Amfleet I Cafe/Club lighting way too bright at night

I am on 449(3) right now in business class, and the crew has turned off the lights in the luggage rack area but the top lights are still unbelievably bright. Also the flimsy curtain to block the light from the even brighter cafe section does absolutely nothing, and thats when its still closed. The crew just flings it open as they come through and they dont bother to close it again. They are also having loud conversations in the cafe section.

How the hell have these cars survived 15 or so years in this configuration without all this being a major problem? Is everyone else in the world besides me able to sleep with daytime-level light piercing through the car?

Overnight business class is still sort of a new thing. Before, overnight trains just had coach and sleepers.

swc34 said:

Overnight business class is still sort of a new thing. Before, overnight trains just had coach and sleepers.

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Well, not exactly.Extra Fare Parlour,Club and Lounge Cars go back to the beginning of Passenger Rail.
The "Night Owl" Trains have the same problem and the Lights @ NYP during the Layover are extremely Bright!

Even though the 2x1 Seating on the Split

AmCafes is really nice, Regular Coach on Amfleet IIs is more comfortable on Long Haul Trips.

Amtrak706 said:

I am on 449(3) right now in business class, and the crew has turned off the lights in the luggage rack area but the top lights are still unbelievably bright. Also the flimsy curtain to block the light from the even brighter cafe section does absolutely nothing, and thats when its still closed. The crew just flings it open as they come through and they dont bother to close it again. They are also having loud conversations in the cafe section.

How the hell have these cars survived 15 or so years in this configuration without all this being a major problem? Is everyone else in the world besides me able to sleep with daytime-level light piercing through the car?

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This sounds like a bit of an anomaly. From what I've heard about BC on the LSL, they usually turn off the bright lights at night. I could be wrong, but I don't think this is usually what happens.

The presence of the active cafe side likely makes it noisier than if it was a separate car. I've experienced that on the Empire trains I've ridden on, but those are day trains and I didn't really care.

Amtrak706 said:

I am on 449(3) right now in business class, and the crew has turned off the lights in the luggage rack area but the top lights are still unbelievably bright. Also the flimsy curtain to block the light from the even brighter cafe section does absolutely nothing, and thats when its still closed. The crew just flings it open as they come through and they dont bother to close it again. They are also having loud conversations in the cafe section.

How the hell have these cars survived 15 or so years in this configuration without all this being a major problem? Is everyone else in the world besides me able to sleep with daytime-level light piercing through the car?

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"Bright is" subjective. Some people don't intend to sleep and there needs to be enough light for passengers moving in the car to see.

Personally, I need minimal light to sleep, so I'm with you. As such, people that travel at night or in public invest in eye masks and ear plugs.

It is cheaper than an overhaul.

One of the night time 'tricks' I encountered seemingly eons ago riding Amfleet II coach at night is having a piece or two of thin cardboard available and taping that to the ceiling alongside the aisle light that's 'right in your eyes'. Some simply covered the light entirely with cardboard, but the possibility of it igniting gave me second thoughts about that idea. These days, I travel with a variety of 'fixits' in my bag including wooden shim stock, rubber door stoppers, gaffers tape, printed-at-home time tables, a couple of twist ties (zip ties may cause equipment damage as they have to be cut off), a few rubber bands, a couple of Band Aids, and a couple of thin pieces of cardboard. I've had occasion to use each of them at one time or another.

Of note is the Amfleet I 'refresh' that has replaced the overhead reading lights with LEDs, and from my own experience, probably the aisle lights as well...they seem quite bright these days! As there's still a handful of NEC (including the Vermonter and sometimes 66/67) and Empire Service trains with the split cafe/BC cars, I wonder if those are getting/got some degree of 'refresh' as well.

Amtrak706 said:

The crew just flings it open as they come through and they dont bother to close it again. They are also having loud conversations in the cafe section.

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In the pre-Amtrak days, crews, especially employees of The Pullman Company, exercised much more 'decorum' in that regard....

A suggestion regarding ties. I agree with you about twist vs zip, but a third option that is very good are velcro ties. They are available in many sizes now, they are the preferred means of bundling data cable and are pretty readily available. (re-usable, easy to place/remove, don't have a point to stick your finger)

Eye mask and earplugs is what I’d suggest.

They gave out an eye mask, earplugs, a blanket, and I think something else that I forget when I was on 49 a couple weeks ago.

It doesn't excuse anyone's poor manners, but the most common use of those cars has them positioned with no through traffic.

Also, if the so-called overhead bright light were turned down or off, that would also that they would be turned down or off for the cafe and tables portion of the car - or 2/3 of the entire car!