Viewliner II Delivery/Production

The post I was replying to was talking about using the Dorm as a sleeper, which could not be done without a full sleeper in addition.

David Benton wrote:Interesting , in a linked report , it discusses the reason for the change in the full bag/ dorm bag mix.

"Quantifying baggage requirements for the single-level long-distance trains proved to be a challenge for the group. The company had planned to replace all of the existing baggage cars because of their excessive age, but it was not buying enough new full baggage cars to replace the old baggage cars on a one-for-one basis. Therefore, some trains needed to use a combination car, which have 60 percent less cargo space than a full-baggage car. The working group attempted to identify the trains that should get the combination cars, but data on baggage requirements for each train were limited and unreliable. Based on the data available, the working group eventually identified only one long-distance train with year-round baggage requirements that could be accommodated by a combination car rather than a full-baggage car. Therefore, they concluded that the company was not buying enough full-baggage cars to meet its requirements."

https://www.amtrakoig.gov/sites/default ... 15-001.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm really glad to see this explanation finally come to light. It indicates that budgetary pressures were not the driving force as many people feared.

I think too that it's very interesting that the data is limited and unreliable. I suspect in part this is because when you have a limited business, you can't really advertise it and push it too hard.

I suspect we'll see a slight uptick in pushing the baggage car option for more people. Like I say, I'd love to see a few more trains with baggage cars. Would be a HUGE win in the northeast where it can be impractical from say Albany to points south of NYP to use the baggage car unless you bring your stuff in early the day before for the LSL.

Same problem when traveling from Boston for us. We have to bring our luggage into South Station the day before our Florida trips and go pick it up the next day. Not exactly the most convenient situation.

The problem with amtrak having statistics for baggage use is because they haven't been charging for it for years. People just walked up to the counter, stuff got tagged and sent to the train and offloaded/loaded as needed. The info would come up on the manifest eventually. But unlike train tickets where people pay and book in advance, baggage service really never worked that way so it is hard to predict in advance how the trends will work. You can really only look at past patterns off train manifests, which are also not always 100% accurate.

Hmm, This is pretty damning if you ask me.

Things are far worse than I would have suspected.

Here's one quick excerpt.

The company does not currently have the parts it needs to operate the baggage cars, and a car that was damaged in an accident while in revenue service in April 2015 was still out of service on January 7, 2016 due to a lack of spare parts, according to a company official responsible for repairing the car.

Question on baggage cars, I assume that the fact they have to run at 125ish MPH MAX speed is the reason why Amtrak can't just buy some off the shelf boxcars, paint them, and go on their merry way?

The obvious explanation is that off the shelf box cars don't have doors and vestibules on either end, making it impossible for the crew to access them while the train is running at speed.

and even the MHC's which were build for higher speeds did not ride well and had issues .

Boxcars also dont fit the track and platform profile for penn station NY. Would need HEP pass thru, heating, lighting. At that point you might as well just have what they made that will streamline with the other cars.

Ryand-Smith wrote:Question on baggage cars, I assume that the fact they have to run at 125ish MPH MAX speed is the reason why Amtrak can't just buy some off the shelf boxcars, paint them, and go on their merry way?

To summarize everything that has been said:

Boxcars are designed for freight operations and loading docks at freight facilities. They are fundamentally incompatible with passenger equipment and passenger facilities.

The requirements for a modern baggage car able to operate at higher speeds (125 MPH) are far more significant than a boxcar which is generally designed to operate at speeds no greater than 80 MPH.

Greg Moore wrote:Hmm, This is pretty damning if you ask me.

Things are far worse than I would have suspected.

Here's one quick excerpt.

The company does not currently have the parts it needs to operate the baggage cars, and a car that was damaged in an accident while in revenue service in April 2015 was still out of service on January 7, 2016 due to a lack of spare parts, according to a company official responsible for repairing the car.

But this excerpt didn't help Amtrak either.

The delay in obtaining spare parts can also be attributed to CAF not providing a complete list of spare parts needed for the baggage cars until October 1, 2015.

The above quote was a footnote.

Nick

I'll be surprised to see Amtrak ever order more new cars from CAF again. The late deliveries and poor workmanship by CAF is unacceptable performance. There are plenty of other vendors Amtrak can choose from.

Care to share that thought with Sens. Gillibrand and Schumer, as well Rep. Reed (R-NY23), Ron?

electricron wrote:I'll be surprised to see Amtrak ever order more new cars from CAF again. The late deliveries and poor workmanship by CAF is unacceptable performance. There are plenty of other vendors Amtrak can choose from.

I think the real problem would be if CAF refused to fix the problems. They seem to have been very responsive to Amtrak's concerns. If I were Amtrak I would use them again solely because of their current familiarity with the equipment and their willingness to work with the customer and their diligence (eventual) in pursuing remedies. I'm sure for someone who has had to deal with this its been awful but at least, unlike Bombardier, they don't seem to be shipping a product with defects and engineering issues. Some of this remains to be seen but my sense at this time is that a lot of the issues got caught early and Amtrak has the advantage of using a proven design.