PPC in Chicago (4/25/16)?

[George K]

Riding into CUS last night on the BNSF Metra, we passed the Amtrak shops, and I saw a Pacific Parlor Car. I didn't have a chance to pull out my phone and snap a picture, and I didn't think to catch the name.

What's it doing here?

 

[the_traveler]

Per a post on Facebook, it was sent to BG for its required inspection and is now on its way back to LA.

 

[George K]

Per a post on Facebook, it was sent to BG for its required inspection and is now on its way back to LA.

Welp, that 'splains that. Thanks!

 

[JoeBas]

They're being changed to be used in service between Chicago & Kankakee going forward. Much more scenic. :giggle:

 

[rtabern]

Saw it on Sunday... coming in on #22... it was Santa Lucia Highlands Car #39973. I posted about it too in an earlier thread. Someone said it was going back to LAX from Beech Grove. Hopefully soon as we have a round-trip on the Starlight planned during the latter part of next week. The PPC is the only reason we're really riding.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Saw it on Sunday... coming in on #22... it was Santa Lucia Highlands Car #39973. I posted about it too in an earlier thread. Someone said it was going back to LAX from Beech Grove. Hopefully soon as we have a round-trip on the Starlight planned during the latter part of next week. The PPC is the only reason we're really riding.

I would advise against making the PPC your sole determining factor unless you're willing and able to wait a day or two until you can confirm one is available for your specific train. I rode the CS a couple days ago and there was no PPC, apparently because it was chilling in scenic Chicago, and so we ended up with a rather poorly maintained fiberglass lounge instead. Which the staff continued to call the "Parlor Car" despite having none of the usual perks or atmosphere. Good thing the views are so nice on the Starlight because the car and the staff were a bit of a mess.

 

[manderson]

Agree. I'm five for five the last few years, getting some crappy PPC substitute. I'm from Seattle so I'm sure I'll still ride the CS on occasion, but I don't count on having a real PPC.

 

[rtabern]

We were supposed to ride from LAX-SLM on #14(5) and then SLM-LAX on #11(6).

When we got out to the platform, we noticed #14(5) did not have a PPC and a second SSL was substituted. I had my sources check and confirm #11(6) was going to have a PPC -- and when I found out it likely would -- we bailed, flew to Seattle, and changed our reservation to ride #11(6) from SEA-LAX instead. Worked out great.

Someone mentioned the PPC in Chicago had to go back to Beech Grove when more problems were found? Ugh.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

When we got out to the platform, we noticed #14(5) did not have a PPC and a second SSL was substituted. I had my sources check and confirm #11(6) was going to have a PPC -- and when I found out it likely would -- we bailed, flew to Seattle, and changed our reservation to ride #11(6) from SEA-LAX instead. Worked out great.

I'm glad it worked out but this doesn't sound like a reasonable solution for anyone who isn't a diehard fanatic. Personally I think Amtrak should stop advertising an experience too flaky to be reasonably counted upon. Maybe they should let it be a pleasant and unexpected surprise rather than risk being an advertised disappointment.

For the uninitiated, today's "Parlor Car" is often little more than a generic fiberglass SSL. Complete with an extra attendant who slouches in a chair with her feet up watching television shows on her tinny percussion heavy cell phone with volume at full blast.

 

[rtabern]

Nice photo there!!! Almost as good as the one I took in 2008 of both Trails & Rails docents falling asleep in the SSL while they were supposed to narrate on the Empire Builder through Glacier, but boy, did they certainly wake up when it was time for their free steak dinners.

Anyhow, I am really torn on what I would do if I was in the position to make a decision about the future of the Pacific Parlor Cars. I think putting them on the Coast Starlight was a great idea. It's my favorite route on Amtrak and really is the only train that pretty much features good scenery along almost every mile of the entire route. Brian Rosenwald made a very good decision to put those cars on #11 and #14 and do the wine tastings and upgrade to "superior service".... (I know Brian personally -- he's back his hometown of Chicago now!). Anyhow, the current administration made the decision to move him out -- and now services on his brain-child Pacific Parlor Cars are lacking and no one seems to care about them.

Since i met my wife in 2011, we have done 8 rides together on the Coast Starlight. Just 4 of those rides have featured a Pacific Parlor Car. Not sure if we're jinxed or what, but that's a 50% odds of having them or not having them. Not very good! I am hoping that the overall record of having a PPC is much better than that, but I doubt Amtrak would release the stats on that to anyone.

I had one attendant in 2013 tell me that the Cross Country Cafe car that was subbing for the Parlour Car was "much better" because it was "a lot newer and more modern". Yeah, sure, pal. And then on Tuesday morning when we arrived on Platform 10 at LAX to see #14(5) without a Parlour Car, our 1430 sleeping car attendant actually argued with me --- insisting the subbed Sightseer Lounge was a Parlour Car. Turns out she was still in training and it was only her second trip on the Coast Starlight. She admitted to never even seeing a real Parlour Car -- meaning her training trips and first real run must not have seen them either. And then, our Parlour Car attendant on #11(6) which did have Parlour Car 39970 mentioned that with-in the first 2 weeks of the Parlour Cars being put back on-line on March 1, 2016, 3 of the 5 cars failed inspections and had to be pulled. He admitted that pretty much they just sat in the yards and no work had been done to them all winter long, hence all of the problems going on now.

