The F40PHL units were rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen with body shell parts from F45 units. They never belonged to Amtrak. Colorado Railcar did fine with its Ultra Dome cars for Alaska and the Rocky Mountaineer. The commuter contracts for Tri Rail and Portland Tri Met made em go broke. At least one bilevel DMU was also built for Alaska.
Kinda wish self propelled railcars were the standard for North American commuter railroads instead of using loco-hauled trains. NGL the bilevel dmus looks cool and it’s a shame it never caught on.
@@julianhudson7811 DMUs can be very loud on the inside, especially when accelerating. I’ve gotten used to this, but whenever I bring someone new with me on a DMU they complain about it. DMUs might be more technologically suited for stop-start services than loco-hauled sets, but the passenger experience is worse.
Alaska Railroad 751 was still in Service this summer (2024). But I've seen it no time leading the Glacier Discovery train from or to Anchorage (between Portage and Anchorage).
You forgot about the UP Express in Toronto that uses DMU's. And the Via rail RDC units still being used between Sudbury Ontario and White River Ontario.
I made a video on Alaska Railroad 751 for an early episode of Remarkable Engines back in 2020 if anyone wants more info on that railcar specifcally! It should still be running as of now. Anyways, great video on this unique DMU! I feel bilevels in general are a bit underrated, and didn't really make an impact until the commuter rail renaissance starting with Tri Rail (of course, in addition to Chicago's gallery cars). Likewise, it's very rare to see bilevel DMUs anywhere in the world let alone the U.S., as I feel they have a lot of potential for versatility, capacity, and in this case, luxurious style. So glad they got preserved, as I hope that someday, someone somewhere will consider making bilevel MUs for North American use (maybe I'm biased towards bilevels since my home branch line uses bilevel C3 railcars). I also love all the photos of the Colorado Railcar 2002 test unit pulling Amtrak coaches, as I wasn't aware that Amtrak used them for similar purposes in addition to commuter rail startups.
7:45 that’s a Bombardier… could’ve used a picture of a Coradia LINT for Alstom, especially since they’re used in North America for Ottawa’s O-Train Trillium Line.
Honestly these look so cool and fit really well with the old Tri-rail paint scheme. I would of liked to see them with Sunrail, but it sucks that Colorado Railcar stopped existing.
Vague memory; recalling only one trip by DMU: a sweating conductor would come through the coach, stopping at a door to raise or lower by-hand an internal step for passengers to alight. At the time I wondered if this person was going to have a heart problem.
Watching this video made me realize that if Metra had the money, they could have converted a few of their Nippon Sharyo-built Gallery Cars into DMU’s. That way, a large chunk of their reliable but aging F40’s can be retired and they don’t need to purchase the SD70MACH, along with the F59’s.
I think you pronounced all of those train manufacturer names correctly! Good jbo! It's a shame more DMUs are common throughout the US for a bunch of reasons.
Just a few comments from someone that worked on a Trirail project around 2008-2012. I had heard several mechanics complain about the DMU cars because they were made haphazardly. They would look at a plan that would tell them that a wiring panel would have "X" behind it and when they open it up, it might have "Y" or even nothing, then they would have to search the entire car to find what they were looking for. Also, complaints on how unreliable they were was an understatement. Most of the time, the DMUs were being pulled by locomotives because they weren't reliable enough to run on their own. Also, the first locomotives TRI-RAIL had were "chop shop" specials. They took a bunch of end of service crap, cut them up, swapped parts around and built these "new" locomotives. I had found a website years ago that actually documented what parts came from where but I don't remember it now. By the time I was working in the railyard, 801 and 804 were on the last rail, stripped for parts, while 802 and 803 were being run for yard use and emergencies only (803 seemed to be the one that left the yard most). Since the first 4 never got repainted to the blue color scheme and had a crap-ton of rust, it was always fun to see them on the main corridor. 805 for some reason was left in main use at the time, even though it was part of the first shipment too. I have no idea why. I've actually got a few pictures from the hialeah rail yard, including 1 or 2 of the DMUs, but I never have found anyone that would be interested in them.
From the few videos and pictures I've seen, it doesn't look like it has level boarding. Seems like you have to go up a set of stairs just to get to the lower level once you board. Since you actually worked on them back in the day, would you say it had level boarding?
Those are some funky trains, very interesting. I think there might be some double-decker dmus in Germany, but those might be push-pull sets and/or single rail cars. I am also surprised that DMUs are so uncommon in North America because DMUs seem to be the cheap and easy solution that European railways default to. I suppose the Unique FRA requirements and the uncertain passenger equipment market mean that the simpler and proven push-pull sets are defaulted to.
No, we don't have any double-deck DMUs except for a tiny series of double-deck railbuses (VT 670). I don't think any European country has double-deck DMUs. They are extremely uncommon around the world, I guess because rail lines with double-deck demand are usually electrified or just run locomotive-hauled trains.
