New dining options (flex dining) effective October 1, 2019

[Ryan]

There are 5 Auto Train lounge cars (converted from diners). If they get rotated out for maintenance, sometimes a "regular" SSL will pinch hit.

 

[user 14106]

There are 5 Auto Train lounge cars (converted from diners). If they get rotated out for maintenance, sometimes a "regular" SSL will pinch hit.

I am guessing this SSL is a permanent auto train lounge car converted from a normal SSL. It has tables like the diner based auto train lounge rather than the normal SSL seating found on western trains.

 

[Ryan]

But it has wrap around SSL windows?

 

[Rail Freak]

Any Photos floating around?

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

It’s been almost a month now and the reviews are mostly fair to terrible on the actual flex dining food. The silence from RPA is deafening. The last three or four Friday updates haven’t mentioned the dining changes. In fact they haven’t mentioned the changes at all since they’ve been implemented.

Instead they are concentrating the majority of the weekly updates on fluff like their pipe dream contest, “what would your favorite new route be?”

I wanted to give RPA the benefit of the doubt but it really appears they don’t want to go head to head with Amtrak management at all.

 

[Manny T]

It seems like some of the criticisms of the new contemporary dining voiced on AU have had a real impact on Amtrak management, with some changes and upgrades in the service that are positive.

It would be sad if other forums miss the chance to voice their opinions and have an impact.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I wrote to Amtrak after my ride on the meteor... I got not response.

 

[user 14106]

But it has wrap around SSL windows?

Yes and food service downstairs .

 

[user 14106]

Any Photos floating around?

I’ll take one tomorrow morning.

 

[Billvasili]

Our A-T trip had a modified CCC car used as the lounge for the sleepers. It appeared to be recently refurbished and was attractive and comfortable. With the train only about 1/3 full it wasn’t full. Maybe a dozen passengers enjoying a glass of wine or drinks before dinner. Since there was only one dinner seating, half the car was then set for dinner. We met interesting couples and found it more enjoyable than regular Amtrak lounges for socializing. Perfect for this train where the scenery is pine

Where is the placement of the sleeper lounge car in the consist?

 

[Qapla]

This seems to have been the consist as of 2017 - Don't know if this is still current

 

[neroden]

It’s been almost a month now and the reviews are mostly fair to terrible on the actual flex dining food. The silence from RPA is deafening. The last three or four Friday updates haven’t mentioned the dining changes. In fact they haven’t mentioned the changes at all since they’ve been implemented.

Instead they are concentrating the majority of the weekly updates on fluff like their pipe dream contest, “what would your favorite new route be?”

I wanted to give RPA the benefit of the doubt but it really appears they don’t want to go head to head with Amtrak management at all.

News from the RPA conference in Sacramento:

Chef Madi Butler, who has a career in high-volume food service, is making this her top priority. It's not clear exactly who in Amtrak management is responsible for the disastrous implemention of "Contemporary Dining", but we know for a fact that Amtrak management, prior to implementing "Contemporary Dining", were informed with specificity about the problems for people with dietary restrictions and given a list of (cheap or even money-saving) changes which would make the service more tolerable.... and Amtrak proceeded to ignore them entirely. (The most extreme example: it was suggested that they provide plain oatmeal with sugar on the side, which is cheaper than the presugared oatmeal and can be eaten by a lot more people. Amtrak ignored this suggestion.)

The President of RPA, Jim Mathews, has several food allergies himself and is personally affected. Be assured, getting a tolerable food selection back on the trains is *very much* a priority of RPA. I am told that Congresspeople are being directly contacted about the issue as we speak.

Please do contact your Congresspeople about it yourself, since the more constituents they hear from, the more attention they'll pay to RPA's campaign.

Thank you.

P.S. The "route contest" is because there is apparently a mood in Congress to provide a pot of funding dedicated to new routes, and if this happens we want to direct it to something which we can all back, so it doesn't get diverted somewhere stupid.

 

[me_little_me]

Thanks for the review! I hope you've told Amtrak Customer Relations about this, but if not, please do!

My message to them at the time I posted my comment about the service as well as the food on my Crescent trip has resulted in no reply whatsoever.

Actually, I'm also surprised at the lack of comments on this thread to the new (lack of) service wherein you get your own food and clean your own table.

 

[Anderson]

Jim and I were texting back and forth this morning as I "enjoyed" the contemporary dining (by which I mean that I had the breakfast sandwich and then heated up a pork-maple sausage patty from an MRE on the platform in JAX and the breakfast sandwich came out wanting). In plain language, I would rather take the Star than the Meteor at this point, because at least with the Star I'm not paying for a breakfast that doesn't deserve that name. Next trip, I'll be declining to eat the breakfast, full stop.

Lunch was the shrimp and sausage. It wasn't too bad (I only ate it out of professional obligation, to be honest, though I suspect that, referencing the above line, anything tastes decent with enough spice thrown on) but it was delivered to my room and whomever decided to start pushing that should find a handy sword to fall on because the overall service delivery there absolutely sucks. This isn't to knock the crew (who were doing their best under the circumstances), but as long as I'm not under the weather (or some other odd circumstance hasn't attached) I'm going to flat-out refuse in-room food service ever. They can take that model and stick it where the sun don't shine.

