Pittsfield Report 7/16

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P40Power

OBS Chief
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Apr 1, 2003
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I checked the status this morning for 48/448, and it was due to arrive in Pittsfield a half an hour late or so. I got down to the station around 25 minutes before expected arrival and checked out the new station work and took some pictures. Some of the station is completed but there is no chance that it will be ready for its fall 2003 scheduled completion date. They are still doing alot of steel work and there isnt even a roof on the place yet. There was quite a crowd of people waiting for 448. Most of them looked like college types, and they had some kinda of weird kazoo band thing going on. Every once in a while they would start playing a little tune. It rained on in off and everyone fled into the Amshack but not me, I stuck it out in the rain, it was a nice warm rain. Well the 1:47 exepcted arrival time came and went. Around 2 o clock a train blew its horn in the distance and everyone thought it was 448 but I knew it wasnt because I could tell from the horn it wasnt a P42. It was the Hoosatonic Railroad's Pittsfield transfer train which was very long today. It creeped by the Amshack at about 10 MPH, as it was comming off a line where its 10 MPH the whole way up from Connecticut (Wow I cant even imagine how long that ride would seem to drag on!) Kept on waiting and waiting, watched the crews work on the new station across the tracks. Finally around 2:30 448 started to sound its horn in the distance. It pulled up to the platform with the following consist:

P42 152

P42 125 Facing forward

Viewliner 62009 Evening View

Amfleet II coach Dont recall the number, it was phase IV with stripe across bottom but without the new Amtrak logos

Amfleet II coach 25044 - Phase IVb (this is where people borded and detrained

Amfleet I cafe - didnt get number Phase IVb

It was unusual to see the train without a baggage car up front, wonder where they put the checked baggage. It made quite a long stop for no apparent reason, the conductor just held up the group from boarding even after the two people getting off there were already off. The cars looked in decent shape, the Viewliner had its numbers and striping peeling pretty good. The 4841 car (25044) had a big black stain mark on its roof, dont know what that could be from. Peering into the cafe at the end of the train, I saw that one of the tables (yes this car actually had tables at least at one end) it seems that the attendent was using a table to pile up a large amount of supplies. The coaches looked quite full and so didnt the Viewliner. One thing I did notice, both the Amfleet II cars had their vestibule doors pointing toward the front of the train, I always thought that most of the Amfleet II cars had their vestibule doors facing towards the rear.
 
Back in 1998 when we put my brother and my grandparents on the train to Chicago it had no baggage car either, just 3 material handling cars. Maybe they kept the baggage in the NYP baggage till Albany and then transfered it to an unused portion of the cafe for the ride to Boston. Mail is done on the Lake Shore I think, the postal handling facility is shut down in Springfield and I dont know if they ever really carried any mail to Boston.
 
The mail facility in Boston is right next to South Station. You can actually enter it right through one of the platforms. Mail on the LSL used to be handled in 2-3 MHCs tacked on to the back of the train when it use to run in the rear.
 
Well does the Lake Shore handle any mail to and from the boston facility now a days
 
Well it seems that the mail has ended on the line pretty much all together. I wonder if the Lake Shore still picks/drops a couple of roadrailer in Rensslear?
 
P40Power said:
Well it seems that the mail has ended on the line pretty much all together.  I wonder if the Lake Shore still picks/drops a couple of roadrailer in Rensslear?
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Well it did this Wednesday. They added about 3 railers, 3 reefers, and maybe two Express Freight cars.

The Boston section also was running with a baggage car. :)

PS. I also saw the south bound Adirondack, while in Albany. Apparently it was running late. It was running with a baggage car, which I think someone else asked about in another topic.
 
Ohh so you were headed westbound Wednesday? I was almost gonna stick around to see the Westbound come through Pittsfield, but I had to stop and drop a Mountain bike off at the shop so I left. How was the trip?
 
P40Power said:
Ohh so you were headed westbound Wednesday? I was almost gonna stick around to see the Westbound come through Pittsfield, but I had to stop and drop a Mountain bike off at the shop so I left. How was the trip?
Click to expand...
Yes I was, along with several other railfans (including Superliner Diner) all headed for Chicago and the Windy City Rail Fest. Overall the trip was quite nice. We were about an hour late into Chicago, after dodging freight trains from South Bend to Chi Town.

The dining car crew was rather good, especially compared to some crews on the LSL.

You can find daily updates on our activities by clicking here.
 
