Passenger Trains > Carl Sandberg ... Amtrak blew it

I rode the first run of train #381, the Carl Sandberg, from Galesburg to Quincy Illinois today.

The exterior of the train was filthy. Is it too much to hope that it could have been run through a wash rack prior to leaving Chicago?

The Galesburg RR Museum had a special banner up, welcoming the Carl Sandberg.

Reason I say this, is that upon our arrival in Quincy, the Mayor of Quincy, both local TV stations, one radio station, the local newspaper, Chamber of Commerce reps, etc., were on hand to greet the arriving train and passengers. Brochures on Quincy and other trinkets were passed out. I was interviewed by one of the local stations (don't worry, I didn't slam Amtrak).

Our delay due to BNSF track work west of Macomb was unavoidable, but it sure would have been nice if the consist would have been able to make a good first impression....

Regards,
Burlington John

Yeah, I must say i expected them to try and make a better first impression. I would've guessed that they would've sent a freshly-rebuilt engine on the train, but that's too much to ask.

The return trip to Chicago tonight(Tr. 382) left Quincy some 50 ,inutes late. It left Galesburg 1hr., 16 mins. late, Not only is the train dirty but also late. Not a good beginning but perhaps Illinois officials wil get Amtrak to at least clean the equipment.

That is exactly the kind of thing that is inexcusable.

Everybody knows that on the first day of operation there will be press and media all over the place. It has been that way for over 100 years.

And they should have bribed the BNSF to postpone track work for one day, so that on time performance was guaranteed.

This is beyond stupid - running a consist on its first day of service in a dirty condition.

I bet it's also the slackers who got the train ready that always screwed up No. 3 that always pissed ABQ off when it got in back in the summer!

Is this more evidence that:

(1) Amtrak is a failed transportation model.
(2) Amtrak is financially stressed to the point that it is running too many services for the funding made available.

No.

HORIZON looks dirty from the day ordered. The car body seems to scratch and catch dirt. Windows??

cutboy2 Wrote:
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> No.


Great. So I guess it means that Amtrak is incompetent and/or doesn't care, sort of like a person showing up for an office job interview in jeans.

How can one help an entity that is engaged in such self-destructive behavior?

Honestly Y'all don't work in the yard for Amtrak y'all shouldn't talk. If you don't do the work, how can you imagine what it takes to prepair the trains for daily use. Furthermore the poor exterior of the horizons is not designed to look like polished chrome. Stop comparing apples to oranges and get your own hands dirty, do something constructive. Talk is cheap espeically on the internet. Do something to change the situation. Anyone can sit on their can and say how they would do it better. If you can go do it better then get going!

amtrak1007 Wrote:
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> Honestly Y'all don't work in the yard for Amtrak
> y'all shouldn't talk. If you don't do the work,
> how can you imagine what it takes to prepair the
> trains for daily use. Furthermore the poor
> exterior of the horizons is not designed to look
> like polished chrome. Stop comparing apples to
> oranges and get your own hands dirty, do something
> constructive. Talk is cheap espeically on the
> internet. Do something to change the situation.
> Anyone can sit on their can and say how they would
> do it better. If you can go do it better then get
> going!

Many of us are doing something...like lobbying our reps for more funding for passenger rail and structural changes that will get rid of the parties responsible for this type of poor performance.

Dave

Good advice. Riding trains, writing congress, all are important. When boarding an ACELA in Boston back in August, the train was so filthy on the exterior that I went out and washed my window. Thank goodness for high level platforms. So, I got my hands dirty, too!

Bandob

mp16 Wrote:
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> The return trip to Chicago tonight(Tr. 382) left
> Quincy some 50 ,inutes late. It left Galesburg
> 1hr., 16 mins. late, Not only is the train dirty
> but also late. Not a good beginning but perhaps
> Illinois officials wil get Amtrak to at least
> clean the equipment.

A review of the 381-382 schedule will suggest that if 381 is late arriving Quincy, save a few minutes, so will be the departure of 382. The reason is that the Chicago based Train & Engine crew need, under Hours of Service Law, to have a "short rest' ("respite on some roads) at Quincy before returning to duty. The short rest can best be described as a "time out". Even though the total time on duty, i.e. at the throttle, cannot exceed 12 hours, the not less than 4hr short rest enables the 'clock' to stop while the rest is in progress. The rest must be in a "suitable lodging' facility, which has been interpreted to mean a hotel room.

But I certainly agree with other comments regarding cleanliness of 381(30) made here. As I noted at other postings, I observed the consist yesterday passing MP 18.00 and was appalled that even for opening day, the cars assigned could not have had an E-Cleaning prior to the run.

Come on - run them through the car washer - New Jersey Transit's comet cars (similar to Amtrak's Horizon fleet) don't look as dirty as some Horizon cars. Yes, they are still not going to glow and sparkle. And granted, New Jersey Transit may have a better environment in running their cars (i.e. less dirt flying around on the NEC than on the Midwest routes). But these cars could have gone through a cleaning for an inaugural run. Amtrak's touting state-supported corridor service growth - so they should be expected to deliver on that. And I've also gotten out and cleaned my train window - mostly on Amtrak's Adirondack train.

Hoizon (Amtrak), Comet (NJT), and Shoreliner (MNRR) do not come out "clean" when run through a conventional washer. They have a rough, brushed, aluminum finsish that requires a chemical bath to get the imbedded grime off. They need to either go through that process periodically, which I am sure is expensive, or they need to be painted. Notice the London Underground cars are all painted now.

Well then New Jersey Transit does one heck of a job keeping their Comet cars clean from outside to windows. The nearly daily Comet trainset that I take on NJT - I can only guess they wash this at Sunnyside or Mother Nature runs its course.

> Do something to change the situation.
> Anyone can sit on their can and say how they would
> do it better. If you can go do it better then get
> going!

I've gotta say I've never understood this logic. In effect you're saying that nobody should comment about anything until they have tried to improve it. Therefore, I should run for President of the US to fix the country's problems, Governor of California to fix the state's problems, Head of Amtrak to fix its problems, and on and on and on, before I can comment about the performance of the folks presently in those positions?

All I am saying is that we can all sit here and monday morning quarterback real life, which is all fine and good, but it never ends. The shoulda, woulda, coulda, Amtrak the government money pit, Amtrak the poorly managed social experement, the end never comes. Just for once I would like to see someone working with not working against reality. I endorse and congradulate those amung us who take the inicaitive to write your cogressmen to support Amtrak. I know that I do not have the end all answer for antidote for what is ailing Amtrak, however, I do attempt to do my best to observe the internal workings of the organization for knowledge for the day that I can make use of the knowledge to better the organization. I know that we all cannot possibly have the same calling in life. So all I can say is do what you can when ever you can no matter how small or big, all actions can have benifits.