Passenger Trains > Your Standard Silver Star

Train 92 of the 16th approaches it's station stop in Southern Pines NC on Tuesday May 17th, 2022, at 0847 - roughly 2 hours late.  The 13 car consist is the typical make up of the Star these days.  

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Nice.  I am  sure  there is  a  reason  why  baggage  on the  rear.  Coach  # 1  might  just  be  a  bit  noisy!!  Hope  they  can feed  all those people  in that  one  diner!!

Thanks for the up to date shots.
Here in Florida its a little after twelve
The train lost nearly two hours between
Winter Haven and Lakeland,ony about
thirty miles.


Uncle Joe
Seffner 

 

cutboy1958 Wrote:
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>   I am  sure  there is  a  reason  why
>  baggage  on the  rear.  Coach  # 1  might
>  just  be  a  bit  noisy!!  

Even before this meteor /star combo, the "regular" silver starvation had the baggage on the rear.  At some places (Cary NC) (and Raleigh before the new station) they had to spot up twice.  I mean how dumb is that?  I doubt the new Raleigh station platform length allows them to work everything all at one time.  Just makes no seNSe to me.

I hope the first coach is for shorts; no way could anyone handle the horn
blaring for 24+ hours.

nsrlink Wrote:
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> Even before this meteor /star combo, the "regular"
> silver starvation had the baggage on the rear. 
> At some places (Cary NC) (and Raleigh before the
> new station) they had to spot up twice.  I mean
> how dumb is that?  I doubt the new Raleigh
> station platform length allows them to work
> everything all at one time.  Just makes no seNSe
> to me.

If there is any sleeping car traffic on or off at Southern Pines, double station stop is required regardless.

Posted from iPhone

The original reason for the baggage car on the rear of the Star was for the convenience of working the baggage car at Tampa. I never heard a good reason for this other than the train is backed into the stub-end station and apparently it was thought it was a long way up a narrow platform to reach the baggage car. Somehow this always seemed silly as baggage cars had been on the front end of trains since the station was built in the early 20th Century and somehow the system always seemed to work.

But, alas, someone in management always thinks they have a better idea.

Tampa seemed to be the template for both of the Florida trains having trailing baggage cars and then other routes following the example, regrettably.
 

There's been other explanations given about why the baggage car is on the rear, but none really make a lot of sense to me either. The more popular two that I have heard 1) easier for switching maneuvers, and 2) the rear Viewliner Sleeper fish tailed a lot so the baggage car became the rear-most car so as to prevent that from becoming a passenger inconvenience. But the horn buffering isn't? Again, not my explanations, only what's circled around. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me..... 

> At some places (Cary NC) (and Raleigh before the new station) they had to spot up twice.  I
> mean how dumb is that? I doubt the new Raleigh station platform length allows them to work
> everything all at one time. Just makes no seNSe to me.

Passenger platform at the new Raleigh station is 900 ft. This is slightly longer than the platform at the ex-Southern station it replaced and slightly shorter than the 1942 ex-SAL station. Double-stopping at Raleigh goes back to SAL/SCL, and nobody worried about it back then. Cary's platform is just half that, but only locals stopped at Cary in SAL/SCL days. Back then, Cary had a few thousand residents. Today, the town is pushing 200,000. The Silver Star didn't begin stopping at Cary until 2006. It is what it is. 

The ACL platform at Rocky Mount used to be 1600 ft, the longest in the state at that time. The platform is only 900 ft now. 

Not exactly burning up the rails there!

mp51w Wrote:
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> Not exactly burning up the rails there!

We’ll, he is less than a quarter mile from a station stop, so…..

Posted from iPhone