Passenger Trains > car washers

Just  curious about  car  washers.   Can  anyone  say  they  have seen the  Chicago   car  washer  working? Seattle  and  New  Orleans   are  rumored  to  have  new ones. In operation? Summer  travel  coming  and  it  would  be  nice  to see out  the  windows.  
   NPR  did  an aviation  story  this  am.  Some  smaller  cities  that  had  just   enough  business  travel  for  52  seat  air  services  are   not  finding  it   cost   effective  to  return    air  service to  small  markets. Plus  all  the   uncertainty  in  general  many  firms  have   cut  travel expenses.  The  big 4  airlines  are seeing  it  in  revenue  lost. I  kind of  forgot  the  covid  airline  rescue  was  to  the  tune of  50  billion  dollare!!
  Rambling  on!!

Gee, I thought the airline deregulation act, according to the likes of Francisco Lorenzo and Carl Icahn, was going to guarantee air service to small communities...  No?  You mean it was all bullsxxt?  Waddya know...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/25 09:40 by a737flyer.

Imagine that.

a737flyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gee, I thought the airline deregulation act,
> according to the likes of Francisco Lorenzo and
> Carl Icahn, was going to guarantee air service to
> small communities...  No?  You mean it was all
> bullsxxt?  Waddya know...

a737flyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gee, I thought the airline deregulation act,
> according to the likes of Francisco Lorenzo and
> Carl Icahn, was going to guarantee air service to
> small communities...  No?  You mean it was all
> bullsxxt?  Waddya know...

Check more into air service for unerserved areas I guess it could be called. ITS suppored  by us the taxpayer and has been for years and is still going on. Pennair was doing it but pulled out of several areas over night here where I live went broke got the last flight out looked at faces that woke up to the email telling them they would not have a job after that day. Again google that deal to see exactly what it is rather than speculate.

The rebuild of the Chicago yard washer has taken much longer than expected.  It was to be up late last summer, then late fall.  It never opened before the weather got cold. It has been too cold to use during the winter months, if it is finally ready.  The next few weeks should tell us.  I checked with a Chicago area TO member last week and he did not have any info on the Chicago washer.  Let's hope, for a working washer in Chicago will make a big difference.

If it's the same talent rebuilding it that does the loco maint., I wouldn't hold my breath on it working long.

BAB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> a737flyer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Gee, I thought the airline deregulation act,
> > according to the likes of Francisco Lorenzo and
> > Carl Icahn, was going to guarantee air service
> to
> > small communities...  No?  You mean it was
> all
> > bullsxxt?  Waddya know...
>
> Check more into air service for unerserved areas I
> guess it could be called. ITS suppored  by us the
> taxpayer and has been for years and is still going
> on. Pennair was doing it but pulled out of several
> areas over night here where I live went broke got
> the last flight out looked at faces that woke up
> to the email telling them they would not have a
> job after that day. Again google that deal to see
> exactly what it is rather than speculate.

What speculation?  An airline stops serving an airport because there's no profit.  Deregulation was proposed to make certain an airline couldd make a profit by serving communities where there was demand, rather than relying on the government to decide if there was demand.  Apparently there was demand, but the airline couldn't perform and derive a profit, pretty much negating the logic of the deregulation act because here we are right back where we started before deregulation...small communities with no air service.

The Chicago wash is not working yet. It should be "soon". Not sure what progress (if any) was made this winter. 

regalstream1516 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The rebuild of the Chicago yard washer has taken
> much longer than expected.  It was to be up late
> last summer, then late fall.  It never opened
> before the weather got cold. It has been too cold
> to use during the winter months, if it is finally
> ready.  The next few weeks should tell us.  I
> checked with a Chicago area TO member last week
> and he did not have any info on the Chicago
> washer.  Let's hope, for a working washer in
> Chicago will make a big difference.

So how did the private railroads back in the day keep there top passenger cleaned, back in the day? They were certainly clean in winter months, not just summer months. This is just insane. And as reported, the Chicago washer is still not fixed. How is it THIS HARD?

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So how did the private railroads back in the day
> keep there top passenger cleaned, back in the day?
> They were certainly clean in winter months, not
> just summer months. This is just insane. And as
> reported, the Chicago washer is still not fixed.
> How is it THIS HARD?

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH 

Things were a wee bit different 50 years ago.

longliveSP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jp1822 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So how did the private railroads back in the
> day
> > keep there top passenger cleaned, back in the
> day?
> > They were certainly clean in winter months, not
> > just summer months. This is just insane. And as
> > reported, the Chicago washer is still not
> fixed.
> > How is it THIS HARD?
>
> BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH 
>
> Things were a wee bit different 50 years ago.

Yup - that's been Amtrak's response - BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH! Thanks for reiterating that. 

The new Seattle car wash was working, but I don't think it is now.  I've seen lots of really dirty Cascades Horizon trains lately.  One story was that the new washer stripped some sensors off the one Cascades Talgo that's operating now.  The sensors had to be replaced at considerable cost (at least considering the tupe of equipment).  I haven't heard how that's going to be resolved.

The incompetence in Chicago is brutal.  And no one at HQ seems to care, at all.

sethamtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Chicago wash is not working yet. It should be
> "soon". Not sure what progress (if any) was made
> this winter. 

It's not too hard. These systems are built all over the world every day. It's nothing more than off the shelf industrial components assembled to become a system to wash rail cars. Pumps, valves, sensors, brushes, motors, filters, blowers and fabricated structural steel. The problem is it takes want to which Amtrak does not possess. Before Amtrak passenger trains actually ran in the winter even with steam powered and heated equipment the trains weren't cancelled a week ahead of time like Amtrak does today

Thanks  for  all  the  replys.

The dead horse is just a grease spot now, yet the continuing saga of Amjoke not being able to run a car wash, or rebuild one in less than multiple years is something that the general public needs to be informed of.

They that have no shame (Amjoke) still won’t care, but maybe someone who really needs a:
Ass chewing.
Firing.
Public humiliation.
Flogging in the public zeitgeist.
Held accountable.
All the above.

Would finally get their comeuppance.

Not holding my breath in Modern Day North American Railroading.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

I checked out the Lake Shore at Elkhart last night on the camera and the Boston section was spotless, the NYC section also looked clean.  So maybe the LSL is getting washed at the eastern terminus?  I would think most eastern trains (other than maybe the Floridian) could be washed once per round trip and be ok.  Perhaps that is the case.

Chessie1963 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The incompetence in Chicago is brutal.  And no
> one at HQ seems to care, at all.
>
> sethamtrak Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The Chicago wash is not working yet. It should
> be
> > "soon". Not sure what progress (if any) was
> made
> > this winter. 


they probaly got the bid . the contractor is just  maybe said he needs special parts or something, or pipes frooze up in the concrete and went bankrupt or something?

When you put this grouping of words together, most likely nothing positive will come out of it:

Amtrak, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

Except, of course, the bank account of the contractor.