The next train to get a Parlor Car.

[railiner]

So an all-Parlor car train would be the corridor version of an all-Pullman sleeper car?

Yes, both sleepers and parlor cars were considered first class. Any train which had a first class lounge and parlor cars, the parlor passengers as well as the sleeper passengers were allowed in the lounge.

I do not think there were many all parlor car trains besides the Merchants Limited, but if they were they were considered all first class.

There was a time when Long Island RR had parlor cars going out to Montauk. Some parlor cars had private rooms,like drawing rooms, probably not used for beds but for private friends or family space, good for private parties with 3 or people.

Bill;

I still get invitations from the LIRR to make parlor car res to Montauk and all points west that it stops. (I think Speonk or maybe Islip is the first stop)and have been for quite some time. Maybe Alan can fill us in. Also wondering if it retained the name "Cannonball?" I'm still of the opinion that the surplus of CCC's could be put to good use by adjusting the dining area into a parlor area; don't have to have single seats but it would a whole lot better than building a car from the ground up when these CCC's are sitting somewhere with birds building nests in the drawbars instead of 3 mil or more to build a new PPC.

The LIRR Cannonball was a summer only all parlor car express to the Hamptons and Montauk. There were parlor cars on many other LI trains to the East End as well. The parlor car service ended when the diesel-hauled cars were replaced with the new bilevels a couple years ago.

 

[railiner]

Again, "Pacific Parlor Car" is all about a catchy sounding alliteration, very clever, very neat. But it does kind of confuse the situation by leading people to think that a parlor car is a specialized lounge car. It is not. A parlor car is where you space is. A lounge, includng PPC, is a place to volutarily visit.

So really, my thread was "What LD train will get a fancy new lounge?"

I wonder if Amtrak does some whole research and marketing campaign to see what first-class travelers would like in a new "upscale" lounge. This "upscale lounge" would be similar for both the LD trains and any potential high speed trains.

So I have to imagine Amtrak having a "modern upscale lounge" that looks like a nightclub, with a rave and everything.

Like thieeeees:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&q=modern+nightclub&revid=1639246113&sa=X&ei=USanTa_zCrC60QGAiLX5CA&ved=0CDcQ1QIoBA&biw=1861&bih=993

Hehe. Some of those nightclubs remind me of a laser tag arena.

WHAT NEXT AM I GOING TO PROPOSE NEXT? Laser tag on Amtrak?

Hey, maybe it's more likely than Amtrak turning profitable...

IIRC, there was some company along the lines of American European Express that I think was called Grand Luxe Express or something like that, that operated a luxury cruise type train. They were supposed to be getting some new bilevel lounge cars that had a dance floor overlooked by a balcony. There may me some photos out there on some web site if you google it....

 

[AlanB]

So an all-Parlor car train would be the corridor version of an all-Pullman sleeper car?

Yes, both sleepers and parlor cars were considered first class. Any train which had a first class lounge and parlor cars, the parlor passengers as well as the sleeper passengers were allowed in the lounge.

I do not think there were many all parlor car trains besides the Merchants Limited, but if they were they were considered all first class.

There was a time when Long Island RR had parlor cars going out to Montauk. Some parlor cars had private rooms,like drawing rooms, probably not used for beds but for private friends or family space, good for private parties with 3 or people.

Bill;

I still get invitations from the LIRR to make parlor car res to Montauk and all points west that it stops. (I think Speonk or maybe Islip is the first stop)and have been for quite some time. Maybe Alan can fill us in. Also wondering if it retained the name "Cannonball?" I'm still of the opinion that the surplus of CCC's could be put to good use by adjusting the dining area into a parlor area; don't have to have single seats but it would a whole lot better than building a car from the ground up when these CCC's are sitting somewhere with birds building nests in the drawbars instead of 3 mil or more to build a new PPC.

The LIRR Cannonball was a summer only all parlor car express to the Hamptons and Montauk. There were parlor cars on many other LI trains to the East End as well. The parlor car service ended when the diesel-hauled cars were replaced with the new bilevels a couple years ago.

While not really deserving of the moniker "parlor car", the LIRR still operates a special car during the summers on Fridays for those going to Montauk and other stations east of Babylon. The car has the standard seating of the other LIRR multi-levels, but it has a special bar area where an attendant serves drinks. The car requires prior reservations and an up charge over the normal ticket of something like $18 IIRC. The rest of the train is just a normal consist with no special cars or privileges.

The car is hooked onto the train that runs in what was the Cannonball's timeslot, but the train is no longer called the Cannonball by the LIRR. Possibly some of the regulars probably still refer to it as such, but most don't since the current train is a mere shadow of what the Cannonball name once meant.

 

[railiner]

IIRC, the LIRR not only ran parlor cars in its earlier years, but even ran thru Pullman service to Pittsburgh on its parent PRR, and perhaps some other destinations...

 

[Anderson]

IIRC, the LIRR not only ran parlor cars in its earlier years, but even ran thru Pullman service to Pittsburgh on its parent PRR, and perhaps some other destinations...

From what I recall reading, the parlor car service lasted into the 1990s, and the LIRR wanted to keep it up...but the Amtrak cars they bought/wanted to buy when they cycled their equipment around wouldn't run on some of the tracks. At least hearsay was that the service was pretty popular, too.

 

[GlobalistPotato]

If the Empire Builder gets a fancy lounge, can that help get rid of the horrible winter delays?

 

[jis]

If the Empire Builder gets a fancy lounge, can that help get rid of the horrible winter delays?

Only if the lounge has wings :lol:

 

[railiner]

If the Empire Builder gets a fancy lounge, can that help get rid of the horrible winter delays?

Only if the lounge has wings :lol:

It wouldn't get rid of the delays, but they wouldn't be as 'horrible'. :giggle:

 

[Anderson]

If the Empire Builder gets a fancy lounge, can that help get rid of the horrible winter delays?

Only if the lounge has wings :lol:

So Red Bull will have to sponsor it?