Hotblack Desiato
Service Attendant
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- Jan 16, 2012
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- 186
Aren't there 5 Parlour cars in the fleet, or did one get retired already?
PPC on 11 (7) is going to be "Bad Ordered"
- Thread starter Lonestar648
- Start date
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Rail Freak
Engineer
A private Sleeper SSL, the more I think about it ..... YEAH that would be nice on all routes!!!!ImageUploadedByAmtrak Forum1499696785.330475.jpg
My wife sitting in the substitute car for the PPC. They did offer some of the alternative menu items and a few specialty drinks. No breakfast buffet. Some items were not stocked. The attendant said a cross country cafe car would be a better substitute. The car didn't get crowded and was still a nice alternative to the SSL.
(Am I dreaming again?
)Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
I don't think they have anywhere near enough SSLs. They seemed to have a lot of extra CCC's back in the day though. Maybe there could be some sleeper-only C3 cars?A private Sleeper SSL, the more I think about it ..... YEAH that would be nice on all routes!!!!(Am I dreaming again?ImageUploadedByAmtrak Forum1499696785.330475.jpg
My wife sitting in the substitute car for the PPC. They did offer some of the alternative menu items and a few specialty drinks. No breakfast buffet. Some items were not stocked. The attendant said a cross country cafe car would be a better substitute. The car didn't get crowded and was still a nice alternative to the SSL.
Yep, make the downstairs into Rooms and the LSA can operate out of the Upstairs Bar Area that is, IINM, unused except on the Empire Builder in the Summer!A private Sleeper SSL, the more I think about it ..... YEAH that would be nice on all routes!!!!(Am I dreaming again?ImageUploadedByAmtrak Forum1499696785.330475.jpg
My wife sitting in the substitute car for the PPC. They did offer some of the alternative menu items and a few specialty drinks. No breakfast buffet. Some items were not stocked. The attendant said a cross country cafe car would be a better substitute. The car didn't get crowded and was still a nice alternative to the SSL.
Also put comfortable Swivel Armchairs and better tables upstairs.
A True Sleeper Lounge!
George K
Conductor
Is a SSL even capable of providing the food service on the PPC (forgetting about wine and cheese)?
Does anyone really take advantage of the movies?
Amtrak realized that they don't, and it was costing them more than they were worth, so the movies have been discontinued for a while now.
bmjhagen9426
OBS Chief
I'm traveling on the 11 (11) tonight. Does anyone have any idea if the PPC was substituted with a regular lounge? I'm boarding in about 4 1/2 hours, and I do not want a shock and disappointment then, but rather now so that I will know what to expect.
Thirdrail7
Engineer
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
- Messages
- 4,542
Don't plan on seeing the PPC.
14 (14) has a PPC. DASH 8 behind the P42
Coast Starlight 14 (14)...PPC Willamette Valley 39975. Power is AMTK 193 and 453.
west point
Engineer
FYI----------- The just released Amtrak 5 year plan mentions consideration is being made to take 5 CCC cars and modify them to PPC design. Now do not take that as gospel. It just that they are studying it.
A very novel idea, except for the wrapped windows at the top of the car part. I would have to wonder from a structural standpoint about the ability to install those on a former dining car? In any regard, I don't see this idea as a poor one. As much as I like the PPC's, they're very overdue for retirement from regular daily revenue use.
Thirdrail7
Engineer
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The car will likely return to service within the next couple of trips.
The 5th one was in service in April. Then, it headed east. I don't believe they are stripping parts from 2000 miles away.
ehbowen
Engineer
With or without the wrapped windows, this seems like a workable idea and a good use of what turned out to be a rather misbegotten set of rebuild cars. It's probably the best near-term solution I can think of that realistically is within present constraints.
Excellent idea, hopefully the Money will be available soon so the Work can begin before these old Gems break down totally!
bmjhagen9426
OBS Chief
My trip on the 11 (11) and 14 (17) did not have a PPC, but had the SSL substitute. Talk about double jeopardy. At least the sleeper passengers had a dedicated lounge just for them.
They won't re-do the windows, I can almost guarantee. They'll redecorate the inside, and hopefully face the service counter toward the larger part of the car, but I am pretty sure they won't do anything structural. I had a CCC substitute for a PPC and there was NO ONE in the larger part of the car. The car as currently laid out does not work well as lounge space and was very lightly used despite a pretty full sleeper load. If they want a want a diner lounge layout, they should follow something like SP's "Pride of Texas" Coffee Shop-Lounges used on the Sunset where there was a service counter at one end of the car facing inward.
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ehbowen
Engineer
While I agree that the wrap-around top windows are unlikely to make a reappearance, in my admittedly limited estimation it seems that they might be able to enlarge the existing windows vertically without compromising the integrity of the car. After all, Superliner diners and Sightseer Lounges utilize the same basic body structure, don't they?
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I think the CCC being redesigned is a good idea to cover the PCC's. They need to strip the interior upstairs to provide more lounge type seating. The counter has to be near the stairs unless they re-purpose the lower level, but that seems like a lot of expense to gut that section. I would prefer they get the upper level completed and in use than delay waiting for enough money to do both levels. If they can hide the stairway, opening up additional windows and seating, that would be good. Of course there are the dumb waiters as well that will need to be cut out. A lot of design, engineering structural design, use evaluation. Another thought is how many cars are there? Could this also be done for the summer runs of the CZ that sell out three sleepers most of those months?
Not sure how many CCCs there are. The plan was to turn all the diners, then all the SSLs, into CCCs before they figured out it was a REALLY bad idea and stopped, so there there aren't that many. The current CCCs are diners with the upstairs reconfigured.
They aren't using the PPCs for meal preparation/service any more anyway. All the food is brought in from the dining car and the steam tables are no longer used. If they were to use the CCCs, they could re-do the upstairs and leave the galley downstairs intact (which seems like a waste, but oh, well). They need to make it more of a lounge car. If anything, they should make the larger part of the car into a lounge configuration, put the service counter in there, and use the short end for PPC dining with overflow in the main part. That is opposite of the configuration today.
They aren't using the PPCs for meal preparation/service any more anyway. All the food is brought in from the dining car and the steam tables are no longer used. If they were to use the CCCs, they could re-do the upstairs and leave the galley downstairs intact (which seems like a waste, but oh, well). They need to make it more of a lounge car. If anything, they should make the larger part of the car into a lounge configuration, put the service counter in there, and use the short end for PPC dining with overflow in the main part. That is opposite of the configuration today.
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Yes, but ditzing with the windows is expensive even though I agree with you they could probably do it without compromising the structural integrity of the car.
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