Passenger Trains > Chicago comes through again

The length of delay here is minor and I am sure some apologists
will say this is unimportant and doesn't matter on a long run such
as the Zephyr's. But it need not have happened at all:

California Zephyr 5(22) took a 25 minute delay at Winnemucca to pump
sewage holding tanks on three coaches that Chicago failed to pump:
34034, 34080, 32044.

Winnemuckraker!

What were conditions like on the train?

Anyone wish to place odds that Amtrak will even inquire as to why this happened in Chicago?

I can't imagine the smell was pleasant for people in the three coaches, especially on the lower level.

Some of these cars smell so bad from sewage, it almost knocks you off your feet when the train comes down the platform.
I always wondered why they don't have holding tank chemical like the tour buses have?

Such specific train and specific cars should not be hard for Chicago to figure out who did not do their job......

mp51w Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some of these cars smell so bad from sewage, it
> almost knocks you off your feet when the train
> comes down the platform.
> I always wondered why they don't have holding tank
> chemical like the tour buses have?

That is likely the result of a toilet being flushed.  Being vacuum toilets, that air has to exhaust somewhere... and it sure does stink when it does!

Amfleet cars used to have the "blue goo" toilets, but have been converted to the vacuum style.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/16 01:24 by MaryMcPherson.

Blue water toilets barely last a day... based on the excursions I've worked. You still want to pump the vacuum cars each day but they don't seem to get so rasty in the afternoon. ...

Posted from Android

Unfortunately Gene is way off base again, posting on something he isn't qualified on.
Superliner cars have a vacuum/flush system, plus a macerator and two holding tank system.
The second holding tank has a valve connected to the wheel slip suppression system which will not let the second tank dump the shredded contents when it fills up, until the train reaches 30 mph.
In the electric compartment of each car is an "inhibit" switch which prevents the cars from dumping.  If this switch is left in the wrong position, the car will not dump, and after both tanks fill up, the entire system stops operating.
There is another switch that will cause the system to dump at any time.
In normal operation, the cars are never pumped!

From my experience in over three years as an SP traveling electrician on Amtrak, Superliners won't go more than 10-12 hours without dumping, which means that the cars couldn't have left Chicago partly full, and gotten near to Winnemucca before failing!
G

The ORIGINAL Superliner waste system retained the material, partially treated, until the train reached 30mph, then sprayed it onto the roadbed for disposal.

The Superliner II system, and that retrofitted to original Superliners, is full retention.

If you worked on them as an SP employee, you most likely worked on the original Superliner I system.  Which means you probably are not qualified on currently-operating Superliners.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/16 22:52 by GenePoon.

Superliner I and II now have identical systems.  Leaving Chicago empty, they will make New Orleans without needing to be dumped unless you have a car packed with people suffering from the flu.  This is fortunate, as there are intermediate places they can be dumped.  The western trains are outside my area of expertise.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

I still can hear in my brain the sound systems on the original Superliner-I toilets. You could hear them a mile away. I think one of the model train manufactures came up with a sound system to mimic them.

I've heard the CZ has toilet problems a lot because the vacuum systems do not much like thinner air of higher elevations. It usually takes a sewer truck about a half a minute to blow them out to get them to work again.

Was much easier when it was dumped on the tracks!!!!!!!

 

Another story of delay that just can't be the fault of Chicago in the minds of some. If you really know Chicago YD, then you know they have cut jobs like crazy during the recent budget crunch and this should be expected as SOP. Did anyone mention that mgt (B.Sheezet) has cut Red Caps by 50%.. Highball the Victory Train!