It's both so hard and honoring to see Amtrak moving on from Diesel Stage and into the Electric Stage with locomotives. They're retiring their P42s sooner than we know it and not a lot of locomotives will survive the Charger takeover of the railroads. It's hard to see them fade slowly, but yet so glad to see Amtrak moving on into environment friendly locomotives.Have a great week, Mike!
At least on the bright side, not all P42’s are being retired as the chargers are only replacing the P42’s used for long distance services. The P42 will still be used on quite a few different corridor trains
Wouldn't surprise me one bit if tourist ops and maybe a small number of museums start picking up the P42's, P40's, and P32's like they did with the F40's.
I wouldn't say Amtrak is moving from diesel to electric yet (will they ever? -- don't hold your breath), because the ACS-64 electric locomotives only went to the Northeast Corridor (and SEPTA Regional Rail), with no expansion of electrified track. The SC-series and ALC-series are still diesels, and the only places in the United States I have heard of installing or extending heavy rail electrification in the foreseeable future are Caltrain (should be getting near to done now), Colorado commuter rail, and New Jersey Transit (and Metro North MIGHT re-electrify the Danbury Branch of the New Haven Line, but don't believe it until you see it). For some reason that I can't figure out completely, the Americas (not just the United States) seem to be allergic to electrifying any more than they absolutely have to, and even tend to de-electrify. Note that displaced P40DC/P42DC locomotives are also reasonably likely to end up on commuter railroads and maybe even freight (like a few F40PH locomotives found their way into freight service). P32AC-DM locomotives (both Amtrak and Metro North) are likely to hang around for quite a bit longer, because they don't seem to have any plans to replace these dual-mode locomotives that are needed for access into the New York stations (Penn Station for Amtrak and Grand Central for Metro North, where the train tracks are in tunnels, where by law you AREN"T SUPPOSED TO run diesel engines, although I have been there when this was done anyway). These draw DC power from the 3rd rail in the tunnels into both New York stations (they don't use overhead wire), and invert it to drive their AC motors, and then switch to diesel as soon as they get into open air. Since they already have AC motors (unlike the P40DC/P40DC units which have DC motors), I wouldn't be surprised if they got a major overhaul and several more years of service right where they are.
Me too and you'll see more Siemens Charger ALC-42s with all the 50th anniversary paint schemes,Phase I-VII Paint Schemes and the new Phase VIII paint scheme with Midnight Blue,Royal Blue,Red and Orange which is my brother's combo.
This is a very great locomotive. But it’s too bad, so sad, that it suffered damage after hitting a water truck in Moorpark, California a few days ago. This is literally the first ALC-42 locomotive manufactured.
Amazing Brand Siemens! Many railroad in Europe used locomotives and trains from Siemens Mobility .In Belgium, Germany, Austria, Russia and so on . California is so pretty 😍 But the GE locomotives also amazing 👌❗
Hated to see this series end but, kudos to you Mike for sharing this amazing glimpse at Seimens construction of the ALC-42. Excellent chase scenes and beautiful scenery, your videos are always top notch ! Thanks once again your commitment to high quality rail videos. Hope you friends and family enjoy a Happy Independence Day ! - Larry
I love Amtrak. In New York, I would ride Metroliner from Pennsylvania Station to Washington, just to visit Metrorail. However, I had my first ride on the Acela Express, and it was more exciting than my attraction of the Washington Metrorail rapid transit system. Acela made only six stops between New York and District of Columbia. I am glad that Amtrak has one new locomotive and I hope that Amtrak will buy more new locomotives in the process. Amtrak deserves to have new trains, but I hope the federal government would invest in some capital to support the American railroads. This show was excellent, but short. It is saved.
It's historically noted that Amtrak Genesis number 7 along with sister engine number 4 road behind Santa Fe 4-8-4 number 3751 on the Grand Canyon limited excursion in August of 2002
Great video! I liked all the different vantage points you found to film from, as well as the little bits of history at each one. Also cool to see the Link light rail cars in the Siemens facility - those will be heading up here to Seattle once they're finished.
There are video clips of 300's arrival in Galesburg, IL on that CZ train, then in Elkhart, IN on the Capitol Limited 30. Maybe someday, we'll see a livestream of its test runs through Ashland, VA or Norwalk, CT.
I got 3 question for your next Q&A 1. What do you think will happen to the future of rail transport? 2. What is your favorite GE locomotive? 3. What do you feel about CN and CP having their own heritage units?
I loved this video series, you did a great job showing the new charger! How did you film the train on its way to Chicago? Did you drive to the locations and get the shots that way or were there cameras already there?
Wow I love the scenic spots you filmed the ALC44 charger. I really can’t wait for these awesome locomotive’s‘s to be in service once they’re done testing in the north east Corredor. Sadly at least 75 P42DC’s are going to be replaced :(
I feel like the only reason why the ALC-42 Chargers are being used in the California Zephyr route is because it’ll have to take 3 trains routes if it’s going to the coast Starlight, the south west chief, and another route I don’t know that goes to Washington DC
Love the new ALC-42s. I think it would be a good idea to convert some of the P42s into battery-electric locomotives as a way to supplement the new charger fleet and have zero emission locomotives.
You'll see more Siemens Charger ALC-42s with all of the 50th anniversary paint schemes,heritage paint schemes,Phase 1-7 paint schemes and the new Phase 8 paint schemes with the colors midnight blue,royal blue,red and orange.You'll also see Siemens Turbostar STM STXpress which are going to be battery-electric locomotives and will be similar to the MPI MP32PH-Qs.
I really REALLY hope they keep the p42's around, I don't care if they are in museums or sold to other railroads, I just don't wanna see them scrapped like the f40's.