Chris Parker and I drove into the parking lot and I could not believe that I was really here. We walked through the gates into the Shop Office and were asked to wait in the lobby as they were expecting us.
On the bulletin board was this poster that reads "Failure is not an option". It would be evident throughout our tour that the shop crew takes that sentence to heart. A few minutes later, Superintendent Lew Woods emerged from his office and we were ready to start the tour of the former New York Central shop which employs 550 people, which is well-known for the excellent workmanship. The Beech Grove Shops sit on 108 acres and there is 700,000 square feet under the rooves of this complex.
I told Lew about the lack of windows for the passengers in the Amfleet Diner-Lite car and he had me draw a diagram and he agreed that passengers should have a window to view through when they are eating their meals. We then went into his office for a few minutes and the first item I noticed was a wonderful and interesting chart which Lew explained.
This is the PY07 Production Schedule. The orange tags means cars and engines that have been shipped out and returned to service, while the yellow tags indicate equipment that is in the shop for work. This schedule is updated weekly and we would see it in every shop building we visited. Beech Grove has 16 different programs, not including wrecks, while the Bear Mountain Shop only has three. We discussed the traction motor problems the locomotives have been having and the problem is with the pinion bearing. One thing Lew said is that this shop is really proud of the fact that they can make and create their own parts. One of this year's goals is to improve the air brake shop while another is to cut cycle time that equipment sits in the shop. When cars or locomotives are out of service, it costs the company $3,000 per day. Locomotives used to take 43 days but now, in most cases, are completed in 33 days. Painting using a quicker-drying paint takes two days to paint locomotives instead of three days. Production by the Beech Grove Shops has exceeded production quotas for four straight years.
After we finished in the office, we were given safety glasses and ear plugs and made our way out of the building.
As one walks across the tracks towards the shop buildings, the emblems of all the unions who work together to make the Beech Grove Shops such a success catches ones eye.
Car Shop 1 as we approached.
Outside Car Shop 1 was Surfliner cab car 6802.
We walked into the building.
The work here is done at spots and this is Spot 7.
The other side of Car Shop 1.
The massive car vacuum that sucks out all dirt, trash and dust with the help of a worker who is tied down to stir up the dust in the carpeting and seats.
All cars in this shop are on shop trucks which allow them to move from one part to another while their trucks and wheels are being worked on in other parts of the shop complex.
Toilets are installed at Spot 6, which is also where checks for air line and system leakages are performed.
A worker doing his job at Spot 6.
Cars are jacked up so work can be performed under the car body here at Spot 6 and the protection screens that protect the head end power cables beneath the car were visible.
The jack and a shop worker.
Spot 5, which is the inbound testing of AC and batteries.
Another employee hard at work replacing air brakes.
Next was the paint and decals stripper in the car washer.
The car washer, which uses 60,000 PSI to strip off all the paint and striping in a single day.
This machine replaced workers who used to strip the car by hand.
This Superliner car was having its air conditioning unit replaced. The workers are known as the "Wizards of Beech Grove" and we were seeing that this is absolutely true.
Looking down Car Shop 1 from another angle.
Back outside Car Shop 1, the end of that giant vacuum that sucks everything out of passenger cars. When constructed, Beech Grove Shops was known as the largest locomotive hospital.
Our next shop was the Locomotive Test Pad.
The tower in the Maintenance Building was used to turn steam locomotives upright in order to clean out their boilers.
The next building we entered was the Locomotive Shop.
Amtrak B32-BWH 503 in the shop for work.
P42DC 96.
P42DC 159.
Inside the engine compartment where the engine should be. The inside of engines are painted white so crews can easily spot oil leaks.
Under the engine cab.
We next went inside the Wheel Shop.
Wheel sets ready to be installed.
Interior views in this huge building.
This is the area of the Wheel Shop which has the wheelpPress that is done by using 150 tons of force to press wheels onto their axles.
Locomotive axles at the ready to have wheels pressed onto them.
Getting ready to press wheels onto their axles.
Workers pressing the wheels onto the axle.
Continuing the wheel pressing. The trucks are measured and gauged to the right specifications for their future operations.
Locomotive truck repair. Beech Grove Shops is an Association of American Railroads-certified shop.
Rebuilt traction motors ready to be shipped to outlying locomotive shops around the Amtrak system.
Known as Combos, these are ready to be shipped out.
One last view of the Wheel Shop. Our next stop was the Hoist Shop.
The Hoist Shop with a Pacific Parlour Car in the background.
The Hoist Shop where cars are detrucked and retrucked to Federal Railroad Administration specifications.
A "Sea of Wheels".
Inside the Hoist Shop was a Horizon car up on jacks. Amtrak may soon be repainting these cars to gray as their present aluminium sides attracts dirt as soon as the cars are released from Beech Grove.
A Superliner in the Hoist Shop being worked on.
A Pacific Parlour car which was scheduled to be returned to service in July.
This sign tells you all that the Beech Grove Shop crews do in the Forge Shop.
Interior of the Forge Shop.
Viewliner truck sets.
Getting ready to lift a Viewliner truck set.
More truck sets being worked on.
Proceco truck washer.
The sandblasting unit.
Trucks waiting in storage until they can be returned to a car in need.
Another employee hard at work in the Forge Shop.
The shop oven with temperatures over 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit.
A freshly-baked truck part.
The storage area of the Forge Shop. From here we went into Car Shop 2.
Lew Woods, Beech Grove Shop Superintendent and fantastic tour guide.
