Passenger Trains > First day of Airo service on the Cascades: We got Cabbage!

Amtrak Cascade #503 with the new Airo set running on its first day of regular service on the 503/508 schedule. It looks like BNSF had their way as a cab car (aka, Cabbage) was on the point of the shove south. 503 went into Shedd siding for a normal looking 14



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/26 13:46 by roustabout.

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Of course. All that years they had to get everything straightened out and ready to go... and on the first day of operation the cabs dont work on BNSF and the cars dont have enough baggage space, so they have to throw a cabbage on the front. Amtrak managerial incompetence strikes again!

I just read a comment from a rider on the first trip. It was short:

"I’m on the Amtrak Cascades Airo from Seattle. The seats are a lot more uncomfortable than the Horizon or Talgos."

90252 is a NPCU , it does not have a baggage section therefore not a "cab/bag" .

It's used for baggage every day. :)

Is the baggage loaded through the cab doors or the rear carbody door  ?

OmahaTom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Of course. All that years they had to get
> everything straightened out and ready to go... and
> on the first day of operation the cabs dont work
> on BNSF and the cars dont have enough baggage
> space, so they have to throw a cabbage on the
> front. Amtrak managerial incompetence strikes
> again!

might as well buy 100 of them then

Might the P42 conversions to cab cars make it out there ?

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Might the P42 conversions to cab cars make it out
> there ?
>
> Amtrak should send a AEM7 Cabbage car out there!!!!!

Oh, no!  The first report from a rider says -- seats are not as comfortable
as Horizon cars, or Talgos. --  And, insufficient baggage space.

Of coarse, this is only one report -- but, If we get a lot more reports that say basically
the same thing,  we will have another service downgrade to look forward to.



 

People  bring  too much luggage. I  know  I  do,  If  you  are  first  to  board  usually  you
have  no  issue,  Flown  latey?  Big  bags  a  bis  issue!!
  Sears  will  be  butt  tested  by ne  in  November, Just  glad  there  are  more of  them  for  this  populr  ROUTE!!
Abyone  try  the  food  service  car? Are  there  tables? Bench  seating?? Nidwest  take  it  to  your  seat
 is  not  really  a  fun  experience!!

Wishing the Airos the best of luck out on the Pacific Northwest. Hopefully there will be mostly positive feedback about the seats in those Cascades Airos. A heads up, I'm not really sure if most people using the Cascades are traveling the entire route or most of the route. I know that most are traveling either between PDX and SEA or between the two metropolitan areas. As a guy who has ridden in the seats countless times in Amfleet 1s up and down the NEC, I found the seats in the Amfleet 1s to be very comfortable and sometimes even too comfortable. The same thing with the Horizon Cars that I rode in on the corridor routes out of CHI before the Ventures came. I remember in 2022 during a couple of night stay in Portland, I did a joyride from Vancouver, WA to Tacoma, WA in a Horizon set, and then returned back from Tacoma to Portland in a Talgo. I found the seat in the Horizon coach to be a litte too comfortable but the seat in the Talgo coach was just ok. 

restricted_speed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just read a comment from a rider on the first
> trip. It was short:
>
> "I’m on the Amtrak Cascades Airo from Seattle.
> The seats are a lot more uncomfortable than the
> Horizon or Talgos."

Interesting - that wasn't my impression . . . and I'm having lower back trouble.

TAW

My understanding is now that the old ex-F40 cab-baggage cars will be used on the Cascades until this software issue with the Airo cab cars is resolved, and I've now heard that it does have to do with shunt but it is resolvable. It's just a question of when. Of course the old F40 cab-baggage cars do have baggage rooms where the prime movers and HEP equipment used to be, but the new ex-P42 cab-baggage cars still have all their old locomotive equipment inside. At least some of that equipment would have to be removed if any of those were used in Cascades service because the Cascades do still have checked baggage service on the Vancouver BC trains, which can be very heavy on checked baggage during cruise ship season. As to baggage loading on the ex-F40 cab-baggage cars, some have up-and-down baggage side doors and others have only their old outward-folding locomotive side doors. Sometimes, if there is only a bag or two, the station agent will take the bags in or out the end door.

I rode Salem to Portland today on 508. Really enjoyed the new train! Fun to see all the amtrak cascades hats, About a 1/3 of the train was wearing them. So many amtrak employees onboard to make sure everything went smoothly. . Seats were okay, not quite the level of superliner seats, but that is to be expected. Baggage room looked empty. All announements were automated- I missed hearing from my conductor!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/26 21:01 by Oregonpaul.

dan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OmahaTom Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Of course. All that years they had to get
> > everything straightened out and ready to go...
> and
> > on the first day of operation the cabs dont
> work
> > on BNSF and the cars dont have enough baggage
> > space, so they have to throw a cabbage on the
> > front. Amtrak managerial incompetence strikes
> > again!
>
> might as well buy 100 of them then

But wait, they did. I hope they fix the shunting issue before they hit the NEC.

Oregonpaul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I rode Salem to Portland today on 508. Really
> enjoyed the new train! Fun to see all the amtrak
> cascades hats, About a 1/3 of the train was
> wearing them. So many amtrak employees onboard to
> make sure everything went smoothly. . Seats were
> okay, not quite the level of superliner seats, but
> that is to be expected. Baggage room looked empty.
> All announements were automated- I missed hearing
> from my conductor!

But the seats SHOULD be as comfortable as Superliner seats--and it should be that way in every single AMTRAK passenger car--that's one of the few selling points AMTRAK has--comfortable seats.  If not, then why ride?  Slower service, uncomfortable seats, poor food service--that's not how to sell your service.

No, we don't bring too much baggage.   Have a look at classic lightweight coaches woth generous baggage space immediately inside the body, as wll; as the generous space above the sets.   If you are merely going from PHL for a business day or sports event, you don't need a week's clothng, but many of us do need not onlu several changes of clothng as well as laptop, rainwear, etc.   Further, as a marketing tool, Amtrak would do better by being more friendly than the airlines.  

mvrr10 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is the baggage loaded through the cab doors or the
> rear carbody door  ?
Baggage, bicycles, etc., are loaded through side doors (not the roll-up kind).  All NPCUs in Cascades service are cabbage cars.

Photo of the Amtrak Airo train, First day of Service, southbound No. 503 arriving in Oregon City on Sept. 30, 2026. With the NPCU unit 90252. A Non-Powered Control Unit (NPCU), commonly nicknamed a "cabbage" car, is a retired EMD F40PH diesel locomotive converted into a cab-control and baggage car.


Owner:AMTK - Amtrak
Model:Rebuilt EMD NPCU
Serial Number:777001-23
Order No:777001
Frame Number:777001-23
Built:10 / 1977
Built As:AMTK 252
Other Locomotives with Serial:AMTK 252 (F40PHR)  AMTK 90252 (NPCU) 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/26 01:29 by TTStetz3.

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