Viewliner II - Part 1 - Initial Production and Delivery

[PRR 60]

The CAF production diners are not 100% modeled on the #8400 prototype. The prototype was more to test out the kitchen and serving ergonomics. The car was fitted-out with available fixtures. The production run uses custom-designed fixtures and will be somewhat different in appearance. Whether that difference includes the ADA accommodation, I'm not sure. Given that NARP was given a tour of the production car, it might.

 

[AlanB]

The CAF production diners are not 100% modeled on the #8400 prototype. The prototype was more to test out the kitchen and serving ergonomics. The car was fitted-out with available fixtures. The production run uses custom-designed fixtures and will be somewhat different in appearance. Whether that difference includes the ADA accommodation, I'm not sure. Given that NARP was given a tour of the production car, it might.

The new cars, as well as the prototype, have the ADA table. I suppose that there is a chance for some odd reason that the drop down seat was eliminated from the production run, but I rather doubt that.

 

[rickycourtney]

So, after watching the video from Amtrak with all the shots of the cars:

The oddest thing to me is that the baggage cars have doors which swing in, rather than roll-up doors. Perhaps it was decided that these were easier to seal shut against the weather. It reduces the usable space in the baggage car, however.

Also, the shelving units? It's very hard to tell, but it looks to me like there are a total of two rack-style shelves per unit, one basically on the floor and one halfway up; a very minor improvement in storage space. This *does* keep bags off the floor and prevents them from getting wet.

Finally, the baggage cars appear to be well-insulated (...unlike the existing baggage cars). This may allow for several possibilities.

I've heard a lot of Amtrak employees say they like the inward swinging doors. They say there are a lot of maintenance issues with the rolling and sliding doors. Also these new doors create a seal allowing for better climate control (especially important on the baggage/dorm cars.)

Your description of the racks is accurate based on all the photos I've seen. Having the nearly floor level racks keeps bags off the floor and oriented with a slight slant (towards the wall) to keep them from sliding around. Having racks could also allow crew to better organize bags by destination.

 

[NE933]

Let's all please take a moment and ponder the odds against Viewliner II. The original plan in the 80's was for 300 -400 car fleet. Only 50 got built, and builder Morrison Knudson folded. Builders from Brazil had and elsewhere were scrounged to keep the railcars from stopping mid process. Many said another one will never be made again, and so it is with the power of will, passion for knowing the lifeblood of trains on freight and passengers, and the ambition to see a great project moribund for 20 years, got back into a respectful light. Congrats to CAF, their subcontractors, and all at Amtrak who worked to make this happen, and even more thanks for acknowledging the job will not be finished with these 130 railcars.

 

[jis]

Let's all please take a moment and ponder the odds against Viewliner II. The original plan in the 80's was for 300 -400 car fleet. Only 50 got built, and builder Morrison Knudson folded. Builders from Brazil had and elsewhere were scrounged to keep the railcars from stopping mid process.

Builders from Brazil? I thought eventually it was Alstom (French) that took over what was Amerail, which completed the Viewliner I order.

 

[Fan Railer]

Let's all please take a moment and ponder the odds against Viewliner II. The original plan in the 80's was for 300 -400 car fleet. Only 50 got built, and builder Morrison Knudson folded. Builders from Brazil had and elsewhere were scrounged to keep the railcars from stopping mid process.

Builders from Brazil? I thought eventually it was Alstom (French) that took over what was Amerail, which completed the Viewliner I order.

You are forgetting that Alstom gets it's car bodies from a plant in Brazil.

 

[VT Hokie]

Let's all please take a moment and ponder the odds against Viewliner II. The original plan in the 80's was for 300 -400 car fleet. Only 50 got built, and builder Morrison Knudson folded. Builders from Brazil had and elsewhere were scrounged to keep the railcars from stopping mid process. Many said another one will never be made again, and so it is with the power of will, passion for knowing the lifeblood of trains on freight and passengers, and the ambition to see a great project moribund for 20 years, got back into a respectful light. Congrats to CAF, their subcontractors, and all at Amtrak who worked to make this happen, and even more thanks for acknowledging the job will not be finished with these 130 railcars.

