With the oppressive heat on the NEC ( BOS - WASH ) + Harrisburgh & Spriingfield Amtrak is havingf to limit trains to 80 MPH when rail interior temp + 120 degrees.or higher. MARC has announced speed restrictions several days this week WASH - BAL. It probably is just as well as the PRR type CAT ( NYP - WASH ) will sag so much that any high speed trains would probably snag the CAT. CAT NH - BOS is probably imune. Although Amtarak has not installed heat sensors POU - ALB I imagine they are limiting at least to 80 MPH and maybe less since it was previously CSX ? CSX lines for VRE & MARC are limited to 20 MPH below allowed track speed.
Hopefully this heat will abate by the end of this weekend ?
Some pure speculation. — Amtrak has had many loco fasilures from Perryville - WASH in the last few months. There are not enough failures to reliably say that this section is having a significant # of failures but someone needs to look at this. The NH - BOS section does not seem to have even 1/4 the failures that are occurring here.
What could be the causes.
!. Low voltage or wide swings in voltage ?
The use of 25 Hz instead of 60 Hz ?
CAT sags causing interruptions to the locos ?
Present heat ?
Many of the above were near BAL. % of north bound Vs Southbound failures. These failures have occurred to both BOS & NYP originators. MARC has also had a lot of motor failures as they are HHP-8s Would be interesting to find out % rate of failures of HHP-8s AEM-7ACs, AEM-7DCs based on Also mileage in revenue service before failure. Non powered time in layovers. .
This post is late but NJT admits that wire & other problems is causing many heat delays on NJT. It is time to speed up the rebuilding of the CAT all the way from NYP - PHL. I recognize that those sections where the tracks will be moved for HrSR may wait but isn’t it time to get things moving ?
Amtrak owns the Northeast Corridor Line in New Jersey. Amtrak has been planning for a long time to replace the catenary here. Both high and low temperatures have caused it to break on occasion. I suspect Amtrak has wasted a fair amount of money on repairs that, had the replacement been made, would not be needed. But given the current mood of the Congress, especially the House, Amtrak’s budget may not allow this essential work to be done.
I would tend to say part of it is related to (5.) the very substantial percentage of fixed electrification components that are aging. Much of that stuff is considerably older than we are… That may not explain the problems with heat impeding the cooling of main transformers or other components, though. It would help to have some sort of tabulation of the causes of the various locomotive failures…
I like your # 5 very much as it can explain #1 . It has been a long time since I have noted the composition of the transformers and other support equipment but electric transmission companies would probably cringe if they examined Amtrak’s electric supply closely. It seems that Amtrak has had to replace more components PHL - NYP for various reasons so that segment is probably more robust. Also the old transformers north of WASH are much less efficient than present day transformers. That efficiency loss translates directly to higher heat build up in transformers and indirectly support equipment Also if a modern 25 / 60 Hz transformer operates at 25 Hz it will build up more heat than operating at 60 Hz.
Changed the title slightly to reflect both problems.since heat is many time the cause of CAT failures.
There was another problem with the PRR CAT this time involving NJT. There are certainly more problems with the PRR CAT than thre NH - BOS line. However the number of track miles vs route miles ( ~~ 6 times as much for the PRR ?? ) are much more than the BOS line. Anyone have the exact distances ?
From NJT:
Travel Alerts
Aug 19, 2013 11:06:09 AM
Northeast Corridor line trains are now subject to 20-30 minute delays in both directions due to overhead wire problems near Hamilton and Princeton Junction.
This section is not slated for the replacement that will occur north of Trenton. it will not be replaced until the track is straightened for higher speed travel.
Details are not available yet but some speculation may be that the extreme cold stretched the wires too tight causing separations ?
Amtrak bulletin
January 7, 2014 2:00 PM ET
Amtrak Engineering crews working in bitterly cold conditions since early this morning have made significant progress in repairing a 20-mile section of overhead wires between Trenton, NJ and Holmesburg, PA, with three of the four available tracks are now open.
Passengers should however, be prepared for congestion-related delays through the affected area, for most of the day.
Amtrak continues to operate a modified schedule today because of the extreme cold, with additional changes being made in real-time as conditions continue to change.
An NJT train had a wire drop onto it while on track 4 just east of the Newark NJ station about 5:45. Screwed up Corridor, NJCoast Line and Raritan Valley services. Train could not move for almost 2 hours while “engineers” decided if there was a danger.
That work is being done. Mile by mile at about as slow a pace as fast as Congress allows the money for it. But problems have also fallen by the new cat, too.
Well April 3rd has a major failure on the od PRR CAT south of BAL near Bowie. Is this wire system past its service life? Seems like a failure WASH - BAL - Perry every month ? Wonder if sudden rise of outside air temperature has anything to do with causing this failure ?
Now Amtrak is restoring with temporary repairs to overhead. Evidently a major failure . Any one know what happened ?
Amtrak Resumes Limited Service Between Washington & Baltimore#### Congestion-Related Delays Expected As Repairs Continue
April 3, 2014
3:10 p.m. EDT
Amtrak Acela Express and Northeast Regional service has resumed in a limited capacity between Washington and Baltimore following temporary repairs to the overhead wire system in the area of Bowie, Md.
Congestion-related delays are to be expected throughout the evening rush hour as we work toward full restoration of service.