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When the Sunset Limited arrives or used to arrive i should say, in Orlando, where was it wyed and maintenced? Did they bring it to the Auto train depot?
1702 Member # 4508
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Yes, the maintenance was done at the Sanford Auto-Train facility.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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There is a wye to the South of the Orlando depot. This meant that the equipment set proceeded Southward through the depot, wyed, then proceeded Northward to board passengers and copmmence its trip.
But, as noted at this related topic, it appears "the party's over".
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I believe at first, the Sunset was wyed south of the Orlando depot, as Gilbert stated, but in later years (the last couple years we had the service), the train was deadheaded from Orlando to and from the Auto Train facility in Sanford for servicing (which seems to me kind of a waste of fuel and other resources, but maybe there was no way to properly service the train in ORL)
1702 Member # 4508
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As there are only two Amtrak mechanical facilities in Florida, Miami and Sanford Auto Train, the latter became the Sunset's maintenance base after it ceased running to Miami.
Many times the westbound #1 originated at Sanford (the old station on the mainline) because of very late arrivals of #2. When #1 did start from Orlando, it always had be turned on the wye south of the station as it was coming in southbound from Sanford Auto Train.
Geoff M Member # 153
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I remember my first trip on the Sunset, alighting at Orlando during the mid-afternoon (those were the days) back in 1998. The train was wyed back then - once upon arrival from LA; once before departure back to LA. As the maintenance base was at Sanford, but a large number of passengers wanted Orlando as their end/start-point, I guess that's why it deadheaded.
Geoff M.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Actually, Mr RRRich, the pattern I described was in effect during my last and likely final ride taken during Feb 04.
I must wonder if greater efficiency could have been realized if a Sanford locomotive was placed on the rear end at SFS and simply changed directions right at the Orlando depot, but I'm willing to bet someone at 60 Mass put a sharp pencil to the operation and concluded, rightly or wrongly notwithstanding, it was more economical to adopt the pracitce existing until 'The End'.
Geoff M Member # 153
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I doubt that it would be more efficient to have an engineer on standby at Sanford, plus a spare loco, to attach that loco to the rear, do the brake test, then move off to Orlando. It's double track down there and I'm not sure it's signalled in both directions, so the train may well have had to proceed southwards to find a suitable crossover (there isn't one north of the station for several miles). During all this time it could have done the 20 minute wyeing that it does (did) without the extra engineer and loco. Twenty minutes is all it took from southwards departure/passing Orlando to arriving/passing back northwards from my three sets of observations - admittedly a few years ago now.
Geoff M.
mr williams Member # 1928
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I took the westbound Sunset from Orlando about two months before Katrina and that day our Sunset consist came through the station from the north empty, o-o-s and without stopping about an hour before departure time.
I may be wrong, but I am sure it reappeared with the coaches in the same formation with just the one engine at the other end (which suggests an engine run-around rather than a wye, but I didn't note the engine number so it could have been a replacement). I distinctly remember the formation as there was an additional lounge car at the front (which became the back) which was disconnected at NOL.
Did the journey just in time by the seems of things.....
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