New Talgo interior shots

[CHamilton]

All Aboard Washington posts on Facebook:

Here are pix of Oregon's Talgo trainsets at the Milwaukee WI plant. Trainset 1 is to start it's move to the testing center near Pueblo CO on Nov 7. New bistro car design....[and] New baggage and bicycle car. Room for 10 bikes.

No pics of coach and business class seating, but noted that they don't rotate.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I don't like these new cars. The old ones were better, especially the drawings on the ceiling.

 

[CHamilton]

Restrooms on the new Oregon Talgo train sets. No small "airline" sized restrooms anymore.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

I sure wish that trains in general could carry more bikes. 10 is really not great, although I believe the Surfliner cars hold 6 on a train. Especially with the Pacific Northwest (especially thinking Portland here) being so bike friendly, I wish they could do something more with it. It is disheartening on the Surfliner when I see a group of maybe 4 bikers, or even 1, who have been waiting for a while, and they get told by the conductors they will have to wait for the NEXT train, even if they've already watched two pass them by. It is sad that the very first station on the route takes up EVERY space.

 

[zephyr17]

I sure wish that trains in general could carry more bikes. 10 is really not great, although I believe the Surfliner cars hold 6 on a train. Especially with the Pacific Northwest (especially thinking Portland here) being so bike friendly, I wish they could do something more with it. It is disheartening on the Surfliner when I see a group of maybe 4 bikers, or even 1, who have been waiting for a while, and they get told by the conductors they will have to wait for the NEXT train, even if they've already watched two pass them by. It is sad that the very first station on the route takes up EVERY space.

Well, at least on the Cascades service, you reserve your bike so you will have a space if you have a confirmed reservation, even at a station down the line. You pay extra for the bike on the Cascades, though.

 

[Trogdor]

Bike spaces really should be reserved, for that very reason.

In reality, bikes are simply too big for it to be practical for transit (including intercity transportation) to accommodate them in any significant quantity.

Instead, more cities should adopt bike rental stations so that you don't need to bring the bike with, but just pick one up when you get where you're going.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Bike spaces really should be reserved, for that very reason.

In reality, bikes are simply too big for it to be practical for transit (including intercity transportation) to accommodate them in any significant quantity.

Instead, more cities should adopt bike rental stations so that you don't need to bring the bike with, but just pick one up when you get where you're going.

Agreed as well. This is all smart - but many if not all of the bikers I see are not casual cyclists. They are all die-hard bikers who will ride a hundred miles and everything they have is very customized. This is the case at least from my observations. Anybody who would be willing to rent a bike would not be the type of person who cares enough to bring it on in the first place. I do think that bike rentals are good, and that bike reservations are good, but I do not think that the rental stations would limit the type of demand that appears here in SoCal.

 

[fairviewroad]

Restrooms on the new Oregon Talgo train sets. No small "airline" sized restrooms anymore.

The current Talgo sets already have pretty large bathrooms, in at least one of the cars. Is it the coach car closest to the Bistro? Anyhow, it's big enough

to accommodate wheelchairs.

 

[PerRock]

Some interior pics of the WI ones:

Oregon DOT post pics of their Talgo's fairly regularly on Flikr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregondot/

peter

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Wait, are the WI cars already in service on the Cascades or not?

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Wait, are the WI cars already in service on the Cascades or not?

No.

 

[CHamilton]

Custom (nee Business) class on the Oregon Talgo train set.

 

[AlanB]

Wait, are the WI cars already in service on the Cascades or not?

No.

The cars that Oregon brought were built in Wisconsin, along with the cars for Wisconsin. The cars for Oregon are now undergoing testing and the cars for Wisconsin are just sitting around collecting dust.

 

[Anderson]

Wait, they're reviving Custom Class?

 

[CHamilton]

Wait, they're reviving Custom Class?

This is the first I've heard of anything like that. The current Talgos and the new Oregon Talgos were both supposed to have equivalent Business Class seating, so that the trainsets could be swapped (not individual cars, though, as apparently the equipment under each car is different in the new versions). But we were told that the Talgos being built for Wisconsin do not have Business Class, so that would be an issue if those orphaned cars ever end up in the NW.

