Vol. 7, No.6 July 1980 Superliners On Desert Wind, Zephyr; ______ I 403(B) Activity In Several States Train activity was accelerated at Scheduled next for conversion to and a food service car. One train­ Amtrak last month with a series of ~ead-end-power is the Silver Meteor. the extension of the Chicago-St. developments that included some 403(8) Service Louis Ann Rutledge-currently oper­ possible new trains, as well as actual ates over the route. Interesting developments have also and proposed implementation of new been occuring on the 403(b) front.. equipment on other trains. Georgia Missouri The state of Georgia, too, has ex­ Desert Wind Amtrak has notified the state of pressed interest in 403 (b) service, The Desert Wind was equipped Missouri that it would, if Missouri specifically between Atlanta and Sa­ with Superliner cars northbound on desires, operate a second train be­ vannah/Brunswick. June 30, and southbound on July 1. tween Kansas City and St. Louis. No Amtrak was asked to conduct a The train will operate with a baggage start-up date has been set but it is ex­ feasibility study to determine the car, an Amdinette, a transition car pected that, if the 403(b) train did most suitable route. To do this, a and the required number of coaches operate, it would begin sometime this special inspection train was operated until August 3 when a head-end­ autumn. over several days in late June between power sleeping car will be added to The proposed consist would be an the cities. the consist. F40PH locomotive, plus an Amcoach The three routes the inspection San Francisco Zephyr One of the six sets of cars needed to Amtrak Stars On "In House" TV operate the San Francisco Zephyr was converted to Superliner service on Amtrak TV News, a special video­ their local news programs. Monday, July 7, when the train left tape presentation of company events Hosted, directed and produced by Chicago. As more cars arrive from is undergoing a four-month viewer Jim Bryant, director, audio-visual Pullman Standard, they will be test that began last May. projects, public affairs department, phased into service on the 2,390-mile Distribution of the program at pre­ the 20-minute programs also make sent is limited to points on the system run. Included in the consist of the use of other Amtrak employees­ that have 3/4-inch videotape play­ both at headquarters and in the first train were two Superliner sleepers, a Superliner diner, five back units. Cities include Albany­ field-as "street reporters" for par­ Rensselaer, New York, Philadelphia, Superliner coaches as well as single ticular segments. Washington, Chicago, Beech Grove level baggage cars, an Amdinette for July's "edition" is typical, with and Los Angeles. use as a lounge car and a transition segments on the inaugural run of the Local employees have also ar­ dormitory car. Pennsylvanian, the test train for ranged to borrow or rent tape units at possible 403(b) service in Georgia, a Crescent Seattle and Jacksonville to view the special report on Beech Grove's HEP One set of the Crescent's four con­ shows. program, and an interview with sists was scheduled for conversion to At the end of the four-month Angelo Caputo, assistant vice presi­ head-end-power cars about July 22 period, Amtrak will evaluate the pro­ dent .and controller, and Ed Cour­ and could very well be operating by grams to see if they should be con­ temanche, director of performance the time this issue of Amtrak News tinued on a regular basis. measurements, 'on Amtrak's per­ reaches its subscribers. Each general superintendent is formance for first eight months of the As more HEP cars come out of the responsible for publicizing and set­ current fiscal year. Beech Grove shops, the other three ting up times and places to air the Employees who are not located in sets of cars will be converted. The program for employees locally. cities of the present "network" but Crescent will be the third long­ Many of the features used have do have access to 3/ 4 inch videotape distance train to be completely outfit­ been made available to Amtrak by playback units and would like to bor­ ted with the "like new" all-electric commercial television station that row a tape can contact Bryant at (8) cars. had shown the material originally on 733-3863. train ran over were: resolutions passed recently by the the state of Pennsylvania to deter­ • Atlanta-Macon, over the Missouri House of Representatives mine if funding for a requested Southern Railway, continuing to and the Oklahoma legislature. Pittsburgh-Altoona train has been Savannah over the Seaboard Coast While neither state has formally settled. Stumbling blocks to a quick Line. applied for such service under section start-up of such a