Passenger Trains > Hiawatha-Borealis 332

Train 332 arrives and departs from Glenview, IL this morning around 9:15. It had two snack coaches, one went bad at some point when I was out of town last week. They had time to add a replacement but not drop the bad order. So they did at least 1 trip up to St Paul and back with a four car set. As of this morning, 517 was dropped and replaced with 514 for train 1333. 

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332 departing. 

1333 departing with the bad order coach cafe dropped and 517 swapped for 514. 

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Thanks for sharing.

I wish Amtrak had built a bigger fleet of those locomotives which are still ticking, but I think they give some clues as to what diesels Amtrak should be acquiring for conventional trains.

The P42s could have been rebuilt with 12cyl Gevos for 1/3 less than a new Chancer and far more reliable and supportable, but that wouldn't have been flashy enough for the suits.

PumpkinHogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The P42s could have been rebuilt with 12cyl Gevos
> for 1/3 less than a new Chancer and far more
> reliable and supportable, but that wouldn't have
> been flashy enough for the suits.

No, the P42 body cannot accept a GEVO prime mover. This has been know for years which is why the desire for a new high horsepower locomotive was created. Amtrak would’ve rebuilt the P42s if they could accept it.

AmtrakMidwest Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No, the P42 body cannot accept a GEVO prime mover.
> This has been know for years which is why the
> desire for a new high horsepower locomotive was
> created. Amtrak would’ve rebuilt the P42s if
> they could accept it.

Maybe the perceived need for a high horsepower locomotive for conventional trains is a fallacy on Amtrak's part. If they shot for something that was the equivalent of a modern day E9 (with a single prime mover though), putting two locomotives on most every train would make sense.

I think the two 35000 series cars were assigned to the Heartland Flyer for a while

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

Switching would require effort, something sorely lacking anymore.

The big question is, did they expand inventory as a result of it?

sethamtrak Wrote:
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> They had time to add a
> replacement but not drop the bad order. 

Wabtec has proven they can work wonders. Amtrak isn't interested in anything tried and true.

Carbody design could accommodate a possibly taller prime mover as the roof center sections are not integral to the frame.

The 12 cylinder GEVO diesel is 3000 pounds lighter than the 16 cylinder FDL, so weight wasn't an issue. 
 

AmtrakMidwest Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PumpkinHogger Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The P42s could have been rebuilt with 12cyl
> Gevos
> > for 1/3 less than a new Chancer and far more
> > reliable and supportable, but that wouldn't
> have
> > been flashy enough for the suits.
>
> No, the P42 body cannot accept a GEVO prime mover.
> This has been know for years which is why the
> desire for a new high horsepower locomotive was
> created. Amtrak would’ve rebuilt the P42s if
> they could accept it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/25 20:36 by PumpkinHogger.

PumpkinHogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wabtec has proven they can work wonders. Amtrak
> isn't interested in anything tried and true.
>
> Carbody design could accomadate a possibly taller
> prime move as the roof center sections are not
> integral to the frame.

Good point. You look at the adaptions which both builders make to export units, some narrow gauge. I envision possibly a drop frame. My guess is that would result in a lower center of gravity. I think that would be a good thing.

A model in the catalog is not necessary. If one goes to a builder and says I want to order twenty locomotives with options for another forty and this is what I have in mind, that is when the design process starts.

Even though the SD70MACH locomotives were rebuilds, I'd like to know who the person was that came up with the idea.

PumpkinHogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Switching would require effort, something sorely
> lacking anymore.
>
> The big question is, did they expand inventory as
> a result of it?
>
> sethamtrak Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > They had time to add a
> > replacement but not drop the bad order. 

Since 332 arrives and flips to 1333 an hour and 1/2 later, anytime a consist change is required, 1333 is at risk of a late departure. In this case, I believe they did it Thursday. 1333 left an hour and 1/2 late. So 3 hours to cut in the new snack coach. If they dropped the old one they may have needed four hours. 

Borealis kinda sucks. Never goes to the Chicago yard since it is also trains 332 and 341. Gotta delay a train to make any consist changes. And it will never get washed unless they build a wash in St Paul. 

sethamtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PumpkinHogger Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Switching would require effort, something
> sorely
> > lacking anymore.
> >
> > The big question is, did they expand inventory
> as
> > a result of it?
> >
> > sethamtrak Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > They had time to add a
> > > replacement but not drop the bad order. 
>
> Since 332 arrives and flips to 1333 an hour and
> 1/2 later, anytime a consist change is required,
> 1333 is at risk of a late departure. In this case,
> I believe they did it Thursday. 1333 left an hour
> and 1/2 late. So 3 hours to cut in the new snack
> coach. If they dropped the old one they may have
> needed four hours. 
>
> Borealis kinda sucks. Never goes to the Chicago
> yard since it is also trains 332 and 341. Gotta
> delay a train to make any consist changes. And it
> will never get washed unless they build a wash in
> St Paul. 

In an ideal world - the Borealis train set should not turn to become a Hiawatha train set. It's too tight and too sensitive of a run from Chicago to Minneapolis. But with the Horizons sidelined..........

ts1457 Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
> Even though the SD70MACH locomotives were
> rebuilds, I'd like to know who the person was that
> came up with the idea.

That would be someone in Metra’s Mechanical Department.

Posted from iPhone

They substituted that disgustingly dirty 35007 for a 34000 coach on Sunday's #3!