As a follow up to my last question about Amtrak trains, how much does or did Amtrak mix the phase paint schemes on cars in their Superliner trains?
Yep I saw Phase 2and 3 mixed together. Then wen 3 was being phased out so to speak with 4 I saw them mixed together all the time.
Multiple paint schemes only occurs when Amtrak changes paint schemes. The last change was 8 years ago and it only took about 2 years for them to get all their passenger cars into the current Phase IVb scheme. All their road locomotives took a little bit longer to get into their current Phase V scheme.
Surprisingly I believe all the Superliners were managed to get into the Phase IV paint scheme. The Northeast Corridor equipment was where the real variety was during the stretch between 1996-ish to about 2004-ish. That’s when Amtrak was having a bit of an identity crisis, at least paint scheme-wise. Amtrak introduced the Phase IV “Northeast Direct” in 1996 and they might have converted about three-fifths of the Northeast Corridor fleet into Phase IV by the year 2000. With the coming of the Acela Express train sets and the rebranding of all Northeast Corridor service, I believe Amtrak stopped restripping their equipment into Phase IV in anticipation of the launching of Acela Service in Phase V paint. So Phase V rolls out and that lasted for about a year or two. Maybe a hundred Amfleet cars got the Phase V striping before Amtrak realized the customers were experiencing brand confusion between Acela Express and Acela Regional. Relaunch as just “Regional” service, Phase IVb was born. Between 2003 and 2004, you could find trains racing up and down the Corridor in Phases III, IV, V and IVb.
The locomotives used in NE Corridor service were slow to change paint schemes if they changed at all during the same period between 1996 and 2004. The mighty little AEM-7 electrics were the only locomotives to go through 3 paint schemes: their original [technically] Phase
I am NOT interested in the locomotive paint schemes. My question was the paint schemes on the Superliners.
A lot. Amtrak has been tight on Superliner equipment for a quite a while.
The goal is to build a train out of serviceable equipment. Paint scheme isn’t even on the radar when it comes to putting today’s train together. You need a serviceable diner because the inbound one is bad order for wheel profile or air conditioning? You grab what you have coming out of the shop. It’s got “old paint” because it hasn’t gone through Beech Grove in a while? You wouldn’t even blink an eye.
Would you send equipment to Beech Grove, just for paint? Nope. You send it there when it needs some serious work, like trucks rebuilt or interior reupholstered and if it can be scheduled through the paint booth while it’s there, great, but if you are tight on that type of car and/or the paint booth is backed up with work, you send the car on it’s merry way. You’ll get it painted “next time”.
The same rules apply to locomotives, so discussion of locomotive paint schemes is not irrelevant.
The only possible exception to this rule would be when they are reequipping an entire train, like they did to the Empire Builder a few years back. Then, you would try to keep the “Empire Builder” cars on the Empire Builder - and they’d be more likely to match. But, if you’re short a diner, you’re short a diner and you’d have to build the train with the equipment you have that’s serviceable, right now.