Putting those mailcars and railroaders on the back of some of their overnight Western Trains. The last two times I've seen the Eagle it hasn't had anything but a baggage car and peoples cars. Frankly I hope Amtrak stops that because it takes away from getting that good shot out the back of the train.
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
Amtrak "Express" shipments are being phased out because the enterprise wasn't making money as they hoped. Amtrak will continue to haul mail, as that is profitable.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
The 1400 and 1500 series mail cars were taken out of service. Amtrak is currently using some baggage cars to handle mail along with the roadrailers.
Posted by Eric (Member # 674) on :
The Chief has been haulin' the mail lately, and the latest time I saw it there were at least five ExpressTrak cars on it, including about sixteen RoadRailers.
Posted by vincen47 (Member # 2201) on :
MHC's are out of service? why is this, and for how long? I heard they were phasing out the roadrailers...but I guess they have to replace the MHC cars now.
Posted by CG96 (Member # 1408) on :
When I took my trip, The Empire Builder, Capitol ltd., Silver star all had MHCs on the end. The Star's was the shortest, IIR. The Empire Builder had the most.
Posted by Eric (Member # 674) on :
Vincen47, I believe the MHCs were the suspects (and culprits?) in a few minor derailments in the last few months. Their speed was reduced to a max of about 60MPH on CSX and maybe NS as well, but I'm not sure where that stands now.
CG96, Glad to hear it! They really are nice cars, and it'd be a shame to lose them.
Posted by LateShoreLimited (Member # 2025) on :
All of the 1400 and 1500 series MHC are out of service. They had been suspect of causing some derailments. After some testing it was found that empty cars were losing a large percentage of contact with the rails. There are cars stranded around the country...I know that there is one in Toledo that has not turned a wheel in quite some time and is just sitting there. There is currenty no plan of action for these cars. Amtrak is currently using some of the Express Track cars and baggage cars to move the mail