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Re: In Which We See What The F125s Look Like...
Author: mook
Date: 02-01-2015 - 14:14
Still think it looks like those LIRR units ... which were one-user wonders IIRC.
The power issue is real. With a 3-4 car off-peak car train a F59 (around 3K hp) is mostly adequate for current schedules. At 5-6 cars, you need one of the MPs (3.5-4k hp), though in a pinch a F59 can do it. If they really plan on going to 7-8 cars (do they need that many at peak times?), they need more like 4.5-5K hence the rating on these new ones. Alternative: if they load up quickly and don't slip too much, the extra power of the new ones might allow better acceleration with normal-sized trains hence improved schedules.
Remember, Metrolink's cars have gotten heavier too. The crash protection built into the Rotem cars makes them weigh more than the old GO-Transit style did. So more power is needed anyway.
Metrolink is a push-pull operation with cab cars. If you see a locomotive on both ends it's probably because one of them is broken. Amtrak (Surfliners, sharing some Metrolink routes) runs heavier trains, but they also mostly use cab cars and cabbages push-pull rather than extra locomotives. And with longer distances between stations Amtrak doesn't need the acceleration as much. Some of the new San Diego track may be built to 110 mph standards, but it will operate at 90 or less like it does now. The other systems aren't in place for higher speeds, nor is the rest of the line in shape for it.
My view is that the F125s are 1) PR pieces for emission control; 2) PR pieces for US construction of passenger locomotives; and 3) bigger and heavier than they might need to be, because of all the extra systems (emission control, HEP) they have to carry. So the extra size/weight/cost is at least as much for advertising as for anything else. How much ARB and Air District money is going into them? Nobody else has placed orders (so far) for these beasts - they're going to one of the specialist commuter-locomotive builders. If Amtrak ever orders new diesels again, they'll almost certainly be from GE - Tier 4 P42s, perhaps P45s, without fertilizer would make sense considering that Amtrak (unlike the commuter lines) has to work with a freight railroad servicing infrastructure.
The power issue is real. With a 3-4 car off-peak car train a F59 (around 3K hp) is mostly adequate for current schedules. At 5-6 cars, you need one of the MPs (3.5-4k hp), though in a pinch a F59 can do it. If they really plan on going to 7-8 cars (do they need that many at peak times?), they need more like 4.5-5K hence the rating on these new ones. Alternative: if they load up quickly and don't slip too much, the extra power of the new ones might allow better acceleration with normal-sized trains hence improved schedules.
Remember, Metrolink's cars have gotten heavier too. The crash protection built into the Rotem cars makes them weigh more than the old GO-Transit style did. So more power is needed anyway.
Metrolink is a push-pull operation with cab cars. If you see a locomotive on both ends it's probably because one of them is broken. Amtrak (Surfliners, sharing some Metrolink routes) runs heavier trains, but they also mostly use cab cars and cabbages push-pull rather than extra locomotives. And with longer distances between stations Amtrak doesn't need the acceleration as much. Some of the new San Diego track may be built to 110 mph standards, but it will operate at 90 or less like it does now. The other systems aren't in place for higher speeds, nor is the rest of the line in shape for it.
My view is that the F125s are 1) PR pieces for emission control; 2) PR pieces for US construction of passenger locomotives; and 3) bigger and heavier than they might need to be, because of all the extra systems (emission control, HEP) they have to carry. So the extra size/weight/cost is at least as much for advertising as for anything else. How much ARB and Air District money is going into them? Nobody else has placed orders (so far) for these beasts - they're going to one of the specialist commuter-locomotive builders. If Amtrak ever orders new diesels again, they'll almost certainly be from GE - Tier 4 P42s, perhaps P45s, without fertilizer would make sense considering that Amtrak (unlike the commuter lines) has to work with a freight railroad servicing infrastructure.
