Part of that was due to the paint scheme. Remember, the first P40s were delivered in a paint scheme that made the blue and red stripes appear dirty towards the rear of the carbody. Someone thought this was trendy but it just looked stupid. This was corrected on subsequent deliveries but ruined with the adoption of the current Amtrak scheme. Interestingly, I like the bloody nose scheme better on the P42 than I do on an E-unit.

Also, Metro-North's New Haven units look good.

This attitude makes me a bit sad. I personally love the Genesis units. Have you ever stood next to one idling at a station, or heard one chugging away with a heavy train? Something about them exudes power. Not to mention they were some of the last units influenced by Deane Ellsworth in terms of acoustics - they were delivered with some of the best K5LAs ever and the horn placement is designed so that the sound waves bounce around in a recessed pocket to give it a very punchy, aggressive sound. The terrible horns many of them have now kind of ruin all this design, but they were also the first to have Amtrak’s special dual Graham White valve setup for a perfect half-blast.

Unfortunately I think most railfans will continue to have their heads stuck in the sand as far as the appeal of these units, and we will most likely lose most of them. I urge you to have an open mind.

Bear in mind that RCD is an absolutely staunch advocate that the Genesis units are garbage, and loves to remind anyone and everyone of this at any opportunity. I wouldn't rely on him to be the voice of the modern generation's opinion.

I think it would be great if we could get a small "example train" of sorts set up. A P42DC, a sleeper, diner, lounge, and coach would be an excellent glimpse into what is currently the modern long distance passenger train. I've already sent an email off to the president of my local museum suggesting as much.

To dig up a old post ...

Western Maryland Scenic Railway ran FOUR trains each day this past weekend and all of eight (8) were completely SOLD OUT!

Passengers on the Frostburg Flyer this weekend had the rare opportunity to experience the railroad in Rail Excursion Management Company’s two Amfleet coaches, making their debut run while the regular fleet of coaches were being utilized on the Pumpkin Patch Limited trains.

The Pumpkin Patch trains ran only as far as Helmstetter's Curve and ran one trip before the Frostburg, MD excursion and the other two while the Frostburg Flyer was at it's namesake city.

That train feels like when video game designers include trains in the game.
It's kinda right. The parts are all there, kinda, but something is just kinda off.

Even so, I'm glad their are now some Amfleets outside the Am fleet.

A few questions...

What is the logo on the cars? It looks like a variation on the Budd logo.

What is the box car-like unit behind the locomotive? A HEP unit?

Thank you!

Wesley

"What is the logo on the cars? It looks like a variation on the Budd logo. What is the box car-like unit behind the locomotive? A HEP unit? Thank you! Wesley"

Yes, that is a cleverly designed logo for "Railexco" the owner of the Amfleet cars. It is based on the Budd Co logo. Railexco also owns the ex-GN "Great Dome" being used on the WMSR.

The box car is an ex-Amtrak MHC used as a generator car. Not sure who owns that car - maybe WMSR.

A few questions...

What is the logo on the cars? It looks like a variation on the Budd logo.

What is the box car-like unit behind the locomotive? A HEP unit?

Thank you!

Wesley[/quote]

Yes, the boxcar is the "HEP Unit" for those cars in the fleet that don't have generators. The car also has space to haul bicycles from Cumberland to Frostburg last year for those folks who wanted to ride the train up the mountain and ride their bikes back down the trail. I don't believe it has been used that way during this season.

Tim W.

Bump:

https://cs.trains.com/trn/b/observation ... sight.aspx

Been a little while since there was activity on this thread, but this looks like it's appropriate for here.

I think this should work. . .

https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/to ... rQyKP-LY-j

Still, as they said at the end of the Trains article, "their swan song is a few years off yet"...

Any group that might get a cafe car should try and get a set of the commissary food delivery modules for Amfleet. Modules were specific between Amfleet, Horizon Fleet, Superliner and Heritage Fleet food service cars. There is enough difference in dimensions that one type does not fit into the refrigerators for the others. I don't know about Acela, I left before that service started.

Also, try and get some of the coffeemakers. I can't remember the name of the replacement ones from the mid-1990s for the original airline Grimes coffeemakers. I really didn't care much for them. While they had a greater capacity than the original ones, the pouring spout is fixed, and on a moving, swaying train that can make for missing the cup and getting hot coffee on your hand or sleeve. With a separate coffee pot you can move the coffee pot with the train. If you could get some of the original coffee makers and retrofit them, that would be great, but then you'd have to backdate the interiors to the original orange-ish wall coverings. They used two commercial Amana microwave ovens and two smallish convection ovens. Early on, there were stainless display racks for food and sundry items in the middle of the counter. Those were all removed by the end of the 1980s, in favor of freeing up the space and letting each LSA set up their own display.

There were experiments with cash registers at times up until around 1999, when they finally found a system they could make work in a mobile environment. That was at the time I left for CSX. I just made my own cash box every trip out of several carry out trays and six large paper clips, and I got by with that for 14 years. I also snagged one of the reusable vinyl dining car table coverings for my display over carry out boxes to create a stepped display.

This is an important part of the car history,and significant for preservation.

The first project I ever did as a 'consultant' was a full diner for an Amfleet shell -- that nonwoven tablecloth material that could be reused a couple of times was new, and it could be made to act like a linen tablecloth. Inlaid-wood tables that folded down against the walls so the car could be used as a club/discotheque (remember when those were hot?) with a light show built into the ceiling lighting. Silverware made of the same stainless that framed the car.

Might still be useful as a 'what might have been' with an actual history of sorts...

I think in a perfect world, they might be able to find the materials to backdate the interiors to the original 70s-era orangeish decor anyway. The current sterile, institutional-looking interiors are terrible!

If some of the old fixtures can be found somewhere, I kind of envision a place like PSRM (since Budd was a PA company) having a cafe car restored to as near as-delivered as possible - full on psycho-disco wall coverings and seat upholstery. I called it the "Ampurple" scheme. Most of the early cafe cars were delivered with a system of security shields that folded down to the front of the counter and out from the sides of the counter area so the food could be secured without the need for the attendant to tear everything down when closing for a layover or overnight downtime. Turns out thieves are more determined than those measures and could climb over the top of the shields, so they eventually went to bars across the refrigerators and cabinets and issued padlocks to the LSAs. That meant part of our time off had to be spent tearing down and resetting everything for any layover or sleeping time. My career as a LSA started during the transition from shields to bars, so I worked with both. It would really help if someone who worked in mechanical or maintenance could be recruited as a consultant for any preservation project on some of these cars. It might be possible to recreate a stainless steel display rack from photographs. I really doubt any of those survived.