Amfleet I Interior Refresh

[Acela150]

I'm riding #84 in two weeks NFK-PHL. Considering Norfolk is one of the places they're doing the work I guess it's a safe bet I'll get one of the refurb cars.

No it’s not. I think about 50 of at least 400 plus cars have been overhauled.

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[mfastx]

Rode one of these last night (twss). It was pretty nice, but the seat back was not totally stationary when reclined and my seat bottom was disconnected. Was hoping they'd also address the seats themselves.

 

[keelhauled]

I rode a half dozen corridor trains during Thanksgiving week and each train but the Vermonter had at least one car with the new seats. I thought they were a noticeable improvement with better lower back support particularly.

 

[Acela150]

Quick news piece from Balmer.

 

[Ziv]

I am not at all saying they are the same thing, but in early 1800's, a process was developed to tear up old wool garments and re-spun into new wool products, in theory kind of like the re-use of waste leather in E-leather. The people that invented the older wool recycled product and the ones that used it made tons of money but the product wasn't received all that well. The product name was "shoddy". That recycled product didn't turn out so well and ended up being synonymous with poor quality! ;-)

My mind is a veritable treasure trove of useless trivia, much of it of dubious provenance.

It is E-Leather which is a trademarked Composition Leather product which uses waste leather that would otherwise have been disposed off as garbage. Look up either of those terms for more details.


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[Green Maned Lion]

Thats interesting. I remember reading a Pullman Company blanket procurement from the early 1900s specifically indicating that the product must contain no shoddy. I had hypothesized it must of had a different meaning but I never knew what.

 

[quadrock]

Does anyone know how many iterations of decor/seating the Amfleets went through over the years? I have included pictures of the few that I've either ridden in personally or seen in brochures. I think it would be really interesting to see a history of all the interiors these cares have been through. It's amazing that the oldest Amfleet Is are 42 years old already and they look as modern as they do with the latest refresh.

The ones I have come across either in person or via pictures I saw online are the following. Does anyone have any that I missed? I'm assuming there was something between the 1970s and the 199'0's red interior.

1975 - ? : The psychedelic 70's multicolored era as seen in the Amfleet brouchure. I am assuming that these were the original interiors the cars shipped with.

1990s - "red interior era". Not sure when this began but my first ever Amtrak trip (Silver Meteor) was in an Amfleet II featuring this interior. I remember this being the only red interior car on the train and thinking how modern all the other cars looked like compared to the one I was riding in.

early 2000s - 2017

The common blue interior that the majority of Amfleets still have.

2017 - ?

The new interiors that are currently being installed.

 

[Acela150]

Last week I rode 66 from Philly to 128. Sadly I got stuck with a full BC car. BUT... It was a refreshed car. The seats were pretty comfy. But as stated previously they seat backs are higher giving you less of a view of the aisle. But overall it wasn't bad. The carpet has an interesting look, the wainscoting wasn't renewed yet along with the curtains which is fine. I think once some more rear ends sit in the seats they'll be a bit more plush and more comfortable.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I want the original interior back.

 

[user 13416]

Anyone notice anything familiar in all four photos?

The armrests. Complete with the ashtrays (now covered). They're exactly the same.

The structure of the seats, the chairs themselves, appear to be the original equipment (as repaired over the decades). Only the cushions have changed.

That speaks to the ability of Amtrak's maintenance folks to keep 40+ year old equipment viable. I guess when you've had to make do with nothing for so long, you get pretty good at it.

Does anyone know how many iterations of decor/seating the Amfleets went through over the years? I have included pictures of the few that I've either ridden in personally or seen in brochures. I think it would be really interesting to see a history of all the interiors these cares have been through. It's amazing that the oldest Amfleet Is are 42 years old already and they look as modern as they do with the latest refresh.

The ones I have come across either in person or via pictures I saw online are the following. Does anyone have any that I missed? I'm assuming there was something between the 1970s and the 199'0's red interior.

