America's first bullet train has begun getting scrapped, an image of part of a coach being hauled off has been circulating the internet. Unfortunately there still don't seem to be any discussion about preservation only a bunch of old people who only care about saving what they and their papa used to watch and wondering why they are not relevant. I know if this was an RS3 that switched hoppers at such and such grain elevator people clamoring all over the place to save it.

Nobody here would advocate against not saving one of these, but I imagine Amtrak wanting to scrap them instead of giving them to a museum somewhere.
Just like second generation diesels, I have a feeling that there'll be a huge gap in preserved equipment from this current era in the future.
I suspect museum folks in the distant future will ask what folks like us were thinking at the time.

Copied and pasted from Train Odors:
"AFAIK, scrapping of the four trainsets stored at Bear, DE since the beginning of the pandemic has not begun. What you saw on the lowboy was one of three carbody shells that were delivered with the project. They were used for interior design mock-ups as changes were made through the years. There was talk on my watch a few years back of making them roadworthy for use as spares but the cost to do so was excessive and the idea was quickly dismissed. With the arrival of next-gen equipment, these shells are no longer needed and the disposal of them that you witnessed has begun. Track Geometry car 10003 which is still part of the active fleet and inserted in a trainset once per month for a round trip WAS-BOS is likely to meet the same fate soon as technology has progressed to the point where it is no longer needed."
Far, far too early to panic about an Acela being saved. But the problem we will have several years down the road is the same with any permanently-coupled set (e.g. I am thinnking of the Santa Fe's revolutionary "ten-pack", which cut the tare weight for piggyback and lowered the wind resistance at the same time): where do you put it?

Interestingly, all retired versions of the Shinkansen have at least one car in preservation. The pride in having something home designed and built that greatly improves peoples' lives shows in the efforts to save these train cars and sets for future generations to appreciate. I can't wait until they get the L0 series going in 2027. I remember being fascinated while reading about Maglev technology in the '70s. Imagine, 310 mph in a train. Of course I had hoped it would be built here in the US.

Give them time. The Acela II's are not yet ready for service

Phil Mulligan

Any chance of saving track car #10003, as well as #10002 Corridor Clipper? Also would like to see the "Conference Car" saved as well. I've been very sad about what has become of Bill Kratville's car #10000 in recent years, used by Amtrak as a business car for many years early on. I know they're oddball cars, but they are part of Amtrak's story.

Almost all of these you listed are still in active service, and will likely be for a while.

AMTK 10000 is currently being stored in Whiteland, Indiana and is for sale for 40k.
https://ozarkmountainrailcar.com/railEq ... &search=IN

From my understanding from friends, and this photo, this was actually a test bed Acela set. It was never used in Revenue service. However I am not an Amtrak expert, so if anyone can back this claim up please do so because I don't want to unintentionally spread misinformation

Not to hijack this thread (which I'm doing of course) but I think I saw Amtrak 10000 at Hunter's Point shipyard years ago with the stainless steel fluting removed and the rotten steel underneath being restored. Does anybody else remember that?

I'm talking about when they do come up for retirement down the road.

So here we are the new trains have started entering service. And I still haven't heard why you can't just pull one of these (preferably a shortened train-set) with a HEP equipped locomotive.

Look at the most recent picture of the car on Ozark Mountain. In addition to all of the cards stacked against it already, now you’ll also have to contend with damage on the platform end. Geez.

Where would you suggest it run? They REQUIRE high level boarding platforms. That's not even getting into the supply of antique and unobtanium maintenance parts.

One of my favorite posters always has the same question for the PRR T1 new build 5550.

There are ironic parallels in that equipment designed for top of the line high speed service does not transition down to secondary service as well as lesser, more universal equipment. Such as T1's were set aside before K4's

Brian Helfrich

I'm afraid you don't understand how this works.

First. not everything can be saved.

Second, not everything SHOULD be saved.

Third, what is saved is most likely due to three factors: extraordinary personal interest of a person or small group who have enough indulgence capital to expend on it. (Nelson Blount), the ability to be redeployed and remain economically viable in reuse with the possibility of utilizing upgraded components without becoming unrecognizable. (your RS-3, as well as hundreds of Geeps, Centercabs, etc) or blind luck.

Some artifacts, such as the "NKP 190" have been the beneficiary of all three fortunes.

The reality is, the ACELA only merits preservation as an exhibition of failure. Unlike the "choo choo", it offers no emotional or broad personal connection, no great place in history.

Even if there's a well-heeled institution or one with a well-heeled donor with the space to make a static exhibit willing to acquire and transport it, they have to consider its attractiveness as an exhibit, and the opportunity cost of tie up space that might be used for something else.

And there's the modernity paradox. The newer it is the harder to preserve. There's plenty of P-51's flying. F-4's? A few flying for Iran. F-14's, ditto. Soon they will be parked or destroyed in combat. When the last F-22 Raptor runs out of flight time, there might be a couple saved, but none will fly.

I'm pretty certain that 90% of equipment at railroad museums doesn't run and just sits there. If you're looking at just playing trains and making money, then the only units of interest would be low horsepower Geeps and switchers. If you're looking at running strictly prototypical accurate trains for such and such a time period, then you are fighting a uphill battle with parts and expertise becoming more and more scarce.