Viewliner II - Part 1 - Initial Production and Delivery

[AmtrakBlue]

Why do we care about new baggage cars? We don't ride or eat in them!

For one, they will allow the LD trains to travel on the NEC a lot faster, I think. Plus, fewer breakdowns (the current ones are old) means less delays. And, because the new ones have a better seal on the doors, you luggage won't get snowed or rained on.

 

[jis]

Why do we care about new baggage cars? We don't ride or eat in them!

For one, they will allow the LD trains to travel on the NEC a lot faster, I think.

If you consider 15mph "a lot", then yeah

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Why do we care about new baggage cars? We don't ride or eat in them!

For one, they will allow the LD trains to travel on the NEC a lot faster, I think.

If you consider 15mph "a lot", then yeah

Well, I wasn't sure of the numbers and thought it might not be that much faster after all. But in this "in a hurry" society....

 

[pvd]

I don't ride or eat in the diesel or electric either, I sure care about them. The old cars are a maintenance dollar and time headache, the new cars offer the opportunity for better service since they have shelves and bike racks. Unboxed bikes might prove pretty popular, and may be a driving force towards expanded baggage service. If state politicians think it makes them look good and might garner votes, they may be willing to pony up for baggage on some state supported routes.

 

[PaulM]

... the new cars offer the opportunity for better service since they have shelves and bike racks. Unboxed bikes might prove pretty popular, and may be a driving force towards expanded baggage service.

You beat me to it. But the real question is will Amtrak pull a CAF and take 5 year to figure out how to load bikes onto the racks.

 

[William W.]

Why do we care about new baggage cars? We don't ride or eat in them!

The heritage baggage cars are literally falling apart (the oldest are 1940s vintage), and will sooner rather than later become unsafe to operate. In addition, newer cars (theoretically) mean fewer breakdowns and higher speeds.

 

[neroden]

Unboxed bikes on Eastern services are a big deal for a lot of people.

Baggage car doors which close properly are a bigger deal for more people!

 

[William W.]

New baggage cars won't have snowdrifts in them...

 

[StriderGDM]

The 15mph may not seem like much, but what it does allow is easier scheduling of train slots. That can help performance and scheduling of all train.

And yes, the reduced maintenance.

And ideally yes, unboxed bikes could be a huge win. I'm certainly considering taking advantage of that.

POSSIBLY given the numbers a couple more routes with baggage cars.

All around, a higher, better level of service.

 

[Acela150]

Why do we care about new baggage cars? We don't ride or eat in them!

Then why do we care about New Electric Locomotives? We don't ride in them or eat in them as well.. Maybe the simple answer.. Nothing lasts forever. I mean the Heritage Diner's and Bags are 60 years old!

 

[neroden]

The oldest Heritage baggage car is from 1948. The newest is from 1961, but is a converted coach -- these didn't hold up well under the weight of baggage and are damaged as a result. There are only 25 Heritage baggage cars remaining in service which were built as baggage cars. Most of these are from 1953, with some from 1955 or 1957. There were some newer ones, but they were built by companies other than Budd so they fell apart earlier.

The remaining Heritage baggage cars are all well overdue for retirement.

 

[oldtimer]

The oldest Heritage baggage car is from 1948. The newest is from 1961, but is a converted coach -- these didn't hold up well under the weight of baggage and are damaged as a result. There are only 25 Heritage baggage cars remaining in service which were built as baggage cars. Most of these are from 1953, with some from 1955 or 1957. There were some newer ones, but they were built by companies other than Budd so they fell apart earlier.

The remaining Heritage baggage cars are all well overdue for retirement.

The wreck in North Carolina took out another heritage coach converted to baggage service, with the failure record of these types of cars I would think this one is destined for the scrapper!

 

[battalion51]

The 15mph may not seem like much, but what it does allow is easier scheduling of train slots. That can help performance and scheduling of all train.

And yes, the reduced maintenance.

And ideally yes, unboxed bikes could be a huge win. I'm certainly considering taking advantage of that.

POSSIBLY given the numbers a couple more routes with baggage cars.

All around, a higher, better level of service.

For trains like the Carolinian, Palmetto, 65/66/67, it could mean shorter travel times on the Northeast Corridor once the full fleet is deployed. It will be awhile before the benefits are able to be felt on long distance trains since the Viewliner Is are only rated for 110. I don't know what it would take to get them upgraded to handle 125, or if that's even in the plans.

 

[jis]

The Carolinian from NYP to WAS does it in 3:20. Regionals with a few more stops but with no baggage to handle do it in 3:25. Running the Carolinian any faster will just screw up the Class B slots, that's all. I suspect we will just see improved OTP by a bit in the same schedule. Same is mnore or less true of the Palmetto.