Wow. So many wrong details. Tri-Rail’s original F40PHLs were rebuilt from GPs with cabs and hoods from F45s. The FRA Tier 1 crashworthy standards weren’t changed. There was no builder, at that time, that met the 49CFR238 specs. Today’s Stadler sets operating in Texas and other places meet the specs.
looking at Google earth 2 sets of the Bi-Levels are still sitting in Tri-rail Miami Yard in the dead line, 1 of the sets is in the dead line with one of the cabcar and the other coach and cabcar is in the middle of the yard with a Geep couple to the coach end.
Honestly, I wish the company was still around to this day. I mean, it’s basically the only rail car company after the 90s to make DMUs that actually look American
Such a shame colorado railcar dissapeared so quickly All of their products looks so quirky and funny probably because the bombardier bilevel and the comet dominated commuter rail users
Dear jslasher1, Thank you for your feedback. While I do find it harsh that you called my poor boy an "irritating smiling logo," he has a name :(, I do want to say that this was the first time I have ever read from a script. I usually do stuff without a script, but I did this script for WOH to better know where I was reading. You do not have to like this, but keep your opinions to yourself (it's better since you hurt my boy's feeling and now he's crying in the corner with my ice cream... I paid $50 for that ice cream, he is now chewing it...) Sincerely, irritating smiling logo
ua-cam.com/users/shortsChhIADKBo6U?si=FGsPkcG2qUkMbLKF I think I saw and filmed the two unpowered cars that are on the French Lick. It happened last year as I saw them on the back of a CSX freight in one town and got ahead of it the next town over to try to film the whole train with good lighting because it was already night. This happened in 2023 on the CSX bowline in South Georgia. This is a UA-cam Short I made out of the footage. The town is Cairo Georgia.
There’s ZERO reason for them to be taller than most autoracks, but they do seem impressive. Damn shame Colorado Railcar folded so quickly
The F40PHL units were rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen with body shell parts from F45 units. They never belonged to Amtrak.
Colorado Railcar did fine with its Ultra Dome cars for Alaska and the Rocky Mountaineer. The commuter contracts for Tri Rail and Portland Tri Met made em go broke. At least one bilevel DMU was also built for Alaska.
I’ve seen the DMUs at the French Lick Senic RR, weird how they ended up there.
Kinda wish self propelled railcars were the standard for North American commuter railroads instead of using loco-hauled trains.
NGL the bilevel dmus looks cool and it’s a shame it never caught on.
@@julianhudson7811 DMUs can be very loud on the inside, especially when accelerating. I’ve gotten used to this, but whenever I bring someone new with me on a DMU they complain about it. DMUs might be more technologically suited for stop-start services than loco-hauled sets, but the passenger experience is worse.
I was in Alaska in 2023 and DMU car 751 is still in service as a cabcar on the Glacier Discovery set
7:44 You have brought me to here cuz of Estonia DMU train
Alaska Railroad 751 was still in Service this summer (2024). But I've seen it no time leading the Glacier Discovery train from or to Anchorage (between Portage and Anchorage).
You forgot about the UP Express in Toronto that uses DMU's. And the Via rail RDC units still being used between Sudbury Ontario and White River Ontario.
I made a video on Alaska Railroad 751 for an early episode of Remarkable Engines back in 2020 if anyone wants more info on that railcar specifcally! It should still be running as of now.
Anyways, great video on this unique DMU! I feel bilevels in general are a bit underrated, and didn't really make an impact until the commuter rail renaissance starting with Tri Rail (of course, in addition to Chicago's gallery cars). Likewise, it's very rare to see bilevel DMUs anywhere in the world let alone the U.S., as I feel they have a lot of potential for versatility, capacity, and in this case, luxurious style. So glad they got preserved, as I hope that someday, someone somewhere will consider making bilevel MUs for North American use (maybe I'm biased towards bilevels since my home branch line uses bilevel C3 railcars). I also love all the photos of the Colorado Railcar 2002 test unit pulling Amtrak coaches, as I wasn't aware that Amtrak used them for similar purposes in addition to commuter rail startups.
Actually Amtrak was going to buy DMUs until Colorado Railcar shut down.
7:45 that’s a Bombardier… could’ve used a picture of a Coradia LINT for Alstom, especially since they’re used in North America for Ottawa’s O-Train Trillium Line.
Fellow Florida Man here: I’m honored we got covered to begin with-
As a New Yorker, These DMU trains are weird but have an Interesting story & history about them, this is almost similar to famous NYCT R42/R32 models.
adrian sounds like that tapatio guy
Great video! I learned a lot from it! ❤
Honestly these look so cool and fit really well with the old Tri-rail paint scheme. I would of liked to see them with Sunrail, but it sucks that Colorado Railcar stopped existing.
WES MENTIONED 🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥
I road these!
It was my only time on Tri-Rail.
I am a frequent rider on TriMet WES and must say the railcars are comfortable.
Vague memory; recalling only one trip by DMU: a sweating conductor would come through the coach, stopping at a door to raise or lower by-hand an internal step for passengers to alight. At the time I wondered if this person was going to have a heart problem.
