New Cars

Hey bones, are the 8200's from RI going to replace anything on MILW or is it a possibility that they are being sent to MILW for SWS / NCS expansion?

Is th BN going to get he new cars or are we just going to get the other lines "newer cars"?

I heard a rumor that the early 8200's my be totally retired. if that's true that explains the 8239 series coming to the MILW. the BN will get new control cars also. When all is done the entire system will be run with 8400, and 8501 series control cars.

BN7151 wrote:The 7400s are not my favorite cars either. If Budd was still in business I would ask Metra to go to them for replicas of the old CB&Q cars (with many major modifications), but I guess (is it Nippon Sharyo or Sumitomo?) can do a good job. After seeing a few 8500s, I wonder if there will be 7500s.

I love those CB&Q Cars I wish Budd was still around I would want them to fix them up. Also I saw some of them from an Amtrak Train.

AmtrakFan

Yep, I love the Burlington Budd cars as well. They ride nice and smooth. The redone Burlington cars are in my opinion are the best cars Metra currently has.

MetraRy wrote:Yep, I love the Burlington Budd cars as well. They ride nice and smooth. The redone Burlington cars are in my opinion are the best cars Metra currently has.

I rode those rebuilt Burlington cars over the July 3-4 period and overall, they ride very well. However, I didn't think the air conditioning was quite as strong compared to the older cars. Plus, the upper level seats seemed uncomfortable, they didn't seem to recline back as much.

How many 8400 series cabs does BNSF have? I know they have 8475 and 8476. They also have a few 7200 and 7300 series trailers.

Those might be the only 2 8400's on BNSF, but I'm not a regular BNSF fanner. 8477 was on RI last year and has since dissapeared, could be on BNSF.

The 7200's & 7300's you see might have come off of SWS / HC, but I'm not 100% not sure on that either. I know SWS sets do have 7100's with the BNSF logo in them.

8200's leading/trailing are starting to become rare on RI. 8500's on RI are up to at least 8560. Just about all rush hour trains have 8500's. Two trains also have an 8500 placed mid-train for weekend and mid-day use.

How come BNSF logos still appera on BNSF line trains? I'm guessing this reason is similar to the reason why those E9Au's were always BN painted. I was under the impression Metra owned all their equipment. The only reason I can guess is BNSF owns the cars and owned the E9's, but I'm surprised their bankers let them tie up the money on that equipment when it could be buying high-profit freight stuff.

i dont get why every car has to be an ada car. its logical that all the 8500's are ada compliant because then every metra train will have an ada car on the rear of the train no matter what. if ridership is increasing for metra, why would they buy cars that have less seats? why dont they have nippon shywhatever build cars similar to the rebuilt 7200's? granted we need to be compatable for those less fortunate to us, but the majority of us can get onto a train with ease, i think its fair to say majoity of riders want a seat on the commute home rather than a bathroom we can fit a sedan in. the electric district is a perfect example of ada compliance without overdoing it. every highliner is ada compliant, total seat loss=4 per car, the longest train the electric district runs is 7 cars thats a total of 28 seats maximum lost for compliance. if i did the math correct one ada bathroom plus the inward facing seats take up between 12-16 seats. lets say we have a seven car train of ada cars (not uncommon for UP) thats a total loss of between 84-112 seats PER 7 CAR TRAIN!!! THIS IS ONLY A SEVEN CAR TRAIN, 11 CARS? YOU LOSE UP TO 176 SEATS!!!! there are not 84 to 112 ada riders on a single train, i doubt theres that many on all the lines combined in a single weekday

THINK! BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THINK!
thats one maybe 2 happy rider(s) for 176 pissed,



thought id point that out
-scotty

ohh 8477 has been a regular on hc, the burlington cars are owned by wsmtd i believe, but i may be incorrect, maybe thats why the bnsf logos are on those cars.

Don't get me started on the new cars. I've overheard many passengers say the same thing about the ADA situation in the new cars as well. Another BIG problem that I've overheard many talk about on the train, on the newsletter, and my own opinion also, is the seat backs are TOO SHORT. For those of us who are taller, we can't rest our heads back and take a nap without facing virtually sidways in the seat to slouch down. If there's a stranger in the seat with you, you're forced to sit straight up the whole trip. If feels like I'm in a computer chair with those things. How much money does shaving two or three inches off the backrest of the seats save?

Scotty Burkhardt wrote:if ridership is increasing for metra, why would they buy cars that have less seats? why dont they have nippon shywhatever build cars similar to the rebuilt 7200's?

For the same reason you can't build a public building these days without including ramps and wheelchair-accessible toilets. Basically, all new cars have to be accessible, regardless of whether it's convenient for everyone else. Those "two happy riders" have plenty of lawyers standing behind them ready to sue if their clients can't board the train.

I agree, the low-back seats are no good.

I avoid the 74xx cars whenever possible. The 85xx (and I'm assuming 6xxx) cars are so much more comfortable. Also, upstairs on the 74xx cars you have to watch your head when getting up because the reading lights are lower and its easy to hit your head. The restrooms are also better, but I don't know why Metra pays for a sink and then doesn't use it.

the 8500s are dominating the rock. almost all the trains i saw yesterday had two of those goofy looking cars in it. the only 8200's ive seen are at night. so far i havent seen any of them(8200's) butchered like the milw did to theirs