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Passenger Trains > Replacing a wheel set.Date: 10/26/24 06:06 Replacing a wheel set. Author: Englewood The post below about No. 20 leaving a sleeper behind at New Orleans reminded me
of a story of how the GN handled it one night in the Twin Cities. It was heavy pre-amtrak summer travel season. The GN got word that the westbound Empire Builder had a sleeper with a bad wheel. The car would have to be set out. There was not a sleeper in town to replace the bad-order. Solution? Run the Builder through the coach yard, spot the offending truck over the drop table and replace the wheel. Passengers never left the car. All done in less than 30". Date: 10/26/24 07:04 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: Hou74-76 Well that is an enjoyable recount of days long gone. But what I am surprised at, there was no replacement sleeper available in the Twin Cities coach yard! Even then equipment distribution was tight. But really, it is a hard thing to contrast GN operations to Amtrak today. It is all very different now.
Date: 10/26/24 07:59 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: Peter_Hawtrey At least it wasn't put in backwards.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/24 08:00 by Peter_Hawtrey. Date: 10/26/24 09:55 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: dan Hou74-76 Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > Well that is an enjoyable recount of days long > gone. But what I am surprised at, there was no > replacement sleeper available in the Twin Cities > coach yard! Even then equipment distribution was > tight. But really, it is a hard thing to contrast > GN operations to Amtrak today. It is all very > different now. well it sounds like it was just as quick as to wheel swap than switch perhaps leaving that set ready to go west the next day too.. So perhaps they even had a sleeper? and it was not on a spicer axle? Date: 10/26/24 10:11 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: ClubCar Hou74-76 Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > Well that is an enjoyable recount of days long > gone. But what I am surprised at, there was no > replacement sleeper available in the Twin Cities > coach yard! Even then equipment distribution was > tight. But really, it is a hard thing to contrast > GN operations to Amtrak today. It is all very > different now. Yes it is. The wrong people are in charge of Amtrak to begin with and one has to remember that back in those olden days, railroads had a lot more labor available to make those kinds of repairs. Today, these railroads are lean and mean, and in some cases very mean. John in White Marsh, Maryland Date: 10/26/24 12:37 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: Drknow What Englewood is saying is the industry has devolved so much in the last 50 years that it’s almost painful to watch. In my 30ish years it’s devolved, and the future don’t look much better.
Regards Posted from iPhone Date: 10/26/24 15:58 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: Englewood dan Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > well it sounds like it was just as quick as to > wheel swap than switch perhaps leaving that set > ready to go west the next day too.. So perhaps > they even had a sleeper? and it was not on a > spicer axle? The man telling the story was a mechanical foreman involved with the move. If there was a sleeper available he would not have said there was not one available. Those of you who have read my posts on Football Specials, Girl Scout Specials, Thanksgiving consists, etc., would be able to understand how equipment could be in very short supply at times. Date: 10/26/24 16:25 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: PHall So is there a working drop table at New Orleans or not?
Date: 10/27/24 12:55 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: Englewood PHall Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > So is there a working drop table at New Orleans or > not? That is one of the many questions NARP can ask at their next meeting with amtrak. Is there a drop table ? If not, when and why was it removed ? If there is a drop table, is it working ? If it is working why wasn't it used ? If not working, how long has it been out of service and why ? Were there replacement wheels available ? If no wheels available, why not ? At what time was the bad wheel found ? Looking for answers. Date: 10/27/24 15:28 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: jp1822 If Amtrak is going to operate the Crescent with one Viewliner Sleeper and one Viewliner Dorm/Baggage car, then they need to rotate a spare Viewliner in New Orleans for just this reason - of breakdowns. I get that a Viewliner Sleeper won't help with baggage, but baggage can be dealt with in other ways on the train, especially since they hardly carry any baggage on this route to begin with. Amtrak's got 35 Viewliner Sleepers "assigned" while 40 remain sidelined - stored, maintenance reserve, etc. Amtrak can find a Viewliner Sleeper to stash in New Orleans to have as a spare to rotate in/out wile this current mess of "no second Viewliner Sleeper on the Crescent" exists. NUTS to even have this to begin with, but Amtrak is doing this to help fill out the Floridian that is about to launch. That still puts the RESTORATION of the 40 sidelined Viewliner Sleepers into service...............Lets not even talk about restoration of sleepers for the overnight train on the NEC that should have ALREADY been done. Downgrades. Nothing but downgrades for the Crescent - it's schedule, it's removal of coach and sleeper, etc. Took how many years to FINALLY get a Viewliner Diner RESTORED for this train - so ridiculous!
Date: 10/27/24 17:30 Re: Replacing a wheel set. Author: Drknow Amjoke:
Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic since 1971. Regards Posted from iPhone |