Silver Meteor from PHL to WPB

[mrbudman24]

Hello all. My wife and I will be traveling from Philadelphia on the Silver Meteor going to West Palm Beach, FL. We are not getting a roomette, so I was wondering if anyone could tell me the different cars that are normally part of this train. I guess I am wondering how much time I am going to have to sit in my coach chair during the trip. Anyone know about the quality of the food, what time they server dinner (since we are supposed to leave PHL at 4:55pm). What are the chances that I will have an electrical outlet next to my chair, so I could use my laptop for movies, etc? We are trying to figure out what to do for the 24 hour trip.

Thanks for any help, I greatly appreciate it!

 

[Green Maned Lion]

The train usually consists, from Philly (Do they change in Washington or Philly...?) of an Electric HHP-8 or AEM-7, if they change there. If not, its a pair of GE P-42DC Genesis diesel-electics,

The number of cars vary with the season, I think they can have up to 4 Viewliners, for example. But anyway, the last consist I saw was:

2 P-42DCs,

1 Heritage Baggage car

3 Viewliner Sleepers

1 Heritage Diner- a full service dining car serving full meals.

1 Amfleet Cafe/Lounge - its basically a cheaper place to eat and to get snacks, more casual. The last one I saw wasn't really a lounge in the classic sense. Its not really a place to spend a lot of time, or to enjoy scenery from

5 Amfleet coaches.

I'd go with the sleeper, to be honest with you. You get Dinner, Lunch, and Breakfast included, as well as a few services to go with it. For two people, a dinner can be $50 alone.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee gone freight]

GM Lion pretty much gives the best advice so far. Being the amount of time you will be on the train, I would opt for at least a roomette if you can afford to do so and it is still available. You will much more comfortable, can guarantee yourself access to an electrical outlet, your own toilet facilities, less crowd around you, and best of all the idea that three meals (dinner, breakfast, and lunch) will be included in the cost of the room. I am a former employee of Amtrak, so with me it is coach for a short six to ten hour trip (mostly daylight hours) and a sleeper if it involves a signifigant amount of the overnight hours. So the same trip you're taking, for me it would be in a sleeper without exceptions!!! Good luck...

OBS gone freight....

 

[BobWeaver]

The train usually consists, from Philly (Do they change in Washington or Philly...?) of an Electric HHP-8 or AEM-7, if they change there. If not, its a pair of GE P-42DC Genesis diesel-electics,
The number of cars vary with the season, I think they can have up to 4 Viewliners, for example. But anyway, the last consist I saw was:

2 P-42DCs,

1 Heritage Baggage car

3 Viewliner Sleepers

1 Heritage Diner- a full service dining car serving full meals.

1 Amfleet Cafe/Lounge - its basically a cheaper place to eat and to get snacks, more casual. The last one I saw wasn't really a lounge in the classic sense. Its not really a place to spend a lot of time, or to enjoy scenery from

5 Amfleet coaches.

I'd go with the sleeper, to be honest with you. You get Dinner, Lunch, and Breakfast included, as well as a few services to go with it. For two people, a dinner can be $50 alone.

Not to nitpick, but I saw 97/98 for 2 days a few weeks ago, and they only had 3 coaches. Do they run with 5 these days?

 

[PRR 60]

Another minority viewpoint from me.

The Viewliner Roomette is a nasty room for two people, even husband and wife. There is the small matter of the toilet. It is in the room. Not in a small room in the room, but in the open in the room. What genius designed that?

First, it can stink, literally. Second, consider the logistics with two people. After 36 years of marriage (and almost 40 years of being best friends), my wife and I are about as close as two people can be. But we're not THAT close. So, if one person needs to use the facility, the other person has to abandon ship and step outside. How about the middle of night call for relief? Wake up the other person, or try and sneak it? Charming. No thanks. And, unlike the Superliner sleeper, there are no common toilets in the Viewliner.

