Planned Reduced Winter Consists

So much for that; thought there was a Local Agreement covering the 400 trains.

Live and learn.

I've taken 94/95 quite a few times, and never run into any cars being closed. Typically the trains run pretty full too, at least to Richmond and sometimes to Williamsburg & Newport News.

I do remember taking a Keystone once and having only two or three cars open, and being disappointed that I couldn't ride in the ex-Metroliner cab car!

jhdeasy wrote:I should mention that Northeast Regional trains operating south of Washington DC (to Richmond VA, Newport News VA and Norfolk VA) have fixed 8 or 9 car consists, yet several of the rear cars are usually closed and empty south of Washington DC. By running the fixed consist to/from the terminals in Virginia, Amtrak eliminated the need to switch coaches into and out of the consists during the station time at Washington DC. This may have allowed them to cut operating costs by eliminating one of more switch crews at WAS.

The return Journey may also require more seats. I.e Southbound service is fairly empty, but northbound is quite full, or v.v.

Just wanted to add a few of my thoughts about smaller consists all around during the winter season.
1) Ridership is probably down, so consists don't need to be as large.
2) Trains run later because of more frequent weather delays, trains with smaller consists means there's more consists available for turning late trains.
3) Smaller consists means more cars can be taken from service and sent away for heavier maintenance. Better during the drop in customers than during high demand periods, aka summer.

electricron wrote:Just wanted to add a few of my thoughts about smaller consists all around during the winter season.
1) Ridership is probably down, so consists don't need to be as large.
2) Trains run later because of more frequent weather delays, trains with smaller consists means there's more consists available for turning late trains.
3) Smaller consists means more cars can be taken from service and sent away for heavier maintenance. Better during the drop in customers than during high demand periods, aka summer.

The Superliner Coach cars that have been removed from LD trains are subbing for Horizons on the Midwest Corridor. Few Superliner sleepers have been "removed from service" and I haven't seen any pictures of extra Superliners and the Pacific Parlor Cars being shuffled East to Beech Grove. If anyone does, please post!

The "maintenance line" sounds nice and makes for good PR. I just hope the LD Superliner cars removed from service are properly stored - or better yet - rotated into various consists, as it's nice to think they are going to Beech Grove...........Come March/April, Amtrak WILL have to send these cars pulled from service to maintenance because they need maintenance after being frozen up in the Chicago yards!!!!

Are they stored in the Chicago yards, or in California and Louisiana yards?

Relevant here is the Monthly Performance Report for November 2014. Note on pages 2.3-2.7 the strong dips in Revenue per Seat Mile, Cost Recovery Ratio, Ridership, Passenger Miles and Seat Miles per Core Employee, Average Load Factor, On Time Performance, and Ticket Revenue in January-February for FY 2014. Given all that, why not take the opportunity for a maintenance cycle?

Mackensen wrote:Relevant here is the Monthly Performance Report for November 2014. Note on pages 2.3-2.7 the strong dips in Revenue per Seat Mile, Cost Recovery Ratio, Ridership, Passenger Miles and Seat Miles per Core Employee, Average Load Factor, On Time Performance, and Ticket Revenue in January-February for FY 2014. Given all that, why not take the opportunity for a maintenance cycle?

If you think Amtrak is doing any maintenance cycle projects on these LD cars, I have a bridge in NYC to sell you.

jp1822 wrote:

Mackensen wrote:Relevant here is the Monthly Performance Report for November 2014. Note on pages 2.3-2.7 the strong dips in Revenue per Seat Mile, Cost Recovery Ratio, Ridership, Passenger Miles and Seat Miles per Core Employee, Average Load Factor, On Time Performance, and Ticket Revenue in January-February for FY 2014. Given all that, why not take the opportunity for a maintenance cycle?

If you think Amtrak is doing any maintenance cycle projects on these LD cars, I have a bridge in NYC to sell you.

I have no reason to think otherwise. I certainly don't see any reason to think this is a precursor to permanent downgrades or discontinuances, as was suggested earlier in the thread. Frailey himself called it "a good idea" and didn't think the sky was falling. Now if Amtrak doesn't restore the SSL to the Capitol Limited at the end of February that's a different matter.

I concur and would add that if Amtrak were in fact conducting permanent reductions I have a hard time imagining why they would be undertaking a wreck rebuild program this year as noted in the Chief Mechanical Officer's Report of November 2014.

An interesting observation of #5(19). The consist was seven cars - the six plus a Baggage Car.

Now what interesting (troubling; some might say) is that the Lounge was immediately behind the Baggage. Positioned such, I have to wonder if it was in service and that all Food & Beverage was being served from the mid-train Diner.

No Dome on the Zephyr? Someone is taking consist reduction to the extremes.

Putting the lounge at the front sounds to me like something was likely wrong with the lounge, and it was being deadheaded to repair.

A SWC consist at ABQ last sat was set up with a Trans/Dorm as 1 of the sleepers and a Coach/Bag carrying the markers.

According to reports appearing at other sites, the line-up I observed yesterday on #5(19), with the Lounge on the head, is the normal practice. I was unable to ascertain if the Sleepers were Forward or Rear.

The Baggage Car has not been explained; possibly there were no 310XX Coach Baggage cars available.

If the Sleepers are Forward, then there will be unavoidable traffic through them. Attendants can no longer exercise their "sixth sense" as to who does, and who does not, belong here. Something is going to get "klepped" from a room, and some Attendant is going to "take the fall". A positive is that there is at least one car between those paying the premium price and "the noise". Best solution of course can be borrowed from the railroads - Sleepers rear.

I have not had an observation of #3 or 4, Chief, since my previously reported of #3(12).

Gilbert B Norman wrote:. Best solution of course can be borrowed from the railroads - Sleepers rear.
.

I didn't have a strong position on this one until I had an overnight ride on CofNO in the lead sleeper. Right behind the sole P42. The horn kept me up all night. It was not fun and certainly not worth the money. I don't see how anybody slept. The second P42 and baggage are a really nice sound buffer.