Amtrak - To strobe or not to strobe?

[robbs]

I've got a question, why did Amtrak not feel the need to have Bombardier equip its Acela Express fleet's power cars and HHP-8's with rooftop strobes like their AEM-7's, metroliner cab cars, and (former) F40's, etc?

[Conrail Quality]

Well, back in the 70's when Amtrak ordered the AEM-7's, there were still a decent amount of grade crossings left on the corridor. So, they were later equipped with the strobes as a safety precaution to prevent grade-crossing collisions. However, as part of the Acela project, Amtrak upgraded the corridor, which included extending the electrification to Boston, replacing wooden ties with concrete ones- and removing grade crossings. They were able to eliminate all but 4 crossings on the entire corridor. So Amtrak felt the strobes were unnecessary, since only having 4 grade crossings made car-train collisions must less of an issue.

The ex-Metroliner cab cars and F40's, unlike the Acelas and HHP-8's, are not confined to the northeast corridor. They frequently venture out onto the rest of the system, were grade crossings are quite common. Hence, the strobe lights are necessary.

Timothy

[jward]

i think part of the answer about the strobes also has to do with the fact that since the early 1990s all mainline locomotives are required to have ditch lights, which also flash but are much brighter than strobes. locomotives such as the hhp8 or acela were built after this requirement went into effect and thus do not need strobes. i believe that some of the amd103 genesis units also have strobes but i don't believe all of them do, they first hit the rails about 1993.