The Horizon is a type of single-level intercity railroad
passenger car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
used by
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, 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 used for
commuter railroads
Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis, primarily for sho ...
, but with modifications to make them more suitable for intercity service.
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
built 104 cars from 1988 to 1990 in two basic types: coaches and food service (café) cars.
The first Horizon cars entered revenue service in April 1989. The majority of the fleet was assigned to the short-haul (300 miles or less) intercity routes out of Chicago that operate under the ''Amtrak Midwest'' branding.
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.
Bombardier delivered the cars between 1989 and spring 1990, from its
Barre, Vermont Barre, Vermont may refer to:
*Barre (city), Vermont
*Barre (town), Vermont
Barre ( ) is a New England town, town in Washington County, Vermont, Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 7,923 at the 2020 census, making it the 3r ...
assembly plant in two basic types: 86 coaches and 18 food service cars.
The first Horizon cars entered revenue service in April 1989.
In 1994, Amtrak considered ordering a further 23 Horizon cars to replace the troublesome gas-turbine
Turboliner
The Turboliners were a family of gas turbine trainsets built for Amtrak in the 1970s. They were among the first new equipment purchased by Amtrak to update its fleet with faster, more modern trains. The first batch, known as RTG, were built by ...
trainsets used on New York's
Empire Corridor
The Empire Corridor is a passenger rail corridor in New York State running between Penn Station in New York City and . Major cities on the route include Poughkeepsie, Albany, Schenectady, Amsterdam, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo ...
service, but the order was never placed.
Design
The design of the Horizon cars was adapted from the
Comet I, a single-level commuter coach designed and built by
Pullman-Standard
The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...
in 1970–1973 for the
Erie Lackawanna Railroad
The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...
and
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...
(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
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
.
Bombardier made several modifications to make them more suitable for intercity service. They are designed with a maximum speed of
and ride on
General Steel Industries
General Steel Industries, Inc. (GSI) was an American steel company founded as General Steel Castings Corporation in 1928.
The company's first headquarters were in Eddystone, Pennsylvania and, prior to completing its own modern steel foundry in ...
GSI-G70 outboard bearing trucks, also found on the
Superliner II
The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak ordered the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the Weste ...
(which were also built later by Bombardier).
Coaches
The 72 standard coaches could seat between 76 and 82 passengers depending on the seating configuration and 14
accessible
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...
coaches could seat 72 and included space for a wheelchair.
The entire coach fleet was later rebuilt to be accessible, with cars now seating between 68 and 72 passengers depending on the seating configuration.
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) or dinette (all table seating) configuration.
[}] Both configurations have a food service counter in the middle of the car.
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.
Routes served
![Amtrak International in Komoka, September 1989](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Amtrak_International_in_Komoka%2C_September_1989.jpg)
, the Horizon coach cars primarily are used on trains based out of Amtrak's Chicago division including the
Illinois Service
The ''Illinois Service'', branded Amtrak Illinois, comprises three passenger rail routes operated by Amtrak in the American state of Illinois. The ''Illinois Service'' is funded primarily by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).
Chi ...
(''
Carl Sandburg
Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...
'', ''
Illini'', ''
Illinois Zephyr
The ''Illinois Zephyr'' and ''Carl Sandburg'' are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois. As ''Illinois Service'' trains, they are partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transporta ...
'', ''
Lincoln Service
The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the ''Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transp ...
'' & ''
Saluki
The Saluki, also known as the Persian Greyhound, is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals. The dog was origina ...
''),
Michigan Services
''Michigan Services'' are three Amtrak passenger rail routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with the Michigan cities of Grand Rapids, Port Huron, and Detroit, and stations en route. The group is a component of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative. ...
(''
Blue Water
Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water.
Definitions
The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...
'' & ''
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
''),
''Hiawatha'' and ''
Missouri River Runner
The ''Missouri River Runner'' is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak between Gateway Transportation Center in St. Louis and Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The eastern half of the route runs largely along the right bank of th ...
''.
Additionally, several Horizon cars are assigned to Amtrak's Los Angeles division for use on the ''
Pacific Surfliner
The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo.
The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from F ...
'' route.
The
California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
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.
These cars are assigned to Amtrak's Oakland division.
Horizon cars are also temporarily assigned to the ''
Amtrak Cascades
The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train corridor in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The corr ...
'' 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
Shoreliners are a class of locomotive-hauled rail car used by the Metro-North Railroad for service on non-electrified portions of their system. They are similar to the Comet coaches used by New Jersey Transit, however there are several differen ...
- Similar cars operated by Metro-North Railroad.
References
External links
*
Amtrak Photo Archives- Horizon Fleet Cars
{{Amtrak rollingstock
Amtrak rolling stock
Rail passenger cars of the United States
Bombardier Transportation rail vehicles
Train-related introductions in 1989