Pacific Parlour Car Temporary Withdrawal

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Wow. Well, we may was well go back in time for a brief history. As previously stated, it is tough to straddle the fence. Active railroaders are in a terrible position. They are usually trying to correct and/or provide accurate information without violating any potential code of conduct rules and/or compromising their identities. That being said, you'll notice a lot of people with direct knowledge have vanished over time as it becomes a tight balancing act. This is particularly true since the previous regime made it clear that dissemination of information for certain sources would lead to dismissal. However, people tend to want information and in a lot of ways I agree. So, how can information be presented without danger? Contrary to belief, I do not crave attention nor am I here to play the "I know something I won't tell game." I am aware of many things, but start very few threads. I am also aware that there are people that have absolutely no horse in the game and will not hesitate to post information from inside sources or documents. As such, one of my things is doing exactly what I did above and that is to drop a hint to nudge people in the right direction. A perfect example has occurred in this very thread. It was a quite a simple statement: Posted 09 December 2016 - 12:34 AM There is rumbling that more maintenance may occur this winter, which will bench part of the fleet. The next post produced the "press release" that people keep referring to. Truthfully, I was well aware of the withdrawal. I knew it was being drawn up. However, something official came out...and it wasn't a press release. That post regarding the removal is not a press release. It is a direct cut/paste from a post on the Amtrak internal intranet. Basically, it is not public information and doesn't really have business on Facebook. The only thing missing is a little information about the meals/attendant and the name of the person that issued the advisory. Now, I would never post something like that but clearly there are people that will (I've seen it many times) or have access to people that will. If there is something that I feel I can discuss without much of problem, I spit it out. Perhaps it is public knowledge. Perhaps it is something that is easily observed. Perhaps it is something that I can voice as an opinion. Examples of these actions exist in Runt Consist and the Capitol Limited - current consist?threads. The passengers were understandably curious as to their consists and the answer may impact their trips. On a personal level, I think such information should be readily available because it is proper customer service. Some people are not interested in riding in a sleeper that is next to a diesel all night. Once the winter plan was published, it is not like it is a wise idea to just post the email detailing the changes (even though people have done it.) So, I waited until the changes were actually being made to nudge the people interested in the Capitol to take a harder look at their plans. Soon there after, AmtrakLK chimed in regarding the eastern trains even though I'd bet real money he or she new about it long before that. Another example is the There are times when I'm not comfortable stating something specific. When that occurs, I either say very little or nothing (an example being the LSL Michigan Reroute Rumors & Speculation thread) or I make what some people call a cryptic post. My intention is to alert interested parties that information or updates may be available so keep a watch. If I I'm able, I'll tell them to keep a watch on a specific area. Otherwise, interested parties can use their contacts or search other outlets (TO,RR.net,Facebook, Amtrak.com, Timetables, etc) for their information More time than not, the information appears and discussion ensues. As indicated, it was not a press release. It is an internal document that was published...and not through official channels. If it has been released through official channels, I haven't noticed it and it isn't on this board. If someone wishes to do so, they can post an update. People use this board for different reasons. Some are trying to find information for their trips. Others are interested in operations while others may be interested in specific equipment. Indeed, there are probably people that just sort of "hang." As for the big whoop, I've never been on the car. However, the absence has resulted in this thread and there have been posts from people indicating they prefer this car. Therefore, I was trying to let people know that they should start looking for the return soon since things are lining up correctly and it hasn't been previously stated. After all, haven't things not gone according to publications before? How many times have the LDSL cars been pushed back? How many times did the return of the BOS-ALB sleeping car get pushed back? At the end of the day, if someone thinks my posts seem to contribute little, make people uncomfortable or make it seem like I'm playing games, that is something each person has to decide for themselves. If someone thinks my posts are helpful, insightful, thought provoking or funny, again that is something that each person has to decide for themselves. I do note that the last time someone whined about my laughter, I did offer to stop dropping hints. While most people did not comment one way or the other, the ones that did seemed to be cool with my delivery. It seems the same has occurred in this thread. If someone want to start a poll, knock yourself out. I will admit that this Ides of March post didn't have the impact I intended. I do agree that it was a turd of hint and it isn't the first time my attempts at humor have fallen flat[/url] However, Babe Ruth didn't hit a home run every time he batted. So, now that we've hijacked the thread, I'll get to the reason that I actually returned to the scene of the crime. Due to a slight change, I think this is an appropriate picture:***ahem*** I hope people have a better understanding of my posts. Ummm, but in case it doesn't and there are still more complaints/comments coming from someone other than a moderator or administrator, allow me to make something crystal clear

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#11 has a PPC today also. Business coach passengers are only allowed in the PPC during the wine & cheese tasting.
 
The annual PPC hiatus is coming. No PPCs January 8, 2018 to mid-March except northbound Thursdays/Fridays and southbound Saturdays/Sundays.
 
The annual PPC hiatus is coming. No PPCs January 8, 2018 to mid-March except northbound Thursdays/Fridays and southbound Saturdays/Sundays.
Posted on the Facebook Coast Starlight group:

Pacific Parlour Car WINTER SCHEDULE

December 4, 2017

Beginning Monday, January 8, 2018 through Wednesday, March 14, 2018, a time of lower ridership, the Pacific Parlour Car equipment operated on the Coast Starlight, trains 11/14, will be cycled through the shops for heavy maintenance. The Pacific Parlour Cars were originally ordered by the Santa Fe Railway in 1954 as lounge cars for the El Capitan coach streamliner that operated between Los Angeles and Chicago, so they are not exactly young, and they need attention from time to time.

