Trains magazine on friday reported that Amtrak is restoring 24 Amfleet passenger cars for future hurricane evacuation trains.The plan is to keep them ready for use during hurricane season but store them the rest of the year.Maybe someone should approach Amtrak about putting them in excursion service during the spring time.I know it would be nearly impossible but I would love to see the Chineese 2-10-2s with 24 Amfleet coaches touring the southeast next spring; under Amtrak authority like the diesel trips ran around 1997? I know visibility is not great from these cars but I feel the most important thing involving the general public is passenger comfort such as air conditioning.The trips could run from such places as Kingsport,Tenn and Roanoke.

Perhaps not - steam can safely traverse a couple feet of water, diesels maybe an inch or so.

dave

For some reason I suspect that the next issue will be that there are not have enough fancy brand new buses to take the voters to the trains.

Actually it would be nice if Amtrak would put them to use on their overcrowded Midwestern trains that are currently supplied with under-maintained equipment. The only reason that this equipment is OOS is that Amtrak allowed the COT&S to expire, after being granted a one year extension. Having at least one additional trainset would allow the entire Midwest fleet to be better maintained -- 24 cars is enough for 5 trainsets. I would really like to see the cost-benefit analysis that Amtrak used to justify the withdrawl of this equipment in the first place.

Regarding excursions, there is a growing number of Amtrak compatable coaches in private ownership - and several fleets of well maintained, non-Amtrak qualified coaches in need of employment.

Tom Cornillie

Johnny,
If you really want to see the QJs operate, why would you wait for something that isn't going to happen and then be locked inside of an Amfleet car? These Amfleet cars currently have an FRA waiver to operate in "emergency service only". I seriously doubt that they would be brought into compliance for excursion service. Come on up to the Quad Cities between September 14 and September 17 and ride behind the 6988 and 7081 doubleheaded. All of the equipment will have dutch door type vestibules and an open door concession (baggage) car will be in the train. The Super Dome and Skytop will also be in the consist. If the shop crew at Minneapolis Junction gets a few more days of good weather, a second open baggage car may be in the consist for just watchin' and listenin'........ Tickets are still available through the 261 website at:
www.261.com

As an extra added bonus, it appears that 261 will deadhead the excursion consist to and from Minnepolis immediately after the James J. Hill trips out of Wayzata on September 9 and 10. She will be hot for the whole weekend so you never know what might happen with three locomotives under steam at the same location, at the same time.......

Don C.

Part of the cost analysis that goes into an Amfleet I COTS is, believe it or not, a truck overhaul. The Pioneer-type split truck is not as robust as the old GSI Commonwealth truck, and requires a complete teardown and overhaul every four-five years; while the GSI truck can go 750,000-1,000,000 miles between heavy back shop overhaul. Also, extensive new Federal requirements in 49 CFR 238 and 239 have increased the costs of overhauls to comply with the latest in smoke-flame resistance and emergency escape technologies, which have added costs to any "life-extending" capital overhaul.

MARC Train Service did the same thing with ten old Heritage coaches after 9/11 for evac of Washington, DC. Got a waiver to keep in standby service for shuttles out of DC. These cars no longer met all fire safety regs and were due for heavy capital overhaul (or retirement).

Steve Zuiderveen

the hurricanes will most likely blow stuff down on the tracks