The Roomette is OK for one person, assuming the aroma is not issue. In fact, it is modeled after the old Pullman roomette. But unlike the Pullman roomette, they stuck the upper berth in there. I never, ever recommend two people book a Viewliner Roomette. Maybe it would work for you, but I would rather rough it in coach than deal with the facilities issues of the Viewliner Roomette.

 

[mrbudman24]

The only problem with the roomette, is that it is $471 additional each way. I am not sure if the cost of food can justify that cost. Too be honest with you, I was very surprised at the cost for a roomette. My wife refuses to fly down there, so I am pretty much stuck with the train. I am trying to make the most of it. Any idea about the dinner times?

 

[AlanB]

Any idea about the dinner times?

They should start serving dinner at 5:00 PM, just after you depart Philly. There's a chance that they might even start right before Philly, it depends on the passenger load and the crew working the diner.

Note however that sleeping car passengers get first dibs on seating times, so as soon as the conductor has taken your ticket, you should proceed to the dining car to get a reservation. Especially if you want an early eating time. On a full train, you could well find yourself with only 9:00 PM or later times left, and occasionally coach pax will get totally shut out of the dining car if there are too many sleeping car passengers.

 

[AlanB]

The only problem with the roomette, is that it is $471 additional each way.

Boy you must be traveling during a peak time, as $471 is the highest bucket price level for that train. Any chance that you can alter your travel dates by a day or two? You might find that the price goes down.

You should also check what the coach fare currently is, since I suspect that you don't have the lowest coach bucket price either right now. When you book a sleeper however, you automatically get the lowest coach fare, so that could help to offset the price of the sleeper a bit. Coach fare can range from a low of $114 to a high of $251.

 

[mrbudman24]

I cannot change the dates, as my wife has to be in West Palm Beach for a training class on the 19th. The prices have actually went up on the coach fare since I booked my reservation. I have been checking the sleeper rates for the past month and they have not changed at all.

If we can't get dinner, will we at least be able to get something in the lounge (burgers, etc)?

 

[AlanB]

If we can't get dinner, will we at least be able to get something in the lounge (burgers, etc)?

Absolutely you can get something in the lounge car. You may also be able to arrange take out from the diner, although I can't guarantee that. Some crews will let you go up to the diner and request take out, other crews want the car attendant to do it. However getting the car attendant to do it can be a challenge, depending on the attendant. Some won't hesitiate and are happy to do so. Others, unless they see a disability, aren't exactly inclined to do it otherwise.

If you do end up taking out and the attendant does it for you, be sure to tip him/her for that.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

What genius designed that?

The Pullman company.

The Roomette is OK for one person, assuming the aroma is not issue. In fact, it is modeled after the old Pullman roomette. But unlike the Pullman roomette, they stuck the upper berth in there. I never, ever recommend two people book a Viewliner Roomette. Maybe it would work for you, but I would rather rough it in coach than deal with the facilities issues of the Viewliner Roomette.

The Slumbercoach and Herritage Sleepers both offered something called a double roomette or something like that, and it is precisely what a Viewliner roomette is. I rode down to Florida with my father in them many many times.

I cannot change the dates, as my wife has to be in West Palm Beach for a training class on the 19th. The prices have actually went up on the coach fare since I booked my reservation. I have been checking the sleeper rates for the past month and they have not changed at all.
If we can't get dinner, will we at least be able to get something in the lounge (burgers, etc)?

Perhaps if you go a day or two earlier, you might get a significantly cheaper price.

Also, Allan, I was kinda surprised by the prices I saw on the Silver Meteor and checked a wide variety of dates, and the cheapest price I found (October something) was $401.

 

[PRR 60]

What genius designed that?

The Pullman company.

The Viewliner was designed in-house by Amtrak.

The Roomette is OK for one person, assuming the aroma is not issue. In fact, it is modeled after the old Pullman roomette. But unlike the Pullman roomette, they stuck the upper berth in there. I never, ever recommend two people book a Viewliner Roomette. Maybe it would work for you, but I would rather rough it in coach than deal with the facilities issues of the Viewliner Roomette.