I took the photo of them in Hialeah yard right before they were sent north on M452
I never knew these existed. Sadly I never encountered them when I lived in Miami.
Watching this video made me realize that if Metra had the money, they could have converted a few of their Nippon Sharyo-built Gallery Cars into DMU’s. That way, a large chunk of their reliable but aging F40’s can be retired and they don’t need to purchase the SD70MACH, along with the F59’s.
came from dc
I think you pronounced all of those train manufacturer names correctly! Good jbo! It's a shame more DMUs are common throughout the US for a bunch of reasons.
they shouldve added front windows to the upper levels of the cab units
Just a few comments from someone that worked on a Trirail project around 2008-2012. I had heard several mechanics complain about the DMU cars because they were made haphazardly. They would look at a plan that would tell them that a wiring panel would have "X" behind it and when they open it up, it might have "Y" or even nothing, then they would have to search the entire car to find what they were looking for. Also, complaints on how unreliable they were was an understatement. Most of the time, the DMUs were being pulled by locomotives because they weren't reliable enough to run on their own.
Also, the first locomotives TRI-RAIL had were "chop shop" specials. They took a bunch of end of service crap, cut them up, swapped parts around and built these "new" locomotives. I had found a website years ago that actually documented what parts came from where but I don't remember it now. By the time I was working in the railyard, 801 and 804 were on the last rail, stripped for parts, while 802 and 803 were being run for yard use and emergencies only (803 seemed to be the one that left the yard most). Since the first 4 never got repainted to the blue color scheme and had a crap-ton of rust, it was always fun to see them on the main corridor. 805 for some reason was left in main use at the time, even though it was part of the first shipment too. I have no idea why.
I've actually got a few pictures from the hialeah rail yard, including 1 or 2 of the DMUs, but I never have found anyone that would be interested in them.
From the few videos and pictures I've seen, it doesn't look like it has level boarding. Seems like you have to go up a set of stairs just to get to the lower level once you board. Since you actually worked on them back in the day, would you say it had level boarding?
Those are some funky trains, very interesting. I think there might be some double-decker dmus in Germany, but those might be push-pull sets and/or single rail cars. I am also surprised that DMUs are so uncommon in North America because DMUs seem to be the cheap and easy solution that European railways default to. I suppose the Unique FRA requirements and the uncertain passenger equipment market mean that the simpler and proven push-pull sets are defaulted to.
No, we don't have any double-deck DMUs except for a tiny series of double-deck railbuses (VT 670). I don't think any European country has double-deck DMUs. They are extremely uncommon around the world, I guess because rail lines with double-deck demand are usually electrified or just run locomotive-hauled trains.
Wow. So many wrong details. Tri-Rail’s original F40PHLs were rebuilt from GPs with cabs and hoods from F45s. The FRA Tier 1 crashworthy standards weren’t changed. There was no builder, at that time, that met the 49CFR238 specs. Today’s Stadler sets operating in Texas and other places meet the specs.
looking at Google earth 2 sets of the Bi-Levels are still sitting in Tri-rail Miami Yard in the dead line, 1 of the sets is in the dead line with one of the cabcar and the other coach and cabcar is in the middle of the yard with a Geep couple to the coach end.
it hasn’t been updated yet, still behind like an entire year
were the TRI-Rail EMUs imported?
DMUs
No EMU's in Florida while, as video above shows, DMU's were (past tense) experimental for a limited time.
csx:
mosaic:
frrm:
I still remember when I said Florida man wasent from Florida lol
Honestly, I wish the company was still around to this day. I mean, it’s basically the only rail car company after the 90s to make DMUs that actually look American
Go train Dmu for airport. Build from Japan.
Such a shame colorado railcar dissapeared so quickly
All of their products looks so quirky and funny probably because the bombardier bilevel and the comet dominated commuter rail users
MTA OLD
Go Tri-rail got train
finally
That irritating smiling logo, not to mention amateurish commentary, all but ruins this video. I did NOT enjoy this.
Dear jslasher1,
Thank you for your feedback. While I do find it harsh that you called my poor boy an "irritating smiling logo," he has a name :(, I do want to say that this was the first time I have ever read from a script. I usually do stuff without a script, but I did this script for WOH to better know where I was reading. You do not have to like this, but keep your opinions to yourself (it's better since you hurt my boy's feeling and now he's crying in the corner with my ice cream... I paid $50 for that ice cream, he is now chewing it...)
Sincerely, irritating smiling logo
Cartoon face ruins video!
Thank you josephbrandtner7713, very cool.
ua-cam.com/users/shortsChhIADKBo6U?si=FGsPkcG2qUkMbLKF I think I saw and filmed the two unpowered cars that are on the French Lick. It happened last year as I saw them on the back of a CSX freight in one town and got ahead of it the next town over to try to film the whole train with good lighting because it was already night. This happened in 2023 on the CSX bowline in South Georgia. This is a UA-cam Short I made out of the footage. The town is Cairo Georgia.