So you want to preserve some Amfleet?

Dave · **Posted:** Wed Apr 03, 2024 9:40 am

How many of us can still fit into out '70's clothes? We need to create the context properly....

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sun Jul 13, 2025 3:16 pm

UPDATE:
RXCX (Railexco) Amdinette 5401 just turned up in Tuckahoe, NJ as part of the Cape May Seashore Lines/URHS fleet stored there, as per a Facebook post by Carl Perelman.

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:24 am

RXCX 5401 was delivered to Amtrak as 20034, built Oct. 1976, according to Amtrak By the Numbers, Vol. 2.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sun Jul 27, 2025 1:14 am

Facebook post from Railway Excursion Management Co.:

Quote:

5 years ago Railexco brought the first Amfleet I into the private sector, now Railexco is again leading the way as the first non-Amtrak owner of an Amfleet II. 25064 is joining the RXCX fleet.This Budd-built long distance coach will be restored for excursion service and is expected to be ready for lease by 2027.

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2876

Amtrak issues information request for eventual scrapping of Amfleet cars: https://www.trains.com/pro/mechanical/p ... leet-cars/

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2025 6:54 am

I read a report about this proposal, and immediately wrote to my local coordinator for All Aboard Ohio, calling for AAO to oppose allowing Amtrak to just scrap perfectly refurbishable Amfleet cars because they don't want potential competition. How selfish. They could be the basis for an open-access startup, like FlixTrain is in Europe, serving routes and consumers that Amtrak can't or won't. While we currently don't have "open-access" of rail lines, like most of Europe does, we shouldn't slam the door on the possibility. The Europeans regularly refurbish coach stock nowhere near as robust as our Budd stainless coaches. I could see an operator acquiring a small fleet of Amcoaches to use for charter or excursion service for things like running to festivals and state fairs, or major football rivalry games (from Columbus OH to Ann Arbor, MI for that big game every Thanksgiving weekend). Or they could be used to start-up state supported intrastate passenger service, providing proof of concept, while new equipment is ordered, much like a number of commuter agencies have started-up with the former MBTA converted RDC coaches, still running after over 60 years. Budd built these cars to last, and they still have a lot of life left in them.

jayrod · **Posted:** Mon Nov 03, 2025 9:41 am

Museums or tourist lines don't compete. Just sayin'.....

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2025 7:50 am

True, but from the article I read it doesn't sound like Amtrak is going to differentiate much over what use any potential buyer has in mind for the equipment. Besides, old Amtrak equipment has been used by other operators over the last 50+ years in revenue service, just about always not in competition with Amtrak, and in the case of say North Carolina, in conjunction with them. Besides that, even if it would be used by a lower-cost competitor, allowing more travel choices for the public will benefit Amtrak in the long-run by making it possible for people to get more places and at times that make it more likely they might use an Amtrak train as part of their travel. Scrapping this equipment for anti-competitive reasons is very short-sighted.

BTW, I've had no trouble posting this reply or the last couple. Maybe some of the issues with this platform have been resolved for awhile?