New Double Deckers

F40CFan wrote:

dinwitty wrote:still needs more orange and maroon...

Yes they do. At least they kept the South Shore logo.

I was hoping for a nice orange stripe along the new car some where ( on the stainless steel or across one of the window rows) to keep the SS tradition alive.

AH here's a treat for everyone following this topic...

had enough with the pics? want to see it in action ? DO I have your attention now?
here's something A friend posted on Youtube , pretty short but it lets you imagine.... ENJOY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok4-wNXU_Wk

Nice find. You'll notice my video of a ride through Shops comes up in the related videos window.

Latest news -

Friday will be the last full day of acceptance testing for the new cars. Saturday and Sunday will be revenue run simulations and clearance testing, and will mark the first time that a 6-car consist has been operated with the new equipment. Saturday will be spent on NICTD territory between South Bend Airport and CP 75.3 (Kensington), and Sunday will be spent entirely on the Metra Electric District.

This coming Monday is tentatively planned to be the first day of revenue service. If all goes well, Trains 116 and 109 will operate with the new cars. At some point, they'll be rotated to other runs but for now they'll be running mid-day to develop a level of crew operating comfort at non-peak times.

Around what time should the cars be in the South Bend area on Saturday?

JLJ061 wrote:Around what time should the cars be in the South Bend area on Saturday?

Should be, from the plans I've seen, around 8:40 AM Central Time (9:40 AM Eastern Time).

Was able to get a few pics of the cars in town this morning. The crew told me that it will be at least a couple years until they see regular service east of Michigan City until the catenary is replaced. There is also talk of placing portable substations along the line to balance out the power. The cars are scheduled to be run on Trains 116 and 109 starting this Monday.

Train 504 passing the test train along Bendix Drive.


Techs checking the platform clearance at the Airport.

you do realize that once in regular daily service that these cars will never be that shiny again.. especially with the street running..

need a car washer at MC and Gary for the end of every run on a nearby side track...

dinwitty wrote:need a car washer at MC and Gary for the end of every run on a nearby side track...

There's a car wash facility at MC that gets extensive use, plus coming up there will be weekend "cleaning blitzes" to get the fleet shiny again after a rough winter.

jb9152 wrote:

dinwitty wrote:need a car washer at MC and Gary for the end of every run on a nearby side track...

There's a car wash facility at MC that gets extensive use, plus coming up there will be weekend "cleaning blitzes" to get the fleet shiny again after a rough winter.

used to be one in the old south bend yard

but thats another story...

JLJ061 wrote: The crew told me that it will be at least a couple years until they see regular service east of Michigan City until the catenary is replaced. There is also talk of placing portable substations along the line to balance out the power.

Just how much more juice do these cars use than the current equipment?

ohioriverrailway wrote:

JLJ061 wrote: The crew told me that it will be at least a couple years until they see regular service east of Michigan City until the catenary is replaced. There is also talk of placing portable substations along the line to balance out the power.

Just how much more juice do these cars use than the current equipment?

Not entirely sure about the power draw-down, but it's definitely higher than the current fleet's. Each car has 60 more horsepower than the current fleet, as well. The bigger concern out east is that these cars only have one pantograph apiece, so if a pair, say, were to badly get into the wire (which is not in good shape east of the Shops), there's a chance that they'll be immobilized. That's not a good thing in the territory between Michigan City and South Bend, which is very rural; access to the right of way is severely limited, and if there were ADA passengers aboard, a break-down out there in the dead of winter would likely require the response of emergency services.

jb9152 wrote: Not entirely sure about the power draw-down, but it's definitely higher than the current fleet's. Each car has 60 more horsepower than the current fleet, as well.

Ok, I'll ask it, though - anyone got the weight and HP of the new cars? ISTR reading they were actually a bit lighter than the old Metra double deckers...

I'd imagine vs the old Metra cars, the inverter helps a bit, but isn't the South Shore's fleet all inverter now?

Yes, the SS fleet is all inverter. I believe even the 1992 order of motors was rebuilt, and I know the 1982 order was rebuilt with inverters.