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  #241  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2020, 2:05 PM
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cool, but does it seem strange to anyone else that a NEC train are being tested in Colorado?
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  #242  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2020, 3:13 PM
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They're being tested st the USDOT Pueblo test track. Pretty much all rail equipment has to do this before receiving certification. It's standard practice.
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  #243  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2020, 10:13 PM
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Sneak peak at new Siemens Viaggio coaches for Caltrans and Amtrak in California:


Railcolor

Rest of story behind paywall @ Railcolornews.com
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  #244  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2020, 10:41 PM
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@Busy Bee Oh? Mouais... I'm a bit skeptical at this Siemens work. I'm even surprised, to be honest.
Not that I would be any French chauvinist jerk - though I am anyway, lol, - but I think Alstom Transport's work has been better in their NY State facility. They are getting much closer to modern standards over their Northeast corridor.
I'm proud of Alstom's workers in New York State, that you showed off above. They are doing some real work to improve your railroad network.
Their trains seem to show some actual modern quality.

But hey, the Germans seem to be kidding you about this thing.
I'll tell you what, this is the only thing we've learned from the Germans in recent years here in France: the only way to survive global competition is to go higher and higher-end. You must always suggest some better service and quality to your customer, so they are satisfied by your work.
Well, that Siemens thing doesn't seem anything high-end...

Maybe CA wouldn't grant enough money for them to develop anything really contemporary.
That is one possibility on my nasty mind...

Because when the Germans get enough money to develop anything good, they surely do so.
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  #245  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2020, 12:31 AM
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Without digging into the rfp documents I suspect it spec'd heavier stainless steel carbodies over aluminum which will always look less flat and uniquely North American in its undecorated state and lack of aesthetic appeal.
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  #246  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2020, 3:49 AM
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I believe Amtrak wants railcars similar to the Railjet with the cab car for the Northeastern fleet to reduce turn around times. Hopefully they will be aluminum and similar to the Brightline in terms of overall color and looks.
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  #247  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2020, 4:21 PM
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Amtrak CEO

Amtrak hired William Flynn, the former CEO of Atlas Air, an air cargo carrier, as its newest CEO, replacing Richard Anderson. This is particularly interesting because Richard Anderson also came from the airline industry, as the CEO of Delta before moving to Amtrak.

Amtrak names former Atlas Air executive William J. Flynn as its new CEO
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...bbf_story.html
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  #248  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2020, 5:11 PM
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^ that seems to be good news. or decent anyway. they do have transportation management backgrounds.

unfortunately, i saw this link on the article -- this is not good news:


Trump is again asking Congress to slash Amtrak funding

The proposal to cut Amtrak’s subsidy by more than half renews the administration’s calls to overhaul the passenger rail system to focus on more profitable intercity routes.

more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/trans...mtrak-funding/
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  #249  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2020, 1:57 PM
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It's not so much about the aluminum look or livery, that's only a matter of taste, habits or whatever not so significant.
In fact, aluminum looks oldish to me, but not bad at all. It's like a legacy thing that might look cool.
Doesn't really matter.

What is more surprising is the chassis, or what they call "bogies".
They just go like this over here.


https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...Cerhenice4.jpg

Bogies are designed as though they linked cars, which is supposed to be safer.
If a train happened to derail, it ensures that cars wouldn't dislocate even at rather high speed.
Sure specialists would have a lot to say about this. I saw documents about this design that was first released for SNCF's TGV in the 1970s/80s.
It is deemed reliable and safe.

It'd probably be safer if Amtrak had the same specification in that matter, when their trains go pretty fast like 200mph.
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  #250  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2020, 3:45 PM
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Not every passenger coach in europe uses a Jacobs bogie. Theyre actually the minority. On highspeed sets yes but the majority of coach cars are dual truck independent suspension.
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  #251  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2020, 4:36 PM
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Lightbulb

Quote:
Originally Posted by Busy Bee View Post
Not every passenger coach in europe uses a Jacobs bogie. Theyre actually the minority. On highspeed sets yes but the majority of coach cars are dual truck independent suspension.
Very true, dual trucks and Jacobs bogies exist in Europe. So, why one over the other - there must be a reason Jacobs bogies exist? What are their advantages and disadvantages?
Per Wiki Jacobs bogies
Advantages
Safety, because the trains are less prone to collapse like an accordion after derailing. A Eurostar train has been recorded as having derailed at a speed close to 300 km/h with no resultant loss of life or severe injuries among its passengers.
Lower weight and simpler and cheaper construction because bogies are heavy, expensive, and complex structures.
Less rail squeal and other wheel-to-rail noise because of fewer bogies (wheels).
Disadvantages
The vehicles are semi-permanently coupled and can only be separated in the workshop. However, some flexibility may be achieved by coupling two or three trains together.
Fewer bogies and fewer wheelsets mean greater axle loads – if everything else is equal (in actually - rail cars are usually shorter for clearance purposes which reduces the amount of greater axle loads).
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  #252  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2020, 5:26 PM
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Safety, because the trains are less prone to collapse like an accordion after derailing. A Eurostar train has been recorded as having derailed at a speed close to 300 km/h with no resultant loss of life or severe injuries among its passengers.
You know, it's always been a gruesome massacre when a derailed train ended up looking like a sorry 'accordion'.
Rescuers would have to pick up pieces of passengers scattered all around; it is horrible.
That's why they invented this Jacobs thing. It is only safer.

