Parlour Cars gone?

Saw on another website/email site Parlours are gone 10/30/06. Anyone confirm this? I know it has to happen eventually but for someone whos taken that train as much as I have, the news %^&*!

Amtrak.com still lists the Parlour Car as an amenity available only to first class passengers.

What is the Parlor Car??? Is it on the SW Chief or the Lakeshore Limited?

Guest said:

What is the Parlor Car??? Is it on the SW Chief or the Lakeshore Limited?

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No, it doesn't run on those trains. The Parlour car is a 50+ year-old railcar that Amtrak spruced up to run on the Coast Starlight several years ago. It runs as a special lounge car available only to sleeping car passengers and serves snacks, drinks, and other neat things during the journey.

Here's the current status of the five Pacific Parlour cars courtesy of a poster on "another" railroad discussion site:

39970: Was in service until arrival in SEA on 9 August. Then shopped for wheel work, and moved back to LAX 19 August. 90 day inspection completed, freon leaks repaired, and shoe holder pin replaced. Reported with b/o air conditioning on 10 September. Car still parked at LAX.
39972: Currently in service with Los Angeles arrival on 8 October.

39973: Last service in January, 2006. Removed from train at KFS for broken pipe. Debris damage repaired at KFS and car returned to LAX on 5 January. Deadhead to BEE on 13 Jan. Currently shown as stored with no work being done.

39974: Last trip terminated at Portland on 24 June. Pending investigation re suspension on 26 June. Moved deadhead to SEA, and back to LAX on July. Reported with b/o air conditioning. Still out of service in Los Angeles.

39975: In service until LAX arrival on 2 October. Currently in LAX for preventive maintenance.

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The rumor is, as they're due for any significant maintenance, they're being parked.

rmadisonwi said:

The rumor is, as they're due for any significant maintenance, they're being parked.

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Well that rumor certainly parallels the reality of the Heritage crew dorms, as well as those Amfleets that got mothballed this year. So it may well be more than rumor, sadly.

No more parlour cars or kiddie cars as of the new sched change. This is backed up by their omission in the new system timetable.

Allright then, so how many of us are going to fly west after arriving on the last "Metroliner" and ride on the last Parlor Car voyage? j/k!

Shame to see them go, but I think I can honestly imagine the headache they may have been to maintain as of late.

Well, with only 39972 operating at present, I suppose it'd be dishonest to continue advertising them. :-\

The Metropolitan said:

Shame to see them go, but I think I can honestly imagine the headache they may have been to maintain as of late.

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Well the real headache is Amtrak's failure to dedicate enough resources and money to keep them running. Amtrak has made things even worse of late, since in the past they used to substitute an extra Sightseer Lounge when a Parlour car was blanked. Now they are basically doing nothing, since setting up the lounge attendant in the A room of a sleeper with a few snacks and drinks hardly compares to having the actual Parlour car.

The Metropolitan said:

Allright then, so how many of us are going to fly west after arriving on the last "Metroliner" and ride on the last Parlor Car voyage? j/k!

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The one problem with that plan is that it would be difficult to predict which consist would have it, or whether it will even make it to the end of the month.

I've personally ridden the Coast Starlight (part or all of the route) six times. Four of them in a sleeper (well, technically three; once I voluntarily downgraded to coach after Amtrak screwed things up during the mudslides a couple years ago, and reduced the Starlight to one sleeper after having sold two full sleepers worth of tickets...long story). Four times, my consist has had the Parlour car. Two of those times were while I was riding coach. My first two sleeper trips (including the downgrade to coach) on the Starlight were Parlourless. My third one was when I was finally able to ride in the Parlour car. The fourth time was just a short trip from Seattle to Portland, and, unfortunately, I was far too sick to leave my room and enjoy the rest of the train (another long story).

So, that hit-or-miss record is an example of how unreliable those cars have been in recent years.

I'd be curious to know if someone plans to buy one and make it their own personal private car. Any bi-level PVs out there?

Well, the one currently operating Parlour has been following a pretty predictable schedule for its past few runs. leave LAX on 14, arrive SEA, spend the night and return back to LAX on 11, skip a day, then leave on 14 again. If that maintains for the rest of the month, it might be possible to make a reservation with a reasonable likelihood of catching it.