During this time the Pacific Parlour Cars will not be on the train, except for train 14 departing Los Angeles on Thursdays and Fridays, and train 11 departing Seattle on Saturdays and Sundays. There will be no substitute car on other days.

The Pacific Parlour Cars will return to the Coast Starlight beginning Thursday, March 15, 2018. Los Angeles will put a car on each train 14, and by the departure of train 14 on March 18 all four trainsets will have them. Since there is no backup car at the moment (the Coast Starlight has four trainsets and there are four active Pacific Parlour Cars; the fifth is at Beech Grove for overhaul), if a car has to be removed for maintenance, a Superliner Sightseer Lounge car may be substituted with little or no notice.
 
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Cannot be sure but appears Amtrak is going to do some level 2 overhauls this winter for at least 2 PPC and maybe 4 ? That should give them another 4 years before another overhaul ? With 2 PPCs staying in LAX it may be BEE is space limited for overhaul of passenger cars due to having to overhaul other equipment during the winter slack season especially the V-1s ?

Off topic ---If Amtrak keeps increasing its fleet size there may be requirements for additional overhaul space being constructed at Bear, Wilmington, & Beech to maintain a larger fleet ?
 
They are increasing their fleet size?
The Siemens California/Illinois car order as well as the Viewliner sleepers and baggage-dorms will all be primarily supplementing existing equipment rather than replacing it. However, I am unsure whether or not that is enough to require additional facilities.
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They are increasing their fleet size?
The Siemens California/Illinois car order as well as the Viewliner sleepers and baggage-dorms will all be primarily supplementing existing equipment rather than replacing it. However, I am unsure whether or not that is enough to require additional facilities.
Sent from my SM-J327P using Amtrak Forum mobile app
They are increasing their fleet size?
The Siemens California/Illinois car order as well as the Viewliner sleepers and baggage-dorms will all be primarily supplementing existing equipment rather than replacing it. However, I am unsure whether or not that is enough to require additional facilities.
Sent from my SM-J327P using Amtrak Forum mobile app
Not really, at least not over the long term. None of the 130 new Viewliners represent meaningful fleet expansion. Most simply replace a similar number of Heritage baggage and dining cars. Fifty Viewliner sleepers replaced what had once been over 100 Heritage cars some two decades ago; The new arrivals will just get us back to 75. Heritage dorms were retired without direct replacement, and ten new cars will hardly constitute an expanded fleet.

The Horizon cars released by the new Siemens equipment can provide a (badly) needed supplement to single-level cars (but where on Earth are people getting the idea delivery of these - from an open production line - will take five or six years?!?), but again, it is token expansion at best (arguably, it just finally replaces equipment long out of service, such as scrapped Turboliners and wreck-repair Amfleet cars).
 
Facilities at BEE have been listed on MPRs as to being limited and not available. Certain car work has been shown to be postponed due to a spot not available at BEE.
 
I suppose I'm lucky, I have a trip planned on the Starlight from Portland to Sacramento on one of the Saturdays in January. Hoping there is in fact a PPC since I booked a sleeper specifically for the car.
 
Lets face it, with all the drinking in the ppc, it is going to have to go through withdrawals.
I hear you there. On my trip on the #11 in early October, the PPC on the Saturday night I was aboard was hopping like a neighborhood pub. Lots of fun! And nobody had to worry about "friends driving drunk."

And it closed earlier!
 
Whew!! Lucked out on the timing of my upcoming trip. Traveling on the coast starlight in between christmas and new years ... glad Ill still have the PPC!
 
Well, just boarded train 14 and it looks like they removed the PPC early.... theres an east coast diner/lounge in its place
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Well, just boarded train 14 and it looks like they removed the PPC early.... theres an east coast diner/lounge in its place
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Hum, I wonder if that means we will have the same replacement on Friday. We will be OK as long as there is a lounge of some sort in place of the PPC (as I'm assuming these trains are pretty packed right now). We have been lucky to have the PPC on every trip so far so I wouldn't be surprised if our luck finally ran out, LOL. I'm just going to be really bummed if we don't have a PPC or a replacement as that roomette shared with my son will get really small, really fast
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I'm not sure when Amtrak posted this, but I usually check the alerts page fairly often so I believe this was recent: https://www.amtrak.com/alert/pacific-parlour-car-temporarily-removed.html

Pacific Parlour car has been removed from the Coast Starlight for maintenance. This change will be in effect beginning Monday, Jan. 8 through Wednesday, March 14, 2018.

The Pacific Parlour car will remain on Train 14, departing Los Angeles on Thursdays and Fridays and Train 11, departing Seattle on Saturdays and Sundays. The Dining car and Sightseer Lounge car will continue to be available for passengers on all trains.

This work will allow Amtrak’s Mechanical team to perform maintenance on each car to increase its reliability during the peak travel periods. Each car has been evaluated for specific items that need to be addressed to increase the customers’ enjoyment of the cars when they return in March.
Has the PPC only been gone since January 8th, or before that?
 
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