John_Perkowski wrote:Without the HEP, the fans don't run, and there is no air circulation at all.When I took the Texas Eagle in May, from LA (Sunset) to Chicago (with a bus from San Antonio to Dallas to catch up with our missed connection on the Eagle), the train suffered a HEP failure due to a blown connection between the transition sleeper and the dining car. Within five minutes, the lounge started getting uncomfortable.
In the summertime, that is an invitation to a heat injury (although being stuck in the hole in a hot train is an equal invitation). One heat injury = one lawsuit for gross negligence. Regrettably, we Americans are that litigious.
John
The entire train was miserably hot for a couple of hours, and they offered extended station stops at Alton, IL, and Springfield, IL. After Springfield, they switched the first three cars to the rear, and the power was restored.
Besides, those emergency/backup batteries don't last forever.