Passenger Trains > See America By Train

Through a layer of dirt. The Builder and both Hiawatha sets this afternoon out of Chicago. 

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This was literally the tag line I received yesterday in some e-mail advertisement for "Amtrak Vacations." Amtrak still has a marketing wing (yes, it's outsourced now) pushing both corridor and LD "see the nation" and "travel by train." Maybe the marketers who are pushing these tours first, as they may think otherwise. Some of us know how to "give Amtrak a pass" on some of this stuff, but new travellers are not going to be as forgiving.....I cringe at some of the things being advertised, while knowing Amtrak is going to come up short. Not the storyline ANYONE Is looking for, but unfortunately, it's become a bit predictable.  

Highly important test dirt.

Posted from Android

maybe the washer doesn't work in Chicago reliably?

The washer is on the south side. The Hiawatha's are based out of the north side of the station. Empire Builder equipment "runs through." It was noted that a few Empire Builder train sets seemed "washed." So perhaps not all equipment on the north side has rotated through to the south side of the station........Just a though!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/24 16:44 by jp1822.

jp1822 Wrote:
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> The washer is on the south side. The Hiawatha's
> are based out of the north side of the station.
> Empire Builder equipment "runs through." It was
> noted that a few Empire Builder train sets seemed
> "washed." So perhaps not all equipment on the
> north side has rotated through to the south side
> of the station........Just a though!

I have not seen any "washed" Builder set recently. I see the train a twice or three times weekly. Builder has nearly a 24 hour layover. No excuses as to why they cannot take a few extra minutes during the wye to run through the wash rack. 

The Hiawatha has an overnight in the Chicago yard from 9:30pm to 5:30am. Each set is down there every other night. Three Chicago overnights per set per week. 

cabsignaldrop Wrote:
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> Highly important test dirt.
>
Perhaps it's load-bearing sludge.  Removing it would cause the equipment to fall apart.

sethamtrak Wrote:
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> jp1822 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The washer is on the south side. The Hiawatha's
> > are based out of the north side of the station.
> > Empire Builder equipment "runs through." It was
> > noted that a few Empire Builder train sets
> seemed
> > "washed." So perhaps not all equipment on the
> > north side has rotated through to the south
> side
> > of the station........Just a though!
>
> I have not seen any "washed" Builder set recently.
> I see the train a twice or three times
> weekly. Builder has nearly a 24 hour layover. No
> excuses as to why they cannot take a few extra
> minutes during the wye to run through the wash
> rack. 
>
> The Hiawatha has an overnight in the Chicago yard
> from 9:30pm to 5:30am. Each set is down there
> every other night. Three Chicago overnights per
> set per week. 

Saw an Empire Builder train set - Monday or Tuesday - pass-through my neck of the woods that appeared to be pretty clean this past week. Granted it was a cloudy day......But that should have made it stand out even more......I would think......... 

I had forgotten about the top secret load bearing sludge project. Adds weight and stability to the cars.🤣


garrett Wrote:
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> cabsignaldrop Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Highly important test dirt.
> >
> Perhaps it's load-bearing sludge.  Removing it
> would cause the equipment to fall apart.

Posted from Android

Think about all the money they save by not washing.  Cost reduction anyone?

Andy

One time, on a longer distance trip, I had brought WINDEX and paper towels with me while on a Superliner.  I had a lower room.  It drove the employees nuts when I got out and cleaned my window, as if I was stealing their job.  A few other passengers asked me to do theirs, too!

I'd love to figure out a way to clean the 2nd level windows....

There’s no excuse for that, at all. I wash every Zephyr in Oakland on my yard job now and when I started at NRPC back in ‘86 out of Chicago we washed all of the trains there— sad to see now.
Maybe the Penn Central ran cleaner consists?!? I’m old, but not quite old enough to remember that…

If the washers are down or not in operation there’s no reason why the windows couldn’t be cleaned by the turnaround crew.

IC_2024 Wrote:
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> There’s no excuse for that, at all. I wash
> every Zephyr in Oakland on my yard job now and
> when I started at NRPC back in ‘86 out of
> Chicago we washed all of the trains there— sad
> to see now.
> Maybe the Penn Central ran cleaner consists?!?
> I’m old, but not quite old enough to remember
> that…

Yes Penn Central was cleaner than these! Just sad.

Posted from iPhone

sethamtrak Wrote:
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> Through a layer of dirt. The Builder and both
> Hiawatha sets this afternoon out of Chicago. 

Since you live in Illinois, why don’t to contact IDOT and ask why this situation is allowed to persist? It’s a terrible image for the service. The new cars don’t look new with all this grime on them.

Posted from iPhone

This Brings up a great point.
How about we carry a spray bottle of Glass Spray and some towels so we can wash the dirty windows.
This could be something for locals to do. 
Or as passengers, we could clean the windows to get a free ride?
Would this help?

We need to do this the Bureaucratic Way!
Let's appoint a committee., Have a few meetings in Chicago. This will give us all a chance to ride the trains to Chicago. Let's get rooms say by the Furniture Mart. Great meals can be had at the Webber Kettle. 
This appears to need about two weeks so we can evaluate window cleaning solutions, application devices, and drying towels.
After this, we can publish a document to forward the findings.
For God's Sake, W cannot have folks climbing ladders in Rocky Icy Conditions.