 

[Anderson]

Wait, they're reviving Custom Class?

This is the first I've heard of anything like that. The current Talgos and the new Oregon Talgos were both supposed to have equivalent Business Class seating, so that the trainsets could be swapped (not individual cars, though, as apparently the equipment under each car is different in the new versions). But we were told that the Talgos being built for Wisconsin do not have Business Class, so that would be an issue if those orphaned cars ever end up in the NW.

Sorry...the mention of "Custom (nee Business) class" made it sound like there was a rebrand going on out there, since "nee" traditionally indicates a former name.

 

[CHamilton]

Wait, they're reviving Custom Class?

This is the first I've heard of anything like that. The current Talgos and the new Oregon Talgos were both supposed to have equivalent Business Class seating, so that the trainsets could be swapped (not individual cars, though, as apparently the equipment under each car is different in the new versions). But we were told that the Talgos being built for Wisconsin do not have Business Class, so that would be an issue if those orphaned cars ever end up in the NW.

Sorry...the mention of "Custom (nee Business) class" made it sound like there was a rebrand going on out there, since "nee" traditionally indicates a former name.

It confused me, too. I suspect that the Facebook poster misused the term. Or something like that.

 

[Nathanael]

I don't think the lack of business class would be a big deal if the Wisconsin Talgos got bought by WA or OR; swapping out the seating in one or two cars is a relatively minor operation. If the Wisconsin Talgos lack bistro/cafe cars, that would be a bigger deal.

 

[sportbiker]

I believe the Surfliner cars hold 6 on a train.

Surfliner cars carry three bikes each, so a standard consist (three coaches, one business, one snack coach (no racks) and one Superliner (no racks)) can carry 12 bikes. During Summer, the racks can fill. The new corridor coaches on order have permanent room for three and a convertible luggage/bike area that can accept another three if configured for bikes, for a total of six per coach.

The downside of a bike reservation system is that bike travel doesn't always go according to plan. I did a trip down the coast to Solano Beach that involved a broken spoke in Camp Pendleton and an emergency repair at a bike shop in Oceanside. Needless to say, I missed the train I was planning on catching but was able to roll onboard the next one, no muss no fuss.

Another trip, the guy I was riding with started slowing down halfway through the ride. I wasn't going to drop him, so by the time we rolled into Solano we were about an hour late and 30 minutes past departure. Fortunately, the train was 40 minutes late, so we just had time to wash up and dash to the platform. So that one actually worked out, but had the train been on time we would have been hosed, had we needed bike reservations.

 

[Trogdor]

Wait, are the WI cars already in service on the Cascades or not?

No.

The cars that Oregon brought were built in Wisconsin, along with the cars for Wisconsin. The cars for Oregon are now undergoing testing and the cars for Wisconsin are just sitting around collecting dust.

The Oregon trains are not undergoing testing yet. They're still sitting in Wisconsin. Next month, they will be moved to Pueblo, CO, to begin testing.

I believe the Surfliner cars hold 6 on a train.

Surfliner cars carry three bikes each, so a standard consist (three coaches, one business, one snack coach (no racks) and one Superliner (no racks)) can carry 12 bikes. During Summer, the racks can fill. The new corridor coaches on order have permanent room for three and a convertible luggage/bike area that can accept another three if configured for bikes, for a total of six per coach.

The downside of a bike reservation system is that bike travel doesn't always go according to plan. I did a trip down the coast to Solano Beach that involved a broken spoke in Camp Pendleton and an emergency repair at a bike shop in Oceanside. Needless to say, I missed the train I was planning on catching but was able to roll onboard the next one, no muss no fuss.

Another trip, the guy I was riding with started slowing down halfway through the ride. I wasn't going to drop him, so by the time we rolled into Solano we were about an hour late and 30 minutes past departure. Fortunately, the train was 40 minutes late, so we just had time to wash up and dash to the platform. So that one actually worked out, but had the train been on time we would have been hosed, had we needed bike reservations.

