Passenger Trains > 58 (2) by 59th St

Nearly 7 hrs late.  Could not tell if HEP was running but it must have been or they'd have bustituted.

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Is the Horizon coach on the rear unusual?  Overflow traffic or deadhead?
Andy

twropr Wrote:
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> Is the Horizon coach on the rear unusual? 
> Overflow traffic or deadhead?
> Andy

Oh, to only hope that the Horizon coach was being used for overflow traffic. And in the mid 2000's, Horizons were placed on the front ahead of the Superliner Trans-Dorm Sleeper to handle "short distance" passengers on riding the City of New Orleans corridor for extra summer peak capacity. But that's all gone with the wind now......

There's FOUR cars dead-heading in this consist.......starting from the head-end:

- Superliner Sleeper that was just recently released from Beech Grove, which I guess is going along for the axle count ride. 
- Superliner Snack Coach that ALSO was just recently released from Beech Grove, which I guess is going along for the axle count ride. 
- Superliner Coach 
- Horizon coach car on the rear. Presumably its being returned from New Orleans from the Mobile-New Orleans "test train" ????

I mean if they are going to operate the City of New Orleans with extra cars, they couldn't have put a Superliner Diner or Superliner Cross Country Cafe in the consist to try and use it for either extra tables for eating or actually in operation as the flex food dining car? 

The Superliner Snack Coach was recently released from Beech Grove, yet I don't know if it has even been in revenue service......Appears to be in "dead-head" service quite often. 

Just putting this out there, but wouldn't it make more sense to put the newly released Beech Grove cars out in regular service, and cars that are getting ready to head to Beech Grove for periodic maintenance or heavy overhaul in the axle count pool? So confused in Amtrak train ops in Midwest and out of Chicago. The City of New Orleans needs axle count cars, so why not put a Superliner Diner in the consist that could be used by passengers or is in operation for the flex meals. Just don't get it! 

That would be too logical to do something like that.

jp1822 Wrote:
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> Just putting this out there, but wouldn't it make
> more sense to put the newly released Beech Grove
> cars out in regular service, and cars that are
> getting ready to head to Beech Grove for periodic
> maintenance or heavy overhaul in the axle count
> pool? 

twropr Wrote:
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> Is the Horizon coach on the rear unusual? 
> Overflow traffic or deadhead?
> Andy

Deadhead to Chicago. probably gearing up for the new MSP service. 

Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? Are boards missing from the platform? Is that a station in active used? A big lawsuit ready to launch.

POW Wrote:
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> Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? Are boards missing from the platform? Is that a station in active used? A big lawsuit ready to launch.

At one time, 59th St. was the main station for the University of Chicago, and there were Exit stairs at 60th St. from the South end of the platform, which you are looking at and is no longer in use.  When mass transit districts came in to subsidize the llinois Central Electric, the South Chicago, Blue Island, and Matteson/Richton/Park Forest South trains all stopped at 59th St. to exchange passengers (2 trains/hour off-peak in each direction on all three services), and the South Shore Line stopped there as well.  It was one of the few stations to retain its ticket agent when farecards and turnstiles were introduced.  While there's been talk of re-opening the 60th St. stairs, the fact is that 57th St. is now the main station in the area (actually 55th-56th-57th) and I don't see such a re-opening anytime soon.

The CN line requires 7 Superliners. With the current standard consist with no diner it needs one axle count Superliner - there's 8 in that consist so one must be deadheading for another reason. I believe the current in service revenue consist is 3 coaches (one being a baggage coach which handles the train's baggage), 1 sleeper, 1 transition sleeper, and the sightseer. Given the amount of available diners with current shop count is preventing them from reliably having an in service diner on the train and they're running all food service out of the SSL I'm not surprised to see a revenue car in the axle count position. If they can eventually put an in service diner back on then they'll have 7 revenue Superliners and no deadhead car is needed for axle count.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/24 04:13 by lordsigma.

lordsigma Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The CN line requires 7 Superliners. With the
> current standard consist with no diner it needs
> one axle count Superliner - there's 8 in that
> consist so one must be deadheading for another
> reason. I believe the current in service revenue
> consist is 3 coaches (one being a baggage coach
> which handles the train's baggage), 1 sleeper, 1
> transition sleeper, and the sightseer. Given the
> amount of available diners with current shop count
> is preventing them from reliably having an in
> service diner on the train and they're running all
> food service out of the SSL I'm not surprised to
> see a revenue car in the axle count position. If
> they can eventually put an in service diner back
> on then they'll have 7 revenue Superliners and no
> deadhead car is needed for axle count.

The standard consist for City of New Orleans right now for revenue service cars:

2 Superliner Coach Cars
1 Superliner Sightseer Lounge
1 Superliner Sleeper
1 Superliner Trans-Dorm Sleeper

There's four cars not in service in this consist, and yes, it is due to axle count OR dead-heading. These axle count Superliner passenger cars not in service for Midwestern services all stack up negatively in getting capacity restored to Amtrak LD train sets. It is what it is........



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/24 04:19 by jp1822.

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lordsigma Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The CN line requires 7 Superliners. With the
> > current standard consist with no diner it needs
> > one axle count Superliner - there's 8 in that
> > consist so one must be deadheading for another
> > reason. I believe the current in service
> revenue
> > consist is 3 coaches (one being a baggage coach
> > which handles the train's baggage), 1 sleeper,
> 1
> > transition sleeper, and the sightseer. Given
> the
> > amount of available diners with current shop
> count
> > is preventing them from reliably having an in
> > service diner on the train and they're running
> all
> > food service out of the SSL I'm not surprised
> to
> > see a revenue car in the axle count position.
> If
> > they can eventually put an in service diner
> back
> > on then they'll have 7 revenue Superliners and
> no
> > deadhead car is needed for axle count.
>
> The standard consist for City of New Orleans right
> now for revenue service cars:
>
> 2 Superliner Coach Cars
> 1 Superliner Sightseer Lounge
> 1 Superliner Sleeper
> 1 Superliner Trans-Dorm Sleeper
>
> There's four cars not in service in this consist,
> and yes, it is due to axle count OR dead-heading.
> These axle count Superliner passenger cars not in
> service for Midwestern services all stack up
> negatively in getting capacity restored to Amtrak
> LD train sets. It is what it is........

The first sleeper on the train is the only deadhead car on 58/59 (not including the horizon coach). 

Enjoyed the Video/ Thanks for the Post. <~~~

POW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? Are boards
> missing from the platform? Is that a station in
> active used? A big lawsuit ready to launch.

For what it's worth, there is no trace of the Magical Yellow Line on the decaying platform boards, whereas the platform behind Filmteknik is both in sound-looking condition and has clear yellow lines. Presumably more or less where Filmteknik was standing there are robust barriers urging customers not to pass (nor would many be tempted, I suspect, to disregard the warnings). 

Yes, I was at the barricade. They may have removed those boards just to discourage people. Seems like the boards have been sawn shorter on the east side.