Both Elizabeth and I are members of the Central Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. It was announced in the spring that Steve Ferrari, Chapter President, had organized for a tour of the Siemens Mobility Plant in Sacramento to occur on August 14th.
We drove to Lodi the day before, spent the night at the Best Western I-5 Inn and Suites then drove to the Siemens Plant for the 10:00 tour. We were two of fifteen members who partook in the event, which lasted nearly four hours as the group was shown every area of the sprawling complex except the Paint Shop, due to the nature of both noise and safety concerns.
All pictures by Elizabeth Guenzler as my camera battery was not at full power.
The Siemens sign on one of their many buildings. Hailey Rumsey of the Communications Department and Eberhard Lange, Head of Manufacturing, met us in the lobby of Building 4 and acted as our guides, with the department manager of each manufacturing floor covering operations for their area. The tour included the locomotive and Venture passenger car assembly buildings, the LRV manufacturing floor, the welding shop and the electrical shop where teams hand-assemble wiring harnesses for all products.
Before the tour itself commenced, a short presentation was shown which gave an overview of Siemens and their Rail Manufacturing Plant.
Fact sheets on the various streetcars built by Siemens; we added one of each to our collection.
Facts sheets on the various locomotive built by Siemens.
San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency LVR Car 1218 under construction.
Cables used in streetcar construction.
Cables for the Portland Streetcar.
Harness Table 2 for VIA Rail Canada.
Engine compartment electrification.
Seattle +114 AP harnesses.
Current Siemens projects underway.
Switch Cab Electric Team: Coach Team for Via Rail.
Electric cabinets and a myriad of wires.
Brand new locomotive controls.
The moulds for locomotive controls being built.
The end of one of the bunches of cables that are an integral part of modern streetcars.
Cables and plugs to be installed in one of the Siemens streetcars.
A Siemens employee at work.
Cables galore.
Half of an articulated San Diego Trolley car under construction.
An employee working on a piece of equipment on shop trucks.
An empty electrical cabinet on the shop stand.
The beginning of a Siemens locomotive roof.
A new Amtrak SC-44.
A new Portland Streetcar.
Sound Transit Link Light Rail 325.
San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency streetcar 2105B and a Portland Streetcar.
Amtrak 348 project board.
Amtrak SC-44 348 built by Siemens in 2022.
Final Assembly Tracker 8/11/2023.
Various electronics waiting to be installed.
San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency Streetcar 2126A, built by Siemens in 2022.
An employee working on a new SCC-44 locomotive for Amtrak.
The front of a new Amtrak SC-44.
Locomotive trucks.
Amtrak SC-44 339, a newly-finished Charger locomotive, built by Siemens in 2022. Everyone was allowed to go inside.
The control panel.
Engineer's control panel.
The controls on the rear of the cab.
The rear wall.
Various switches.
Voltage and resistance controls.
Traction motor control area.
A part of the engine.
A Mahle identification plate.
Brakes pressure gauges.
The engine compartment as seen from outside.
Amtrak 339.
Elizabeth and Amtrak 339.
VIA Rail SCV-22 2208 built by Siemens in 2022.
An un-numbered San Diego Trolley.
Portland Streetcar and a VIA Rail Venture Car.
Siemens Moving Beyond.
Bodies of future light rail cars.
A Siemens employee in the shop.
Future San Diego Trolley Car 378 on shop stand.
Right sidewall.
Steel under frabrication.
Steel bracing.
San Diego/Sacramento left hand sidewall complete critical dimension sheet.
Steel cross bracing.
Truck frame under construction.
Siemens shop scene.
Amtrak San Joaquin Venture Car 9024 built by Siemens in 2022.
A Sound Transit Link Light Rail car.
Metal brackets.
The beginning of a truck frame.
Siemens project board.
The beginning of a truck frame.
A frame under construction.
Twin Cities and Phoenix parts.
Part of a roof being fabicated.
The underside of a roof piece under fabrication.
A Siemens SC-44 under construction.
A locomotive roof.
Locomotive roof documentation process card.
Cab side wall right.
Cab side wall right sign on a Amtrak long-distance engine.
The beginning of a locomotive.
The fuel tank of a future locomotive.
The underside of a locomotive.
Steel frame under construction.
An SC-44 under construction.
Interior of that SC-44.
Its traction motors.
Rear of the SC-44.
Traction motors.
An Orange County streetcar.
Shells of Venture coaches.
Close-up of a weld on a Venture coach. Each welder's work is unique.