train include the • Savannah-Jessup, over the SCL, 403(b), the study does provide Am­ fact that cost estimates originally sub­ then a side round-trip to Brunswick trak's best estimates of potential mitted to the state are old since they before going on to Macon and Atlan­ ridership and costs should such a were predicated on a life of 60 days ta, all over the Southern. train be considered by both states. and are now three months old, plus • Atlanta-Macon-Savannah, over the fact that Amtrak can not guaran­ the Central of Georgia. Pennsylvania tee that capital work could be done Amtrak is also waiting word from now to begin service by October. North Carolina Amtrak has begun feasibility stud­ ies of four potential rail passenger Payroll Problems? Call Hot Line routes in and through the state of North Carolina. A payroll Hot Line has been put in­ Employees should be prepared to The four routes requested were to service as of last month so em­ give their full name, home and work submitted to Amtrak by the North ployees can call the department dir­ telephone numbers, work location Carolina Department of Transporta­ ectly at any hour of the day if they and Social Security number. tion. Amtrak is now analyzing the have problems with any payroll mat­ The Hot Line number from any­ revenue potential, and capital and op­ ter. where in the United States, except the erational costs involved in providing Employees had been able to call the District of Columbia, is 800-424- the services. department during regular business 5067 . For D.C. calls, the number is The routes under consideration hours for some time but the service 383-3517. are: has now been expanded and convert­ The number will be listed in the box • Greenville to Charlotte, ed to an " all-hours" nationwide Hot that accompanies monthly Hot Line • Raleigh to Charlotte, Line. answers in Amtrak News. • Winston-Salem to Charlotte, During normal working hours calls Whenever possible, supervisors arur Will be answered by staf personne an time eepers s ou d continue to • Norfolk, Virginia, to Memphis, but in off-hours they will be handled use the payroll inquiry unit number Tennessee. by an automatic answering machine. on Amtrak's regular telephone net­ A Norfolk-Memphis train would The machine will ask five questions work. The Hot Line is designed to require participation by the states of that employees must answer so the give employees a capability to reach Virginia, North Carolina and Ten­ department can assist with the prob­ the payroll department at any hour nessee. lem and return the employee's call. under any condition and at no cost. A starting date for any new rail ser­ vice, and the costs involved, would depend on how much track and signal Europeans Coming To See Us work would be required to operate the trains; how much time it would For the first time in modern his­ abroad. There are, for example, re­ take North Caroina, Amtrak and the_ tory, there may be more tourists from ciprocal sales agreements with the contracting railroads to agree upon a Europe visiting the United States this German, French, Irish and Scandin­ schedule and other operational as­ year than vice versa, according to the avian railways. pects; and how long it would take the United States Travel Service. Amtrak's newest sales brochure­ state legislature to appropriate neces­ The Service predicts that more than printed in German, French, Spanish, sary funds to support the service. three million will visit America in Swedish and Finnish-capitalizes on 1980, with 1.25 million coming from the increasing interest of Europeans Oklahoma Great Britain. One British tour opera­ in Florida. Amtrak has also forwarded results tor alone is flying 6,000 English tour­ It describes the long-popular of a preliminary cost analysis and ists each week to Florida. "Week of Wheels" plan, which of­ market projection on proposed ser­ While they're here, many of those feJ;s unlimited use of a rental car with vice linking Oklahoma City with St. tourists will be using Amtrak service the purchase of three round-trip fares Louis. The results went to the states to cross the country. Amtrak issues between the Northeast and Miami, as of Missouri and Oklahoma who an unlimited-travel U.S.A. Rail Pass, well as a "Week of Hotels," which would participate on a 403(b) basis. plus other tickets and tours, through provides seven nights' lodging at a se­ The evaluation was requested in travel agents and transportation firms lection of hotels throughout the state. 2 1960. McLurkin joined Amtrak in Amtrak People 1974. As an Amtrak employee he has McLurkin, Duffany­ they've even been back." worked on the Montrealer, Broadway Duffany has a simple philosophy in Limited and James Whitcomb Riley.