We're not talking about commuter trains stopping every couple of miles here.
These are regional trains running way faster, right? Even 110mph is actually pretty fast. You'd have to be seriously lucky to survive any derailment at that speed.

Thankfully, the probability for a contemporary train to derail must be as low as (or even lower than) that for a plane to crash. It is extremely low, but certainly not negligible, given the massive number of daily rides or flights.
What do they say? Something like 'shit happens', I think. Well, yes, it sometimes does.

Fact is random commuter trains mustn't need that kind of inflexible bogies simply because they run much much slower, so their reliability depends almost exclusively on track maintenance.
Although I surely wouldn't like to experience any derailment of a RER train here in Paris anyway. It would be pretty violent, even at a 50-mph speed. There's no seat belt, and you most often stay up for your short commutes in there.
At 50mph, a real shock would be as brutal as in a car on the road.

So it is just definitely necessary to anything running really fast, so customers may say - ok, I'm riding the safest possible thing, even when shit would unfortunately happen.
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  #253  
Old Posted Mar 6, 2020, 6:34 AM
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Originally Posted by mousquet View Post
I'll tell you what, this is the only thing we've learned from the Germans in recent years here in France: the only way to survive global competition is to go higher and higher-end. You must always suggest some better service and quality to your customer, so they are satisfied by your work.
Well, that Siemens thing doesn't seem anything high-end...
They are not intended for high-end or top quality services. They are for maximum speeds of less than 125 mph at best, and most likely will be in service on tracks of less than 79 mph found not on the NEC. The top quality services on the NEC will be serviced by Acela or the new Acela 2 trains. Amtrak's regional services, including those in California, will most likely be using these new Siemens cars.
The typical New York to D.C. regional train saver fares is $54, while the typical Acela saver fare between the same stations is $137, if ordered today for March 31. The Acela fares are more than twice the regional fares that the Siemens rail cars would be used for.
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  #254  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2020, 4:43 PM
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One of the clearest photos I've seen so far of the new Acela trainsets, per railcolornews.com :


https://railcolornews.com/wp-content...stian_6423.jpg


Don't get me wrong, these new trainsets are gonna be sweet and really the first real euro style high speed trainset to operate here, but this photo shows a couple things for me. First, wtf with that bizarre drag inducing transition between power car and coach... I mean just why?? Second, Dearlord that horrendous paint scheme. It's like the equivalent of Trump hugging the flag on stage like a dull-witted goober. All blue. Nice. All red. Nicer and sexy as well. All white. Subdued, sophisticated like the ICE. But no, since this is the USA and we don't do sexy or sophisticated they've crammed the whole damn flag on there and threw in two shades of grey and silly halftone dots everywhere for good measure. I guess at least there isnt a giant star on every door. To me it looks like a livery you'd expect to see in Russia, Uzbekistan or Laos or something. I digress.
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Last edited by Busy Bee; Apr 1, 2020 at 5:19 PM.
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  #255  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2020, 6:06 PM
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I agree on both points. It is weird that the cross section of the locomotive wasn't made to match the cars, but I guess even the new siemens charger+viaggio coaches have that same weird problem:


As far as the paint, the coaches are fine, but the locomotive looks like a healthcare website. I wish they had stuck with the original paint scheme:

Or even better, gone with the original American Flyer paint!


And on the subject of paint - it seems like Amtrak and the rest of North American passenger rail will be adopting the Siemens Charger+Viaggio trainsets. It also seems like Amtrak wants to return to Phase III paint, with red, white, and blue stripes. I think it would be awesome to see a rendering of a Siemens trainset in those colors.
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  #256  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2020, 7:32 PM
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Yeah, that color scheme sucks. Very tinpot dictatorship. Still excited for the new trainsets, though.
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  #257  
Old Posted May 25, 2020, 12:21 AM
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Must see footage of new Amtrak Avelia trainset at Pueblo Test Track
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  #258  
Old Posted Aug 6, 2020, 5:03 AM
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The first five new Siemens Charger locomotives destined for long-distance Amtrak trains will wear this paint scheme:


It also looks like they've added a little streamlining to the nose of the locomotive since the last renderings.

I really like it. I hope Amtrak starts a new 'phase' paint scheme based on it. A long distance train made up of Siemens Venture coaches painted to match these locomotives would be pretty neat.
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  #259  
Old Posted Aug 6, 2020, 5:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatman View Post
It also looks like they've added a little streamlining to the nose of the locomotive since the last renderings.
Huge improvement to the nose. Not as nice as Brightline's locos but probably more practical.

The livery is MUCH better than the regional ones, maybe better than Brightline although long distance won't get coaches to match.
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  #260  
Old Posted Aug 6, 2020, 1:34 PM
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I like the livery, but I wish Amtrak would pick one and stick with it.
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