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Privately-Owned Rail Cars

amtrak.com

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Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#81

Post by bluGill »

Kon-Peki wrote: post #25
chiph wrote: post #17

This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…

You seem to know what you’re talking about, so… I’ve heard that occasionally (rarely) they need to put some “public” cars behind the private ones. And if that happens, you are not allowed to prevent the public passengers from walking through your private car to get between the public sections. Is that the case?

Depending on personality you might enjoy a conversation with random strangers walking through.

See I knew there was a plus.

Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#82

Post by grogenaut »

bombcar wrote: post #75
grogenaut wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have several for sale linked from the article page, for instance a 1989 diner car which I think would have everything you'd need for an office, add a bed, food, bathroom, nice big windows.

You also have to upgrade it to current safety standards and get it inspected. Lots of railroad museums will have old private cars, some even road worthy.

are any rail worthy?

Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#84

Post by bluGill »

codazoda wrote: post #61
chrisco255 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live the RV life. Before this I camped in a rooftop tent mounted to my truck. The woods are among the least dangerous places you can go. But also, shocking as this is, you can take your truck or van to dense urban areas if you desire. There is little need for "customer support" when you are driving your own vehicle. Occasionally you get repair problems but mechanics are readily available in even small towns. Van li…

Ever use that roof top tent in urban areas? How hard is that? Where I live you can park on the street for 48 hours. I suspect, however, that you can’t sleep there. You would get a knock at the very least. So, I’ve considered an incognito van that looks like a work truck. But, I wonder if you could just pop up a roof tent and sleep wherever. I’m mostly talking about city center here. As an example, I’d love to do this…

Unless local law forbids Walmart allows free camping. There are also truck stops all over that will let RVs camp overnight (they might object to a slide out). Of course there are campgrounds all over as well.

You won't find much downtown, but get out just a little and there are options.

Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#85

Post by gruez »

jesuscript wrote: post #6
allthecybers wrote: post #2

We’ve had the tiny houses, shipping container homes, then the van life or schoolie (school bus as a home) trend, al of which were clever interpretations on what a home actually is. I’m sure some enterprising YouTuber/lifestyle blogger could get us started on the private train car home era. I’m here for it.

The housing market might turn the world into Snowpiercer: It takes place aboard the Snowpiercer train as it travels a globe-encircling track, carrying the last remnants of humanity https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowpiercer

>The housing market might turn the world into Snowpiercer

I don't get it. Houses become so expensive that the last remnants of humanity has to live on a train? Isn't this a "nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded" situation?

Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#87

Post by cebert »

chiph wrote: post #17

This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…

I have a similar, but more attainable train goal of riding the Amtrak Empire Builder route from Chicago to Spokane. The route looks beautiful and has a few nice stops along the way.

Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#88

Post by HankB99 »

Kon-Peki wrote: post #63
chiph wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes that's true. They try to put private cars at the front or rear of a train, but sometimes they aren't able to. So you may have the public walking through as you eat dinner. Comes with the territory {shrug}. Train crew (conductors) always have the right to walk through the car. If your train goes into Tampa Florida for example, the train has to reverse out of the station to a wye so it can turn around. If you are t…

Are these new trains different from the Siemens locomotives that Amtrak have been using in the Midwest for the last ~10 years? I don’t recall ever seeing anything on the back of those trains.

I wonder if it's like the double-decker passenger cars used for Metra in Chicago. These trains never change direction (like Amtrak) but just run forward (IIRC) into the city and reverse back out to the suburbs. The car on the end has a small cab where the engineer sits and controls the train when it is running reversed. From the outside the difference between that and a passenger car is pretty subtle.

Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#89

Post by chrisco255 »

codazoda wrote: post #61
chrisco255 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live the RV life. Before this I camped in a rooftop tent mounted to my truck. The woods are among the least dangerous places you can go. But also, shocking as this is, you can take your truck or van to dense urban areas if you desire. There is little need for "customer support" when you are driving your own vehicle. Occasionally you get repair problems but mechanics are readily available in even small towns. Van li…

Ever use that roof top tent in urban areas? How hard is that? Where I live you can park on the street for 48 hours. I suspect, however, that you can’t sleep there. You would get a knock at the very least. So, I’ve considered an incognito van that looks like a work truck. But, I wonder if you could just pop up a roof tent and sleep wherever. I’m mostly talking about city center here. As an example, I’d love to do this…

> Ever use that roof top tent in urban areas? How hard is that?

In a Walmart parking lot, yeah. I generally use Austin as my base, and in Austin, people sleep in normal tents all over the place. Rarely are they kicked out. If you're trying to park in a well-to-do neighborhood, it's possible you'll get called out for it, but quite likely if you're quiet and clean and gone the next day no one will say anything. Often, I see the big recreational vans when I'm traveling. People park them and sleep in them everywhere. As long as you're not staying multiple nights in a row in the same place, you're generally not going to bother anyone (they will usually assume you're just resting from travel).

But honestly, state & national parks are usually the way to go, particularly for tents. Sometimes it's free, sometimes it's a $5 per night honor system deposit envelope, occasionally it's a park ranger registration, depending on the location. And you don't always have to travel far off a main highway to get to a decent campsite, there's tons of spots if you look.

Re: Privately-Owned Rail Cars

#90

Post by kylehotchkiss »

cebert wrote: post #87
chiph wrote: post #17

This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…

I have a similar, but more attainable train goal of riding the Amtrak Empire Builder route from Chicago to Spokane. The route looks beautiful and has a few nice stops along the way.

Do it before they shut down the long hauls! I can’t see it being feasible for Amtrak to keep running those for decades to come.
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