Dining Car on LSL?

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Philly Amtrak Fan

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Philadelphia Area
I am currently on the westbound 49 (19) and they announced dinner reservations in the diner car. When I passed by it looked like an actual diner car and not a diner lite but I am by no means an expert when it comes to these things. Is the diner car permanently back or is this a special case for today or is it a hit or miss?
 
Philly Amtrak Fan said:
I am currently on the westbound 49 (19) and they announced dinner reservations in the diner car. When I passed by it looked like an actual diner car and not a diner lite but I am by no means an expert when it comes to these things. Is the diner car permanently back or is this a special case for today or is it a hit or miss?
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Easy to tell the difference. If its an Amfleet car, it is a "diner lite" (Amfleet II lounge).

Only if its a Viewliner or Heritage car, is it an actual dining car.
 
A Voice said:
Philly Amtrak Fan said:
I am currently on the westbound 49 (19) and they announced dinner reservations in the diner car. When I passed by it looked like an actual diner car and not a diner lite but I am by no means an expert when it comes to these things. Is the diner car permanently back or is this a special case for today or is it a hit or miss?
Click to expand...
Easy to tell the difference. If its an Amfleet car, it is a "diner lite" (Amfleet II lounge).

Only if its a Viewliner or Heritage car, is it an actual dining car.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I can't tell the difference between Amfleet, Heritage, or Viewliner, I am clueless!

I do know they said the lounge car won't be available until Albany.
 
Philly Amtrak Fan said:
A Voice said:
Philly Amtrak Fan said:
I am currently on the westbound 49 (19) and they announced dinner reservations in the diner car. When I passed by it looked like an actual diner car and not a diner lite but I am by no means an expert when it comes to these things. Is the diner car permanently back or is this a special case for today or is it a hit or miss?
Click to expand...
Easy to tell the difference. If its an Amfleet car, it is a "diner lite" (Amfleet II lounge).

Only if its a Viewliner or Heritage car, is it an actual dining car.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I can't tell the difference between Amfleet, Heritage, or Viewliner, I am clueless!

I do know they said the lounge car won't be available until Albany.
Click to expand...
Amfleet cars have a rounded carbody. The Amfleet II "diner lite" lounge cars will have a serving area in the center with tables to each end.

Viewliner cars have a second row of windows. Both they and the Heritage diners have a kitchen to one end and tables on the other.
 
I thought all the heritage cars were removed from service? If you got one, you're lucky. Take a picture of your menu too. Diner lite means microwaved food, not griddle or grilled.
 
I won't be eating in the diner car for dinner tonight. I had lunch today in New York waiting for the LSL. I visited the Empire State Building (it's a short walk away from Penn Station) and ate at a pizza place nearby (ever heard of Little Italy Pizza http://littleitalypizzany.com/client/index.php?)and am not really hungry now. I took some garlic knots and will eat them later on tonight if I get hungry. I might eat breakfast in the diner car tomorrow morning. If I do, I'll let you know.
 
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Simple way to tell the difference from the inside:

Are there tables on both sides of the "kitchen area" (and is the kitchen area actually a counter that passengers can walk up to and see behind)? If so: diner lite/cafe car type.

Are there tables only on one side of the kitchen area, and the other side has a narrow aisle and is walled off, concealing the kitchen area, and no tables beyond it? If so: dining car.

Are there two rows of windows (table level and another set above it): Viewliner dining car (there are no Viewliner cafes/diner lites)
 
If the 'kitchen' is in the middle of the car, then it's an Amfleet 'diner lite' where everything is microwaved. It's positioned near the back end of the train, between the coaches and the sleepers. Additionally, there are tables (booths, actually) on both sides of the kitchen, usually set up with place settings including flatware, salt, pepper, etc.

The new Viewliner diners externally look very similar to the viewliner sleepers that are at the rear of the train with a second row of windows above half the car, where the tables/booths are. The kitchen occupies about 1/2 of the length of the car.

