Passenger Trains > FL9s may return to Amtrak service

Former New Haven FL9s now owned by the State of Connecticut may be returning to
Amtrak service.

Amtrak is planning a return to Grand Central Terminal during this summer's
major Penn Station trackwork project. For emergencies, there must be an
exit from a train in the Park Avenue Tunnel. On the outside tracks, side
doors cannot be used. Passengers can be evacuated through the rear door
of the train but the engineer has no way out on Amtrak's P32AC-DMs because
there is no nose door.

The plan is to lease MARC cab cars to lead. Trains will be turned at
Grand Central Terminal so the cab cars lead all the time. But there are
not enough MARC cab cars available to Amtrak, so currently-unservicable
FL-9s are under consideration for rehabilitation as cab cars for this use.
MARC cab cars have end doors; FL-9s have nose doors.

The work to adapt the ConnDOT FL-9s to cab cars, if this happens,
is to be done at Rensselaer shops, not Beech Grove.

Metro-North P32AC-DM engines can operate in the Park Avenue
tunnel because theirs were ordered with nose doors. But they
are unavaliable to Amtrak.

And, for those who are wondering, the Lake Shore Limited is planned
to run to BOSTON during the Penn Station project...no New York section.

I assume the combined Adirondack & Maple Leaf will run via New Rochelle ?

I made my August reservation on the Lake Shore to take the prior Empire Corridor train at 3:15pm to Albany, then switch to the Boston Biz class. Then I am not caught in the crowd transferring.

Doesn't the Morristown & Erie currently have two operational FL-9 units? They were used on the Maine Eastern tourist service.

Explain again why the LSL can't run into Grand Central -- they did it last time
(nobody in their right mind will travel from Chicago to NY via Boston)

also, detouring NY-Albany trains via New Rochelle is an extremely time consuming routing - it will take house

there must be a better way -- for example, of transferring affected Amtrak passengers to Metro-North commuter trains -maybe even run busses from Albany into N.Y.

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Explain again why the LSL can't run into Grand
> Central -- they did it last time
> (nobody in their right mind will travel from
> Chicago to NY via Boston)

It has to be serviced. GCT can't do anything. It will have to be a separate ALB-GCT shuttle train. What was "last time" ?

> also, detouring NY-Albany trains via New Rochelle
> is an extremely time consuming routing - it will
> take house

Yes

> there must be a better way -- for example, of
> transferring affected Amtrak passengers to
> Metro-North commuter trains -maybe even run busses
> from Albany into N.Y.

How is that better ?

Does the Lake Shore Limited carry a lot of passengers connecting to or from other trains at NY Penn?

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> so currently-unservicable
> FL-9s are under consideration for rehabilitation
> as cab cars for this use.

I never could figure out why some "serviceable" locomotives
are listed as "unservicable".

/Mitch

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Metro-North P32AC-DM engines can operate in the
> Park Avenue
> tunnel because theirs were ordered with nose
> doors.

Never noticed a "door" on a P32AC-DM. Is this what
the small square "hatch" is above the headlight?

More of an emergency type escape hatch than a door?

/Mitch

Mgoldman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GenePoon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > so currently-unservicable
> > FL-9s are under consideration for
> rehabilitation
> > as cab cars for this use.
>
> I never could figure out why some "serviceable"
> locomotives
> are listed as "unservicable".
>
> /Mitch

Insurance, taxes, etc.

In response to a private-message inquiry...others may want to know:

The consists of the Amtrak trains using Grand Central will be: the
cab car or nonpowered FL-9 leading; Amtrak P32AC-DM, unoccupied,
providing traction and head-end power behind; and
the passenger cars behind that. These will not be push-pull
consists. They will turn at Grand Central and the cab car or
FL-9 will lead in both directions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/18 22:43 by GenePoon.

Can someone tell me why the FL9s have the be humiliated into cab-cars? What's wrong with their motive power? I lived in the NYC area many years before immigrating to California, and rode in passengers coaches behind many an FL9. They do just fine and in fact can get up to 110mph. I know that because I once rode from Boston to Stamford behind an FL9 in the 1970s and timed the train between mile posts in Rhode Island. Back in the day, the engineers didn't care that much about speed limits...they just wanted to be on time!

They're 60 years old. Lucky they can be used as cab cars and haven't gone to Naparona.

Many engineers today would like to follow the rules, stay safe, and return home to their families.

Not dodge computer monitored speed checks, weed weasels, etc.

Posted from Android

DavidJustinLynch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Can someone tell me why the FL9s have the be
> humiliated into cab-cars? What's wrong with their
> motive power? I lived in the NYC area many years
> before immigrating to California, and rode in
> passengers coaches behind many an FL9. They do
> just fine and in fact can get up to 110mph. I know
> that because I once rode from Boston to Stamford
> behind an FL9 in the 1970s and timed the train
> between mile posts in Rhode Island. Back in the
> day, the engineers didn't care that much about
> speed limits...they just wanted to be on time!

They haven’t used them regularly in years. Frankly, it’s amazing they haven’t been scrapped.

Are you ok with trains flying off the track due to overspeed? That’s what happenes when speed limits are ignored.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For
> emergencies, there must be an
> exit from a train in the Park Avenue Tunnel. On
> the outside tracks, side
> doors cannot be used. Passengers can be evacuated
> through the rear door
> of the train but the engineer has no way out on
> Amtrak's P32AC-DMs because
> there is no nose door.
>

If Amtrak trains were restricted to only Tracks 1 and 2 in the Park Avenue Tunnel (these two tracks are in a single tunnel, tracks 3 is in its own tunnel, as is track 4) the need for a nose door exit is unnecessary. Side door exit from track 1 or 2 is possible once the other track is closed and third rail is dead. Perhaps Metro North will not approve this operating restriction.

Using the FL9 as a cab car is a good idea. With the P32AC-DM as locomotive the FL9 is only needed as a cab car and money does not have to be spent to make the FL9 serviceable as a locomotive.

A combined Maple Leaf and Adirondack will be a 10 - 11 car train. They are going to have to do something unique with that.
NY - MTR running time will be 12+ hours. They are going to lose some business.