A question, hopefully someone will know the answer. I am on the west coast, but I’ve seen quite a few photos of Amtrak’s Florida trains recently with the baggage car placed at the rear of the train. Is there some sort of operational reason that Amtrak does this? Perhaps something to do with Northeast Corridor station platform locations?
It’s obviously to keep passengers from enjoyng the view to the rear.[:)]
Observation is that Amtrak doesn’t turn the trains - If a train goes South with the baggage car next to the engines, it comes North the baggage car on the rear.
I had thought not turning the train might be it, but there are balloon tracks at both Sunnyside Yard in NYC and at the Miami Amtrak station. Also I have noted both northbound and southbound trains with baggage on the rear.
But perhaps it really is that simple, no turning of trains…
That’s it. I see them heading through Richmond with baggage cars in front, baggage cars in back, direction doesn’t seem to matter, north or south.
Starting in the 1850’s baggage cars were placed in the front of the train to provide an extra margin of safety for the passengers in the event of a head-on collision, but that old tradition’s gone by the boards now.
The lake shore limited has a baggage car on each end, one for NYC section. The other for the Boston section
Some of the Miami trains take a side trip to Tampa, and return to the main line by the same route. Not sure if they are wyed at Tampa.
I expect that the Silver Star is turned in Tampa. To me, that would be simpler than doing all that is necessary to run the engine around.
Others have mentioned the wye of the Star at Tampa. Unconfirmed but have read else where that there is a car and loco limit to the length available at the wye. Heard 14 but that is very much hear say ?
Correction it is 20 look at 91 and 92 shown on this Amtrak link.
https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/132/985/Amtrak-Private-Car-Locomotive-Guide.pdf
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If that’s the ACL wye which gives access to Sarasota, it should be good for any number of cars that fit between it and the station (about 3 miles), from the SPV map. That map indicates that the SAL wye is no longer a wye. There was also an ACL wye about two miles or so from the station. The map shows that there used to be a loop at the station.
The Carolinian and the Palmetto both run both directions with the baggage on the rear, with business class just ahead of it, cafe ahead of that then the coaches. I have asked the crews why, as I host on the Carolinian in NC and they don’t know why it was done. Orders from on high is how one conductor put it.
When the sleeping cars were run on the front of the train many passengers, including yours truly, complained that such proximity to the locomotive lessened the travel experience: horn noise, diesel exhaust, etc. (Of course, the sleepers were meant to be on the rear of the train as George Pullman intended.) But when the coaches are coupled next to the baggage car the crews complain that large volume of passengers boarding and detraining from them interfere with the handling of baggage. Ergo, today we have the sleepers on the rear along with the baggage car. True story.
Don’t baggage cars normally go behind the locomotive?
That used to be the normal placement; mail cars, express cars, and baggage cars were known as “head-end cars.” On some roads, the head-end brakeman on passenger trains also handled the checked baggage. Some trains had combines–cars that carried both checked baggage and passengers.
Yes, but we have drifted far away from “normal.” Perhaps when the new baggage-dorms arrive they can return to the front of the train and leave the sleepers properly on the rear? Probably not.
Even prior to Amtrak, the “Silver Meteor” had its sleeping cars ahead of the dining car.
In 1968, when I rode the Southern Belle from New Orleans to Kansas City, the sleeper was ahead of the coaches.
My understanding was that it had to do with the Viewliners having issues with water lines freezing, so it was easier to put the sleepers on the rear so that they could be cut off with less work. That also meant putting the baggage car on the rear. Over time, it just morphed into sticking the bag on the end regardless of the season.
The Crescent runs bag/sleepers/diner-lounge/coaches some days and the other way around on other days with no apparent rhyme or reason. It’ll be one way for weeks, then flop for a while, then back the other way.
They do have to turn the train, either way to get the coach seats facing forward. I doubt anybody turns all the seats…too time consuming.