PASSING TRAINS PT11

A trip back to the late 80's...

An Amtrak train -the Steel City- rolls under the bridge and into town.

As was typical for this train, the head-end is loaded with Material Handling Cars (MCH's) for packages and express traffic -although some of them may be empties being forwarded westward and on to Chicago.

The wheel on the door is to allow faster and easier opening and closing -an important feature in a passenger terminal. When Amtrak gave up on non-passenger traffic in 2005, most of these cars went into storage, with some of the oldest being sold.

The tail end is filled out with Amfleet passenger cars. First ordered in 1974, these cars eventually became the backbone of Amtrak's eastern fleet, replacing 40+ year-old cars inherited from the railroads.

With seven cars, the train is right at Amtrak's preferred 'per engine' limit. The original Steel City, inherited from the Appalachian RR upon Amtrak's start-up, was dropped in 1988.