That's really no different than any other service that requires reservations. If whatever you're doing runs long (or you finish early), you do lose some flexibility. On the other hand, when you have people standing on the platform all day waiting for a train that can accommodate their bike, having a reservation that guarantees space would certainly be helpful in knowing when/if you'll be able to get anywhere.

Best solution is probably a hybrid approach where a reservation guarantees a spot, but if you don't have one, you get accommodated on a space-available basis.

 

[City of Miami]

more cities should adopt bike rental stations so that you don't need to bring the bike with, but just pick one up when you get where you're going.

San Antonio has had this for a year or so - and it isn't cheap! The setups are quite sophisticated. The paying, checking bikes in/out is all automated of course and computerized; those stands must have been very expensive and there are at least a dozen around downtown.

Back in the 70s Amsterdam had a fleet of cheap white bikes that were scattered around town and if you needed one and saw one you could just ride it to where you wanted to go and leave it anywhere for someone else. It seemed to work out. That's my memory anyway...but I was young

 

[Bob Dylan]

more cities should adopt bike rental stations so that you don't need to bring the bike with, but just pick one up when you get where you're going.

San Antonio has had this for a year or so - and it isn't cheap! The setups are quite sophisticated. The paying, checking bikes in/out is all automated of course and computerized; those stands must have been very expensive and there are at least a dozen around downtown.

Back in the 70s Amsterdam had a fleet of cheap white bikes that were scattered around town and if you needed one and saw one you could just ride it to where you wanted to go and leave it anywhere for someone else. It seemed to work out. That's my memory anyway...but I was young

Austin had a Free Bike Program going for awhile Downtown but unfortunately so many Bikes were Stolen, Vandalized or Hit by Cars that the Program was Discountinued! There are plenty of Bike Shops that will rent Bikes including Zilker Park (home of Barton Springs Pool and Music Fests)but as John mentioned, they are not Cheap since Austin has become an "Upscale" Tourist Destination! The Texas Eagles require Bikes to be Boxed if checked on the Train!(no Baggage Car on the Eagles, just Coach/Baggage)

 

[PerRock]

there are bike sharing programs around the world run quite well, however here in the US we seem to find more use for the program for providing us with something to destroy rather then a bike to commute on. I think if we ever got away from the ever-so-strong car culture here then a bike share program might work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_sharing_system

peter

 

[afigg]

there are bike sharing programs around the world run quite well, however here in the US we seem to find more use for the program for providing us with something to destroy rather then a bike to commute on. I think if we ever got away from the ever-so-strong car culture here then a bike share program might work.

There are a number of bike share systems in the US that have started up in the past several years. Capital Bikeshare in Washington DC has been quite successful since starting around 2 years ago with expansion to Arlington VA and now in Alexandria VA. The Capital Bikeshare system is intended for comparatively direct station to station trips with the first 1/2 hour of use free and increasing fees, especially after 1 hour, for checking bikes out longer than that. Although you will see tourists in DC riding around the Mall and monument areas on the CaBi bikes, who likely end up paying a fair amount for riding the bikes for several hours.

There are CaBi stations at DC Union Station and the Alexandria VA station. There must be some people who have ridden a CaBi bike to/from WAS for Amtrak trips. But not with heavy luggage I would think.

 

[cirdan]

Back in the 70s Amsterdam had a fleet of cheap white bikes that were scattered around town and if you needed one and saw one you could just ride it to where you wanted to go and leave it anywhere for someone else. It seemed to work out. That's my memory anyway...but I was young

My mother, who was from Amsterdam, tells me it didn't work that well, as quite a lot of bikes disappeared and were never accounted for, so nobody knows if they were stolen or just left somewhere and forgotten about or even dumped in a canal.

The high costs of continuously having to replace them led to the program being terminated.

Many cities have bike sharing programs these days, but the setup is different, as you have to leave the bikes in designated places making it easier to keep track of them and ensure they all get regular inspections and maintenance. The modern systems are also electronically monitored so if you borrow a bike and don't bring it back they'll know who you are and will charge you a fine.