Heritage diners, if any still left in service, are laid out similar to viewliner diners and also has 6 booths on each side and the kitchen occupying about 1/2 the car.

The lounge car comes from Boston and is at the front of all the coaches, is Amfleet I, and has 2+1 seating in the front half of the car, with the walk up counter in the middle of the car.
 
Sorry to disappoint but it's diner lite and the kitchen is in the middle and tables on both sides as bratkinson said. I went to the cafe car instead. I may try the diner car on the Texas Eagle.

Amtrak does not help when they call it the diner car and call for reservations.


Sent from my LGL63BL using Amtrak Forum mobile app
 
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What should they announce? Come to the diner lite Amfleet cafe lounge? Saying come to the diner or dining car is much simpler. Only railfans care about what the actual definition of the car is. All this fuss abut the LSL is getting old. The train will get the new dining cars when CAF slowly cranks out enough cars and crews are trained in their use. Give it three to six months (or more).
 
Philly Amtrak Fan said:
Sorry to disappoint but it's diner lite and the kitchen is in the middle and tables on both sides as bratkinson said. I went to the cafe car instead. I may try the diner car on the Texas Eagle.

Amtrak does not help when they call it the diner car and call for reservations.

Sent from my LGL63BL using Amtrak Forum mobile app
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Well, technically, it is a dining car - "diner lite". Just not a "traditional" (read: expected) concept of railroad diner. It was rebuilt to serve in just such a role. Even you noted that "it looked like an actual diner car", and certainly many passengers aren't going to notice much difference (menu selections and food quality yes, but not car type).

In fact, therein lies the key. Everyone is hung up on getting a Viewliner diner back on the Lake Shore Limited and Silver Star (which actually are needed), but would you rather have this Amfleet II "diner lite" serving an expanded and higher quality menu, or a new Viewliner serving cafe car fare?
 
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Truth be told , I rode the LSL the beginning of November, Chicago to NY. Given the equipment, the crew did a very good job making the breakfast and lunch a pleasant experience. It just wasn't that bad. If I was going in the other direction, I might have missed the steak at dinner, but the french toast was pretty good, as was lunch. So many of the people who keep stirring up the issue just haven't tried it. Regardless of the equipment, it is where sleeper passengers receive their included meals. receive
 
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I will be going east on the LSL 448 in a month, returning west on 449 a month later... preparing myself to eat microwaved food (which I would get for dinner & lunch anyway on the Boston section).

Do they at least serve hot oatmeal with the Continental breakfast? They show the full menu on foodfacts, but I know they can't be serving all the menu items in the "diner lite".
 
oregon pioneer said:
I will be going east on the LSL 448 in a month, returning west on 449 a month later... preparing myself to eat microwaved food (which I would get for dinner & lunch anyway on the Boston section).

Do they at least serve hot oatmeal with the Continental breakfast? They show the full menu on foodfacts, but I know they can't be serving all the menu items in the "diner lite".
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The Amfleet II cafe cars were made to take the place of a diner. They don't have a grill, so they don't offer the cooked to order items like steaks, pancakes, scrambled eggs, grilled fish, etc. Everything else can be prepared exactly the same as it is prepared on a regular diner.
 
Correct. That's the current menu for the Lake Shore Limited. Notice that there no grilled items like steak, scrambled eggs, salmon, etc.

The Amfleet II can prepare all non-grilled items in the same way they are prepared on a traditional diner.
 
I rode Chi to NY so I can attest to breakfast and lunch being accurate, but I was on the CL in the other direction so I did not have a dinner on the LSL so while I will say that is the menu we had, I did not personally see it in "action" around me.
 
Also, IIRC, they are not microwaved. They are mostly Sous Vide, and then convection ovened on the train. Which produces a vastly superior texture and even heat compared to a microwave. That being said, its still pretty bad. But edible. (Disclaimer: My last trip was in March of 2015, although I was thoroughly sick of Amtrak food by the time I wended my way from VAC to SEA to SAC to CHI to NYP.)
 

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