Passenger Trains > California Chargers on the San Joaquin

As mentioned below, the Chargers have started testing in Northern California. Yesterday was the first day out, but I did not find out about it until it was too late. I was hoping they would run on Amtrak San Joaquin 710 again this morning. Under cloudy skies, two Charger units assist Amtrak #7 on train #710 at Nichols (Bay Point, CA). The Chargers are not certified to lead yet, so they are breaking in as helpers.

Photo #1-4 : Coming and Going at Nichols Rd. as the train just starts its long run along the BNSF.

Gary

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Thanks for Looking.

Gary

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I like how the SC-44s blend in behind the P42.
And with the Single Level Cars.

Were both SC-44s running?

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

Yes, they were all running. Must have made for a quick start up from a station stop. I don't know if these were the same two that ran yesterday, but I would think so.

Gary

Posted from iPhone

What a miss mash mixup of equipment & paint. Nothing matches (flows together), good grief what a strange sight.

You mean like the last days of the SP's passenger "service?"

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Yep. Just like every long distance train leaving Chicago with the new baggage cars with the old (new?) three stripe scheme and the wave nonsense on the locomotives that never matched anything in either color or design. BTW, those new expensive bag cars are being used on the Chicago to Carbondale trains as fillers to make the "axle count" much as they are on the St. Louis to Kansas City service.

MWP

EMD2024 Wrote:
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> Yep. Just like every long distance train leaving
> Chicago with the new baggage cars with the old
> (new?) three stripe scheme and the wave nonsense
> on the locomotives that never matched anything in
> either color or design. BTW, those new expensive
> bag cars are being used on the Chicago to
> Carbondale trains as fillers to make the "axle
> count" much as they are on the St. Louis to Kansas
> City service.
>
> MWP

Recall that Amtrak changed the order to have more baggage cars than baggage/dorm cars because there would be more demand for baggage cars in consists!!! A Boardman blunder in my opinion, but hopefully I'll be proven wrong. However, seems as if Amtrak should have stuck with the initial order of how things were divided up between baggage, baggage/dorms, diners, and sleepers - regardless of the Trump budget with things zeroed out and LD trains hanging in the rafters.