Did Amtrak remove the bathrooms from the Viewliner train roomettes?

[Kbyrdleroydogg]

I read a Youtube post that the bathroom part of roomettes was removed from the Viewliner trains. Can someone confirm this or is these only new cars that have been released into the fleet that don't contain the fixtures?

 

[Exvalley]

The original Viewliners still have a toilet and sink in the roomettes.

The newly delivered Viewliners have sinks in the roomettes but no toilet. There are two bathrooms that are shared by roomette passengers. These two bathrooms are in a space that used to be a roomette, so each Viewliner II has one less roomette compared to a Viewliner I.

 

[saxman]

Yes, the new Viewliners II no longer have toilets in the roomettes. I believe there is still a fold down sink. The older Viewliners still have the toilets.

 

[Oreius]

It is only for the Viewliner 2 roomettes. The VL2 cars are slowly being rolled out on the Eastern LD trains. Viewliner 1’s still retain the in-room potties.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

In my younger days when I 'graduated' from a coach seat to a lower berth then into a Roomette (old style) with an in-room toilet and sink.....I thought they were the greatest! Even those tiny Slumbercoach single and double rooms had a private toilet right in the room with you. So compact!

Then along came the Viewliner 1 with the new style Roomette. Also with an in-room sink and toilet but unlike the old style Roomette where the toilet with it's padded cover was more like a foot-rest and then further covered by the bed ......the Viewliner toilet was right there next to your head when the bed was made down at night.

So....those Viewliner 2s with the toilet down the hall are just fine with me!

On my last couple of trips on VIA's Canadian ...I've booked a 'Cabin for Two' (Bedroom) that has a separate enclosed toilet annex in the room. Just the thought of all that carpeting (and I'm sure it's regularly cleaned) in a 'Cabin for One' (old style Roomette).....I find gross!

And on the Ocean......I'll take a Renaissance 'Cabin for Two' with it's separate private toilet/shower annex anyday over a Budd Chateau or Manor Sleeper!


Below.......Renaissance Toilet & Shower:

 

[cassie225]

I really don’t mind having that toilet gone in the viewliner roomette.To me it’s pretty gross and as I have grown in my old age,lol, it’s not easy for me to fit on it. Who thought that was a good idea in the first place!!!! You may delete this post if it is too graphic

 

[BlackDiamond]

We were on the LSL yesterday and last week and both trips had Viewliner I's with the toilet. I slightly prefer it that way instead of having to walk down the hall at 3 am due to drinking a gallon of water after my salty "flexible dining" meal At least if the V2s have the sink that is nice that you can at least brush your teeth shave etc. in your room.

 

[John819]

It seems that opinion is evenly divided on the toilet issue. Note that removing the toilets and keeping the sinks in the V II required the plumbing installation that added costs, as well as one more thing to break.

 

[PVD]

no vacuum system for a sink, less maintenance issues for sure.... if the room is made up right, the toilet is by your feet not by your head....

 

[Mailliw]

It seems that opinion is evenly divided on the toilet issue. Note that removing the toilets and keeping the sinks in the V II required the plumbing installation that added costs, as well as one more thing to break.

On the flip side there are fewer toilets to malfunction and passengers no longer have to void in the same place they sleep (and possibly eat).

 

[ehbowen]

Of course, there was a reason that the classic Pullman roomettes had an interlock which prevented opening the lavatory sink when the bed was down....

 

[Dakota 400]

lol, it’s not easy for me to fit on it.

You too! I am OK until the bed is made set up, but, then, it's awkward.

 

[me_little_me]

It seems that opinion is evenly divided on the toilet issue. Note that removing the toilets and keeping the sinks in the V II required the plumbing installation that added costs, as well as one more thing to break.

Huh? They didn't remove the toilets. They built the cars without them. Less plumbing, not more. Where do you get the "one more thing to break"? It's not very clear.

If you used to build cars with 3 full baths and 12 with sink and toilet and now build them with 3 full baths, 2 shared with sink and toilet and 11 with sink, how does that make for added costs? You've now removed 10 toilets and their associated plumbing and added an extra sink.

 

[Qapla]

I think the idea was that if you eliminated the sink as well as the toilet there would be less plumbing and less things to break.

 

[ehbowen]

I think the idea was that if you eliminated the sink as well as the toilet there would be less plumbing and less things to break.

But then you'd potentially have 22 people making themselves up and/or shaving in the morning with only two sinks, not to mention the "other business" which gets done in restrooms. Superliners get backed up enough with (potentially) 30 passengers using four shared toilets.

 

[PVD]

The sink is not a big deal, it is "graywater" not "blackwater, and requires no vacuum system, which is much more of a maintenance issue than a non pressurized drain.

 

[me_little_me]

But then you'd potentially have 22 people making themselves up and/or shaving in the morning with only two sinks, not to mention the "other business" which gets done in restrooms. Superliners get backed up enough with (potentially) 30 passengers using four shared toilets.

There are, and correct me if I am wrong, sinks in both the VL2 and SL roomettes. It's only the toilet that is gone.

I have never seen all the toilets on an SL busy except momentarily, especially the ones downstairs. We generally do 2 roomettes instead of BR because of price.

 

[BlackDiamond]

No sink in the SL roomettes.

 

[me_little_me]

No sink in the SL roomettes.

Thanks. Bad memory of mine - but in the VL2s?

 

[ehbowen]

Thanks. Bad memory of mine - but in the VL2s?

Yes there are, but the suggestion was to remove the sinks as well as the commodes from the VL2s. My post was to point out that this could result in unpleasant overcrowding during high traffic times.

 

[NYP2NFL01]

I may be in the minority here, but I never had an issue with the Viewliner 1 in-room toilet. I never had an issue with smell or hygiene in the roomette. Like another forum post said, ask the SCA to make up your bed, so your feet are at the end of the room with the toilet.

 

[Exvalley]

I may be in the minority here, but I never had an issue with the Viewliner 1 in-room toilet.

The split seems to be about 50/50. There seems to be a correlation with whether you travel solo or as a couple.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

........Like another forum post said, ask the SCA to make up your bed, so your feet are at the end of the room with the toilet.

It should have been without asking but it wasn't!

 

[me_little_me]

Yes there are, but the suggestion was to remove the sinks as well as the commodes from the VL2s. My post was to point out that this could result in unpleasant overcrowding during high traffic times.

The original question was "Did they remove...?" but they did not so there is less plumbing than in the VL2s than the VL1s and thus lower cost of plumbing.

 

[20th Century Rider]

This topic is a very mixed bag. Having that toilet by the bed is gross because it's so close! But the viewliner 2's require a shared bathroom... so the germs issue. In this time of covid that's a concern. Either way there are plusses and minuses.