Amtrak Fire in Jackson

[NSSD70ACe]

Amtrak coach caught fire in Jackson yesterday. It was caused by batteries underneath the coach.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index ... obile_home

[Saturnalia]

#WhereAreTheNewBilevels ?

Seriously though, these new cars will be a vast improvement from this legacy equipment...hopefully!

[coasterrider]

That was an interesting day for sure. But the event happened on Monday the 27th

[SousaKerry]

Right now some electrician in BEach Grove is wondering where his 7/16" wrench got too.

[PatAzo]

#WhereAreTheNewBilevels ?

Seriously though, these new cars will be a vast improvement from this legacy equipment...hopefully!

Hopefully... The final design review scheduled for January was "postponed to a later date". I haven't seen anything on funding other than that it expired in September 2017.

[Schteinkuh]

Right now some electrician in BEach Grove is wondering where his 7/16" wrench got too.

[Doktor No]

Right now some electrician in BEach Grove is wondering where his 7/16" wrench got too.

If he had SnapOns he wouldn't have that problem. Too expensive to leave lying about. In all the 6 years of KCRoad Commission and picking up tools on the highway I only snagged one SnapOn screwdriver. The rest were imported crap. I still have the screwdriver.

[dmitzel]

#WhereAreTheNewBilevels ?

Seriously though, these new cars will be a vast improvement from this legacy equipment...hopefully!

Hopefully... The final design review scheduled for January was "postponed to a later date". I haven't seen anything on funding other than that it expired in September 2017.

I read in one of the RR trade mags (Railway Age or Progressive Railroading) that the California lead procurement guy (for the Nippon Sharyo-Sumitomo new bi-levels) left for greener pastures. Likely - like most Govt-run procurement programs (think DoD or the Acela) - there were so many badly managed design changes the car was FUBAR'ed, hence the carbody compression test failure at Pueblo (or where ever the FRA-mandated test was conducted).

With the "Obama-bucks" expiring at the end of FY 2017 unless Congress extends the authorization and appropriation of this money it all flows back into the US Treasury come October 1st. We all know the Party in control of Congress "loves" Amtrak so I'm not holding my breath for any funding extension. Expect shiny new Siemens Chargers pulling cr@p Horizon and creaky-old Amfleet for another generation or two (or until the wheels fall off).

Only way to save the rolling stock order IMO is for PM Abe to toss us some "free" financing from the Bank of Japan - he seems to be getting along smartly with the new President and staff. At least it would be a way for dead-broke Illinois to get the Rochelle plant up and running again. Me, I'm so sick of the old single-level equipment on the Michigan service trains I'd rather have a recently-shopped P-S Superliner 1 any day of the week, even if it meant 90 mph between Kalamazoo and Porter instead of 110.