Acelas at Frazer Maintenance Facility

I was out in Frazer this morning and noticed two Acela coaches sitting outside of the Septa Maintenance facility. I know that this is the maintenance base for the push/pull trainsets and locomotives, and that there was some sort of contract arrangement at Frazer between Septa and ABB/ Bombardier but didn't know that other work was going on there as well. Does Septa actually run this facility or is it all contract workers and are they now also doing "outside" maintenance as well?

Or is Septa just trying out the Acelas for expanded Quakertown and Newtown service?

Bombardier has a contract with SEPTA to use the Frazer yard facilities when they need to.

SEPTA got out of that contract long ago.....the Frazer shops are now staffed soley by SEPTA personnel.

Seeing as how the Acela sets are semi-permenantly coupled by drawbars, they wouldn't be able to break them apart at Frazer without the appropriate tools.

You sure they weren't just two Amfleet coaches in the Acela wave scheme that weren't set out there?

Silverliner II wrote:SEPTA got out of that contract long ago.....the Frazer shops are now staffed soley by SEPTA personnel.

Seeing as how the Acela sets are semi-permenantly coupled by drawbars, they wouldn't be able to break them apart at Frazer without the appropriate tools.

You sure they weren't just two Amfleet coaches in the Acela wave scheme that weren't set out there?

Nope, definitely a pair of true Acela coaches. They were parked at the west end of the shop building, clearly visible from Route 30.

Silverliner II wrote:SEPTA got out of that contract long ago.....the Frazer shops are now staffed soley by SEPTA personnel.

This is a brand new contract just approved this month.

All right, this I've got to see! I'll take a spin out to Thorndale and have a peek...

Or drive to the yard and have a close up look.

The contract calls for the Acela fleet to be worked on by Bombardier personnel at Frazer shops for the next several years. Each set will spent about 4 months there undergoing various levels of heavy maintenance.

aem7 wrote:The contract calls for the Acela fleet to be worked on by Bombardier personnel at Frazer shops for the next several years. Each set will spent about 4 months there undergoing various levels of heavy maintenance.

Thanks, that makes more sense. They won't have to ship the cars back to Vermont and they have a test bed right outside the door.

David Gunn refused to do the work on the Accela because of a labor dispute. Therefore, Bombardier is performing the work at Frazer with unqualified people. The SEPTA workers are filing Arbitrations to get Bombardier out of Frazer.

Advocate wrote:David Gunn refused to do the work on the Accela because of a labor dispute. Therefore, Bombardier is performing the work at Frazer with unqualified people. The SEPTA workers are filing Arbitrations to get Bombardier out of Frazer.

AEM7 answered my question. Thank you.

I took a spin by there today and saw them sitting there.

I bet those two particular cars are the two that derailed in that New Haven accident last month when operating as Train 2191.

glennk419 wrote:

aem7 wrote:The contract calls for the Acela fleet to be worked on by Bombardier personnel at Frazer shops for the next several years. Each set will spent about 4 months there undergoing various levels of heavy maintenance.

Thanks, that makes more sense. They won't have to ship the cars back to Vermont and they have a test bed right outside the door.

Bombardier has closed the Barre, VT plant where the Acelas were built, on account of their ongoing struggles. If you recall, they just this week dismissed their CEO Paul Tellier, formerly of CN.

aem7 wrote:The contract calls for the Acela fleet to be worked on by Bombardier personnel at Frazer shops for the next several years. Each set will spent about 4 months there undergoing various levels of heavy maintenance.

Try 4 years the workers are quitting at 4 per week.

From the number of Acela sets sitting at 30th Street, I assume that all of those sets will be repaired at Frazer? With some luck, maybe we can get some good shots of Acela runbys along the line.

I hope that SEPTA emplyoees will be able to get out of it and have Amtrak do it.