As you wonder, why Amtrak keep saying “We are out of Superliners” and we have to cut back routes and services? Well, don’t jump too fast yet. Thanks to someone named NKY Railfan over at YouTube that decided paid a visit and flip his Drone and filmed the Maintenance Shop facility at Beech Groove in Indiana. He did all this filming off the property behind the fence, just to follow the law. This story should get interesting because there are so much stuff out there that we don’t know but we are starting to pick up piece by piece to gather up the story all about why we are facing this situation.
What does the current picture of the entire property looks like? I snapshot this from the Google Maps so you can get the idea:
This is the recent updated Drone video that he filmed and wants you to see the difference between this video compare to the previous one from last summer he went.
This is the first Drone video he filmed way back in Summer of 2022 to give you the idea what it looks like:
Now you see from these both videos, so many Superliners, Locomotives and other are sitting and rotting it away while Amtrak is telling us the different story. What figures? How we can stop this nonsense and get the story straight. We deserve answers from the top management. I realize that we cannot contact them directly but we have to go through the process by contacting the Customer Service or Customer Relations, whichever you want to call that and that is where they will pass it along to the upper people. Myself always wonder will they ever have time to sit and read and understand our complaints?
Hence, since you remember that Amtrak has mishaps such as train derailments, accidents and many things, you can name them so I’ll provide you the link to the Wiki page that has all history of accidents:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_on_Amtrak
To learn more history on the Superliners, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superliner_(railcar)
I found this interesting point that someone named Bob Johnston at Trains.com that wrote this idea to explain more about how we can improve the train service:
Redeployments could aid capacity needs
Among available ways to increase capacity, Amtrak could:
— Reassign Amfleet II coaches: A number of these increased-legroom, long-distance cars have been spotted on Illinois Lincoln Service round-trips. They belong on often-sold-out, single-level national network trains like the Lake Shore Limited. It has been running with as few as three Amfleet II coaches total between its Boston and New York sections.
— Remove Superliners from Illini-Saluki: One of two daily Chicago-Carbondale, Ill., round trips have been shelved indefinitely. The remaining round trip now operates with five Superliner coaches, one coach-baggage car (though the train does not offer checked baggage service), and one coach-cafe. Canadian National requires that all passenger trains on the route have at least 32 axles, which requires seven coaches and one locomotive. Previously, aging baggage cars and even unused heritage diners had provided extra axles. But for most of the last year, Superliners have been diverted from revenue-producing, long-distance operation to run empty for 309 miles twice each day. On these short-haul trips, Amfleet I coaches and cafes would easily suffice.
— Restore Empire Builder coach-baggage cars: The Portland section of this train usually has one Superliner coach-baggage car along with a coach equipped with lower-level seating, a Sightseer Lounge, and Superliner sleeper. But that section has recently been running with an unstaffed, unoccupied transition sleeping car used only to hold checked luggage. Although not accessible from the adjacent Superliner, even a Viewliner baggage car would be an expedient choice, because it is only worked at four stations between Spokane, Wash., and Portland, Ore.
— Bring back transition sleeping cars: While the transition sleepers run on the Builder, they have been dropped from four trains — totaling 15 Superliner sets — that had them as recently as September 2020. The equipment remains stored while the Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Capitol Limited, and Texas Eagle endure constant sleeper sellouts or astronomically high pricing that effectively chokes off demand. Use of the transition sleepers would mean onboard staff no longer needs to occupy revenue space, which further cuts capacity. It would also allow sale of up to four roomettes serviced by an attendant from the adjacent sleeper. Once more staff is available if additional coaches are added, up to 10 roomettes in the transition sleeper can be sold while still accommodating employees. Cars from the Empire Builder are immediately available; getting the rest in service must be a priority.
— Reinstate Sightseer Lounges on the Eagle and Capitol: It’s a similar story for these one-of-a-kind feature cars. Sidelining Sightseer Lounges to mitigate health concerns initially might have been justified. But continuing to keep them off the Capitol Limited and Texas Eagle clearly illustrates how a cost-focused management places no revenue potential on a train’s ability to differentiate itself from seat belt-restricted travel modes.
Sounds good? I hope Amtrak will listen and learn from Bob on how we can improve the system and make it more reliable because, I mean I would expect to get quality service not a crappy like your riding on Greyhound bus. Feel me? As said, there is a one large discussion thread are ongoing at AmtrakTrains.com in regarding about this issue so you might want to check it out and share your thoughts if you have chance.
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