Now let's take that positive momentum and get the Rohr Turboliners out of Bear!

 

[dlagrua]

I believe that the video tour of the Viewliner II cars is referenced in this post. http://youtu.be/fHAGdl5J0uw

The cars look very nice and thanks to the LED lighting, they have a new bright more open look .

It looks like we will be taking more trips on the Eastern routes when these arrive on the rails. The change of appearance and the fresh new interiors will be refreshing.

 

[Woody]

...

It looks like we will be taking more trips on the Eastern routes when these arrive on the rails. ...

Further evidence that the 130 new cars will surely not be enuff! We need that option order!

 

[jis]

Let's all please take a moment and ponder the odds against Viewliner II. The original plan in the 80's was for 300 -400 car fleet. Only 50 got built, and builder Morrison Knudson folded. Builders from Brazil had and elsewhere were scrounged to keep the railcars from stopping mid process.

Builders from Brazil? I thought eventually it was Alstom (French) that took over what was Amerail, which completed the Viewliner I order.

You are forgetting that Alstom gets it's car bodies from a plant in Brazil.

Did Alstom get any Viewliner bodies from Brazil, back then would be from Mafersa, since Alstom acquired them in 1997 or so? I don't know and would like to get a reference for that information for later use. I thought Mafersa delivered bodies for the CTA cars and Virginia Rail Express cars. Did not know about Viewliners. But nor was I keeping track of things closely back then. So any concrete info would be most appreciated.

 

[Nathanael]

Let's all please take a moment and ponder the odds against Viewliner II. The original plan in the 80's was for 300 -400 car fleet. Only 50 got built, and builder Morrison Knudson folded. Builders from Brazil had and elsewhere were scrounged to keep the railcars from stopping mid process. Many said another one will never be made again, and so it is with the power of will, passion for knowing the lifeblood of trains on freight and passengers, and the ambition to see a great project moribund for 20 years, got back into a respectful light. Congrats to CAF, their subcontractors, and all at Amtrak who worked to make this happen, and even more thanks for acknowledging the job will not be finished with these 130 railcars.

Yes. Congrats to everyone at Amtrak who bit the bullet and decided that scarce capital *needed* to be spent on this. And please spend some more to exercise part of the option. ;-) Until we get 220mph HSR in the east, there's going to be large and increasing demand for the eastern long distance trains -- the "single overnights" run through parts of the country denser than Western Europe. These trains will continue to be crucial to mobility east of the Mississippi.

 

[dlagrua]

Its no secret that Amtrak must battle Washington for every penny that its receives but what might prove to be a game changer is the ever increasing demand from rail travelers, the sharp decline in flying conditions and the degrading treatment of passengers by the TSA Quite frankly I won't stand for it. Last I heard they were shrinking the airline seat widths again to a paltry 17". That's even smaller than a bucket seat on a sports car. If it keeps going like this, why before you know it, you'll have to be a midget to fit into one of those seats.

 

[jis]

Seat width on most domestic flights on Boeings and Airbuses have been 17.2" for quite a while and that is not changing with the new seats. So might have misheard or misunderstood what was stated. What is chaniging is the depth of the backrest by one inch and that is being used to reduce the pitch so as to allow one or two more rows of seat.

 

[Woody]

Seat width on most domestic flights on Boeings and Airbuses have been 17.2" for quite a while and that is not changing with the new seats. So might have misheard or misunderstood what was stated. What is chaniging is the depth of the backrest by one inch and that is being used to reduce the pitch so as to allow one or two more rows of seat.

Reducing the pitch is a fine thing if you enjoy

having your knees tucked under your chin.

But if you are even medium tall, say 6 ft or so,

you will be scrunched on the plane. Yes, we

need more trains!

 

[sitzplatz17]

i believe dlagrua was referring to an article in the WSJ this week where Long-haul airlines like Emirates are looking to fit 10 seats (3-4-3 style) next to each other at 17" on the Boeing 777, which until now has always been (3-3-3 style).

