cars specifically designed for long-distance?

Diesel power is not banned in New York Penn.
Why would they replace VLIIs which are new?

 

[user 14106]

I wonder why Amtrak would want to use an Auxiliary Power Car rather than simply just a locomotive with 2 or 3 different power modes?

Probably so that the locomotives themselves aren't captive anywhere on the system and can be moved between trainsets and it makes for commonality of components. Could also be related to acceleration requirements for the corridor. The NEC APVs will have a supplemental powered truck in addition to powering the traction motors on the Charger. The two combined will provide the required acceleration. Trying to fit diesel propulsion and everything related to catenary propulsion into the Charger with enough acceleration to match the all electric Sprinters may simply not be feasible.

 

[Cal]

Also, with Amtrak ordering a good number of trainsets to replace the Amfleet I's and a majority of the ACS-64's, I wonder a few things...

- What locomotive(s) will they use for the Lake Shore Limited since diesel power is banned in New York Penn?

- What will they replace the Amfleet II's with for the single-level long-distance trains?

- Could they possibly replace the Viewliner II's with straight Siemens Venture cars specifically designed for long-distance?

-Modified chargers that have battery capabilities; I believe they will run normally when out and with battery power when entering/exiting NYP.

-No idea, the order for the ICT's are for intercity trains only. LD replacements won't be ordered for a few years AFAIK.

-I'm not sure why they wouldn't be able to. They won't though (at least not anytime soon), whatever replaced VI's and Amfleets will operate with VII's. Many on here have speculated a venture-type car though.

 

[Agent]

Video taken today by SantaFe669 at Roudout, Illinois shows AMTK 303 leading the westbound Empire Builder. Video description says this is the first revenue run for 303.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

The Dual modes planned for NY include units for MN, CDOT, LIRR and NY empire service the battery mode is only used if train is stuck in third rail gap . Each unit has 4200 hp in diesel and 4200 in third rail mode no units will be owned by Amtrak .

 

[west point]

The Dual modes planned for NY include units for MN, CDOT, LIRR and NY empire service the battery mode is only used if train is stuck in third rail gap . Each unit has 4200 hp in diesel and 4200 in third rail mode no units will be owned by Amtrak .

Figures of third rail draw on just 2 shoes each side seems to make 4200 HP on third rail impossible. Now a mixture of 2100 third rail and 2199 battery seems more likely.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Figures of third rail draw on just 2 shoes each side seems to make 4200 HP on third rail impossible. Now a mixture of 2100 third rail and 2199 battery seems more likely.

4200 HP is about 5000 Amps at 600 VDC. Is that possible with 2 shoes? I could not find any figures on max current draw for 3rd rail shoes.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

they will have 4 shoes on each side.

 

[west point]

I remember riding subways that had major arcs when a car would gap. Those cars had what a max of 700 HP?

 

[BlackDiamond]

The original Eurostar E300 trainsets were configured with third rail shoes to run to Waterloo on the London Chatham and Dover 750 VDC line until HS1 was completed to St. Pancras in 2007. Under third rail power they developed 4300 HP or 3.4MW with a 90 MPH top speed on the conventional rail network.

 

[west point]

The original Eurostar E300 trainsets were configured with third rail shoes to run to Waterloo on the London Chatham and Dover 750 VDC line until HS1 was completed to St. Pancras in 2007. Under third rail power they developed 4300 HP or 3.4MW with a 90 MPH top speed on the conventional rail network.

How many shoes?

 

[BlackDiamond]

Unable to find number of shoes, but I suspect 2 on each power unit for a total of 4.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

the Siemens dual modes will have two shoes at each side of each truck also they have gap anticipation were arcing is minimized. with 3phase propulsion the entire thinking is a whole lot different.
The old Eurostar power cars had 4 shoes on each side.

 

[piemadd]

Per the released docs on the metro north ALC-42s, they will have 4 shoes on each side for 8 shoes total, though we can anticipate that only 4 will be used most of the time. Also note that with 3rd rail power enabled, these dual mode units tend to have a lower speed and horsepower.

Source: http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Docum...ilroad Siemens NGEC 2021 - Final.pdf

 

[CSXfoamer1997]

Probably so that the locomotives themselves aren't captive anywhere on the system and can be moved between trainsets and it makes for commonality of components. Could also be related to acceleration requirements for the corridor. The NEC APVs will have a supplemental powered truck in addition to powering the traction motors on the Charger. The two combined will provide the required acceleration. Trying to fit diesel propulsion and everything related to catenary propulsion into the Charger with enough acceleration to match the all electric Sprinters may simply not be feasible.

Hmm. Good point. Possibly faster acceleration with less wheelslip.