Cincy Railway bought a large number of pieces for use on their line including Hi-Liners and Amtrak F-40's. There is a very detailed list of where every Hi-Liner is and/or what happened to it. It should also be noted that some former Gallery Cars have gone into PV, particularly with Wisconsin Southern (I believe), but I don't believe there's as detailed of a list out there of those since so many were built and have been retired over the years.

Anthony said:

No more parlour cars or kiddie cars as of the new sched change. This is backed up by their omission in the new system timetable.

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Silly question time: What is a "kiddie car"?

Rick

A few years back the managers for the Coast Starlight converted 5 Superliner II Coaches to what have been dubbed Kiddie Cars. Basically they removed the seats from the downstairs seating area and turned it into a small play area for kids. I believe the room had board games, room to color, and other such ammenities. Anyone who's traveled with a child (as you full well know Rick) knows that having room for them to be able to move around and just be kids is vital, especially on long train rides. The other added bonus is that this is an environment that has a door so the kids can do as they wish and parents don't have to worry about disturbing fellow passengers.

They also have it set up to show kiddie movies in that same room.

One Parlour Car is still running at least for now. I'm going to try to ride it this week if I can narrow it down, looks like it leaves LA tomorrow for the 4 day RT to Seattle, I'm shooting for Wed from the bay area down to LA. Let you know what happens..

When I rode the Parlor's 3 Years ago the car we had 39975 NB we had a Lounge going back long story why, was just out of Beech Grove with only interior upgrades, the eletrical panels and the eletrical cabinet were all the same from before and the AC took a dump on the 2nd day, hotter then hell. They didn't replace the AC or anything esle eletrical, so I can see where Amtrak would park them. Are the Kiddie Cars going in Storage or will they be reconverted back to full Coaches?

I'd be willing to guess that they'll be converted back to normal coaches.

Guest_Amtrak_flyer_* said:

One Parlour Car is still running at least for now. I'm going to try to ride it this week if I can narrow it down, looks like it leaves LA tomorrow for the 4 day RT to Seattle, I'm shooting for Wed from the bay area down to LA. Let you know what happens..

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39972 is parked at LAX pending a periodic/routine inspection Monday.

39975 is back in service and was on 14(14) as its first trip after maintenance.

battalion51 said:

A few years back the managers for the Coast Starlight converted 5 Superliner II Coaches to what have been dubbed Kiddie Cars. Basically they removed the seats from the downstairs seating area and turned it into a small play area for kids. I believe the room had board games, room to color, and other such ammenities. Anyone who's traveled with a child (as you full well know Rick) knows that having room for them to be able to move around and just be kids is vital, especially on long train rides. The other added bonus is that this is an environment that has a door so the kids can do as they wish and parents don't have to worry about disturbing fellow passengers.

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Thanks Battalion & Alan:

As the proud owner of a four year old, a kiddie car sounds like a useful thing. My daughter thinks trains are the green line of the T in Boston. Little does she know that you can ride the trian to Grandma's house, albeit in a little more comfore than the T's hardback anti-grafiti chairs.

I was wondering if the conductor would let us sit downstairs on the SW Chief even though we did not pay the fare for the priviledge of sitting down there. There appears to be more room for a kid to be a kid, and fewer passengers to annoy. I'll let y'all know what the conductors say.

Rick

rmgreenesq said:

I was wondering if the conductor would let us sit downstairs on the SW Chief even though we did not pay the fare for the priviledge of sitting down there. There appears to be more room for a kid to be a kid, and fewer passengers to annoy. I'll let y'all know what the conductors say.

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Technically there is no premium fare for sitting downstairs on a Superliner coach. Because of how Arrow works, sometimes a lower level seat will cost more than an upper level seat, but that doesn't happen often to my knowledge.

That said, some conductors don't seem to like seating people downstairs who don't have mobility issues, but you may well luck out. I suppose that you could also call Amtrak at this point and see if they can switch your tickets to the lower level without penalty.

If not, then the best advice I can give you is to spread the wealth around. Spend some time in your coach, some time in the lounge, and some time in the dining car and life should be good.

In general, a four-year-old would NOT be a welcome addition to a lower-level seating area; in addition to those with disabilities, there are lots of senior citizens down there, and while they adore kids for short stretches, they generally prefer a quieter, calmer space than the presence of the average four-year-old would permit. If you're going a long distance, say CHI-LAX, check with the train attendant about getting the seat next to his/hers at the rear of the last coach car. There's a little extra play/sleep/storage space, and not as much "through traffic" from passengers coming by.