The Stupidist Move Amtrak Has Made

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Amfleet

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In your opinion what do you think the stupidist move Amtrak has made. It can be from May 1, 1971 to the present. My would have to be the discontinuance of the "Broadway Limited" and going into the "express" business. B)
 
Amfleet said:
In your opinion what do you think the stupidist move Amtrak has made. It can be from May 1, 1971 to the present. My would have to be the discontinuance of the "Broadway Limited" and going into the "express" business. B)
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I agree, those were stupid moves. Add to the list:

-Discontinuance of the Desert Wind/Pioneer, and Floridian

-Deferring maintenence of damaged equipment

-Purchasing to few Viewliners too late (and not a whole fleet before Superliner II's)

-Silver Palm becoming Palmetto (which again could've been avoided had maintenence not been deferred)

-A Breif Period where Paper Plates and Plastic Silverware were used in the diners (way back) when.

-Viewliner Refurbishments (Those Curtains on the door let in light during the night)

-Letting Congress/Certain Presidents Push us around for too long

A Big One:

Changing Logos from the beloved "Pointless Arrow" to "Three Sheets In The Wind( aka Flying Breast Implant)" (not to metion Phase V). Since Gunn seems to favor the Arrow, I hope he changes it back

Just to name a few. :unsure:
 
All good ideas so far. To add to the list:

* Continuing to run the Sunset Limited and Cardinal as thrice-weekly trains instead of daily.

* Not running the Sunset Limited to Miami (or at least having a dedicated Thruway bus Orlando-Miami)

* Not properly renegotiating contracts with host freight railroads on Amtrak's 25th Anniversary in 1996, in order to get more preference for passenger trains so that they don't get stuck behind slow freight trains. Incentives should have been offered for getting passenger trains to their destinations on time or early.

* Let's not forget the brief period where the Three Rivers was a New York-Pittsburgh train, and passengers had to physically transfer in Pittsburgh to and from the Capitol Limited to go further west.

* Putting the toilet next to the bed in Viewliner sleepers. Sorry, I want my privacy, even from the friend or family member in the room with me. :angry:

* The Silver Palm, or Palmetto, or whatever, being the only train to serve Tampa, and the awful hours in which it does so.

* The current 1 AM departure of #44 from Chicago. What were they thinking?
 
I also remember the period (mid '90's) where the Silver Service had the "Family Style" meal service for Breakfast and Lunch. From what I've heard it had been the worse meal service since the nuked meals of the early '80's. :blink:
 
- Discontinuing Vista-Dome cars or some kind of true 360-degree lounge car. Sightseer lounges are okay but they really don't cut it for getting the best views on trains such as the CA Zephyr and the Empire Builder. I realize it would be difficult to have cars like this with Superliner equipment but what's the big deal with two-level cars, anyway?

- Discontinuing the chocolate chip cookies!!!! :D

seajay
 
Bill Haithcoat said:
Add to ALL of the above, the discontinuance of The Floridian.
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Amfleet said:
I also remember the period (mid '90's) where the Silver Service had the "Family Style" meal service for Breakfast and Lunch. From what I've heard it had been the worse meal service since the nuked meals of the early '80's. :blink:
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Bill, I said that Already. I hated Family Style, which was the first/last meal on the train.

Agree about the Tampa trains, and Miami losing Sunset.

I think the toilets are a good thing though.
 
Viewliner said:
I think the toilets are a good thing though.
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Maybe the toilets are convenient if you're travelling alone, but I know in my home, there's a good reason my bathroom has a door, and it's why public rest rooms have stalls with doors that close. Some bodily functions just are not done in the company or eyesight of others...family or not. Catch my drift? :p :p

If I'm in a sleeper on a train, it's understood I should have to get dressed and go down the hallway to a communal rest room should the mood hit.
 
Well, you could always kick out your partner and send them to the lounge if your going to do a #2. And for a #1 you could just close or eyes or stand in the hall for a minute or two. At night if your on the top bunk it really doesn't matter as your bed is baisicly a second floor so you can't see down. I guess some of us are just shyer than others. B)
 
Continuing the myth for 4-1/2 years that they were on the glide path to covering operating expenses with revenue, when almost every one else in the world knew that they weren’t going to make it. That almost cost Amtrak all of its credibility with Congress. Thanks Mr. Warrington.

Thank goodness that David Gunn has been able to restore some of that credibility. :) I suspect however that it will still haunt him for years to come, the anti-Amtrak forces I’m sure will continue to throw that in his face as long as they can.
 
About the restroom privacy issue---too bad the Viewliner sleepers do not have one public restroom....that would solve that issue. ALmost any other sleeping car design I can recall had one(at least) free standing restroom elsewhere in the car. This was useful not only for privacy but also if more than one partner in a room needed to use the facilities at the same time.

The viewliner sleepers are such a work of art-...their window patterns are something the public had been needing for over a century--too bad they have that one little flaw.
 
Even the 10-6 sleepers had a small restroom. However, if you think about there is no where to put a restroom in a Viewliner and any free space has to be used for electircal "things". The only way to add a restroom is to sacrafice another Standard room.
 
I know this topic is in danger of becoming really gross but let me just make this one point....we have it pretty good today with restroom privacy, except for the instance mentioned(Viewliner standard rooms). The old heavyweights (not just pre-amtrak, but pre-streamliner, from before World War II) usually had an exposed toilet in the larger rooms. The larger rooms, known then variously as bedrooms,compartments, drawing rooms, etc (comparable to deluxe bedrooms today) did often have the toilet just as exposed as the lavatory. It was pretty much in the generation of streamlined sleepers(mostly after WW 2) that an enclosed toilet annex began being built in the rooms for two or more passengers.
 
