1st Restored Superliner from Beech Grove

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August 6, 2009
Amtrak Returns to Service the First Superliner Passenger Car Restored With Recovery Funds

Indiana Facility Adds 108 Jobs to Rehab 21 Railcars and 15 Locomotives

BEECH GROVE, Ind. - Today, Amtrak unveiled the first of 21 passenger railcars to be removed from storage, restored to good condition, and returned to service as part of a $19.3 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded program at the Amtrak Beech Grove (Ind.) maintenance facility that will add seating capacity primarily to its trains operating on routes in the Midwest and West.

"Restoring and returning passenger railcars to service is another concrete example of how Amtrak is rebuilding and renewing the nation's railroad," said Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman, noting that many other infrastructure improvement projects including for tracks, bridges, and stations are currently underway or will soon begin.

Amtrak is using $19.3 million in ARRA funds to restore 20 bi-level Superliner and one single-level Viewliner railcars, plus an additional $13 million to rehabilitate 15 P-40 diesel locomotives at the facility near Indianapolis. To perform all of this work, Amtrak has hired 108 employees, including some laid off from the automotive and aviation industries.

The car unveiled today, Superliner Sightseer Lounge #33016, was introduced into service in July 1981. It had traveled nearly 5.1 million miles before being damaged in the state of Washington in April 2005 and placed in storage. It will return to service next week.

As part of the restoration project, the damage was repaired and the car was modernized to bring it into compliance with all federal rail safety regulations as well as with current Amtrak standards in design, colors and amenities. It also underwent a complete overhaul of the interior, exterior, mechanical systems, electrical systems, trucks, wheel assemblies, airbrakes and restrooms. In addition, electrical outlets have been installed at every seat to charge or power DVD players, notebook computers, mobile phones, gaming systems and other electronic devices and booths for groups or families to sit together now occupy half of the upper seating level. It cost approximately $709,000 to complete the repair and overhaul work.

The car will be assigned to a pool of equipment in Chicago to support popular Amtrak trains, including the Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, California Zephyr and Texas Eagle to and from the West Coast and the Capitol Limited to and from the East Coast.

"We are coming off of a record year in ridership," Boardman added. "Having the additional capacity will help position Amtrak for expected future growth in ridership on our own trains and on the trains we operate for our many state partners."

Also featured at the event were some of the Indianapolis-area vendors who supply component parts to Amtrak for use at Beech Grove facility and elsewhere — companies preserving current jobs and adding new ones because of the ARRA-funded work:

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BoMar Industries of Indianapolis employs 32 and looks forward to adding more workers in metal fabrication for Amtrak.
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Wessels, Inc., of Greenwood has 75 workers, including two new employees, with more hiring anticipated with an order from Amtrak for water tanks.
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Indierail of Indianapolis also added two employees for a total of 42 making plumbing components for the railcars, with additional jobs anticipated.

In July, Amtrak unveiled the first of 60 Amfleet passenger railcars to be returned to service after being rehabilitated at the Amtrak maintenance facility in Bear, Del., using $58.5 million in ARRA funds to restore railcars primarily assigned to train routes in the East. Amtrak hired 55 employees at the Delaware facility and has added more than 200 other jobs to work on numerous other ARRA-funded projects across its system.

About Amtrak

Amtrak has posted six consecutive years of growth in ridership and revenue, carrying more than 28.7 million passengers in the last fiscal year. Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 21,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.

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Amtrak Car #33016 Superliner Sightseer Lounge Fact Sheet

History and Background

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Car #33016 was built by the Pullman Company in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 1981 and introduced into service on July 1, 1981.
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It has traveled just less than 5.1 million miles in more than 108,000 hours.
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On April 4, 2005, it was damaged due to a track defect in Stevenson, Washington.
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It had been stored since July 2, 2005.
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Total cost of restoration work was $709,464.

Repairs

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The 2005 incident damaged 480-volt electrical and 27-pin communications cabling under the car, junction boxes and conduits. The lower level floor structure was damaged resulting in its replacement. The wheel and suspension assemblies ("trucks") were also rebuilt due to damage.

Level 3 Overhaul

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Following the repairs, the car received a Level 3 Overhaul to bring Amtrak equipment up-to-date in standard design, colors, amenities, and in full compliance with federal safety standards.
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Level 3 Overhauls consist of a complete update of the car's interior, exterior, mechanical systems, electrical systems, trucks, wheel assemblies, airbrakes and restrooms.
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During the overhaul, the following were replaced: carpets, drapes, cushions, batteries, battery chargers, lamps, wheel slide units, air brake systems, door motors, diaphragms, toilets, water heaters, couplers, the 480-volt train line, windows and decal striping.
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The car's interior has also been modernized with new lounge seating, upper and lower booth seating, 110-volt convenience outlets and additional trash and recycling storage.
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Food service area has been retrofitted with all new appliances and a redesigned security curtain.

Return to Service

The car will return to service the week of August 10, 2009, and be assigned to a pool of equipment in Chicago used on the following Amtrak routes:

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Empire Builder (Chicago-St. Paul-Spokane-Seattle/Portland)
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California Zephyr (Chicago-Omaha-Denver-Salt Lake-Reno-San Francisco Bay)
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Southwest Chief (Chicago-Kansas City-Albuquerque-Los Angeles)
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Texas Eagle (Chicago-Little Rock-Dallas-Fort Worth-San Antonio-Los Angeles)
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Capitol Limited (Chicago-Cleveland-Pittsburgh-Washington, DC)

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Beech Grove Maintenance Facility Fact Sheet

History and Background

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Contained in the 107.5 acres of the Beech Grove Maintenance Facility are 12 major buildings in excess of 750,000 square feet of shop and office space under roof. These structures include a facility maintenance shop, a wheel shop, material storage building and locomotive shop, forge shop, paint and trim shop, hoist building, component repair shop and an air conditioning shop.
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Amtrak Superliner, Viewliner, Horizon and Heritage railcars are maintained and repaired at Beech Grove, plus bodywork and other repairs to diesel-electric locomotives, including P32-8, P40 and P42 engines.
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Current headcount is 600: 585 agreement-covered employees and 15 managers.
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Original construction began in 1908 when the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway erected the first brick structure on the site. By 1914, most of the other buildings were up and in operation. The New York Central (NYC) formally purchased Beech Grove in 1922 and expanded the facility. Amtrak contracted with Penn Central (successor to NYC) for passenger railcar maintenance in 1972, prior to purchasing most of the property in February 1975. The remainder of the site was bought in 1981.

ARRA Projects

Twenty-one railcars are being repaired and overhauled at Beech Grove using $19.3 million in ARRA funds:

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One Superliner I Coach Baggage Car
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Two Superliner I Coach Cars
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Three Superliner I Dining Cars
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One Superliner II Dining Car
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One Superliner II Deluxe Sleeping Car
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Five Superliner I Sleeping Car
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Two Superliner II Transition Sleeping Cars
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One Superliner II Sleeping Car
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Three Superliner I Lounge Cars
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One Superliner II Lounge Car
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One Viewliner Dining Car (prototype)

There will be 15 P-40 diesel-electric locomotives returned to service using $13 million in ARRA funds.