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Was the lounge otherwise 100% filled? 60% filled? I've often found that announcements like this actually keep people from using the car. Isn't a full lounge a good thing? You want the passengers to use it. To be fair... I'm a certified "Lounge Lizard" the SSL is by far the best place to...

I disagree. The Crew should not be permitted to take up any tables. The cars were traditionally called "lounge cars" - which meant that passengers should be permitted to lounge with or without food and drink.

Are the customer satisfaction scores publicaly available? Would be interesting to see how they vary with Flex and Traditional Dining. Contemporary Dining was only on the Lake Shore correct? Or maybe the Capitol too? It lasted for such a short time it doesn't seem much data could be gathered...

I never experienced "fresh contemporary" but the items looked much better in quality and definitely sounded more appealing to me. I'm not sure if they were "ridiculously unpopular" compared to the current flex meals which are also "ridiculously unpopular" from what I can tell. I don't think...

The car seats 44 I believe. The point of flex was to serve sleeping car passengers with the help of the SCA's who were supposed to take the order and deliver the food.

That's generally not how commercial commissaries and kitchens work. A local bakery can still deliver items in bulk - often they will be frozen and then thawed the day before serving. And of course, local bakeries exist in all towns that Amtrak stocks dining cars from, which is really my point...

But no items like that exist other than, perhaps, the breakfast pastries from the "local bakeries" which I highly doubt are delivered on a daily basis, but I suppose they could be.

I don't think anything on Acela would have a shorter shelf life than items on the Long Distance trains - all the items are coming from the same commercial commissary.

I have only ridden Acela in Business Class so I can't personally compare but nothing on the Acela 1st Class Menu sounds like it resembles anything on the flex menu. Now if you felt they were the same quality, that's interesting to note but the menu certainly makes them sound like a higher...

I'm a railfan / "foamer" and absolutely love the historic streamliners of the VIA Canadian but I've had trips that were equally as enjoyable on the Starlight and Zephyr. For me, Amtrak has much better schedules and timekeeping. The Canadian requires a great deal of patience. Both Amtrak and...

Since we are talking about SSL etiquette, it's also worth mentioning that the lower level of SSL's are often taken over by Amtrak crew these days. That of course reduces the amount of seating space in the SSL car by about 20 or so. (I think there are 5 booths down there? Can't remember).

The Flex Meals that I have had are really bad and wouldn't be acceptable if they were on literal gold plates. I've had Cafe car food on Amtrak that was quite good and that is not presented dining car style. I've also had Domestic First Airline food that is simply reheated and plated and it was...

My thoughts on this.... I would much rather an observation lounge be under-policed than over-policed. I've seen and experienced both. I don't think there should be any time limits set or expected but I also don't think personal items or trash should be allowed to take up any seats / space...

"Reliability" would only apply to Eastbound trains though since the Builder starts in Chicago, it has as good of a chance of being reliable as the Borealis. Glad to see St. Paul Union Station getting more service - I remember riding past the abandoned station on the Empire Builder after...

Ahh.... there's an easy solution then. Maybe the local government could propose a new tax for the shipyard? hmm???

Oh yeah... I forgot about the transition car. I'm not super familiar with them but that surely adds to the complexity of switching. The loop doesn't physically exist anymore correct? Probably the best solution is a skyline car with rotating seats.

Only the Park car would need to be turned. I actually grew up working at a tourist railroad where we had a turntable - was kinda fun to operate it.

Sorry.. I don't think I understood your point. Originally you said "passenger rail is a significant part of the transportation mix" - I definitely think Chicago qualifies when you count all of the Amtrak corridor trains, Metra, and South Shore.

well... the good news is - there wouldn't be any other trains trying to use that wye! haha.

Did you overlook Chicago and the various corridors? Cascades Corridor gets an honorable mention as well. And of course North Carolina is trying but it's got a long ways to go but still they are pushing for everything they can and getting somewhere.