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ALP-46A unveiled


ziemon

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Nice!!!! :tup: Can't wait to see one in person! :eek:

 

As for the difference, typically there is no light on in the cab so the engineer can see out into the darkness at night, during the day there's sunlight, probably makes it look different. The shades not being pulled down probably contribute to it too, and the fact that you really never see it from this angle. As far as cosmetically/exterior look & layout it should be identical, even the foot grille on the nose looks the same....

 

It's very shiny, i like! :cool:

 

- A

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Those are just amazing and they would do well as ALP-44 replacements and...Yo nick Im glad you complementing the ALP-46A and all, imma let you finish in a minute but...Pennsylvania has the best electric engines of all time, OF ALL TIME!

 

:septa: has 8 locomotives, none are as good as the 46 or the 46a & the locos they do have are falling apart.

 

- A

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PRR had great locomotives, many of which were built in-house. The real issue with PRR that caused its demise, is that the government used it and the other 'roads to move stuff for the war, not allowing them to make new locos to dieselize till the 50's, combined with all the wear and tear caused by all that heavy use, for which the government decided to not pay their carriage bill, and the ICC barring profitable moves, in fact making them a burden vs even neutral combined with the interstate highway stuff...

 

Basically the us government ground the 'roads into the ground, refused to help them many, many times, promoted automobile travel, and instead of saving PC & other medium & large carriers, they consolidated even more and cut even more routes, de-electrified a lot of routes, then handed what pax stuff was left to transit and amtrak.

 

The GG1 had its issues, every PRR loco had some issue, which was usually fixed with the next model, sadly that process was cut short.

 

We still have Brookville & US railcar. Hopefully they will step up their game and be a part of a rebirth of american industry.

 

All that said, the ALP series 44, 44m, 45dp, 46, and 46a are the best electrics this country has for now, even if they were built elsewhere.

 

- A

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you mean 46, but that's the point, only difference is a minor change in dimentions, weight, and new electric transmission technology.

 

It's only heavier due to the transformer and traction motors being designed for using more of the juice from the cat, the dimensions otherwise, on the exterior, are identical.

 

- A

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Andy, I would actually consider the AEM7s to be the best in the country b/c they ran for about 30yrs and are still in excellent shape after hauling long trains every day.

 

I would agree with that, however amtrak has much more $ for upkeep than (NJT), i see them doubled up out of the shop quite often. Plus they are put on inter-city routes, where as the ALP family is put on very stop-start routes which the arrows should be running instead.

 

- A

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I would agree with that, however amtrak has much more $ for upkeep than (NJT), i see them doubled up out of the shop quite often. Plus they are put on inter-city routes, where as the ALP family is put on very stop-start routes which the arrows should be running instead.

 

- A

I think the MLVs pretty much rendered the Arrows obsolete on the NEC. Before when overcrowded trains weren't a problem, NJT focused on reducing idling times by using trains with center doors. That's why Arrows were exclusively used on the NEC as they were always linked into 12-car trains, while the ALP-44s could only haul 8 (in rare cases 9) car trains. Note that the Comet IIIs and Comet IVs were originally built for Midtown Direct services b/c idling times on the M&E is and was a hassle from the short platforms. As time went on (before the Comet IIMs, Vs, and MLVs), the Comet IIs were shifted into diesel hauled consists due to compatibility issues and therefore forced NJT to abandon the original plan and use Comet IIIs and IVs on all ALP-hauled trains. The Comet V order was then created to supplement the Comet IIIs/IVs with the coming of the ALP-46s and was hoped to have retired the Comet Is. As overcrowding became an issue, NJT made the right decision by overhauling and making the Comet IIs compatible with the newer equipment (they are the largest Comet fleet) to fill in the gap as the MLVs moved into the NEC. Note that most of the single-level trains on the NEC are presently almost solid Comet IIM consists due to the overcrowding problem. On the other hand, most of the M&E/Boonton ALP trains have almost all cars with a center door. I personally don't think the MLVs are needed on the M&E as most of the trains are usually 1/4 empty even during the Rushes and that 9-car ALP-44 trains will get the job done. With the MLVs pouring in, the Arrows will soon become a thing of the past as only the Gladstone and Princeton Branch needs them due to clearance issues. There will no longer be a problem with creating large trains as every MLV train basically doubles the size of a single level train. Even so, I always wished that the Arrow IIIs had the ability to change voltage taps as they can solve any future overcrowding problems on the Gladstone Branch.