The Slumbercoach and Herritage Sleepers both offered something called a double roomette or something like that, and it is precisely what a Viewliner roomette is. I rode down to Florida with my father in them many many times.

As far as I know, no Amtrak heritage sleeper ever had a room the size and configuration of a roomette with two berths. I have not found any such room on the 1960's pre-Amtrak trains either. The Amtrak heritage sleepers, in the HEP days, were all 10-6 configured with ten roomettes for one passenger and six bedrooms for two passengers. Even the old pre-Amtrak Slumbercoaches were did not put two passengers in the Roomette. It was a room for one. If you rode to Florida in a shared room, it was a Bedroom, not a roomette, unless you were very small and shared the bed.

The Viewliner Roomette was modeled after the Superliner Roomette (originally called the Economy Bedroom). The Superliner room was basically an enclosed version of the old Section with upper and lower berths and no facilities. When the Viewliner was designed they carried the Superliner design over, but with a shower and a room for the attendant, they did not want to take up more revenue space with a common toilet room. So the put toilets and wash stands in every room, including the Roomette. In the Bedrooms they used the classic design with an enclosed toilet and the wash stand just outside. For the Roomette they used the old pre-Amtrak design of an open toilet. But while the pre-Amtrak roomettes were always for just one person, the Viewliner Roomette was designed for two to maximize revenue. That is how the design evolved.

That design presents a real problem for two people occupying the room. I've never heard a good answer as to how to handle the awkward logistics of toilet use. For a couple paying $400 or more for the pleasure of occupying a Viewliner Roomette, I would not think those arrangements would be found acceptable.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

The Viewliner was designed by Amtrak. The conceptual design of a room with two seats whose space become a bed, a upper folding Pullman bed, and a toilet squeezed in was designed by the Pullman company. The Viewliner Roomette is basically an update of that concept.

Either they existed, or I have an impressively vivid 3-D false memory going on in my head.

They had a toilet in the same place as the current Viewliner Roomette, with the same kind of fold down sink. The upper bed was the kind of fold down bed in the Superliner Roomettes, as opposed to the drop down type in the Viewliner. The seats didn't work like the current one, sliding down to form a bed. Instead, you would turn two handles that looked sorta like what you'd have on a school cabinet, and twist them. Then the whole seat folded down while you opened this compartment sort of thing, and you did the same with the other side. One side had a visibly larger compartment which would contain the mattress and bed dressing rolled up. They did not have a folding table, but had some sort of mounting hardware between the opposed seats with which a sleeping car attendant could mount a table on request. I remember very distinctly doing tons of make-up work for missed school on these tables. They were placed in the same configuration as the Viewliner roomette, and had solid doors without windows. The colour scheme was that ugly orange one found on early Amtrak trains.

 

[Grandma B]

My husband and I traveled from NYC to WPB during Thanksgiving last year. We booked a Viewliner BR on the Silver Meteor instead of a Roomette. We are seniors and couldn't imagine sitting 25+ hours in coach. The BR was suitable for two people. You do have your own enclosed toilet/shower and a bit more room than the Roomette. All the meals were included and were hot and delicious! The only complaint was trying to sleep at night. Between the rocking, rolling and clanking on the tracks down south, we could not sleep. Our train that was due in WPB at 4:54 PM arrived at 11:13 PM. Amtrak fed us another dinner because of the lateness. I would definitely travel again booking the BR. My husband on the other hand, would rather fly!

 

[the_traveler]

The Slumbercoach and Herritage Sleepers both offered something called a double roomette or something like that, and it is precisely what a Viewliner roomette is. I rode down to Florida with my father in them many many times.

As far as I know, no Amtrak heritage sleeper ever had a room the size and configuration of a roomette with two berths. I have not found any such room on the 1960's pre-Amtrak trains either. The Amtrak heritage sleepers, in the HEP days, were all 10-6 configured with ten roomettes for one passenger and six bedrooms for two passengers. Even the old pre-Amtrak Slumbercoaches were did not put two passengers in the Roomette. It was a room for one. If you rode to Florida in a shared room, it was a Bedroom, not a roomette, unless you were very small and shared the bed.

