Anderson's Diner Derby

[Anderson]

So, I've been chugging along on my quest to hit all of the Heritage diners. Since I started this quest, I've managed the following:

8507: Dinner on the LSL, March 2011

8528: Dinner on the SM, 4/23/11

8531: Breakfast on the SM, 5/19/11. Breakfast w/Joe Haldeman to boot.

8527: Dinner on the SM, 5/19/11.

8502: Breakfast on the SM, 5/29/11

8502: Dinner on the SM, 5/30/11

This sets aside the dinner I had in one of the old PC diners early in the year (the number of which I can't recall). I've got some more detailed reviews and commentaries which I'll put in separate posts, but I'm going to keep tracking my diner adventures. For the record, my gut tells me I'm going to have to start hitting the Crescent at some point to make this work. I'll be back on the Meteor this weekend (WAS-RVR...I have a meeting up in DC)...I think I may be going for some sort of ridership record for that train at this rate (I count at least eight trips, possibly ten, on the Meteor this year alone).

 

[Pat Harper]

Anderson, what other trains have a heritage diner in their consists? Are those the ones that are only one story? I've been in one when we took the Crescent from NOL to BOS. That was in the early 90's before they revamped the sleepers. They also didn't take reservations back then so when the dining car opened there was a long line of PAX waiting to get in!

 

[Anderson]

The list is:

-Lake Shore Limited

-Cardinal

-Crescent

-Silver Meteor

-Silver Star

The LSL tends to interchange consists with the others in the winter (to get the cars out of the cold weather for a bit). Baggage cars notwithstanding, this is it...it's 24 Heritage Diners, nothing more (most or all of the sleepers and coaches got retired back in the early 90s, when the toilet requirements changed)...but that set happens to include all of the CB&Q CZ diners (from what I can tell, at least). To answer your question...yes, it's just the single-level LD trains (other than the Palmetto, which has no diner).

Unless I miss my guess, I think it's six consists for the Silvers (three for each train, but they switch out), four for the LSL, and three each for the Crescent and the Cardinal (that's sixteen) plus a spare or two kept in case of a bad ordered diner.

 

[eagle628]

The Cardinal doesn't have a Heritage diner, I believe it has an Amfleet lounge car for food service.

 

[Anderson]

The Cardinal doesn't have a Heritage diner, I believe it has an Amfleet lounge car for food service.

That's my bad, though the menu seems to imply a bit more than a basic lounge as far as what is provided. Maybe it's a modified lounge of some kind?

 

[Trogdor]

The list is:

-Lake Shore Limited

-Cardinal

-Crescent

-Silver Meteor

-Silver Star

The LSL tends to interchange consists with the others in the winter (to get the cars out of the cold weather for a bit). Baggage cars notwithstanding, this is it...it's 24 Heritage Diners, nothing more (most or all of the sleepers and coaches got retired back in the early 90s, when the toilet requirements changed)...but that set happens to include all of the CB&Q CZ diners (from what I can tell, at least). To answer your question...yes, it's just the single-level LD trains (other than the Palmetto, which has no diner).

Unless I miss my guess, I think it's six consists for the Silvers (three for each train, but they switch out), four for the LSL, and three each for the Crescent and the Cardinal (that's sixteen) plus a spare or two kept in case of a bad ordered diner.

Silvers are four each (total eight), as is the Crescent. Lake Shore is three. Total 15 required, out of 20 active.

The Cardinal (no diner) uses two sets.

 

[Ryan]

The Cardinal doesn't have a Heritage diner, I believe it has an Amfleet lounge car for food service.

That's my bad, though the menu seems to imply a bit more than a basic lounge as far as what is provided. Maybe it's a modified lounge of some kind?

A bit, there's a convection oven for heating up the meals, but the seating areas are pretty much the same as a lounge.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Cardinal doesn't have a Heritage diner, I believe it has an Amfleet lounge car for food service.

That's my bad, though the menu seems to imply a bit more than a basic lounge as far as what is provided. Maybe it's a modified lounge of some kind?

The Card uses a Car called a Diner-Lite, 1/2 Lounge-Cafe/ 1/2 (Sort of) a Diner with a Convection Oven to Heat Prepared Meals!. The LSA Both Serves and Heats the Modified Card Menu and Most Passengers have had Less than Great Meals on this Train, especially Breakfast!

