This past thrusday evening we caught the Capitol Limited from Toledo to Washington DC Union Station. Our destination was the last stop before downtown, Rockville, MD. Train was on time at Toledo. We got to Pittsburgh about 5AM, and right after we left there, the train stopped somewhere dark, and the HEP was shut down. The AC and lights went out other than the battery lights. Seemed like about 40 minutes we sat there.
Eventually it all came back on, a couple toots and off we went. The rest uneventful, breakfast in the dining car at 6:30AM, and a couple stiff bloody mary’s at our seats after that (Hey, it was a holiday) Overheard one of the staff mention they “added a car” at Pittsburgh.
We debarked on the platform at Rockville, and as the train glided by, on the end of the train were now three private cars - apparently what was added in Penna. As I was standing next to the track I got only a fleeting glimpse. Two were dark red and looked like N&W cars, possibly PRR. The first in line was some sort of billboard paint job in light colors predominantly green with angled block lettering.
Can anyone provide further information about whose cars I might have seen that afternoon 12/23/16?
A B&O Shark-Nose Freight Baldwin could have been on the point of the Capitol, with passenger power behind providing steam, if the B&O freight diesels were provided with the passenger communications circuit. There were other railroads that did this, B&M for one.
The B&O RF16s were not equipped with signal lines, and although it is remotely possible that the two As from the DR4-4-1500 demonstrator set 6001 had signal lines, B&O wouldn’t have used those in passenger service. Even if some B&O sharks had communication lines, I’d expect to see Santa’s sleigh sooner than an RF16 (or any other kind of Sharknose carbody) on the point of any train last Thursday… [:D]
Thank you very much. Where does one find these scanners and their results? When it might have been cut in I don’t know, but there was definitely a painted up last (third) coach. MY family on the platform all remarked on it too. I was awake from Connelsville on, and we stopped nowhere long enough to add a car that I recall. CUmberland is a “smoke break” stop, but still maybe 10 minutes tops, and power remained on.
Wait!!! This may be what I saw. Looking up the last coach 31042 gave it to me.
These cars are known as “wrapped” cars. They are literally wrapped in a plastic film that is a billboard. NJT does this to their coaches (and buses) all the time. The wrapping is a screen that can be seen through. If you are riding the train the window may seem tinted, but you can see through the advertizing.
Baldwin Sharks were tried as a HE helper on the Capitol Limited for a short period of time after their purchase - they could not maintain line speed in this service and were given other duties to perform.
When private cars move behind a Superliner equipped train, there is no physical communication with the rest of the train. The private cars are self contained anyway, and the conductor has a listing of any crew or passengers they may contain. A crew member of the private car typically has a radio tuned to the road frequency being utilized that can be used should the need arise.
If a backup move is required, the conductor has to walk down the right of way and enter the private car through an opened trap.
It depends what you want to pay for. Amtrak can operate Private Cars with or without a Transition Car. If a Transition Car is requested then Amtrak charges the Private Car Owner for it as a chartered car, it does not provide the car for free. If you pay for the transition car your private car passengers have access to the rest of the Amtrak train while it is moving.