65/66/67 schedule is mostly about making it a convenient arrival and departure time out of/into BOS and WAS. Don;t see any reason at all to speed it up. Besides its schedule will always be kept suitable for diesel 110mph operations substantial part of the way so that the catenary can be taken out of operation for servicing at night.

LD's have lots of padding on the NEC because they also have lower priority than all the Corridor trains on the NEC. That is not changing. So I don't see anything more than some token shortening of runtime by maybe 5-10 mins at most. Their arrival and departure times are determined more my slots availability at NYP, CSX's ability to accept them south of WAS than any other factors AFAICT.

 

[StriderGDM]

The 15mph may not seem like much, but what it does allow is easier scheduling of train slots. That can help performance and scheduling of all train.

And yes, the reduced maintenance.

And ideally yes, unboxed bikes could be a huge win. I'm certainly considering taking advantage of that.

POSSIBLY given the numbers a couple more routes with baggage cars.

All around, a higher, better level of service.

For trains like the Carolinian, Palmetto, 65/66/67, it could mean shorter travel times on the Northeast Corridor once the full fleet is deployed. It will be awhile before the benefits are able to be felt on long distance trains since the Viewliner Is are only rated for 110. I don't know what it would take to get them upgraded to handle 125, or if that's even in the plans.

It is in the plans.

 

[neroden]

Now that I can't use the dining cars (thank you Amtrak gross incompetence), I no longer really care whether they're replaced. If Amtrak can't be bothered to operate the dining car service competently, they aren't going to find much use for dining cars.

Still looking forward to the baggage cars and sleeping cars.

 

[Celebrissmus]

Now that I can't use the dining cars (thank you Amtrak gross incompetence), I no longer really care whether they're replaced. If Amtrak can't be bothered to operate the dining car service competently, they aren't going to find much use for dining cars.

Still looking forward to the baggage cars and dining cars.

Why can't you use the dining cars? Hundreds do every day.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Now that I can't use the dining cars (thank you Amtrak gross incompetence), I no longer really care whether they're replaced. If Amtrak can't be bothered to operate the dining car service competently, they aren't going to find much use for dining cars.

Still looking forward to the baggage cars and dining cars.

Why can't you use the dining cars? Hundreds do every day.

Ever hear of food allergies?

 

[west point]

For those trains that only have the V-2 baggage or baggage dorm they will be able to do 125. That does not sound like much but any following 125 capable train ( read Acela, NE regional ) will not be slowed as well. That improves the measurement called fluidity.

Now until the heritage diners are replaced and the V-1s are upgraded to 125 do not expect the LD trains to go over 110MPH.

Once the short baggage cars ( 90 MPH limit ) are all taken off eastern trains the LD will at least LD will be able to go 110. Remember that NYP - Albany is set to have 110 MPH sections as well.

 

[jis]

Amtrak currently does not operate any baggage car that is limited to 90mph on regular passenger service.

 

[Celebrissimus]

Now that I can't use the dining cars (thank you Amtrak gross incompetence), I no longer really care whether they're replaced. If Amtrak can't be bothered to operate the dining car service competently, they aren't going to find much use for dining cars.

Still looking forward to the baggage cars and dining cars.

Why can't you use the dining cars? Hundreds do every day.

Ever hear of food allergies?

Now that I can't use the dining cars (thank you Amtrak gross incompetence), I no longer really care whether they're replaced. If Amtrak can't be bothered to operate the dining car service competently, they aren't going to find much use for dining cars.

Still looking forward to the baggage cars and dining cars.

Why can't you use the dining cars? Hundreds do every day.

Ever hear of food allergies?

Why is that "gross incompetence" on the part of Amtrak? Not every restaurant can account for everyone's allergies.

 

[Ryan]

It's not that they can't account for it, they're incapable of telling him if the foods served in the dining car have the particular item he's allergic to.

It's unrealistic to expect the dining car to stock sufficient variety of food to have something available for everyone with a food allergy to eat.

It's completely realistic to expect the dining car to know what ingredients are in the food that they're serving so that people with allergies can make an educated decision on what to eat and not eat.

 

[StriderGDM]

Remember that NYP - Albany is set to have 110 MPH sections as well.

NYP-ALB already has 110 MPH sections.

But right now the only train that has a baggage car that plies that route is the LSL.

 

[edjbox]

If the Carolinian, palmetto, or 65-67 get the new baggage cars they are capable of running faster, particularly if they are running late

 

[William W.]

If the Carolinian, palmetto, or 65-67 get the new baggage cars they are capable of running faster, particularly if they are running late

The Carolinian and Palmetto should be towards the top of the list, but 66/67 doesn't need to run at full speed, so it can probably be among the last to receive one.