Although I only had a single slumbercoach, I CLEARLY remember they listed a choice for a single slumbercoach or a DOUBLE slumbercoach!

 

[Guest_palmland_*]

PR60 has it right. On pre Amtrak sleepers: a roomette and slumbercoach single room had only one bed but did have a toilet; a bedroom or a double room in a slumber coach had 2 beds and an enclosed toilet. For instance, the slumbercoach on the Denver Zephyr in 1968 had "24 single rooms, 8 double rooms".

On a short trip my wife and I use a roomette. No problem with the toilet, one of us just steps into the hall.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

PR60 has it right. On pre Amtrak sleepers: a roomette and slumbercoach single room had only one bed but did have a toilet; a bedroom or a double room in a slumber coach had 2 beds and an enclosed toilet. For instance, the slumbercoach on the Denver Zephyr in 1968 had "24 single rooms, 8 double rooms".

On a short trip my wife and I use a roomette. No problem with the toilet, one of us just steps into the hall.

Then why do I so clearly remember a room like what I am describing?

 

[jefffromark]

OK I need to add my 2 cents...the double slumbercoach compares itself to the viewliner roomette - as the toilet was exposed. There was certainly no room for a enclosed bathroom....only in a full sized bedroom. I remember that the ex-New York Central slumbercoaches had the biggest double rooms but with the same exposed toilet. So to me it was the double slumber coach room that best describes what the Amtrak version is today.

Comparing the Heritage roomette to the viewliner, I miss being able to lay in bed and view the countryside pass my window, or peer outside during a station stop. I miss the full sized bed also, a real mattress. And less exposure to people passing in the aisle, the viewliner has to many windows with curtains that seemed to have shrunk over time. Today's first class sleeper is very cramped.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Thank god. someone has finally told me I am not crazy. Atleast for that reason.

 

[mrbudman24]

My husband and I traveled from NYC to WPB during Thanksgiving last year. We booked a Viewliner BR on the Silver Meteor instead of a Roomette. We are seniors and couldn't imagine sitting 25+ hours in coach. The BR was suitable for two people. You do have your own enclosed toilet/shower and a bit more room than the Roomette. All the meals were included and were hot and delicious! The only complaint was trying to sleep at night. Between the rocking, rolling and clanking on the tracks down south, we could not sleep. Our train that was due in WPB at 4:54 PM arrived at 11:13 PM. Amtrak fed us another dinner because of the lateness. I would definitely travel again booking the BR. My husband on the other hand, would rather fly!

A 6 hour delay?!?!??!?!?! Is that common on the Silver Meteor? I am having a hard enough time with 24 hours, much less 30+!!!!!!

 

[Sam Damon]

My husband and I traveled from NYC to WPB during Thanksgiving last year. We booked a Viewliner BR on the Silver Meteor instead of a Roomette. We are seniors and couldn't imagine sitting 25+ hours in coach. The BR was suitable for two people. You do have your own enclosed toilet/shower and a bit more room than the Roomette. All the meals were included and were hot and delicious! The only complaint was trying to sleep at night. Between the rocking, rolling and clanking on the tracks down south, we could not sleep. Our train that was due in WPB at 4:54 PM arrived at 11:13 PM. Amtrak fed us another dinner because of the lateness. I would definitely travel again booking the BR. My husband on the other hand, would rather fly!

Try popping some melatonin tablets, such as these, for instance .

A 6 hour delay?!?!??!?!?! Is that common on the Silver Meteor? I am having a hard enough time with 24 hours, much less 30+!!!!!!

Delays are common on some Amtrak lines. Then again, we in the USA really are suffering from underinvestment in transportation infrastructure, but that's another thread. One way to track delays for a particular Amtrak lines in the east and northeast is to surf here.

Should you still take your trip on Amtrak, please stop back to the "Trip Reports" forum, and tell us how things went. Trip reports from all over are the only good way to gauge the state of the overall Amtrak system.