Horizon (railcar)

The Horizon is a type of single-level intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak ordered the cars to supplement their existing fleet of Amfleet I single-level cars used on shorter distance corridor trains. The design was based on the Comet railcar, a railcar for commuter railroads, but with modifications to make them more suitable for intercity service. Bombardier Transportation built 104 cars from 1988 to 1990 in two basic types: coaches and food service (café) cars.

Horizon
Amtrak Horizon car #54571 on a Lincoln Service in Springfield, Illinois in 2009.
The interior of a coach on the Amtrak Cascades in 2020.
In service1989–present
ManufacturerBombardier Transportation
Family nameComet (railcar)
Constructed1988–1990
Number built104:
  • 86 coaches
  • 18 food-service
Operator(s)Amtrak
Depot(s)Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle
Line(s) servedBlue Water, Carl Sandburg, Hiawatha, Hoosier State, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Lincoln Service, Missouri River Runner, Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquin, Saluki, Wolverine, Amtrak Cascades (temporarily)
Specifications
Car body constructionaluminium
Car length85 ft (25.91 m)
Width10 ft (3.05 m)
Height13 ft (3.96 m)
Floor height51 in (1,300 mm)
Platform height51 in (1,300 mm) (high)
22.5 in (570 mm) (low)
Doors2 manually operated dutch doors per side
Maximum speed125 miles per hour (201 km/h)
Power supply480 V AC 60 Hz Head end power
BogiesGSI-G70
Braking system(s)Air
Coupling systemJanney Type H Tightlock
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Notes
[1]

The first Horizon cars entered revenue service in April 1989. The majority of the fleet is currently assigned to the short-haul (300 miles or less) intercity routes out of Chicago that operate under the Amtrak Midwest brand.

History

In 1988, Amtrak and Bombardier signed a contract for 104 Horizon cars, based on the Comet railcar, built for use on commuter railroads. The Horizon cars allowed Amtrak to add capacity to its fleet quickly since it was adapted from a proven design, and Bombardier Transportation was already in full production of Comet II railcars. Amtrak was also able to finance the Horizon cars privately, making them the first railcars the railroad was able to purchase without securing federal funding.[2]

Bombardier delivered the cars between 1989 and spring 1990, from its Barre, Vermont assembly plant in two basic types: 86 coaches and 18 food service cars.[3] The first Horizon cars entered revenue service in April 1989.[4]

In 1994, Amtrak considered ordering a further 23 Horizon cars to replace the troublesome gas-turbine Turboliner trainsets used on New York's Empire Corridor service, but the order was never placed.[5]

Design

The design of the Horizon cars was adapted from the Comet I, a single-level commuter coach originally designed and built by Pullman-Standard in 1970–1973 for the Erie Lackawanna Railroad and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). Bombardier acquired the rights to the design of the Comet car from Pullman and in 1982 built the second generation Comet II cars for New Jersey Transit.[6][7]

Bombardier made several modifications to make them more suitable for intercity service. They are designed with a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h)[8] and ride on General Steel Industries GSI-G70 outboard bearing trucks, also found on the Superliner II (which were also built later by Bombardier).[9]

Coaches

The 72 standard coaches could seat between 76 and 82 passengers depending on the seating configuration and 14 accessible coaches could seat 72 and included space for a wheelchair.[2] The entire coach fleet was later rebuilt to be accessible, with cars now seating between 68 and 72 passengers depending on the seating configuration.[3]

Food service cars

The 18 food service cars were configured in either a café/club (table seating on one end of the car and business class seating on the other) and dinette (all table seating) configurations.[10] Both configurations have a food service counter in the middle of the car.[2] The 8 cars in the café/club configuration could seat up to 32 people around dining tables and 19 people in business class seating. The 10 cars in the dinette configuration could seat up to 48 people around dining tables.[2]

Routes served
Horizon cars on the International in 1989

As of November 2020, the Horizon coach cars primarily are used on trains based out of Amtrak's Chicago division including the Illinois Service (Carl Sandburg, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Lincoln Service & Saluki), Michigan Services (Blue Water & Wolverine), Hiawatha and Missouri River Runner.

Additionally, several Horizon cars are assigned to Amtrak's Los Angeles division for use on the Pacific Surfliner route.

The California Department of Transportation has also paid to lease and refurbish 3 dinette cars (all table seating) for use as café cars on the San Joaquin route where they are paired with refurbished Comet cars owned by the state.[11] These cars are assigned to Amtrak's Oakland division.

Horizon cars are also temporarily assigned to the Amtrak Cascades while the Washington State Department of Transportation and Amtrak prepare to purchase new equipment for the route. These cars are assigned to Amtrak's Seattle division.

See also
  • Shoreliner - Similar cars operated by Metro-North Railroad.

References
  1. Amtrak (May 2013). "Station Program and Planning Guidelines" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  2. "Amtrak's Passenger Trains" (PDF). Amtrak Public Affairs. August 1990. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  3. Simon, Elbert; Warner, David C. (2011). Amtrak by the numbers: a comprehensive passenger car and motive power roster, 1971-2011. Kansas City, Missouri: White River Productions. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-932804-12-6.
  4. Stephenson, Dick (July 1989). "Amtrak/Passenger". Pacific RailNews (308): 13–14. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013.
  5. U. S. Industrial Outlook, 1994. DIANE Publishing. 1994. p. 40-7. ISBN 9780788104329.
  6. "Rolling Stock". www.trainweb.org.
  7. Warner, David; Sutton, Harry. "Amtrak Passenger Equipment Roster - Rolling Stock". www.on-track-on-line.com.
  8. Amtrak (October 27, 2015). "Capital Investment Plan for Amtrak Equipment Deployed in State Corridor Service FY2016 – FY2020" (PDF). p. 40.
  9. Bing, Alan J.; Berry, Shaun R.; Henderson, Hal B. (1996). Design Data on Suspension Systems of Selected Rail Passenger Cars (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Federal Railroad Administration. pp. 3–11.
  10. Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. Saint Paul, Minnesota: MBI. pp. 132–133. ISBN 978-0-7603-1765-5.}
  11. San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority/Caltrans (May 24, 2013). "San Joaquin Rolling Stock Presentation" (PDF). pp. 35–42. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
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