Condition of Superliners

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2sk21

2sk21

Train Attendant
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
36
I just completed an epic transcontinental journey and will post a proper trip report soon. However I did want to make a comment about the state of the cars.

We took the Capitol Limited from Washington to Chicago and then the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle. We had bedrooms for both legs in the sleepers.

The cars on the Capitol Limited were in excellent condition and felt like a compact but elegant hotel room. The condition of the sleeping cars on the Empire builder left a lot to be desired. Not only was the interior shabby but there was a flat spot on one of the wheels which resulted in an annoying noise. I took the following photo when we were leaving Chicago:

IMG_4715.jpg

Note the "vacuum leak" lamp was lit. I was a bit concerned about this and sure enough the sleeping car attendant told us on the second day that the toilets were out of action. Thankfully, by some heroic patchwork, she was able to keep them operational until we got to Seattle. [Let me offer my praise to Veronica Sobel, our SCA who saved the situation for us]

In any case, the cars on the Empire Builder are in dire need of refurbishment. Their age is really showing. I saw a build date of 1976 on the builders plate on one of the trucks.
 
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We rode the Superliners from Chicago-Denver -Chicago-Washington last week and at best they can be rated as in worn condition. The CZ bedroom had rattles galore, the A/C worked poorly and the sink valve was very slow to shut off. The CL bedroom chair was bent at a down angle and that too had poor A/C ventilation; just barely adequate. Lets face it, these are old, heavily used sleeper cars that we are talking about and IMO not worth the cost which they charge. Our experience is making the driving option more attractive.
 
Cho Cho Charlie said:
2sk21 said:
[Let me offer my praise to Veronica Sobel, our SCA who saved the situation for us]
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You might want to offer it here too, https://www.amtrak.com/employee-praise
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Good point - I did, in fact, send a note for her on that page and also for several other Amtrak employees who went over and above their duties to make the journey memorable and comfortable for us. Pretty much every Amtrak employee we encountered on our journey was helpful and polite.
 
Certainly the conductor, SCA's and food service people all did a credible job on our trip but if the condition of the Superliner equipment is the subject, it is old , poorly maintained and sub par. When you pay over $1100 for a one way bedroom trip to/from Denver, you deserve better.
 
Considering how long it is taking to get the Viewliner IIs into service, it will probably be 20-30 years before we see Superliner 3s!
 
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dlagrua said:
When you pay over $1100 for a one way bedroom trip to/from Denver, you deserve better.
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Considering Amtrak is still loosing money at that fare, would you be willing to pay, say, $5500 for the same trip, but in new Superliners?

If so, how many trips would you personally commit to, each day?

The reality is, I am sure that Amtrak would love to have all brand new equipment. All Amtrak needs, is someone to paying for it.
 
OlympianHiawatha said:
Considering how long it is taking to get the Viewliner IIs into service, it will probably be 20-30 years before we see Superliner IIs!
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wait, so you mean there won't be a national coast-to-coast network of super high speed maglev trains in 20-30 years?

not that I'll mind riding around in 70-year-old Superliner cars by then.... :)
 
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Contact your Congress Critters and complain to them about the condition of Amtrak's older Superliner cars, now close to being 40 years old.

Traveling on a long distance Amtrak train would be more pleasant if Congress didn't force Amtrak to penny pinch by only providing Amtrak a minimal allocation of funds.

The Superliner cars were built in 2 batches. The first in the late 1970s and the second some 20 years later in the mid-1990s.
 
KmH said:
Contact your Congress Critters and complain to them about the condition of Amtrak's older Superliner cars, now close to being 40 years old.

Traveling on a long distance Amtrak train would be more pleasant if Congress didn't force Amtrak to penny pinch by only providing Amtrak a minimal allocation of funds.

The Superliner cars were built in 2 batches. The first in the late 1970s and the second some 20 years later in the mid-1990s.
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age is not an issue for me.... frankly, I sleep pretty well at night knowing that America

is still protected by 60-year-old B-52 bombers carrying nuclear weapons. or that most

of America's nuclear missiles are still controlled from computers that use 5.25 floppy

disks. (same as what my Apple II computer used?)

it's just a matter of money. I'm pretty sure if Amtrak had money(contradiction in terms?),

they would fix up the trains regularly. :)
 
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Is it possible, if money was available, to piggyback off the State bi-level order and order Superliner 3 sleepers? Is there anything stopping the new bi-levels from being used as sleepers? If there is no design or technical reason why it could not, then I'm guessing new sleepers could come online really quickly. Isn't the problem between Viewliner 1 and 2 the gap in years and different companies building them?
 
Could the design of the Superliner IIs be used as the basis for ordering, without any major changes except for maybe updated wiring? Or are there any new safety rules which would require a major redesign, which could lead to a repeat of the Viewliner order fiasco?
 
The non modularity of the SL design is one of the things that make them harder to rehab. If a set of modules could be removed and replaced instead of being rehabbed in place, the work could be done on a much speedier and cost effective basis. Anything new is much more likely to be built that way.
 
I would figure Amtrak would find away to defeat the system, but the idea that new modules can be built in a factory and be ready to install should in theory speed the process and reduce the cost. We haven't wrecked a VL sleeper, and probably won't see any real refitting until well after the VL2 get here. That's when we will find out.
 
ToniCounter said:
KmH said:
Contact your Congress Critters and complain to them about the condition of Amtrak's older Superliner cars, now close to being 40 years old.

Traveling on a long distance Amtrak train would be more pleasant if Congress didn't force Amtrak to penny pinch by only providing Amtrak a minimal allocation of funds.

The Superliner cars were built in 2 batches. The first in the late 1970s and the second some 20 years later in the mid-1990s.
Click to expand...
age is not an issue for me.... frankly, I sleep pretty well at night knowing that America

is still protected by 60-year-old B-52 bombers carrying nuclear weapons. or that most

of America's nuclear missiles are still controlled from computers that use 5.25 floppy

disks. (same as what my Apple II computer used?)

it's just a matter of money. I'm pretty sure if Amtrak had money(contradiction in terms?),

they would fix up the trains regularly. :)
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The VIA canadian has a consist made almost entirely of cars from 1955-56, but they are in near mint condition, but they have been very well maintained
 
And Canada only has enough car to run three trains each way a week and only two in the "off season". Amtrak could maintain its cars if it only had about 20 Superliner sleepers.
 
Actually the very short time available to turn at ORL is one primary reason why many are skeptical about extending the CONO. The only way it could work is if the section of the CONO that continues on to ORL is thoroughly serviced in NOL. And hence the idea that a separate train is better.
 
VIA has a much higher spare equipment inventory. That is why VIA can keep their Heritage equipment running. If Amtrak was able to have the same spare equipment then maybe ???? But that probably will not occur before 2026 due to needs to lengthen trains & add additional services. The CAF and NS failures has certainly pushed sufficient equipment availability further into the future.
 
VIAs 1950s Budd Cars have been almost totally rebuilt and rehabbed several times over the years,there is a pool of extra equipment to draw on and the Trains only run 2-3 times a week with plenty of layover time to service them properly!

Amtrak's LD Equipment on the other hand is rode hard and put up wet as the saying goes!

And Congress won't give Amtrak any money for New Equipment or extensive rebuilds and rehab!
 
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jis said:
Actually the very short time available to turn at ORL is one primary reason why many are skeptical about extending the CONO. The only way it could work is if the section of the CONO that continues on to ORL is thoroughly serviced in NOL. And hence the idea that a separate train is better.
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Think that goes in the Gulf Coast thread :)
 
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