Shawn
Service Attendant
So, was just curious what people thought of certain equipment...Feel free to reply back on this and explain why or just to chat away....
i did. i like them more head room then the amfleats. and so far all the ones i've ridden have outlets at all the seats.Wooooh.... Who voted for Horizons??!!!!
Stupified Dining Schedule?alleviating the SDS or diner lite or whatever they call the 8 people every fifteen minute fiasco.
I was a bit torn between a superliner and a viewliner. It was almost like having to chose which one of your children you like better. Fortunately we only had one kid. :unsure: :lol:So, was just curious what people thought of certain equipment...Feel free to reply back on this and explain why or just to chat away....
:blink: The Crescent, Cardinal, LSL, Silver Star, and Silver Meteor all run with Viewliners...Its a shame the all viewliner trains got the axe...
Jay,If the Heritage diners were used as intended they could unstaff the lounge and serve snacks from the counter next to the kitchen. As it stands now I have NEVER seen anyone, except crew, eat at the counter (and believe me I've racked up some Heritage diner miles.) It is usually a resting place for supplies or crew bags. The LSA from the lounge car could help out during serving times in the diner thus alleviating the SDS or diner lite or whatever they call the 8 people every fifteen minute fiasco.
That's because the normal lounges are converted Superliner I dining cars. They were specially converted to perform a double duty, functioning as both a cafe/lounge car and to provide overflow seating for the dining car. That later feature makes them unique in the sense that Amtrak always makes sure to orientate that car so that the dining section always lands next to the dining car.I like the Auto Train. True, it's basically a Superliner trainset, but there are some differences. I just noticed the other day that the sightseer lounges are totally different than a regular superliner set.
My wife and I enjoyed the refurbished SL 1, de lux bedroom(complete with the new shower, toilet and sink module) on our last Empire Builder trip. It was really something. I was a bit dissapointed with the "nots so" easy chair. JimSo, was just curious what people thought of certain equipment...Feel free to reply back on this and explain why or just to chat away....
I know but at one point there was going to be viewliner coaches and diners and lounges like the superliners but of course lack of money canned all that. :angry::blink: The Crescent, Cardinal, LSL, Silver Star, and Silver Meteor all run with Viewliners...Its a shame the all viewliner trains got the axe...
That's not a mock up, it's the real McCoy, the real thing. It ran in revenue service for a while.There was a viewliner dinning car mock up
Beyond the fact that it makes for a consistant visual line when viewed from the outside, it provides greater lighting inside the cars and makes them feel more roomy and comfortable.I've often wondered what the purpose of the upper windows would be on a truly single level car like the Viewliner coach and diners would be. It makes sense for a sleeper so both beds can have a view.
That's not a mock up, it's the real McCoy, the real thing. It ran in revenue service for a while.There was a viewliner dinning car mock up
Has Amtrak ever considered lending or renting the Viewliner Diner to a tourist railroad? Many such have their own shops and skilled volunteers who machine odd parts all the time to maintain their old coaches and locomotives. So a tourist railroad with a strong shop crew could get the car in running condition and make use of it; it would be a great ridership draw and revenue source for the tourist railroad to have a functional full diner; and it would be great PR and free advertising for Amtrak. How is this not a win-win?That's not a mock up, it's the real McCoy, the real thing. It ran in revenue service for a while.There was a viewliner dinning car mock up
While that would be true for Viewliner Diners and Lounges, what about Viewliner coaches? :huh: The upper window would be right where the luggage rack would be, and if luggage is blocking the light, ???Beyond the fact that it makes for a consistant visual line when viewed from the outside, it provides greater lighting inside the cars and makes them feel more roomy and comfortable.I've often wondered what the purpose of the upper windows would be on a truly single level car like the Viewliner coach and diners would be. It makes sense for a sleeper so both beds can have a view.
Well, if the Viewliner coaches were consistent with the sleepers and diner, the upper windows would only be on half the car... so the luggage rack would clearly only be on the other half of the car (where there are no upper windows)While that would be true for Viewliner Diners and Lounges, what about Viewliner coaches? :huh: The upper window would be right where the luggage rack would be, and if luggage is blocking the light, ???Beyond the fact that it makes for a consistant visual line when viewed from the outside, it provides greater lighting inside the cars and makes them feel more roomy and comfortable.I've often wondered what the purpose of the upper windows would be on a truly single level car like the Viewliner coach and diners would be. It makes sense for a sleeper so both beds can have a view.
At least you'll never bump your head on the luggage rack if you stand up too quicklyBut I would not like to be sitting in seat #59 and have the luggage racks only above seats #1-32! And if you think fights over the overhead bins in planes are bad, just wait and see what happens when only 1/2 a car has overhead luggage racks - and no other place to store bags!
You're probably totally correct Alan. Why throw good money after bad converting the other half of the diner fleet only to have it fall apart in 5 or less years? It's kinda like a '57 Chevy~ nice to look but hard as heck to maintain. I just remember one steward leading four waiters and four cooks through the motions in a full diner and nobody seemed to get in anybody's way.Jay,If the Heritage diners were used as intended they could unstaff the lounge and serve snacks from the counter next to the kitchen. As it stands now I have NEVER seen anyone, except crew, eat at the counter (and believe me I've racked up some Heritage diner miles.) It is usually a resting place for supplies or crew bags. The LSA from the lounge car could help out during serving times in the diner thus alleviating the SDS or diner lite or whatever they call the 8 people every fifteen minute fiasco.
Only the Temoinsa rebuilds have that counter, about half the fleet got those rebuilds, so they couldn't uniformly do what you're suggesting. I also suspect that the lounge LSA would get in the way of the dining car crew trying to do their jobs, as there isn't that much room back there. And finally, if you have a line for the cafe section, it's going to be blocking the hall that the passengers and crew need to use to move about the train.
Also remember that SDS isn't just because of the wait staff cuts, it's also because of the elimination of the assistant cook.