Just a little consist update info on 7/16's 448. I just got my pictures back that I took of the train that day and discovered that the cafe car on the train was number 28394. After looking at the OTOL roster, I discovered it was one of the rare Twilight Lounges, I didnt reconize it since It no longer had its unique labeling or window treatments, it was just all dolled up in Phase IVb. Now this is an all table car right? If so, this car is actually a pretty good one to have on the Lake Shore, not an Amfleet II lounge, but its still better then an Amcafe with all seats! As for the set of pictures, Ive got some decent ones of the new station going up, but some of my photos are ruined because my thumb was partially in the way!! That happened one other time during a photo session with that camera, Ill just have to be more careful next time!!
 
Acutally, the Twilight Lounges were set up more or less like an unrefurbished Amfleet II Lounge. At one end there is the casual seating with tables and chairs, then the snack bar, followed by 8 dinette tables.
 
Ohh they were? Well even better! I liked the old Amfleet II configuration, but I definatly didnt like all the smoking that went on in those cars. I could never seem to get near the lounge side, since the smoke would be just too powerful! <_<
 
Well the new smoking policy has taken care of that. The only problem now is that we have these damn smoking breaks. Within the past week we've had a guy have to run and jump on a train, and nearly put off a dozen people because they wouldn't get on the damn train. It's a blessing and a curse.
 
Is the smoking policy only for set trains. I believe the Silver Service allows smoking at periodic times during the day or in the penalty box if there is one. Or is the policy, if there's no penalty box, then no smoking on the train at all?
 
Ive witnessed a smoking stop first hand, a 20 minute one as described in my 7/18 report. But that was a more acceptable one since the train had to wait there 20 minutes anyways to wait for the single track ahead to be cleared. I agree, I dont think a train should be held up for those nicotine fiends out on the platform when a train could be proceeding ahead, especially if its late. But I am glad that there is no more smoking on the Lake Shore, though I wouldnt have minded either if they still had smoking on the train and had Amfleet II lounges with the smokers box assigned to the train instead of corridor cafes.
 
If we don't have a penalty box it's at select station stops. The big problem is there is no stop long enough for smokers south of ORL. Some try to sneak off and we've damn near left them. Some Conductors have said over the PA if you do it you will be put off the train no questions asked (I guess they don't mind paperwork). The other alternative some passengers choose is to illegally smoke in vestibules, they have been put off for that too. The thing that really has to happen though is that we need penalty boxes in all the Amcan II lounges.
 
Well the lounge half is generally reserved for the drunks deprived of nicotine. :lol: I generally locate myself on the table side since the Conductor(s) are usually there (although sometimes I end up hanging out in the diner sleepers or dorm with them). I also like the fact that I can spread out and relax there.
 
Like Battalion said before, the whole smoking situation has its pros and cons. Now where are all the Amfleet II Lounges? Why now adays is the Lake Shore not able to run with one, maybe just because the Cardinal went single level? If there are a shortage of Amfleet IIs for the eastern trains, would it be feasable to convert some Amfleet Is to long distance status with the penality boxes? Or is the Amfleet I food service fleet already stretched thin as it is?
 
The Amfleet II's are stretched pretty thin. There are three for the Meteor, four Stars, four Palmetto bugs, two Cardinals, at least four Crescents (maybe five?), so that's 17 or 18 right there. Then you throw in your reserves (figure one per major terminal [sunnyside, Hialeah, Noleans]) then you get to 20 or 21, plus PM. Right now there are 24 active (28015 is damge wrecked), and until recently 28000 was damage wrecked from the Star derailment [had it on the NB Star yesterday] so then your down to 23. Add in Pm and you get no Amfleet II for the LSL.
 
After the Cardinal went single-level, that definetely put strains on Amfleet II Lounges and Amfleet II Coaches. I think it's just a battle between the Cardinal and Lake Shore as to what train gets an Amfleet II Lounge. Another problem has been the Coaches. A lot of the east coast to Chicago trains have Amfleet I Coaches substituting Amfleet II Coaches. Yet the Pennsylvanian's two consists are each hogging 4 Amfleet II Coaches and the train is only daylight service. It gets confusing, but when puch comes to shove a coach is a coach and those passengers just need a seat.
 
P40 Power, could you possibly e-mail me some of your pictures to put on your website?

I think its pretty dumb to give the Pennsylvanian Amfleet II's when they're more useful elsewhere. It's unfortunate that we can't get our hands on a few more Viewliners to add seats/lounges to the system. Amfleet, although we could use the seats, I'd rather have the penalty box, but probably in Viewliner designs (yes I'm dreaming) it would be better to have a smoking coach because of this.
 
Are you serious that the medium distance Penslyvanian is using Amfleet II coaches? What the hell is up with that? maybe hand a few of them over to the Three Rivers to get some decent pieces of equipment on it!
 
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