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

The list is:

-Lake Shore Limited

-Cardinal

-Crescent

-Silver Meteor

-Silver Star

The LSL tends to interchange consists with the others in the winter (to get the cars out of the cold weather for a bit). Baggage cars notwithstanding, this is it...it's 24 Heritage Diners, nothing more (most or all of the sleepers and coaches got retired back in the early 90s, when the toilet requirements changed)...but that set happens to include all of the CB&Q CZ diners (from what I can tell, at least). To answer your question...yes, it's just the single-level LD trains (other than the Palmetto, which has no diner).

Unless I miss my guess, I think it's six consists for the Silvers (three for each train, but they switch out), four for the LSL, and three each for the Crescent and the Cardinal (that's sixteen) plus a spare or two kept in case of a bad ordered diner.

There are four sets of Crescent equipment. Here is one way to figure it...there used to be a TV commercial which said "It is 11 pm, do you know where your children are?

Remember that and ask, "It is 4.30 pm, do you know where the Crescent is?"

Well,

1. A northbound near Anniston,Ala

2. A northbound which should have arrived NYC about two hours ago

3. A southbound which should have left NYC about 2 hours ago

4. A southbound on its way into NOL in about three hours.

 

[Anderson]

Alright...so we've probably got 16 diners:

"It's 5:00, do you know where the Lake Shore is?"

Answer:

1. An eastbound set sitting in Chicago awaiting a 9 PM departure.

2. An eastbound set about two hours out of NYP/setting out for Boston from Albany.

3. A westbound set moving up the Hudson/coming into Albany from Boston.

I'm not quite sure what the turning situation is, with the set coming into Boston at about midnight...and

On the Silvers, it's:

SM 1: Southbound, probably just out of Philly

SM 2: Southbound, approaching Miami

SM 3: Northbound, somewhere near JAX

(Yes, I got that without looking at the timetable)

SS 1: Southbound, in Richmond

SS 2: Southbound, approaching Miami

SS 3: Northbound, approaching Philly

SS 4: Northbound, in Tampa

So...transfer one set from the LSL to the Silvers...at least. 8502 went up on Sunday's SM and returned on Monday's SM, so there might be a fourth Meteor set that's sitting in Queens right now.

I'm then guessing that you have a backup diner in NYP (which can cover for any of the trains) and a backup diner in MIA (which can cover for the Silvers). That's...either 16 or 17 in active service...which begs a question: The Master List I'm working from has 24 diners listed and Amtrak has 25 on order. Knowing how Amtrak is right now...these numbers do not quite add up.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Alright...so we've probably got 16 diners:

"It's 5:00, do you know where the Lake Shore is?"

Answer:

1. An eastbound set sitting in Chicago awaiting a 9 PM departure.

2. An eastbound set about two hours out of NYP/setting out for Boston from Albany.

3. A westbound set moving up the Hudson/coming into Albany from Boston.

I'm not quite sure what the turning situation is, with the set coming into Boston at about midnight...and

On the Silvers, it's:

SM 1: Southbound, probably just out of Philly

SM 2: Southbound, approaching Miami

SM 3: Northbound, somewhere near JAX

(Yes, I got that without looking at the timetable)

SS 1: Southbound, in Richmond

SS 2: Southbound, approaching Miami

SS 3: Northbound, approaching Philly

SS 4: Northbound, in Tampa

So...transfer one set from the LSL to the Silvers...at least. 8502 went up on Sunday's SM and returned on Monday's SM, so there might be a fourth Meteor set that's sitting in Queens right now.

I'm then guessing that you have a backup diner in NYP (which can cover for any of the trains) and a backup diner in MIA (which can cover for the Silvers). That's...either 16 or 17 in active service...which begs a question: The Master List I'm working from has 24 diners listed and Amtrak has 25 on order. Knowing how Amtrak is right now...these numbers do not quite add up.

Add a SM set that terminated in NYC this morning.

This agrees with what Trogdor has already given in post number six.

 

[bobnabq]

So, I've been chugging along on my quest to hit all of the Heritage diners.

Please explain to me what a Heritage diner is, and how it differs from a 'regular' dining car.

