"DIESEL MULTIPLE UNIT" trains...is the official description of this intriguing new Southern California commute service.
Runs from Oceanside to Escondido, Ca on an old ATSF ROW.
I am guessing the rides will be free on the 9th. I will be up there riding back and forth on it a few times. I'll report back here and give some first impressions later this month.
Do the old timers here remember the "Budd RDC cars?" Are these the reincarnation of them? I would guess that there are some similiarities...
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Railroad Bob: Do the old timers here remember the "Budd RDC cars?" Are these the reincarnation of them? I would guess that there are some similiarities...
Only in the sense that they have rail wheels, diesel engines, and carry people.
These do not meet nor come anywhere close to the FRA safety standards for operation on railroad tracks with mixed traffic. (mixed traffic meaning passenger trains of the Amtrak and Coaster variety or freight trains or both.
These cars are essentially a mondernized European style streetcar running on diesel power instead of electric.
The 1950's Budd RDC's were essentially a 1950's stainless steel streamlined passenger car with diesel engines under the floor and an engineers setup on each end.
The difference in strength, structural integrity, and durability is why the Budd RDC's will likely still be running long after these Sprinter cars have gone the the plastics and cheese scrapyard.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Good points all, George. These new Sprinter trains come from Siemens, right? But still with all their state-of-the-art accoutrements, they wouldn't be as solid as the fabulous old Budd machines. If I recall, an engineer wadded up (took the curve too fast) a RDC consist at Redondo Jct., on that 15 MPH curve, back in the 50s. So they vanished around then and Santa Fe stuck with the the more traditional San Diegan trains. I still remember playing along the beach in Del Mar as a teen, and watching the Alco-PA powered short San Diegan consists rumble under the 101 bridge, and throttle out to Run-Eight, rolling north to LA. Iconic warbonnet diesel passenger service, it was!
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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The Sprinter is definitely light rail. They cannot run at the same time as the BNSF freight that still serves the area and there are separate tracks for the Sprinter from Escondido Jct.(where the local line meets the Coaster/Surfliner/Metrolink ROW) to the Oceanside Transit Center.
-------------------- Railrev Escondido, CA Posts: 99 | From: Escondido, California | Registered: Jul 2003
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Here is my short review of the Sprinter (I didn't make the opening day, but round-tripped it yesterday 3/30/08, with my lady friend.) The ROW is glass-smooth; interestingly much of the track is tied down with bolts rather than spikes, similiar to Asian or European ROWs. Concrete ties give the Siemens vehicles a beautiful ride. I sat up in the front car so I could better observe the operator. He's got a cleanly organized cab, more like a big trolley than a locomotive set-up. I was giving some thought to the drive system, which is powered by a diesel prime mover. I do not think there are traction motors; it feels more like some kind of differential drive, in that you can feel the train "shifting gears" as it accelerates. I counted five gear changes getting to the top speed, which seems to be about 55-60. There are a lot of stops, about 2 to 4 minutes between them. Tracks go through a lot of "S" curves and quite a bit of undulating territory; rather scenic, in fact. Some creeks are crossed. Staff and security are very good; each station had a uniformed guard (that must be expensive; are they there in the night hours, too?) Our tickets were checked only on the return trip to OSD transit center. Fare is a reasonable $2.00 adult OW. Fares are not "distance-graduated" as on the San Diego trolley. As to the Siemens cars, build quality seems quite good; how they will hold up over the long haul remains to be seen. They have the rather dated "4 facing" block of seats which I have never liked. The old generation SD trolleys had this too, which forces you to face and interact with your seat mates; I've had homeless guys rest their hands on my knees in these seats and didn't like it. Best config. are the LA subway style or the new SD trolley layouts, for transit seats. There is also a ROW deviation near the San Marcos stop that is for freight-only use; you can see this right-of-way wind off to the north, then rejoin the passenger line a few miles later. Running time is about 53 minutes for the entirety; half hour frequencies M-F and one hour on the weekends. All is all, the Sprinter seems like a well-designed operation being happily embraced by its target demographic of workers and leisure riders. As a final note, there is a nicely laid out mall at end-of-track at Escondido. We had lunch at a Baja Fresh; there is also a Barnes and Noble within easy walking distance of the station. There is a pleasant sounding whistle that gets frequently used (wonder how the neighbors feel about that?) Inside the cars, it's very quiet. Signalization appears to be all LEDs; I'm sure it's state of the art for modern transit systems.
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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The facing pairs of seat is standard almost everywhere in Europe and they can not understand why anyone would want to do anything else.
I hope you really don't mean bolts for the rail hold downs. Normally in the US what is used is an "e" shaped or "W" shaped spring clip that bears against the base of the rail. There is a version of the "W" shaped clip that does use a bold, vossloh, a German standard, but it is not used much, if anywhere currently, in the US. There are also a couple of crane rail clip types that use bolts to hold the clips in place, but they are usually regarded as an obsolete concept. The problem with all bolted hold downs is the tendecy of the bolts to back out over time with vibration of the track from the passing trains. In fact the standard for Vossloh is, after installation, to paint a line across the bolt head parallel to the rail so movement is easy to detect.
And, yes, most diesel cars are diesel-hydraulic, not diesel-electric.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Railroad Bob: Here is my short review of the Sprinter (I didn't make the opening day, but round-tripped it yesterday 3/30/08, with my lady friend.) There is also a ROW deviation near the San Marcos stop that is for freight-only use; you can see this right-of-way wind off to the north, then rejoin the passenger line a few miles later. .
Actually, the freight-only line is the original ROW and the loop to Cal State University San Marcos is the deviation. My grandsons really enjoyed the loop and going over the CA 78 Freeway.
Glad you enjoyed your ride. We have ridden it twice and enjoyed it both times. Thanks for the good publicity for Escondido. There will soon be a limo/shuttle running to take visitors downtown.
The Day Pass is only $4, $2 if you're over 60. Beats driving......
-------------------- Railrev Escondido, CA Posts: 99 | From: Escondido, California | Registered: Jul 2003
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Right George, I wasn't perfectly clear on my bolt statement; it is the tie plates that are secured with big square-headed tie bolts, and the rail itself is held down by what looks like cadmium-plated fixtures about an inch in diameter, kind of squiggly-shaped; I'm sure you've seen them. It looks like a really strong securement system. At least at the ROW I could see at OSD platform, I didn't notice spikes pounded through the tie plates, even in the wooden ties at that location. And Rev, it's interesting how the loop goes over the 78; in fact, I think that freeway gets crossed more than once along the route. The "Buena Creek" stop really makes you feel like you are out in a rural part of the county...
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Railroad Bob: And Rev, it's interesting how the loop goes over the 78; in fact, I think that freeway gets crossed more than once along the route. The "Buena Creek" stop really makes you feel like you are out in a rural part of the county...
Agreed. Some parts of Vista and Oceanside that I had never seen. Very rural looking.
I'm thinking three crossings of the 78 freeway. Now I'll have to take another ride to confirm that.
-------------------- Railrev Escondido, CA Posts: 99 | From: Escondido, California | Registered: Jul 2003
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I rode the Sprinter the first Wednesday of operation. The ride was very smooth and the car was over half full both ways.I was surprised to see so much rural scenery on the route.
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I would guess that 
