This afternoon Amtrak took delivery of the first of the new 61000 series baggage cars from CAF in Elmira, NY. This video was posted on the Amtrak Unlimited forum, http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/45804-viewliner-ii-production-status-photos/page-20.
Same profile as the Viewliners. I guess most all the old Budd built baggage cars they use are all antiques by now. Things wear out.
This is the first of the Viewliner II family which includes baggage, sleeper, café, diner, and maybe coach, though I'm not sure about coach. CAF is having a hard time attracting and keeping skilled stainless welders because of the higher wages and OT at the Marcellus gas field development in Pennsylvania just south of Elmira. So production quality is suffering and rework is causing significant schedule slippage.
Hmmm, I am really too old to start out on a new career. However I have done some GTAW welding on stainless. Lot different from the old Shot that Budd developed.
C'mon Russell, look at all the fun you would have, playing with train cars, performing at a skill for which you are qualified without any management responsibility, living on the ex-Erie NS southern tier in cool low humidity weather, and your grandkids could enjoy playing in snow next winter. OK, maybe I overhyped just a bit, but hey....LOL
Oh I still get to play with old train cars. Every Wednesday a bunch of us old fharts get together and work on old train cars that belong to the Texas Heritage Railroading Museum (former Houston Railroad Museum). Lately we have been rebuilding the floor in the ex GM&O Alton Parlor car. The steel under floor beneath the concrete is all gone in the bathrooms at one end so we are replacing all that.
Recalling my days of working on freight cars, I can still see the sparkling of slag flakes in the air, smell the welding smoke, and... I wonder how much of that garbage is in my lungs? Bleh. I would hope building these new passenger cars is a much cleaner process.
Yes they are built on the view liner frame. We hope to see the baggage cars out west before too long. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Following The same design. Amtrak owns the plans for both the view liners and super liners. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free