Amtrak's plan for current equipment

[atrainguy60]

http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/pas ... l?channel=

[bnsfben]

It's very interesting that they make no mention of diesels in the article. All the locomtive funding is going toward high speed electric. Interesting.

[Ypsi]

It's very interesting that they make no mention of diesels in the article. All the locomtive funding is going toward high speed electric. Interesting.

there is talk that amtrak will get diesels like mp36's, or at least in that style. the youngest p42's are only about 10 years old. (order ended in like 2001-2002) so they have a long life still ahead of them, and look at the P32s that just got put back into service, most of them are 20 year vets

[Michigan Railfan]

Ehhh... I hate MP36's.

The P42's were delivered in two batches, 1996-1997 and 2000-2001, according to the latest Trains magazine. They also said that there are still about 15 P42's and several F40's stored at Beech Grove.

Like Ypsi said, the P42's have a relatively long life ahead of them, whether it be with Amtrak or not. With proper maintenance and handling, they can run for decades. Heck, there's still switchers from the 50's still running. All they need is a little TLC to stay in a good condition

[TrainWatcher]

Well with the Budd's, Amfleet's, and Horizons possibly coming to a close, wonder how much they'll sell off the surplus. Might make some interesting times for those who have looked into buying a Private Varnish, museums trying to add to their signature collections (Still plenty of CBQ/UP/SP/SOU diners wandering around in the Heritage Fleet), and private collectors.

[C30-7A]

A little food for thought regarding the P42s: While the newest 100 are only ten years old, they see more service and wear every year than any other type of locomotive on any railroad and get comparatively little maintenance to compensate for it. While the engines themselves may look 10 years old, they are really 20 in terms of use. Given this fact, and the general knowledge that any replacement will take at LEAST a few years to construct, you can understand why they are looking at replacements now.
A better strategy might be to do what VIA Rail Canada is doing with their F40s - Rebuild the P42s in a comprehensive program that either completely repairs current parts or, more than likely, replaces the current 7FDL-16 prime movers with newer, more reliable and fuel efficient GEVO-12 engines. Doing so would extend the locomotives' service lives another 20 years, cut emissions and improve future reliability, while retaining the functionality of the present locomotive.
I presented the above points to Amtrak's top brass at a Town Hall meeting in Chicago several years ago and asked if they had considered such a program for the P42s, Superliners and Amfleet cars. They misinterpreted my question (or intentionally dodged it) to explain that F40s and Budd cars (which I was using as the VIA example) were gone and there were no parts for them. Perhaps, if I ever get the chance to go to another town hall again, I should ask why they don't make smarter, common-sense decisions like their neighbors to the north.
There are 9 "quick acceleration" locomotives being ordered to aid or replace units in the Midwestern states. These are being paid for by the states, however, and not Amtrak. They could be MP36s, but more likely the MP40, used by Toronto's GO Transit, a new passenger locomotive designed by EMD (a demo unit is being constructed at Muncie now) or a Genesis II from GE. Nothing is certain yet, except that a 125-unit order of bi-level cars will come with these locomotives. We will have to wait and see how things pan out.
The overall fleet plan lacks any official statement of ordering new equipment to replace or supplement current units (of cars and locomotives), beyond the state-funded equipment and the new Viewliner II order. This both represents a lack of direction on the part of the company (as usual) and points the ever-continuing problem that has plagued the company from the start: Congress is trying to starve the company into oblivion to comply with special interests, such as the auto industry (a reason why I sincerely hate the big three), airlines and big oil. As long as this financial strangulation and the threat of death by the U.S. government hangs over the company, nothing to little will get done at Amtrak. It's sad because, contrary to the belief Congress and others attempt to hold on to, people DO ride trains and more than ever today. Amtrak needs this new equipment desperately just to keep up with their taxed and capacity-filled trains as is, let alone do needed service expansion.