Agree with everything you gents have stated. But the biggest screw-up is being dishonest enough to rename the old Inter-American as the Texas Eagle. They ought to change the name to Inter-Coursian considering the numerous times the anti-Amtrak forces have screwed with the Eagle. :D
 
How about abolishing individual Northeast Direct train names, not to mention abolishing the Northeast Direct identity for the most part. (Which in turn screws around with many peoples minds, expecting an Acela Express, which should've remained Metroliner)

The names can be found here.

I also don't like the names of the classes in the Northeast:

First Class (Should've stayed Club Class, as its the same name as Sleeper Accomodations)

Business Class (While not so bad, its to airline sounding, Custom Class/Metroliner Coach was apparent enough)

Coach Class (Might as well be called "Coach" or Unreserved Coach Even)

Club Acela (While effective in promoting the Acela, it establishes a different feel than their sister Metropolitan Lounge [Club Acela's name in the first place], which also may have been its goal)

Something interesting I found when going through my old publications was Northeast Direct had Club Service (which was discontinued shortly before the Acela's), I guess you learn something new everyday!!!

Going back to the begininning of the post, when did Amtrak begin the "Northeast Direct" identity?
 
Viewliner said:
Something interesting I found when going through my old publications was Northeast Direct had Club Service (which was discontinued shortly before the Acela's), I guess you learn something new everyday!!!
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Wait a minute, did you mean the NE Direct had Club class or Custom class? Cause to my knowledge, I thought that only the Metroliners had Club class. I thought Custom or Business class was on all other NE trains.

I would also say that Club Class became First Class in the Metroliner's about two years before the debut of the Acela Express train. So "shortly" is a relative word. Yes in the 30 + years of Amtrak history it is shortly, but I don't know that I would consider 2 + years shortly.

Ps. I fixed the link in your post, which is why it says that it was edited by me. You left off a trailing bracket. :)
 
AlanB said:
Viewliner said:
Something interesting I found when going through my old publications was Northeast Direct had Club Service (which was discontinued shortly before the Acela's), I guess you learn something new everyday!!!
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Wait a minute, did you mean the NE Direct had Club class or Custom class? Cause to my knowledge, I thought that only the Metroliners had Club class. I thought Custom or Business class was on all other NE trains.

I would also say that Club Class became First Class in the Metroliner's about two years before the debut of the Acela Express train. So "shortly" is a relative word. Yes in the 30 + years of Amtrak history it is shortly, but I don't not that I would consider 2 + years shortly.

Ps. I fixed the link in your post, which is why it says that it was edited by me. You left off a trailing bracket. :)
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I remember, taking the Metroliner in 1999, where we were changing from a Club Class ticket to a Coach (don't ask me why!!!) and the Ticket said Metrobusiness.

I'll double check the publication.
 
Before 1996 many Northeast Corridor trains did carry Club Class. The Custom/Business Class thing is only 6 years old. I have to say I much prefer the Coach Class, Business Class, and First Class names.
 
This is from "We're Changing Our Classes of Service" which must be from 1999. It should clarify the Northeast Direct Club Class story.

Beginning May 16 (the date Amtrak's spring schedule takes effect), classes of service will be streamlined to provide customers with three convenient options:  First class, Business class and Class class.
Firstclass

Club Class on Metroliner trains will become First class.  Customers who choose First class will continue to recieve personalized attention and truly premium amenities including reserved, spacious seating in a quiet atmosphere, at-seat meals, and acess to Amtrak Metropolitan Lounges in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Businessclass

Metroliner Coach class, and Northeast Direct and Empire Custom Class will become Business class, featuring reserved seats, extra leg room, and easy access to the Cafe car and Railfone on-board telephone service.  Most (and eventually all) Business class seats have electrical outlets for laptop computers

Coachclass

All non-Metroliner trains will continue to offer Coach class with comfortable wide seats with fold down trays and individual reading lights.  Most non-Metroliner trains feature the flexibility of unreserved Coach class seating; however, reserved Coach class seating will be availiable on select trains.

After May 16, a First class option north of New York City will not be availiable until Acela Express First class service is introduced later this year.  Amtrak apologizes to its NortheastDirect Club class customers for any inconvenience.

Amtrak looks forward to introducing a new standard of comfort and service on Acela, the Northeasst's new world-class service for people who value their time.
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By the way I forgot to add, that one reason they named everything First Class is to make it easier for both passengers and the FC lounge attendants to know who should gain access to the FC lounges. It creates far less confusion, plus now all First Class ticket also mean that they include meals.

There are also some differences between the remodeled Club Acela lounges and the current Metropolitan lounges. All Club Acela's now include computer terminals with a printer, and they include a conference room which can be rented for people to hold a meeting in. I also think that they now have fax service available too. This is on top of a remodeling that all the Club Acela's underwent. Something however that Chicago could desperately use.

In addition the Club Acela's continue their business traveler orientation, by offering business traveler's other ways to get into the lounge, even if said traveler is not in First Class.
 
Just out of curiosity, does a Business Class ticket qualify you for CluAcela access? If it doesn't it should for those who are in Business Class on the Carolinian and Palmetto.
 
To the best of my knowledge, no a BC ticket for either the Palmetto or the Carolinian will not get you into the lounge on it's own. There had been some talk of allowing it for the Palmetto when the Palm lost the sleeper, but I don't think that it actually happened. After all it's kinda hard to say to all the rest of the BC passengers that they are second classs citizens because they didn't book a BC seat on the Palmetto.

Of course there are still ways for a passenger with a BC or a coach ticket to get into the lounge.
 
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