I will concede that I enjoy being able to lounge in the (ex-)diner at will but I'm still going to call a net negative on that change.

So...yeah, I wish that the Star and Meteor had flipped schedules SB. I'd make no bones about skipping the new meals at this point.

 

[Rasputin]

Actually, I'm also surprised at the lack of comments on this thread to the new (lack of) service wherein you get your own food and clean your own table.

That is why these cars should be called "Picnic Table Cars" instead of dining cars and the service should be called "Picnic Service." It is just like a picnic. You get your food, carry it to your picnic table and clean up for yourself after you are done (unless you are a slob in which case you leave the mess for others to clean up.)

 

[user 14106]

This seems to have been the consist as of 2017 - Don't know if this is still current
View attachment 15374

here is the Auto Train former SSL lounge car. I have actually seen this car on all my auto train trips except one (where I saw the former diner lounge.) perhaps the AT lounges are a mix of former diners and former SSL?

 

[jiml]

View attachment 15384 here is the Auto Train former SSL lounge car. I have actually seen this car on all my auto train trips except one (where I saw the former diner lounge.) perhaps the AT lounges are a mix of former diners and former SSL?

I'm old enough to remember when that would have been called a "dome diner", and it actually looks like those operated by Rocky Mountaineer and Alaska Railroad, not to mention the dining end of the PPC's.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I'm old enough to remember when that would have been called a "dome diner", and it actually looks like those operated by Rocky Mountaineer and Alaska Railroad, not to mention the dining end of the PPC's.

As a kid I would look through the Amtrak travel magazines (yesss I was that kid) and beg my parents to take me on the auto train so that I could ride in the dome diner! Years ago I got my wish on the Iowa Pacific Hoosier State. A true dome dimer is pretty special!

This photo looks identical to the regular SSL cars though.. don't they all have this configuration? Or is it tables all the way through on this car?

 

[railiner]

Prior to Amtrak, only the Union Pacific's City of Portland and City of Los Angeles had "true" dome diner's, built new by ACF as 'short' domes...probably the greatest dining experience was dining while passing thru the Columbia Gorge....
https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/documents/up_pdf_nativedocs/pdf_city_of_portland.pdf

https://www.google.com/search?q=uni...BAgIEAE&biw=1920&bih=937#imgrc=_rmq-IjslfxIUM:

 

[Winecliff Station]

This change is by all accounts so outrageous and absurd.... and getting the reaction we all expected...that I can’t help wondering if it’s being used as a distraction away from something bigger yet to come. A red herring as they call it.

 

[user 14106]

As a kid I would look through the Amtrak travel magazines (yesss I was that kid) and beg my parents to take me on the auto train so that I could ride in the dome diner! Years ago I got my wish on the Iowa Pacific Hoosier State. A true dome dimer is pretty special!

This photo looks identical to the regular SSL cars though.. don't they all have this configuration? Or is it tables all the way through on this car?

It’s all tables. It doesn’t have the side seating on one end that the regular SSLs have. Essentially the only difference with the other lounges on the auto train is the windows and the downstairs food service. When I have seen this car on the auto train it’s always been the sleeper lounge while coach had the former diner style lounge.

 

[JRR]

My message to them at the time I posted my comment about the service as well as the food on my Crescent trip has resulted in no reply whatsoever.

Actually, I'm also surprised at the lack of comments on this thread to the new (lack of) service wherein you get your own food and clean your own table.

I’ll be commenting when we get back from ur extended trip. The Crescent was horrible - very late, limited selection of food and beverages(out of a lot), and poor service. I’ll have a detailed report later.

 

[Palmetto]

How do people who are mobility challenged get their food in the new system? It's tricky to move on a train that's in motion, especially if you have one or both hands full.

 

[Dakota 400]

Prior to Amtrak, only the Union Pacific's City of Portland and City of Los Angeles had "true" dome diner's, built new by ACF as 'short' domes...probably the greatest dining experience was dining while passing thru the Columbia Gorge....
https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/documents/up_pdf_nativedocs/pdf_city_of_portland.pdf

https://www.google.com/search?q=uni...BAgIEAE&biw=1920&bih=937#imgrc=_rmq-IjslfxIUM:

What great photos! Gentlemen dressed in coat and tie, ladies dressed nicely, and a Dining Car Steward in a white coat and bow tie!

Poor grammar, I know, but "them were the days" as Archie Bunker would say.

 

[pennyk]

How do people who are mobility challenged get their food in the new system? It's tricky to move on a train that's in motion, especially if you have one or both hands full.

Their sleeping car attendant will deliver the food to them, either in their room or in the sleeper lounge. During my last Silver Meteor trip, I saw the LSA deliver food to passengers who may have had issues with carrying their food to the tables. Also, other passengers helped.