Pullman Co Comet 1 cars.

I've never rode a Comet 1 set or a Bomber set
can anyone tell me the ride quality of them compared to the silverliners?

zebrasepta wrote:I've never rode a Comet 1 set or a Bomber set
can anyone tell me the ride quality of them compared to the silverliners?

Relatively smooth.

Deadhead through Bethayres, heading toward Roberts, at approx 7:50 tonight. 2308 in the lead, 2461 trailing.

zebrasepta wrote:I've never rode a Comet 1 set or a Bomber set
can anyone tell me the ride quality of them compared to the silverliners?

I haven't ridden one of the Bombers in a while but I find their seats more comfortable, and the ride quality quite a bit better than the Silverliners. You know the customary jerk you feel when a Silverliner starts from a dead stop? It's not nearly as noticeable in a Bomber/Comet; you might not even realize you started moving until you look out the window. Although not as comfortable as the Amtubes, they're definitely a step closer to ride quality of inter-city cars.

scotty269 wrote:Deadhead through Bethayres, heading toward Roberts, at approx 7:50 tonight. 2308 in the lead, 2461 trailing.

Apparently they had some problems getting started up out of West Trenton. I could only hear SEPTA-1's side of the conversation over my engine radio, but Frazier ended up talking them through something to get 2308 going again. Passed them at Woodbourne at 7:35 as they headed down when Scotty saw them later at Bethayres.

They must have swapped out cab cars overnight Monday or during the Monday midday period. I videoed 2460 leading the train at Morton on Monday morning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WIK96BKmbU

...and then got a report that 2461 was leading Tuesday morning. Incidentally, two people almost got themselves laminated into the front of 2460 at the Morton station pedestrian crossing, missing getting hit by mere feet, and even at that point the engineer only almost had the train at a full stop before getting the brakes released and pulling the remainder of the way up the platform. Geez!

Silverliner II wrote:Incidentally, two people almost got themselves laminated into the front of 2460 at the Morton station pedestrian crossing, missing getting hit by mere feet...

Sounds like we need Morton Borough and SEPTA Police to conduct a safety blitz there and hand out a bunch of tickets.

Not that it matters much, but thanks to SEPTA the Comet I's made it through more then 40 years of continuous commuter passenger service!

"The brushed-aluminum Pullman-Standard commuter cars were designed as "Push-Pull" cars, with 35 of the cars equipped with operator cabs on the end of the car. Typically, the locomotive would remain on the west end of the consist, with the operating cab "leading" on inbound trains (push) to Hoboken, N.J. and the locomotives leading on outbound trains (pull). This method of operation eliminated the time-consuming practice of turning trains at their endpoints, swapping power, or moving the locomotive to the opposite end of the train. The first run of the new cars was on Jan. 21, 1971."

http://www.eldcps.org/pages/equip_1700.html

blockline4180 wrote:Not that it matters much, but thanks to SEPTA the Comet I's made it through more then 40 years of continuous commuter passenger service!

"The brushed-aluminum Pullman-Standard commuter cars were designed as "Push-Pull" cars, with 35 of the cars equipped with operator cabs on the end of the car. Typically, the locomotive would remain on the west end of the consist, with the operating cab "leading" on inbound trains (push) to Hoboken, N.J. and the locomotives leading on outbound trains (pull). This method of operation eliminated the time-consuming practice of turning trains at their endpoints, swapping power, or moving the locomotive to the opposite end of the train. The first run of the new cars was on Jan. 21, 1971."

http://www.eldcps.org/pages/equip_1700.html

And kudos to UTA out in Salt Lake City for helping along with that, as they have a number of the former 1700-series low door only ("sliders") Comet I's in active service as well.

Silverliner II wrote:And kudos to UTA out in Salt Lake City for helping along with that, as they have a number of the former 1700-series low door only ("sliders") Comet I's in active service as well.

UTA owns 25 Comet Is, no cabs amongst them, although a few have been leased to Metrolink in LA. UTA has refurbished most, if not all, of the 25 already so their mechanics are like new....
I do love UTA's solution to the dirty, dingy look caused by their aluminum skin; skinning them in plastic wrap. They certainly look brighter and cleaner in UTA's livery.

electricron wrote:

Silverliner II wrote:And kudos to UTA out in Salt Lake City for helping along with that, as they have a number of the former 1700-series low door only ("sliders") Comet I's in active service as well.

UTA owns 25 Comet Is, no cabs amongst them, although a few have been leased to Metrolink in LA. UTA has refurbished most, if not all, of the 25 already so their mechanics are like new....
I do love UTA's solution to the dirty, dingy look caused by their aluminum skin; skinning them in plastic wrap. They certainly look brighter and cleaner in UTA's livery.

That is for sure!

Silverliner II wrote:

electricron wrote:

Silverliner II wrote:And kudos to UTA out in Salt Lake City for helping along with that, as they have a number of the former 1700-series low door only ("sliders") Comet I's in active service as well.

UTA owns 25 Comet Is, no cabs amongst them, although a few have been leased to Metrolink in LA. UTA has refurbished most, if not all, of the 25 already so their mechanics are like new....
I do love UTA's solution to the dirty, dingy look caused by their aluminum skin; skinning them in plastic wrap. They certainly look brighter and cleaner in UTA's livery.

That is for sure!

http://www.utahtransit.us/IMG_0839.JPG

Caught what I would presume to be a training run on the paoli thorndale line today with SEPTA's Comet 1 cars and AEM-7 2307 at about 1PM at St. Davids. If anyone else has any insight on this, please feel free to share.

Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT0Xb9m5dpU

SEPTAR3kid wrote:Caught what I would presume to be a training run on the paoli thorndale line today with SEPTA's Comet 1 cars and AEM-7 2307 at about 1PM. If anyone else has any insight on this, please feel free to share.

Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT0Xb9m5dpU

Yep, or a training run combined with a deadhead from Frazer. Definitely not a revenue move.

I know Amtrak banned them from revenue service on their lines due to a braking issue, but I still do not fully understand or know the details or why...

I'm told the problem is the service portion (control valve) on the Comets. They do not have a 'graduated release' feature so its all or nothing when going for release.

ex Budd man wrote:I'm told the problem is the service portion (control valve) on the Comets. They do not have a 'graduated release' feature so its all or nothing when going for release.

I wonder why direct release is such an issue for Amtrak, considering all of NJT's push-pull equipment is direct release as well, and even Amtrak ran certain trains that way when they were still dealing with the mail and express. Granted, NJT has a "hold" feature on their cab cars and locomotives, but I don't know if their AEM-7's have that feature... BuddSilverliner269 can enlighten me on that one...