My February Trip—New Sleepers?
- Thread starter Oreius
- Start date
Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:
They're exactly the same but will be in better condition and supposedly they ll have Upgraded Bedding.( the Viewliner IIs are the ones with the Toliet blocked off, and there are 2 Public Toliets in place of the Attendants Room)
Gemuser
Service Attendant
In VLls the bedrooms have a small toilet & showerwithin the bedroom, has this been deleted in the VLll?
Floor plans digrams: Amtrak Car Diagrams @ CraigMashburn.com for VLls
Perhaps Amtrak probably wanted to make the Viewliner product more consistent with the Superliner product...but why they didn’t do so from the beginning, I can’t answer...
I first rode the Viewliners back in 1996 on the LSL not long after they were introduced. I had a last minute business trip to Syracuse (I live in Indy) and there was heavy snow predicted so I decided to take the train. Last minute flights were a fortune, and I didn’t want to drive. I drove up to South Bend to catch the LSL and was pleasantly surprised the brand new VLI’s were in service.
At the time, I had ridden the Heritage sleepers fairly extensively, and the Superliners a couple of times. My first reaction to the new sleepers was that they had done a pretty good job of implementing the best of both products.
The availability of a sink / toilet in the roomette reminded me of the Heritage - and the layout was very similar to the Superliner - with a far superior bunk mechanism and an upper window. It also had a working video screen - which was cool but didn’t survive into the world of personal devices.
I’m anxiously awaiting my first ride on a VLII, which I think will be just about perfect - provided they significantly improved the table - which is sorely lacking.
My favorite coffee cup is the freebie I received from Amtrak later that same year on the Crescent - as they celebrated the Viewliner rollout. It’s a pretty darn good cup - it’s survived nearly 25 years of daily use!
At the time, I had ridden the Heritage sleepers fairly extensively, and the Superliners a couple of times. My first reaction to the new sleepers was that they had done a pretty good job of implementing the best of both products.
The availability of a sink / toilet in the roomette reminded me of the Heritage - and the layout was very similar to the Superliner - with a far superior bunk mechanism and an upper window. It also had a working video screen - which was cool but didn’t survive into the world of personal devices.
I’m anxiously awaiting my first ride on a VLII, which I think will be just about perfect - provided they significantly improved the table - which is sorely lacking.
My favorite coffee cup is the freebie I received from Amtrak later that same year on the Crescent - as they celebrated the Viewliner rollout. It’s a pretty darn good cup - it’s survived nearly 25 years of daily use!
Just posted in another thread but I have an existing trip booked in the 9210 car during a trip at the end of February. I was curious so after reading the news release so I called to ask if there was a 9212 car on that trip. The agent did not see a 9212 car that far out though they did check some random dates and saw it on occasion before February. Not sure how far out they plan to operate it as the 9212 car or how much has been put in the booking system as of now. I'd be curious to hear anyone else's experiences with trying to book this car.
Bostonjetset
Train Attendant
I’m taking the Silver Meteor on Jan 4th and was assigned to car 9711. We return on the Silver Star on Jan 9th in car 9211. I assume that means we have the old style compartments? It would be cool to try both...one style in each direction.
crescent-zephyr
Engineer
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2015
- Messages
- 4,796
They aren’t old style as in old and vintage like the old Pullman and Budd built heritage cars. They are just 25 year old cars in major need of a refresh.
Bostonjetset
Train Attendant
Haha. Yes I know. I maybe should have been more clear. I meant the old style viewliners with the toilet in the compartment.
Cho Cho Charlie
Engineer
Car 9210 is simply the 10th car in the consist of train 92, and car 9212 is simply the 12th car in the consist of train 92.
How would that dictate that the car has to be a VL 1 or a VL 2?
- Joined
- May 17, 2015
- Messages
- 2,807
The 10 car is the first sleeper, 11 the second, 12 the third, if the Amtrak is consistent with past numbering. Some trains vary starting the sleepers with 20 or 30, or 21 or 31. In the past the SS and the SM hast started the Sleepers with the 10 car which is next to the Dining car.
They've also used 00, 01 and 02 in my experience.
I agree. In my experience in riding the Silvers for many years, the sleeper numbers have been 10, 11 and 12 for the first, second and third sleepers closest to the dining car.
I believe I read the sleepers were in the 12 position hence I asked about the 12 car given that this route generally only runs with two sleepers in current times. Didn't know if they were added on as extra to break in or if they were being used for "extra" holiday capacity. There would be no way to know for sure unless asking how many roomettes were in the car itself. I live in the west where our sleepers start with 30 or 31 for the assigned car so wasn't sure if they normally started with 10 or 11 there.
The phone agent said she heard about the cars as they saw them on the news but said she was relatively sure they were not operating as they would normally receive a briefing on the booking before the cars actually went into service. She couldn't find anything in her information about the change but said to keep trying before my trip in the event they receive any information.
Last edited:
Maglev
Conductor
Amtrak has updated their website to reflect that Viewliners might not have toilets:
https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/onbo...eds/sleeper-car-accommodations/roomettes.html
https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/onbo...eds/sleeper-car-accommodations/roomettes.html
That is encouraging news. I have not seen any photos, news reports, verification from Amtrak, or the like to verify that Viewliner 2 cars have actually been running or where beyond the one article that was posted so I was just curious. With everything going on with Amtrak these days and the sometimes fluid changes I have been more of a "see it to believe it" type mode. Same with the upgraded sleeper amenities/bedding they mentioned in the news release beyond the Auto Train. Once travel picks up at some point there hopefully will be more "boots on the ground" to give first hand accounts.
- Joined
- May 17, 2015
- Messages
- 2,807
I was looking at a trip on the EB early June, I was surprised to see viewliners listed as an option on both sections. Has anyone heard about adding Viewliner Sleepers to the EB?
This has to be a mistake! The EB is a Total Superliner Train with an occasional PV in the consist.
20th Century Rider
Engineer
This is the new viewliner roomette... the previous design included a commode in the room... kind-a gross especially when there are two traveling together. But the tradeoff is that you are using a community commode and cleanliness is always an issue which was more controllable with the older design.
20th Century Rider
Engineer
I was looking at the EB for June and didn't see any viewliners... however I was shocked at the $1000 price tag for EUG to CHI. $2000 round trip! No to that... even if they do go back to traditional dining. Low bucket on that run used to be in the $400's.
A penchant to travel is getting the best of me during this covid diversion from normal life... but with my financial resources being what they are I may just get in that old Toyota jalopy for a car trip around OR and the west, indulging my nights at strip motels and mom and pop diners.
BTW someone rear ended me in WA State a while back... their fault but my car took a permanent depreciation so my loss. That's the law.
Best revenge is to drive it into the ground and save money as depreciation reduces insurance costs!- Joined
- May 17, 2015
- Messages
- 2,807
Here is the screen shot:
well, I am going to miss the old Viewliners, especially in today's world...
20th Century Rider
Engineer
The only way a viewliner could be on a superliner train would be if it were opposite the transition / crew car. The diaphragms must be in sync for passage to other cars.
- Joined
- May 17, 2015
- Messages
- 2,807
That is what I thought when I saw them available on the EB. Probably a coding error. Unless this is an attempt to increase sleeper capacity this summer, but I suspect not since all the Viewliner roomettes show sold out.
