Serviceable Superliner Consist Sets…

Amtrak, you have a problem. Several runs of Trains 3-4, the Southwest Chief, are being annulled in the terminal coach yards. Why, you ask?

THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CONSISTS AVAILABLE

Bob Johnston posted this article in Trains yesterday. Click the link below to read it all:
Lack of equipment leads to cancellation of Southwest Chief round trip, By Bob Johnston, July 16, 2024

Brief, fair use quote:

CHICAGO — The lack of stand-by operational Superliners at Amtrak’s Chicago maintenance facility led to the cancellation of the westbound Southwest Chief on Monday, July 15, less than five hours before it was to depart, Trains News Wire has learned.

With additional equipment unavailable on the West Coast, the eastbound Chief scheduled to leave Los Angeles Wednesday, July 17, has also been cancelled.

No wonders why they want to combine the Capitol Limited and Silver Star. They need the Superliners!

Yeah, shock value headline that seems to have buried the lede - late trains all over the system help to cause an equipment imbalance, plus not enough time to service what needed to be serviced.

This is why I advocate for single level equipment system wide. In a pinch, you could easily feed routings across CUS between the east and west networks instead of canceling entire round trips.

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They are having problems with the single level fleet also. I think this suggests that Amtrak's mechanical crews remain understaffed. It does make me wonder if Chicago's staffing problems are less than NYC's and Washington's, and that combining the Silver Star and Capitol Limited could be as much about reducing workload b/c Amtrak is having recruitment/retention problems in NYC and Washington that it is not experiencing in Chicago.

RandallW wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 4:35 am They are having problems with the single level fleet also. I think this suggests that Amtrak's mechanical crews remain understaffed. It does make me wonder if Chicago's staffing problems are less than NYC's and Washington's, and that combining the Silver Star and Capitol Limited could be as much about reducing workload b/c Amtrak is having recruitment/retention problems in NYC and Washington that it is not experiencing in Chicago.

Recruitment and retention is an issue nation wide. Add in the mechanical work staff is relatively young and inexperienced. Trains sets don't get turned as fast as they should. Major overhauls are slower do to with supply and manpower issues. What is still left stored serviceable after Covid.

I did learn this week (from NARP) that all but one of Amtrak's train washing systems failed this winter (all for different reasons), so in some cases trains are being hand washed while they work to get these systems fixed, so that's slowing things down as well.

RandallW wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 4:05 pm I did learn this week (from NARP) that all but one of Amtrak's train washing systems failed this winter (all for different reasons), so in some cases trains are being hand washed while they work to get these systems fixed, so that's slowing things down as well.

Hate to say it but the LSL needs a bath, bad. Have seen passengers cleaning their own windows.

I think the wash rack at the shop in Rennselaer is working again, maybe. I still think the locomotives are being hand washed as they come out of rebuilds and PMs.

I saw today on Facebook that one wash rack is repaired and open and that is in New Orleans. Since it was on Facebook, take it for what it is worth.