Heritage dorm cars

[Guest_shanghaiamtrak]

Is it true they are simply rebuilt or refurbished old pullman and budd sleeping cars?

 

[springer02]

Most were 10/6 sleepers. The 6 were removed to make an open room which is either a lounge or baggage, plus space for a communal toilet. Individual toilets in the 10 were sealed so the ties beneath would stay pure -- and any congressmen fishing beneath the route, too.

 

[Miami Joe]

They are labor intensive and there are very few parts available.

Was working in a crew dorm today on the floor heat and was a real mess.

The prints are old and were not updated during the dorm update, so it's a real challenge! :blink:

NJ B)

 

[Viewliner]

They're all ex-Budd Sleepers with the Bedrooms removed, and maybe even a roomette or two (forget exactly). The toilets are sealed up in the roomettes because of EPA regulations that forbade direct dumping of waste, which was how the cars were built. There are I believe two restrooms in the middle of the car between the roomettes and the "lounge" and one shower. The "lounge" in the cars is merely an empty room in place of the old bedrooms. The only car with an actual lounge was prototype #2500 Pine Brook, which has hard plastic chairs in the room. Initially, the lounges in all of the cars were going to be for smoking, but because it was very ineffective, and unhealthy, it was only built in the one car, and some Amfleet II Lounges were refurbed (would have also meant coaches would have to be run behind the dorm or smokers go through the sleepers first). Also, I believe there was also a noise problem with 2500 where no other heritage cars recieved the lounge.

Now however, the smoking ban means an end to the smoking rooms, my manifests even mention that smoking is also prohibited in the dorms, so crews now have to wait like everyone else if they want to smoke.

If you click the link in my signature to my website, I have pictures of some of the dorms, and the one car with the lounge in it (pics of the room as well).

 

[battalion51]

Now however, the smoking ban means an end to the smoking rooms, my manifests even mention that smoking is also prohibited in the dorms, so crews now have to wait like everyone else if they want to smoke.

Sure they do Adam, sure they do. Remember there's no smoking ban still in Locomotive Cabs. Some Conductors have been seen on the Head End more often now. :lol:

They did modify one room during the overhaul process, taking out the Accesible room and creating a Roomette there. In the other portion of the Roomette there is now an table and two chairs where the Conductor can set up his/her office, if he/she should so choose to.

 

[Miami Joe]

The layout for a crew dorm has 10 roomettes for the crew, 2 showers and 3 restrooms.

All the toilet holes had a plate welded over and a vacumn system installed. It's not a V/L system. There's no vacumn pump. It is a "venturi" tank that uses air to create a vacumn. The toilets are from a V/L.

Still see the dorm with lounge and ashtrays in service.

MJ B)

 

[Trogdor]

We had the 2500 lounge on 48(7). Should be in Florida tomorrow, if the rotation holds up.

Strange request, but, by chance, could anyone catch the baggage car number on 91(9)?

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I don't have the figures in front of me (at work, of course) to prove this but I sort of suspect the reason heritage dorms were re- made from sleepers is that many pre-Amtrak trains had heavyweight dorms. That's right. many a pre-Amtrak train considered to be a streamliner had heavyweight, non-streamlined dorms, baggage cars and mail cars, even when the passenger carrying cars were lightweight.

Such a train was usually considerd as, and treated as, a full fledge lightweight streamliner, even with heavyweight headend cars(dorms included). (exact definiton---or perhaps I should say 'application'-- of the word "streamliner" could be a little tricky, (please trust me on this )

There probably were just not a lot of lightweight dorms to be handed over to Amtrak. Thus the need to take 10-6 sleepers (of which there were MANY) and convert them into dorms.

I do seem to remember that Santa Fe had quite a few lightweight headend cars, as an exception to the rule.

Amtrak, of course, inherited only streamlined lightweight cars, no heavyweights.

 

[Guest]

Nah, the dorm lounges did not have their accessable rommettes changed to normal. That is because the crew dorms never had any accessable rommettes to begin with! All of the accessable 10-6s were 2400 series, and the crew dorms were built from the "inaccessable" 2800 series 10-6s

The 2400s were in the Pacific, Grove, Silver and City series(a few pines as well). the 2800s were Pine and Pacific

 

[amtrakconductor2731]

QUOTE (Viewliner @ Sat, Jan 8, 2005, 11:33 AM)

Now however, the smoking ban means an end to the smoking rooms, my manifests even mention that smoking is also prohibited in the dorms, so crews now have to wait like everyone else if they want to smoke.

Sure they do Adam, sure they do. Remember there's no smoking ban still in Locomotive Cabs. Some Conductors have been seen on the Head End more often now.

catching up on the posts and this one is all too true :lol: :lol: :lol:

ryan