Side of the coach's steel panels. The wavy lines are the reflection of the overhead lights.
Steel side panels of a Siemens coach.
A shop crane.
A shop scene.
Siemens SC-44 cab car under construction.
A Venture car being moved from one shop building to another. We would see more of this a little later.
Venture Trainsets - Passenger Coach and Sub-Components schematic sign.
Via Rail coach 72 under construction.
Siemens tour guide beside VIA Rail coach 72.
Part of the galley of a coach to be installed.
Parts for VIA Rail coach 72.
Underneath of a coach under construction.
Components for VIA Rail coaches 64 and 62.
Via Rail cab car 2307 under construction. We were invited inside.
The interior.
The galley/coffee maker area.
Siemens map of the United States.
The continuation of the Venture coach being moved into the next shop to be worked on. The wheels of the huge railcar mover turned in different directions to 'steer' it into the building and the whole process was carefully monitored by watchful employees.
A line of locomotives and coaches.
The rear of a cab control car.
VIA Rail coach 83 built by Siemens in 2022.
A San Joaquin coach and a VIA Rail coach.
San Joaquin coach.
Orange County Streetcar.
Sound Transit Link light rail car 204A, built by Siemens in 2022.
Orange County Streetcar.
The doorway of an Orange County streetcar.
Portland Streetcar 873 built by Siemens in 2022.
A Siemens locomotive engine outside their shops.
Amtrak SC-44 340.
Portland streetcar under construction.
San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Agency streetcar 2126, built by Siemens in 2022 and on a shop stand.
Venture coach 110.
Sacramento Regional Transit streetcar.
Testing the lights.
Sacramento Regional Transit streetcar under construction.
Orange County streetcar.
Interior of Portland Streetcar 607A built by Siemens in 2022.
Above the entrance door.
Looking above the door.
The myriads of cables that are under the flap of the entrance area.
Part of the controls.
Calgary LRV 2470 being built by Siemens in 2022.
San Francico Metropolitan Transit Agency streetcar 127A built by Siemens in 2022.
The first two group pictures.
The third group picture back in the shops, which brought an end to this most interesting tour. We were led back to the headquarters building to exit.
Model of Amtrak City AC-44 Sprinter 601 on display near an elevator in the headquarters building. As we walked through the corridors with offices and workstations, there were several photographs of Siemens-built equipment representing the cities in which their products operate.
Atlanta S70 LRV Streetcar, which operates on a 2.62 mile system running along the streets of the downtown area. Atlanta's streetcar system marks the inauguration of Siemens Mobility's first US-built S70 Streetcar based on the servic-provded 70% low-floor light rail vehicle platform.
The proposed Downtown Riverfront Streetcar Project for Sacramento Rapid Transit using S70 Streetcars on a 1.5 mile line intended to connect West Sacramento to Sacramento's downtown business districts and the greater transportation network.
Charlotte S700 Streetcar. In 2018, Siemens Mobility introduced the latest innovation in low-floor light rail technology, an update of the 15-year-old S70 platform. Charlotte Area Transit System has tapped Siemens Mobility to build six new S700 streetcars to help meet growing ridership and the next expansion of what will soon be a ten-mile line.
Orange County S700 Streetcar. In 2018, Siemens Mobility introduced the latest innovation in low-floor light rail technology, an update of the 15-year-old S70 platform. Orange County Transportation Authority has tapped Siemens Mobility to build eight new S700 streetcars. With most of its route following the original path of an abandoned railway (Pacific Electric), the OC Streetcar is a modern, second-generation light rail system running on 4.1 miles of track.
Salt Lake City S70 low-floor Light Rail Vehicle. Population growth, swelling congestion and a successful bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics landed Salt Lake City with its very own light rail system in 1999, opening with a base fleet of 23 Siemens Mobility vehicles. The success of that initial order and the increase in ridership prompted Salt Lake City to expand their system to include 44.8 miles of track and operate in excess of 117 light rail vehicles. In 201, Siemens Mobility introduced the latest edition of light rail vehicles for the growing Salt Lake System; the 70 percent low-floor Siemens Mobility S70 LRV.
Amtrak SC-44 2118, one of sixteen Siemens Charger locomotives, which entered service on the Pacific Surfliner trains in 2018, replacing the F59PHI's.
Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) SC-44 80, one of eight locomotives which entered service in 2018; replacing the AEM-7s, which have a maximum speed of 125 mph.
Elizabeth and I then drove home back to our apartment in Santa Ana, ending this adventure.
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