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I think the MLVs pretty much rendered the Arrows obsolete on the NEC. Before when overcrowded trains weren't a problem, NJT focused on reducing idling times by using trains with center doors. That's why Arrows were exclusively used on the NEC as they were always linked into 12-car trains, while the ALP-44s could only haul 8 (in rare cases 9) car trains. Note that the Comet IIIs and Comet IVs were originally built for Midtown Direct services b/c idling times on the M&E is and was a hassle from the short platforms. As time went on (before the Comet IIMs, Vs, and MLVs), the Comet IIs were shifted into diesel hauled consists due to compatibility issues and therefore forced NJT to abandon the original plan and use Comet IIIs and IVs on all ALP-hauled trains. The Comet V order was then created to supplement the Comet IIIs/IVs with the coming of the ALP-46s and was hoped to have retired the Comet Is. As overcrowding became an issue, NJT made the right decision by overhauling and making the Comet IIs compatible with the newer equipment (they are the largest Comet fleet) to fill in the gap as the MLVs moved into the NEC. Note that most of the single-level trains on the NEC are presently almost solid Comet IIM consists due to the overcrowding problem. On the other hand, most of the M&E/Boonton ALP trains have almost all cars with a center door. I personally don't think the MLVs are needed on the M&E as most of the trains are usually 1/4 empty even during the Rushes and that 9-car ALP-44 trains will get the job done. With the MLVs pouring in, the Arrows will soon become a thing of the past as only the Gladstone and Princeton Branch needs them due to clearance issues. There will no longer be a problem with creating large trains as every MLV train basically doubles the size of a single level train. Even so, I always wished that the Arrow IIIs had the ability to change voltage taps as they can solve any future overcrowding problems on the Gladstone Branch.

 

Plus the fact that the MLV's are rated to 110, and i have been on trains going 100 with 10 mlv in push mode, makes creating the timetables that much easier.

 

- A

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Plus the fact that the MLV's are rated to 110, and i have been on trains going 100 with 10 mlv in push mode, makes creating the timetables that much easier.

 

- A

 

There's no doubt about that! I bet that the ALP-46As will accelerate as fast as the Arrow IIIs even when hauling 12 MLVs.

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There's no doubt about that! I bet that the ALP-46As will accelerate as fast as the Arrow IIIs even when hauling 12 MLVs.

 

The new traction motors are from their advanced electric locos. They often put a single one of these on extremely heavy & long trains. The motors are a lot beefier as well, so they may last the life of the loco. The traction power system has a cutting edge slip reduction system which will help a lot with cold wet rails with or without leaves on them.

 

7,509.7237 horsepower to be exact, with a top speed of 125.3 something mph (US market only). The .3 is to overcome aerodynamic drag at those speeds, it equates to 125 in real world conditions.

 

With those facts & figures i can see amtrak getting a few to supplement its temperamental HHP8 fleet. You could keep one at sunnyside, one at ivy city, one in philly & south boston. One would hope though, that they would make a large order, combined with a large order for coach fleet expansion & increase the number of trains on the keystone corridor & NYP-BOS.

 

- A

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I love the look of the new ALP-46A. Soon all NYP trains will probably be predominantly ML with ALP-46's/A's. While the surviving ALP-44's get assigned to shorter single level Hoboken sets from Dover/Gladstone/Montclair.I also wouldn't be suprised if the ALP-44's from Hoboken start hauling mixed MNRR/NJT consist out of Hoboken similar to how the diesel sets do.

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I believe that only the first 28 ALP-44s are retiring, not the ALP-44Ms.

 

I would think they would be rebuilt and leased before being axed. They still need the 44's for :me: & :njc: trains, not all of them can be MLV. The equipment really endangered by this order is the arrows, as they are limited to 3 routes. I could see a bunch of 44's on jersey ave moves, and then they could take over from the arrows doing the amboy runs. After that the arrows would largely become redundant till ARC is complete.

 

- A

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