1975 - ? : The psychedelic 70's multicolored era as seen in the Amfleet brouchure. I am assuming that these were the original interiors the cars shipped with.

1990s - "red interior era". Not sure when this began but my first ever Amtrak trip (Silver Meteor) was in an Amfleet II featuring this interior. I remember this being the only red interior car on the train and thinking how modern all the other cars looked like compared to the one I was riding in.

early 2000s - 2017

The common blue interior that the majority of Amfleets still have.

2017 - ?

The new interiors that are currently being installed.

 

 

[railiner]

I want the original interior back.

Me too....

I liked the original flat ceiling better than than the 'sculptured plastic' that covered it....

Not shown in the first photo, are the center armrests between the seats, although the doll may be sitting on one....

Also, not shown, the overhead racks did not have those 'baffles' to prevent baggage from sliding forward in a hard stop....probably a good thing that they added....

I also liked the water faucets better in the original lav's....

 

[jis]

Anyone notice anything familiar in all four photos?

The armrests. Complete with the ashtrays (now covered). They're exactly the same.

The structure of the seats, the chairs themselves, appear to be the original equipment (as repaired over the decades). Only the cushions have changed.

Anyone recall that we did say that is exactly what was going to happen for $15 million for the entire Amfleet I fleet? Besides Amtrak said so too! So no surprise there.

 

[dlagrua]

I have come to accept that any refurbishment of Amtrak seating is good. We are not going to see new coaches or new seats anytime soon so new upholstery is an improvement, The will for fast modern European style passenger rail does not exist in Washington nor does it exists with the majority of the American people. My opinion is that most Americans view rail transportation only as a commuter necessity. If that were not the case we would have the rail network shown on the NARP proposal map.

 

[quadrock]

It is indeed amazing that the chair structure itself is up to 42 years old and in as good of a condition as it's in. I really do not understand why Amtrak would have removed the center armrests. Every time I travel with someone that hasn't been on Amtrak, they comment on the lack of them. Acelas, NJ Transit's new multilevel cars, airliners, even most new buses have center armrests and as far as I know, most people prefer them.

 

[jis]

The seats in question never had center arm rests. It is not like they had them in the past and then were removed.

 

[Ryan]

They didn’t? (I’m not old enough to know). It looks like the doll in the middle of the picture is sitting on one...

 

[jis]

Dunno. I have ridden Amfleet I Coaches since 1977/78 and never seen one. Maybe they had them before then? Or maybe some cars had them and not all?

Also, AFAIR it is possible that the original Metroliner seats had them.

it is also possible that my memory is erroneous. 40 years is a long long time!

 

[railiner]

The seats in question never had center arm rests. It is not like they had them in the past and then were removed.

I believe that is exactly what happened...about the same time the Amfleet II's came out without them. Allegedly because people wanted to sprawl across the seat next to them if it was empty.

I believe you can look down between the cushions, and still see the mounting points for the original armrests...

 

[quadrock]

Allegedly because people wanted to sprawl across the seat next to them if it was empty.

The simple solution to that would have been to install armrests that can fold up.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I dunno why you think MLVs have them; they certainly do not.

 

[quadrock]

I dunno why you think MLVs have them; they certainly do not.

I stand corrected, it's been a while since I've been in one. It might be the the outer armrests that fold up that I was thinking of.

 

[railiner]

IIRC, the Metroliner's had the same rigid center armrests. They were solidly built. Some of the heritage cars on transcontinental trains did have a slender fold up center armrest, but these were flimsy in comparison...

 

[quadrock]

I found it! The only picture evidence of the center armrest. It definitely does not look like the type that folds up. It was in a USA Today article "Amtrak interiors throughout the years".

 

[Green Maned Lion]

That appears to be a Metroliner, not an Amfleet.

 

[jis]

Metroliners definitely had solid center arm rests AFAIR, though back in those graduate student days of poverty I never had enough money to ride one.