Here’s another small question I had, and another answer from an unrelated post reminded me: Is Amtrak still running freight or mail on some of their passenger trains? I think I remember some of the Class Is, particularly UP, squawking about this several years back…
Riprap
They no longer run mail.
While George Warrington was Amtrak’s CEO, there was a push for mail and express traffic to help pay the bills. Amtrak had small mail contracts almost since Day 1, but there was a drive for more mail haulage under Warrington and several schedules were established that were primarily mail and express runs, most notably the Chicago-Philadelphia “Pennsylvanian”.
UP probably served as the point man on this issue, stating that Amtrak exceeded its statutory authority by going after the express trade. The STB ruled that Amtrak was within its authority since mail and express had historically been moved on passenger trains.
At any rate, the express business barely covered its own expenses and was quickly discontinued when David Gunn took over. Most mail contracts were also cancelled. The Expresstrak refrigerator car operation was continued only because of contractual obligations.
Then what are those white (or stainless) cars I see on the rear end of the SWC and the CZ from time to time (not every train has them, but they are seen pretty frequently), and who owns the cars and what do they carry and for who? Riddle me that.
There is still a transcontinental refrigerator express operation that will continue until the specific contracto runs out. Amtrak has tried to end the service but the customer insists on enforcingthe contract. And Amtrak material handling cars still exist to handle overlow baggage and company bgusiness including small parts for coach maintenance. I suspect the white cars are the reefers and the stainless company business.
Well this is interesting. I do know that Amtrak stoped their mail trains I think a couple of years ago. I do know that Amtrak still owns some box cars that they used to haul the mail in, at least in the Philly area, they are sitting right outside of 30th Street Station.
From what I though, Amtrak purchased brand new Al Autoracks, do they not use them? Or do they still run Auto trains??
The Auto Train is alive and well. I saw the Northbound and Southbound on my trip to Folkston,Ga. 18 Superliners and 21 Autoracks.
Most of their mail and Material Handling cars have been sold. There was a whole string of them awhile back store along the Northeast Corrider near South Brunswick New Jersey. I use to ride the Thee Rivers from NYC to Chicago and return and there were more MH cars than passenger cars. Now there is no Three Rivers either…
Speaking of Amtrak and freight, does anyone know if freights must yield to passenger or vice-versa? Who has the primary right-of-way?
When I was with Thrall we built at least some of the “Material Handling Cars” for Amtrak.
They paid something like $350,000 1989 dollars for a freaking boxcar. No way in Hades were they going to make money with $350,000 boxcars. (at that time, a regular boxcar cost about 1/7th that.) They’d never earn enough to pay for the equipment.
We had to put electrical systems in 'em (and hire contractors to do it, since Thrall normally didn’t put electrical systems on freight cars) Special braking systems, all kinds of junk.
I don’t know why they didn’t do what the private railroads had done, just put TTX flats on the passenger trains. They could have had a TTX flat for less than $10/day per diem and about $0.05/mile. But NO, they had to waste the taxpayers’ money on $350,000 boxcars.
With all due respect to greyhounds, who may a bit doctrinaire but is willing to give other people the time of day, how did Amtrak’s specs compare to those of a plain-Jane, AAR class XM boxcar? The need for high-speed trucks, tight-lock couplers and HEP cabling was sure to drive up the costs, not to mention being a relatively short production run. To be fair, we should also compare the specs and equipment on a run-of-the-mill 89’ TTX intermodal flatcar with those of a class BLF container flat car as used by IC, MILW and others in the late 1960’s. If memory serves me, the IC flat cars were equipped with steam and signal lines, not something usually found on a TTX flat car.
The Material Handling Cars predated George Warrington and were handled in the body of the train, not at the rear like the green express box cars and Roadrailers.