• Acela Rebuilds?

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Mr. Galey, Amtrak is simply chopping them up as they die and to salvage parts for those that remain. There are photos of just that occurring.

It's been a long time since both the F-40's and the Amfleets were delivered; those were the last successful - on time and on budget - revenue equipment procurements Amtrak has had.

Everything since has been a fiasco; I can't imagine anything else to follow (Airo's with their Buck Rogers battery power) being different.
  by Railjunkie
 
Galey wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 12:22 am the Acelas are having to worker harder than expected due to the catastrophe that is the Aveila
With no FRA authorization in sight, the retirement of the acelas gets pushed back. I think it's time Amtrak considers rebuilding the Acela sets, and possibly retrofitting them with modern technology, as with the Aveilas paint already starting to chip and numerous reports of isolated incidents. Amtrak should seriously take this into consideration.
Numerous reports of isolated incidents is being gentle, chipping paint is the least of the issues... Still think these will never turn a wheel in revenue service.
  by Galey
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 6:52 am Mr. Galey, Amtrak is simply chopping them up as they die and to salvage parts for those that remain. There are photos of just that occurring.

It's been a long time since both the F-40's and the Amfleets were delivered; those were the last successful - on time and on budget - revenue equipment procurements Amtrak has had.

Everything since has been a fiasco; I can't imagine anything else to follow (Airo's with their Buck Rogers battery power) being different.
Amtrak is rebuilding the one set that was being used for parts, so it seems Amtrak is falling back on the old sets.
  by Galey
 
Railjunkie wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:52 am
Galey wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 12:22 am the Acelas are having to worker harder than expected due to the catastrophe that is the Aveila
With no FRA authorization in sight, the retirement of the acelas gets pushed back. I think it's time Amtrak considers rebuilding the Acela sets, and possibly retrofitting them with modern technology, as with the Aveilas paint already starting to chip and numerous reports of isolated incidents. Amtrak should seriously take this into consideration.
Numerous reports of isolated incidents is being gentle, chipping paint is the least of the issues... Still think these will never turn a wheel in revenue service.
Image
The Aveilas sitting in 30th st are oddly reminiscent of when the UAC sat in the yard for its final days, decades ago...
  by Railjunkie
 
When I had a New York day mixed in with my yard assignments I would sometimes hear the scuttlebutt about the new train sets. It was never good. From electrical to mechanical everything seemed to need a patch or a redesign.
  by Matt Johnson
 
So are those Brightline West AP220 sets compatible with the NEC?
  by eolesen
 
Yep. BL-W is supposed to be 25Kv at 60Hz, same as the NEC.

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

  by Mackensen
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 6:52 am Mr. Galey, Amtrak is simply chopping them up as they die and to salvage parts for those that remain. There are photos of just that occurring.

It's been a long time since both the F-40's and the Amfleets were delivered; those were the last successful - on time and on budget - revenue equipment procurements Amtrak has had.

Everything since has been a fiasco; I can't imagine anything else to follow (Airo's with their Buck Rogers battery power) being different.
From the general public's perspective, the Acelas provided a good service for over twenty years. The initial teething difficulties and delays are long forgotten. I'm also not sure what fiascos afflicted the Superliner I and IIs, or the AEM-7s, the P40 and P42s, the Horizons, the ACS-64, or the Surfliners.

The California Car, sure, there were problems there. I'll even stipulate that it's somehow Amtrak's fault that Morrison–Knudsen spun off Amerail and Amerail didn't do a good job. Those cars have also been in service since the mid-1990s.
  by Galey
 
Matt Johnson wrote: Sun Jul 21, 2024 10:43 am So are those Brightline West AP220 sets compatible with the NEC?
We should do a trade in deal like Amtrak did with the SDP40Fs in place for the F40s
  by RandallW
 
It's not clear the AP220 sets will be able to operate in the NEC -- power isn't the only potential compatibility concern between CAHSR and the NEC. When the Acela II and CAHSR projects were starting Amtrak and CAHSR worked on a single design for a joint purchase, but ultimately decided their requirements were too divergent to proceed with that.
  by CNJGeep
 
eolesen wrote: Sun Jul 21, 2024 5:02 pm Yep. BL-W is supposed to be 25Kv at 60Hz, same as the NEC.

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk
The PRR portion of the NEC is, to wit, 11.5KV 25HZ
  by eolesen
 
The Velaro series that the AP220's are based on handle 25K, 15K, 3K and 1500V already depending on the country they're operating in.

If 12K is needed on the PRR section, I'm sure the voltage could be regulated with the appropriate switchgear, just as the current equipment does.
Last edited by eolesen on Mon Jul 22, 2024 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  by R36 Combine Coach
 
Mackensen wrote: Sun Jul 21, 2024 5:38 pm I'm also not sure what fiascos afflicted the Superliner I and IIs, or the AEM-7s, the P40 and P42s, the Horizons, the ACS-64, or the Surfliners.

The California Car, sure, there were problems there. I'll even stipulate that it's somehow Amtrak's fault that Morrison–Knudsen spun off Amerail and Amerail didn't do a good job. Those cars have also been in service since the mid-1990s.
AEM7s ran fine out of the box. The MK Caltrans cars were based on the Superliner (under license from BBD).
MK did undergo bankruptcy in 1994-1996 and sale of the rail division was part of restructuring. Boise locomotive
works became MPI (Wabtec) and the Hornell shops operated under the Amerail name briefly until Alstom took over. Bankruptcy was an issue in why Metro-North's M-6 Cosmopolitans were held up and some were delivered "as-is".
Galey wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:20 pm The Aveilas sitting in 30th st are oddly reminiscent of when the UAC sat in the yard for its final days, decades ago...
More like the Metroliners mothballed at Trenton (Barracks Yard) in '68-69 and also at Red Lion.
  by west point
 
Gentlemen; Please get your power on the NEC straight and correct same.
1. WASH - NYP - SSY is nominal 12.0 kV 25 hZ. Also, PHL - Harrisburg.
2. From Gate interlocking on Amtrak Hell Gate route it is nominal 12.5kV 60 hZ.
3. Froom Hell Gate route to just east of New Haven on MNRR it is nominal 12.5kV 60 hZ,
4. From east of New Haven to BOS south station it is nominal 25kV 60 hZ
Nominal voltage means that the CAT voltage for all of the above is a +/- 10%
  by Nasadowsk
 
Transformers on the SL V read:

25 Hz 11,500 volts
60 Hz 12,500 volts
60 Hz 25,000 volts

Rating on the primary side is 1172 kVA, regardless of voltage. Thing weighs just shy of 7800 lbs.

I don’t know if they use is as a harmonic damper like the Silverliner IIs did