I road test the Colorado Railcar in Service

[Ocklawaha]

What an interesting evening spent between Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach Stations. I was in the company of the, Road Foreman of Engines, who gave me a good bit of information on the services and the equipment that would be running. He then turned me loose to explore the railroad.

First tests were Northbound on the old mainline, this is:

Heavy Rail on Wooden cross ties. Mixed route with some at grade level crossings and many over-overpasses. This track is completely signaled, traffic controlled, and runs for some distance along I-95... Where at least in this part of Florida, 70 MPH is only a driven by those who are completely run over by everyone else. The railroad is level just like Jacksonville, belongs to CSX/FDOT, is used for freight and Amtrak Passenger service and commuter trains that run about every 20-40 minutes each way throughout the day, all along the metro areas from Miami to just north of West Palm. The route is former Seaboard Air Line railroad mainline, as is the old "S" line in Jacksonville, Springfield North to Yulee and Fernandina.

The stations are simple affairs, in smaller ones they consist of a security booth, staffed all the time. A parking lot of 3-5 acres, kiss and ride, and bus loops. There are several "Bus Shelter" type affairs on each side of the tracks. In smaller stations the tracks are divided by a chain link fence, forcing anyone wanting to take a short cut, to pass up the block and cross at a proper crossing. There are real time information signs on both sides of the track and a "Skyway Voice" that comes over a PA system and lets everyone know when the next train is due... or why it's late etc...  A more secure shelter holds ticket vending machines and in a few depots restrooms and snack machines.  Stations shared by Amtrak, (*something we SHOULD lobby hard for) are much nicer and have everything but the restaurant, but even that is within easy reach.

FIRST TRAIN:

Pulled by a rebuilt GM freight Diesel, with a HEP generator (head-end Power= electric air and heat for the train instead of the old steam line systems). It was running push-pull, in this case the locomotive was pushing two, former Toronto GO Transit, bi-level cars. On wood tie track the ride quality was pretty nice, the sections over the trucks (wheel sets) had some slight vibration but nothing excessive. The cars are very open and nice, with soft plush seats over hard plastic bus-like chairs. Most fixtures were stainless steel and the ride quality in the lower center gallery was as nice as the upper floors, with the lower being somewhat more noise and the upper feeling a bit more sway. Overall the ride was good, and the quiet acceptable. Engine horn noise, was very quiet. I was allowed up to the area of the cab car and had the chance to get a feel for running the train. Brakes on these cars are somewhat loud and screech when a hard application is made. The passage between cars was more traditional and had the typical metal plates and all the track sounds of being under a 757. However even at 80 MPH, the ride was never such that walking around wasn't possible, even considering the old style track. Those cars on I-95 started to pull away from us like they were all in reverse! Dispatchers kept a series of "High Greens" going for us and we only had one slow order, where some idiot (trucker?) had run THROUGH two crossing gates and cut them down. I was also impressed with the operation of the doors and the PA systems, eveything worked flawless, and very fast. The cars, though old veterans, still hold up very well, and look like they are good for many more miles.

TRAIN TWO:

The Colorado Railcar DMU train, twin units. Smooth accelration, and very modern cab controls with a conductors seat across from the engineer. (two sets of eyes better then one). At speed (again 80 MPH) several little things bothered me on these new cars. They rode light, so then tended to bump, hunt, seek and roll or rock more then the former GO double decks. The doors in one car sounded as if they were ready to fall off, banging constantly. In the center of the car the roar of the little diesel engine is quite loud. Seating is superior to the Double-Deckers, more room, better layout, a bit more "today". Many businessmen and women were taking advantage to use the train as a mobile office. The restrooms were very large, the passage between cars also somewhat more quiet then on the Double-Decker GO cars. The ends of the cars rode like an automobile on groved pavement, the trucks being VERY much present under the floors. The floor plan is well thought out except for a constant and annoying change of levels, up a step, down a step, up 4, down 5, etc... Obviously the wheelchair bound are stuck with a limited selection. The horn was interesting, sounding muted, much like the nasal mono tones of the old Interurban "Honker-Horns". This is a safety feature, intended or not worth considering. History has shown that once motorists start to understand a certain sound means a fast moving train, they tend to back off from the "beat the train" game.  The most telling part of the Colorado Rail Cars, even though they were running full out, they too had a large diesel pushing from the rear. I have heard many stories of mechanical troubles with these newbies, and this was made evident in the use of a locomotive to push a train with it's own diesel engines built it! Sad. These cars suffer the "new car blues" and many of the plastic, or molded fittings are breaking down, or look like it's time to re-paint. By the time they head to Orlando, I'd suggest that they will go home to CRC or to a local contractor for a major facelift. They are not wearing well.

