A few SSL questions

[abrahamguo]

The Sightseer Lounges have always been my favorite part of traveling on Amtrak! Several questions about SSLs:

I know 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 11/14, 27/28, and 58/59 always have a SSL.

1. Does anyone know when the Capitol Limited (which is obviously now completely replaced) and the Texas Eagle lost their SSLs?
2. Does the Auto Train have SSLs — seasonally or ever? Did it consistently have SSLs in the past?
3. Since the Illini & Saluki run with Superliners, do they ever have an SSL that is open to the public?
4. Does the Pacific Surfliner still have SSLs on any of their consists? Are they open to everyone, or just business class? Any specific runs they are assigned to, or could be any?
5. Have any of the other corridor trains that use Superliners ever have an SSL, like the Heartland Flyer (current) or Pere Marquette (pre-Venture)?
6. Was the bar on the upper level of the SSL ever used — did it stop being used all at once, or was it only used on certain routes?
7. For any trains without an SSL, which ones have an area you can just hang out in, similar to the SSLs, without purchasing food?
   • Are the rules ever different between coach and sleeping car passengers?
   • It seems like on Midwest corridor trains, they usually make an announcement that one can only sit in the Cafe car while actively eating food you've purchased from the Cafe.

 

[bearcruzer]

I can chime in on question 6. Numbers 7 and 8 in August, 1986 had an attendant topside selling soft drinks and handing out just for the asking (imagine such behavior we had way back then) a cup of iced water. Other than that, nope.

 

[railiner]

6.
Yes. The upper level bars were staffed in the early years of the SSL, but then were cut back to only during peak travel periods, and then rarely, if ever.
When they were used, one of the two bars was always open while the other took its meal breaks.
The upper bar also offered packaged snacks, besides hot and cold drinks.

 

[Siegmund]

Re the Texas Eagle, I suspect it lost its lounge car with some frequency from the very beginning. Only 25 Superliner I lounges were built, and covering 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 11/14, 21/22, and 27/28 would require... all 25 of them, year round. I never saw a train in the Northwest without a lounge car until this last couple years - so I would guess that back in the 80s, they got stolen from the Eagle. (I would further guess that the Hi-Level lounge cars were in regular use as SSL substitutes at this timeframe.)

Re #2: After Superliner II was built, you could run a lounge on the City and Capitol, and 2 on the Auto-Train --- as far as I know, 2 lounges per Auto-Train, one each for coach and sleeper passengers was the norm as soon as it went Superliner --- and only need 35 each day of the 45-50 available lounges, so it became possible to withdraw the Hi-Level lounges and to have a few spares to use on charters and shorthauls.

#4: California leased several, in exchange for helping pay for repairs to sidelined cars. All but one of the leases has now expired but last I heard there was still 1 lounge car in the California state-subsidized pool.

Today only about 40 of the 50 survive and at any given time some of them are down for maintenance, so dispatching 35 a day is not possible. At times the past few years, dispatching 30 a day wasn't possible even after the Capitol and Eagle were stripped.

Re #6, the last time I saw the upstairs bar open was in the late 80s, and only for a couple hours in the afternoon, with a limited menu. This was either a time when the morning and evening shifts overlapped, or a time when the diner was closed and an extra attendant could be borrowed. But it was sure popular. I recall a Starlight trip where there was a line half the length of the car of people buying margaritas to watch the ocean go by.

 

[daybeers]

#1: The CL sadly lost its SSL sometime around the pandemic and was never brought back.

 

[Cal]

1. Does the Pacific Surfliner still have SSLs on any of their consists? Are they open to everyone, or just business class? Any specific runs they are assigned to, or could be any?

One set has an SSL, I've seen it on 761/759 combo more than once, but theres so many Surfliner sets, so things change.

1. Was the bar on the upper level of the SSL ever used — did it stop being used all at once, or was it only used on certain routes?

As of August of this year, Chicago was doing a pilot program on the Zephyr with having LSA's on the extra board staff it from Chicago to Galesburg (and presumably back to Chicago) in a little event called "Sips in the Sightseer." When I spoke to the LSA, she said they hope to expand it to other trains. No idea on the status. But there were two LSA's working it, with table service and a small menu of drinks and snacks.

 

[Peter_Travels]

#3
I was on a 2 hour late Illini in July and the cafe car was open and serving in the lower level of the SSL, with several people sitting in the upper level. I took 4 trips total on the Illini/Saluki, 2 of which had an observation car. I would guess it depends on the availability of the Superliner coach/cafe cars, so if there isn’t one available they’ll use the SSL as a cafe car.

#6
I’m not sure about when it closed, but it is still used in a very rare circumstance. I take the CZ (California Zephyr) a lot from Chicago, and starting in May Amtrak has started a “Sips in the Sightseer” program (I see @Cal has noted it above). A few attendants get on in Chicago, and sell wine, beer, snacks, and other novelty items. They have a full menu (below) which is put next to every seat, and they are stationed at the upper bar area of the SSL. They get off in Galesburg and take the Carl Sandburg back to Chicago. I took the Zephyr last week and the program is still going on.

 

[Trogdor]

The upper-level bar in the lounge was also briefly used when the Empire Builder was promoted as a premium train sometime in the mid-2000s.

 

[toddinde]

One set has an SSL, I've seen it on 761/759 combo more than once, but theres so many Surfliner sets, so things change.


As of August of this year, Chicago was doing a pilot program on the Zephyr with having LSA's on the extra board staff it from Chicago to Galesburg (and presumably back to Chicago) in a little event called "Sips in the Sightseer." When I spoke to the LSA, she said they hope to expand it to other trains. No idea on the status. But there were two LSA's working it, with table service and a small menu of drinks and snacks.

Back many years ago, the upstairs bar was used for afternoon happy hour on the western, long distance routes. In fact, they would have a signature cocktail. This was probably back in the 1990’s, which doesn’t seem so long ago, but is.