Amfleet
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Amfleet (Also called Amcans by railfans) refers to two series of intercity railroad passenger cars built for Amtrak by Budd Company from 1975-1977, and 1981/83 totalling 492 Amfleet I cars (406 coaches and 86 Amcafes) and 150 Amfleet II cars. The Amfleet cars were intended to replace the variety of sometimes incompatible and aging fleet of streamlined passenger cars, known as the Heritage Fleet, acquired from Amtrak's predecessor railroads.
Amfleet cars were constructed as Coach, Amcafe, Amdinette, Amlounge and Amclub.
The car is aerodynamic in appearance. Some of the engineering work was based upon the Metroliner car design. This car was designed to be able to work in the Northeast Corridor at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour (193 km/h).
Today, Amfleet cars are used extensively throughout the Amtrak system outside the western United States.
Amfleet rolling stock disappeared from service in California when the San Joaquins switched to the Horizon Fleet in the 1990's and then to "California Cars" in the late 90's. The San Diegans also stopped using the Amfleet when their Pacific Surfliner cars were delivered, and the Pacific Northwest Cascades now use Talgo trainsets.
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[edit] Car types
[edit] Amfleet Coach
- 84 Coach seats per car; longer-distance coaches having 60 seats per car.
[edit] Amcafe
- 53 Coach seats with a snack bar in the middle of the car.
[edit] Amdinette
- 23 Coach seats on one end of the car, a snack bar in the middle, and 8 tables that seated 32 passengers on the other end of the car.
[edit] Amclub
- 23 Coach seats on one end of the car, a snack bar in the middle, and 18 club seats on the other end of the car. The Club seats were more spacious and usually required an upgrade to Business Class or other deluxe service.
[edit] Amfleet II
Amfleet cars proved successful enough in Amtrak service for Amtrak to contract with Budd for more cars. This second series of cars are known as Amfleet II cars. In 1981 Budd delivered 125 Amfleet II Coaches and 25 Amlounges. The Amfleet II cars were intended to replace rolling stock on Amtrak long-distance trains, featuring larger windows and more legroom for passengers, as well as a vestibule (door) only at one end of the car. Because Amfleet cars have the ability to fit through tunnels and under catenary in the northeastern United States, Amtrak tends to use them heavily in that area.
[edit] Amfleet II Coach
- 55 - 59 Coach seats per car due to the cars being intended for the longer-distance routes.
[edit] Amfleet II Amlounge
- 17 Lounge Seats with 8 tables that can serve a total of 32 passengers from a snack bar located in the car.
[edit] References
- Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing. ISBN 0-7603-1765-8.
- Information Sheet Produced in 1977
[edit] See also
- Amtrak passenger cars
