On June 2, 2014, Trains Passenger correspondent Bob Johnston was in the cab of Amtrak ACS-64 electric locomotive 600, joining engineer Darren Avila, road foreman T.C. Williamson Jr., and signal supervisor Joe DiGiacomo aboard Northeast Regional train No. 184 from Washington D.C., to Wilmington, Del. His cover story in the January 2015 issue, “Amtrak’s new electric workhorse,” features photos and crew commentary from the journey, as well as a look inside the Wilmington Heavy Maintenance Facility, where new ACS-64s are prepped for Northeast Corridor revenue service. This photo gallery includes additional views from the cab and an interior look at No. 600 — the locomotive Amtrak named in early November to honor the company’s seventh president, David Gunn.
ACS-64 600 is ready for its 9:20 a.m. departure from track 17 at Washington Union Station, leading Northeast Regional 184 to New York. It was the first of the new locomotives to enter revenue service; a photo from that Feb. 7, 2014, trip is on the cover of the January 2015 Trains.
9:24 a.m.: Engineer Darren Avila has No. 600’s controller in the full power position accelerating past Virginia Railway Express equipment in Ivy City yard. The audio recorder in the foreground would soon slip off the console.
9:34 a.m.: The engineer’s control stand, from left to right: the video monitor containing pertinent air brake and locomotive performance information; the cab ACSES signal display with the current “approach medium” indication, and the split-screen view from rear-facing cameras to show platform activity on both sides of the train. Below the screen are air brake controls for the train (red handle) and engine (black handle). Avila has also placed speed-restriction advisories and a train schedule card on the desktop.
10:26 a.m.: Past Baltimore, train 184 is switched to the north track across the aging Bush River bridge, where a bird’s nest rests comfortably above the clear signal.
10:27 a.m.: Safety personnel are in place to protect an Amtrak track crew upgrading the center track east of Bush River with new rail, ballast, and concrete ties.
10:33 a.m.: Waiting east of the work area is HHP-8 No. 660 with Washington-bound train 185. By November, this locomotive and all but two in the 15-unit HHP-8 fleet were stored.
10:40 a.m.: Back on the south track east of Perryville, Md., train 184 speeds past a Norfolk Southern crude oil train headed for the refinery at Delaware City, Del. Heavy overnight freight traffic has prompted Amtrak to make limited midday slots available.