 

[jis]

Of the American majors only American Airlines has done that in its new 7Ws.

Incidentally in the original configuration when 777s were first introduced, UA had 2-5-2 in the back but with 18" seats.

All domestic mainline planes in the US AFAICT are at least 17.2".

Many Asian airlines have gone to 10 abreast in 777s and that is a couple of years old news. Nothing new there.

I suppose the Gulf airlines did it since their main clientele is Asian and they seem not have that much problem with 17". Indeed, the Gulf Airlines uniformly get rave reviews from people who fly them regularly. This is something that has quite puzzled me over the last couple of years.

Interestingly the Gulf airlines also have couple inches more in pitch than the US majors do. That might explain why people like their layout even with 17" seats more than the layout with 31" pitch and 18" seats.

So my conclusion is that 17.2" vs. 17" is a non-issue if the pitch can be kept around 34". Pitch less than that is a problem.

 

[afigg]

Saw this link on rr.net. Amtrak posted photos and information on the Viewliner II production on its Amtrak history website: Welcoming the Next Generation: Viewliner II. Looks like the website was updated in October when the Vw IIs were shown to the press, but was overlooked. Several photos of the production line and a history of the Viewliner design. If you zoom in on the photo of the sleeper car, its number is 68000 for those who want to railfan on such stuff.

An excerpt from the write-up for dates and specs:

After one of each type of car is field tested over the winter, the first units should enter revenue service in summer 2014. The full order is expected to be delivered by late 2015.

Each car measures approximately 85' long, 14' high and 10.5' across at the widest point. Capable of moving at speeds of up to 125 mph, the Viewliner II cars will be interoperable with the Viewliner I, Amfleet II (long-distance), Horizon and remaining Heritage cars, as well as all Amtrak electric and diesel road locomotives.

The Sleeping cars include 11 Roomettes, two Bedrooms and one Accessible Bedroom. Interior components, which are installed in a modular system, are being manufactured separately by RailPlan. Unlike the Viewliner I design, the Roomettes do not include toilets; passengers will share two restrooms and a shower at one end of the car.

Click on the images link at the bottom of the page for photos like this one of the interior of the baggage car with shelves.

 

[abcnews]

This was great to see - but does this mean no new Viewliner equipment until this summer? I was hopeful to see a few more (new) diners on the Lake Shore Limited.

Is it just the one (8400)?

 

[Acela150]

It appears that sleepers will run the 68000 series.

 

[afigg]

This was great to see - but does this mean no new Viewliner equipment until this summer? I was hopeful to see a few more (new) diners on the Lake Shore Limited.

Is it just the one (8400)?

That was the news that came out in late October when the Viewliner IIs were shown to the press. The first set of 4 cars of one of each type will be released for initial testing and review, maybe by the end of the year. Then more cars will be delivered for testing and training as the number of Vw IIs in Amtrak's hands is built. Start of revenue service for the first units is now projected for summer of 2014, hopefully that means before the end of June, in time for the summer peak months, not the end of August.

 

[Acela150]

An article in this months Railpace states that the first four Pilot cars will be Diners and baggage cars. Four total. Baggage and Diners will come first, and understablely so. With the Sleeping cars being the last type of car delivered.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Seeing as how the baggages are also half sleeper then it should cover just about all the bases as well.

 

[printman2000]

Seeing as how the baggages are also half sleeper then it should cover just about all the bases as well.

Not all of them. Some are full baggage. Which I assume is what they are talking about.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

Seeing as how the baggages are also half sleeper then it should cover just about all the bases as well.

Not all of them. Some are full baggage. Which I assume is what they are talking about.

Right I forgot about that, too bad. Those are going to be brilliant cars when they get them in service.

 

[PerRock]

Seeing as how the baggages are also half sleeper then it should cover just about all the bases as well.

Not all of them. Some are full baggage. Which I assume is what they are talking about.

Right I forgot about that, too bad. Those are going to be brilliant cars when they get them in service.

And I believe the Baggage Dorms (the ones that are 50/50) are non-revenue sleeping berths for crew.

oeter