Passenger Trains > VIA Cars leased to Amtrak

Saw on another forum a blurb about VIA cars being made available to Amtrak, on trains 63/64 and 68/69, so that the Amfleet normally used on these consists can be made available to NJ Transit. If anyone sees the VIA cars or picks up any additional information, it will be most welcome.

Andy
Jacksonville, FL

I think it is nothing more than a rumor. They are issues with running VIA Rail cars on those trains, i.e. HEP compatibility with Amtrak engines, required south of Albany.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/12 06:18 by joemvcnj.

at the Canadian-Passenger-Rail Yahoo! Group:

> Due to equipment damage to NJ Transit equipment by Hurricane Sandy,
> (VIA) #68's conductor said Amtrak is giving 4 trainsets to NJ Transit
> to fill their void. He said two of #68/69 trainsets are going and 2
> of the NYC/Toronto sets are going. To replace them, Amtrak is
> leasing about 20 cars from VIA Rail which will be delivered to the
> CP/D&H sometime today (Thu, 15 Nov 2012), don't know how but guessing
> maybe on #252 and will set off at Bluff Point for Amtrak inspection.
> They are going to run power up on Friday to bring the equipment to
> Rensselaer. So we may be seeing VIA Rail equipment on #68 and #69
> starting next week.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think it is nothing more than a rumor. They are
> issues with running VIA Rail cars on those trains,
> i.e. HEP compatibility with Amtrak engines,
> required south of Albany.

VIA cars can operate with Amtrak HEP....I believe the only restriction is they must follow any Amtrak cars in the consist.

This arrangement was initially reported a couple of days after the storm, then later reported to be off when NJT decided they didn't need the cars. May be back on again?

Dave

When the International ran with Tempo and Amfleet cars, Amfleet followed the Tempo cars.
With all Amtrak coaches, they followed the VIA F40.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When the International ran with Tempo and Amfleet
> cars, Amfleet followed the Tempo cars.
> With all Amtrak coaches, they followed the VIA
> F40.

I may have HEP dyslexia :-)

Dave

Isn't it the case that Amtrak HEP requires loop completion to work, whereas VIA does not? Isn't it also the case that these days FRA insists on loop completion in HEP as a safety feature? Or am I remembering something wrong?

here's the link

http://www.telegram.com/article/20121115/NEWS/111159776/1002/business

KansasCityChief Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> here's the link
>
> http://www.telegram.com/article/20121115/NEWS/1111
> 59776/1002/business


I think the correct normal volume through the North River Tunnels is 38 trains per hour, during the peak hours -- not per day.

23 TPH per tube is it.

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> 23 TPH per tube is it.

23tph in the rush direction and some smaller number in the opposite direction. Remember that the tubes are not the bottleneck, but A interlocking at the east end of the tube is.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 23 TPH per tube is it.


The article states the substation's restoration will increase volume from 24 per day to 38 per day. That obviously is NOT right....

They probably added up combined capacity of both tubes, and peak is more service than reverse peak.
For the East River tunnels, the slots are at 3 minutes intervals during the rush, but that is out the window now with basically no signals within the tubes.

A special with two units will be ordered 0600-16 at Schenectady, NY to go and retrieve some equipment at Plattsburg. There is some conflicting info about whether this is new NJT equipment or VIA stuff. Guess we'll know in the morning.

Bill Miller
Galt, ON

special jumper cables required, i am guessing, to run with amtrak hep output.

Well I think NJT does still have cars on order from Bombardier that have not been delivered yet - but not 100% sure.

However, with VIA seemingly having more surplus equipment these days due to various reductions in service, it may be in their best interest to install some sort of hookup with the HEP issue so as to allow potential borrowings to Amtrak. They are certaily going to have a lot of the long distance equipment sitting around, of which Amtrak has on order!

VIA could easily loan some sleepers to Amtrak (revenue or as crew cars), but Amtrak would have to be "ready" to put them in service (training crew how to operate them, maintenance troubleshooting etc.). I am sure the list is pretty long for the more complicated equipment like sleepers that don't have regular service to Canada like the Adirondack or Maple Leaf. At the same token the Lake Shore Limited would run closest to the Canadian border to handle such equipment (via interchange as needed at Buffalo).

Let's see what gets delivered, and even what equipment goes where. I would imagine the NJT's North Jersey Coast Line is going to need equipment the most once it gets running!

I thought the HEP was the same except that VIA keeps the two sides separate and the cars can choose which side to get power from where Amtrak and (presumably most) commuter systems everything is connected together. Is there a difference in the continuity (safety) circuit?

ONR must have cars laying around, but I would not wish those ex-GO carts on anybody. They ride like cinder blocks.

From the Nov 16th NARP hotline:

"An agreement stuck with VIA Rail Canada has secured extra equipment for Amtrak, a key solution to the operational strain faced by the railroad. Amtrak’s Adirondack service will be utilizing two sets of VIA Rail equipment between Albany and Montreal over the next two weeks. The VIA Rail sets will consist of five coaches and one Observation-Dome ‘Park’ Car, which will used as a lounge car. This arrangement will necessitate a cross-platform change at Rensselaer between the VIA Rail equipment and regular Amfleet-equipped trains for the Albany to New York Penn segment."



So I suppose a VIA Rail engine will run north of Albany as well to alleviate the HEP incompatibilities.

Shades of the early Adirondack, when the D&H (or Amtrak) leased 2 CP Skyline Dome Coffee Shops for the start of the service, while the D&H diners and lounges went to rebuild in FL at Hoover Industries. This is even better than the GN Great Dome since it has real dome view and is an obs. Definitely worth a change of trains in my book.