Thanks

 

[had8ley]

So, I've been chugging along on my quest to hit all of the Heritage diners.

Please explain to me what a Heritage diner is, and how it differs from a 'regular' dining car.

Thanks

A Heritage diner is as close to a real diner as you'll ever get. They are single level diners mainly built in the '50's and handed over to Amtrak when it started by the RR's that gave up passenger service. Many have mega-million miles on them and are long over due to be replaced. The Superliner diner is a newer version and is two story with the kitchen on the lower floor.

 

[AlanB]

So, I've been chugging along on my quest to hit all of the Heritage diners.

Please explain to me what a Heritage diner is, and how it differs from a 'regular' dining car.

Thanks

A Heritage diner is as close to a real diner as you'll ever get. They are single level diners mainly built in the '50's and handed over to Amtrak when it started by the RR's that gave up passenger service. Many have mega-million miles on them and are long over due to be replaced. The Superliner diner is a newer version and is two story with the kitchen on the lower floor.

Originally train cars were heated by using steam. That practice continued even after steam engines were pretty much gone from the rails, diesel engines were built to provide steam. As Jay noted above, when Amtrak was formed, they got a bunch of passenger cars from the freight RR's, all of them single level cars. Several years later Amtrak converted some of those cars from steam heat to what we today call Head End Power (HEP), which is essentially 480 volts of electricity supplied from the engine.

All the cars converted from steam to HEP were then called Heritage cars. These days the only Heritage cars still running the rails are the Heritage dining cars that you'll find on the Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Crescent, and the Lake Shore Limited. About half of them have received a modern interior during a refurbishment program a few years back, the rest you can clearly tell are old cars the second you walk into the car. But even the new looking ones inside betray their age when you're standing on a platform looking at them.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Baggage Cars are Older than some of the Diners so they too can be Considered Heritage Cars!

 

[Anderson]

Bill,

I missed Trogdor's post...I think I hit Page Down and missed it.

And Hadley hit it on the head, especially since you can't exactly ride in the baggage cars. These are the only pre-Amtrak cars left in the fleet (save the Santa Fe Hi-Levels in use as PPCs) on the passenger side of things.

 

[Trogdor]

These are the only pre-Amtrak cars left in the fleet (save the Santa Fe Hi-Levels in use as PPCs) on the passenger side of things.

And the dome.

 

[Anderson]

These are the only pre-Amtrak cars left in the fleet (save the Santa Fe Hi-Levels in use as PPCs) on the passenger side of things.

And the dome.

...the dome? Is that on the Adirondack?

 

[Mackensen]

These are the only pre-Amtrak cars left in the fleet (save the Santa Fe Hi-Levels in use as PPCs) on the passenger side of things.

And the dome.

...the dome? Is that on the Adirondack?

Typically, though it gets around. I saw it on the Blue Water a month ago hosting some kind of private Amtrak junket between Port Huron and Chicago.

 

[J-1 3235]

These are the only pre-Amtrak cars left in the fleet (save the Santa Fe Hi-Levels in use as PPCs) on the passenger side of things.

And the dome.

...the dome? Is that on the Adirondack?

In the fall.....

 

[Anderson]

These are the only pre-Amtrak cars left in the fleet (save the Santa Fe Hi-Levels in use as PPCs) on the passenger side of things.

And the dome.

...the dome? Is that on the Adirondack?

In the fall.....

*adds to his to-travel list*

 

[had8ley]

Just what is the history of our only dome ???

 

[Ryan]

Built in 1955 for Great Northern's Empire Builder.

http://www.trainweb.org/amtrakpix/locoshots/heritagediner/10031A.html

 

[Bob Dylan]

These are the only pre-Amtrak cars left in the fleet (save the Santa Fe Hi-Levels in use as PPCs) on the passenger side of things.

And the dome.

...the dome? Is that on the Adirondack?

The Dome's Regular Home is in SOCAL where it runs on the Surfliners to/from San Diego to Goleta via LAX and SBA. It's alleged Owner (he thinks! :lol: ), one of our Members known as Whooz, allows it to Occasionally be used back East in the Fall on the Adirondack and the Cardinal! No-one has figured out just how he is able to keep it in California most of the Year! :lol: