Passenger Trains > Dirty Chicago Trains

Why does the Amtrak trains out of Chicago look dirty.
Does the Chicago washer work?
The Portland section of the Empire Builder wont get washed from about now till spring. (no washer in Portland)
The Coast Starlight shines all the time compared to any train out of Chicago.
It will get worse when it Freezes in Chicago.

It appears that the Chicago train washer has not operated in months. In October I rode several trains out of Chicago and the exteriors where filthy. The Portland section of the Empire Building was an embarrassment. I took folk to the Texas Eagle today in Fort Worth. The train was filthy, with weeks of grime on the train and the windows. With the sun on the west windows, the view from inside out was opaque. Obviously, no efforts have been made in Chicago to deal with the filth. I just wonder how many complaints come from riders on this?

Amtrak 7 out of Glenview was remarkably glistening in the afternoon light. Will post later along with video of the Great Dome on the Hiawatha.

Seth-

Probably should note that the Portland section of the Empire Builder and the Texas Eagle do not get washed in Portland or San Antonio, respectively. Trains out of Chicago to LA, EMY, SEA, NYP, NOL and WAS get washed at the end-points. Those trains can look OK if Chicago misses them. But the equipment that turns and end-points with no exterior attention can become disastrous if the cars stay in the same cycle. Milwaukee trains can fall in this trap.

This is the kind of stuff that RPA should address with Amtrak.

RPA does not have a clue of the subject.

does the contract speak to the frequency of washing?

(Chicago's unemployment rate was recently 5.3%, a full 1% point higher than the national US rate. I'm sure there are people who'd love to do the work...)

santa fe would hand wash in the winter

The Chicago wash rack has been down since at least June.

bobs Wrote:
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> The Chicago wash rack has been down since at least
> June.

Something for the co-presidents to look into.
Good things trains don't need de-icing

buy rio grandes from Burnham

The Portland section 27/28 of the Empire Builder is a special case. It is only washed in Chicago as Portland doesn't have a rack. The Seattle section 7/8 is washed daily in Seattle and often in Chicago.

There are many photos around that show a combined train across Montana with half the train shiny and half the train dirty...

Adam

Englewood Wrote:
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> bobs Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The Chicago wash rack has been down since at
> least
> > June.
>
> Something for the co-presidents to look into.
> Good things trains don't need de-icing----------------they might if you run them thru the wash in january, use the warm days, wash cars that are going into the buildings too, build a wash rack building for the apparatous perhaps a blow dry area for winter use right after

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the Chicago wash rack was shut down because it had no water treatment facility and was discharging untreated/unfiltered water into the Chicago River, resulting in substantial fines being imposed.

Discussed here and with some commentary regarding the Chicago River concern.
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3999483

I went through the Chicago car wash with a PV (and the rest of the Amtrak equipment) in either August or September of this year. I did not go through it last weekend.

bobs Wrote:
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> The Chicago wash rack has been down since at least
> June.

I'm pretty sure I've seen trains being run through the wash building as recently as October.

bobs Wrote:
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> The Chicago wash rack has been down since at least
> June.


It was being used in mid October