TRAIN THREE:

While a copy of train one, this train was Southbound on the brand new double track line. This is heavy rail, lots of ballast, on concrete ties. The ride quality is at once, easy to feel, in fact we were up to perhaps 25 MPH before my friend noticed we were moving. Yes, it's THAT smooth. By the time we hit 80 again, the old Go-Cars really stretched their legs. On this track, their ride qualitys were excellent. Still some vibration on the ends over the wheels, but that is typical. The upper and lower gallerys much quieter, and much more stable. I would imagine the CRC DMU would have been as much improved by the track. The other big change is this train was in a PULL configuration with the locomotive as God intended in the FRONT of the train. I say this as a big fan of Locomotive pulled trains, and NOT a big lover of cab cars, or trolleys, DMU's or Interurbans screaming along at 80 MPH... unless overpasses and right of way fencing are employed. Reason? Hit a semi-trailer of steel beams in a locomotive at 80, and you'll probably get four things, 1. A semi-torn into 10,000 pieces of foil, 2. A derailed locomotive and a few dented coaches, 3. A crew and passengers that walk away, or get a few boo boo's. 4. A dead trucker. Now do the same with Austins new DMU, or the River Line, or the Push Cab cars in Miami's Tri-Rail, or the CRC DMU, and at 80 MPH, you get four things, 1. A semi-torn into 10,000 pieces of foil, 2. derailed and mangled cab-car/coach, plus any other coaches, 3. A cab crew that is dead instantly, along with a hand full of front seat passengers. 4. A dead trucker. Yes, I know the RDC cars are also "cab-cars", but their strength is in their historic design using extensive stainless steel construction, thus they don't quite fit the fragile buff forces of some of these newer cars.  Other then these changes, this trip was a duplication of Train One, everything worked perfectly, and looked like it would for years to come.

Jacksonville, could benefit from any of these wonder weapons of mass transit. Every train I was on had all seats taken by at least one person, if not both. VERY BUSY, would just re-enforce what was posted earlier about Tri-Rails boardings going up, up, up. No bus could ever match the speed, comfort, safety, fixed route, signal priority, or restrooms of ANY of these trains. Our own track from Yukon/NAS south is also 80 MPH on the CSX "A" line. The FEC route could be this fast, if they allow it, but even at 65 or 70, this is lightyears ahead of even the newest Greyhound or Charter Coach. The route to the "S", Gateway, Airport, Yulee and Fernandina Beach is much slower. Perhaps 45 to 55 is possible most of the way, depending on how the old missing "S" is rebuilt. But since this is the most urban of the routes, that is pretty darn fast to be moving through traffic in rush hour along I95 or North Main Street.

Some of the best features we could copy from Miami were:

Great track speeds, on track that was 50/50 as a mainline.

Small, simple stations with clear protection from weather.

Real-Time information, in several languages (JIA Are you listening?) spoken and in writing.

Mostly used equipment, rebuilt by speciality companys to order.

Restrooms at many stations and on ALL trains, ADA type

Unique horn for crossing protection.

Maps, schedule folders, route information and information on various bus/transit connections at EVERY stop and onboard the trains.

Concrete cross-ties on all new track sections.

FULL TIME security at stations.

Large, well planned and well lit park and ride facilities, with bike racks, etc...

Things I would avoid if possible:

Fancy elevators that carry passengers up and over the track and back to another elevator just to get across the railroad. A simple walk-don't walk or gate system should be enough, or take them to the next street crossing.

Maintain the darn thing, while the trains were fairly clean, the stations okay, neither were up to Amtrak or Airport Standards except those shared by Amtrak.

Get the transit buses there when the trains are IN THE STATION, having crowds of people hanging out waiting for a bus in a strange stop makes for crime victims. (I personally escorted a Colombian Lady to the parking area and waited for her friend, then drove a young man from another Latin Country into Coral Springs... NO BUS IN SIGHT!)

Stations located in the middle of blocks, down side streets and tucked between buildings, keep it simple and keep them at major crossing points, where EVERYONE can see and use them.

Don't let Colombian Crazed old Hippies, run our trains!


* Orlando: Amtrak stops in no less then 4 stations, and when Sanford comes back on line it will be 5.

Miami: has at least as many stops between Miami and West Palm Beach, with inter-city trains stopping in places like Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton.

There is no reason, once JAX-TRAX is up and running, why Amtrak couldn't share a stop in NAS or Orange Park, or keep a flag stop at the current station, or even add Green Cove Springs, back to the system.

Ocklawaha
(see Victoria, I can talk mean about some trains too!)

[thelakelander]

Great review.  How do the older locomotives accelerate out of the stations compared to the  Colorado railcar?  Do you think we would be better off going with a used locomotive and bi-level cars for a system here, instead of the self-propelled Colorado Railcar?



The elevated crossings at stations is one of the things that makes Orlando's commuter rail so expensive (its $10 million per mile, but thats still less than half the cost of our BRT plan).

Did you get a chance to take Metrorail or Metromover?

[Ocklawaha]

The older locomotives did great, sounds of a newer or well rebuilt AC? power plant under the hood. More of a jet turbine sound.

Didn't do metro-rail or metro-mover this trip, however in the past, metro-mover was probably worse then the Skyway. A sort of clunky little wagon like the DFW airport.

Metro-Rail is a near duplicate of Baltimore and quite similar to LA's Red line subway, only above ground. They are lightyears ahead of surface/grade-crossing/rail. But it comes with a very heavy price.

Back at y'all from Central Florida...
Ocklawaha
on the road again...

[thelakelander]

I took the opportunity to ride and photograph the Clarion Peoplemover in Indianapolis and spent a day getting around Downtown Detroit with the Metromover, will up North.  In the next week or so, I'll upload a few of the images.

I've taken Tri-Rail, Metrorail and the Metromover before, but haven't been to Miami in a few years.  However, I'll be down there next week and although my time will be limited, I'm going to attempt to do a photo tour of the Metromover, Downtown and South Beach.