I know crap happens --- but if the cars were brought up to snuff for 3 months over Jan, Feb, and March --- there should be no reason that in April and May that more than one is down.

Maybe not advertise them anymore -- I don't know. My suggestion is maybe rotate them around the system and advertise them being on -- and charge passengers extra to sit in there. Or use them for special excursions, etc. -- sorta like what has been done with the Ocean View Dome Car #10031.

But yes, we got lucky because we had flexibility in our travel plans to be able to fly to Seattle at the last minute and also had friends at Amtrak who could check the system to see that #14(4) had a PPC, which would most likely mean that #11(6) would have one too.

Also... We still did the wine tastings both days, but it was a very pathetic former shell of its former self. It was $7.50 per person for the wine tasting and then we had to go run down to the SSL and buy cheese and cracker trays for another $5.25 a piece or whatever it was. That was not a big deal though -- as I would gladly pay that much or even more to keep the PPC and wine tastings around, etc. Well, it turns out some buffoon in LAX loaded on the wrong wines -- so instead of 4 OR-WA wines the first day and 4 CA wines the second day -- we only got the same 3 wine each day. And, our attendant, when asked, said they are not supposed to talk about the wines anymore -- just pour them. He didn't mention anything about them like they used to. *sighs* I remember when they had really good wines -- and good artisan cheese - my favorite was the purple moon -- and then they would give away trivia prizes like a Coast Starlight teddy bear, pewter spoon, or the un-finished bottles of wine. None of that anymore either.

 

[rtabern]

When we got out to the platform, we noticed #14(5) did not have a PPC and a second SSL was substituted. I had my sources check and confirm #11(6) was going to have a PPC -- and when I found out it likely would -- we bailed, flew to Seattle, and changed our reservation to ride #11(6) from SEA-LAX instead. Worked out great.

I'm glad it worked out but this doesn't sound like a reasonable solution for anyone who isn't a diehard fanatic. Personally I think Amtrak should stop advertising an experience too flaky to be reasonably counted upon. Maybe they should let it be a pleasant and unexpected surprise rather than risk being an advertised disappointment.

For the uninitiated, today's "Parlor Car" is often little more than a generic fiberglass SSL. Complete with an extra attendant who slouches in a chair with her feet up watching television shows on her tinny percussion heavy cell phone with volume at full blast.

AmtrakParlorCar.jpg

Maybe Amtrak should pull all the Sightseer Lounges... seems like there is something in the air in these cars that cause employees to slouch and play with their cell phones... and Trails & Rails volunteers to fall asleep mid-narration.

 

[SP&S]

The CS is "my train" and I've ridden many times. Twice I've been without a parlor. Once, in Feb of this year, they were all out of service for the season and there was no substitute. Oh Well, still a good trip. Once, we had a CCC as the substitute. It wasn't nearly as nice but worked well and, being the first northbound out after an earthquake - gotta check the tracks - and departure was not for certain until we got to LAUS!, most of us were happy to get out a couple of hours late on the consist they were able to pull together.

It truly is a railroad treasure, but the trip is worthwhile with or without it.

I think I would have said something to the conductor about the attendant. That's just wrong.

 

[John Bredin]

There's nobody in the lounge car in DA's picture but the attendant and the person holding the camera. Should the attendant sit at attention -- or stand like a Buckingham Palace guard -- rather than commit the apparently mortal sin (shared by generations of store clerks during "dead" periods, yours truly included) of reading when there's nobody to attend to? :huh:

There's a better argument for the sleeping Rails-Trails guy, except a volunteer has no job to lose or paycheck to dock. :giggle: Or the attendant if she ignored a passenger to keep using her phone, but that picture doesn't show her doing so.

 

[fairviewroad]

We were supposed to ride from LAX-SLM on #14(5) and then SLM-LAX on #11(6).

Wow, that's a pretty tight scheduled connection. About 1 hr, 45 minutes between arrival in SLM and departure back to LAX. I guess you could have bailed in EUG or somewhere else if #14(5) had been running late, but then you'd risk your tickets on 11(6) being canceled.

That said, assuming you're talking about this month, you would have made that connection in SLM since #14(5) was running "only" 62 minutes late and 11(6) departed SLM 16 minutes late.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

There's nobody in the lounge car in DA's picture but the attendant and the person holding the camera. Should the attendant sit at attention -- or stand like a Buckingham Palace guard -- rather than commit the apparently mortal sin (shared by generations of store clerks during "dead" periods, yours truly included) of reading when there's nobody to attend to?

This on-duty employee was blasting her television stories through her phone's external speaker to the point that they could be heard even at the far reaches of the SSL. That kind of lazy and disruptive behavior wouldn't be accepted in any back office job I've ever worked so I'm not sure why you think it should be accepted in a front line customer facing position. This lady appeared to be utterly useless when asked even simple questions like "What comes with meal X?" or the similarly basic "Is there going to be a wine tasting today?" Later in the trip she interrupted a customer focused message from the conductor to discuss trading hours over the PA with another employee. The lack of professionalism and even basic courtesy was both surprising and disappointing to me. Nobody said anything about standing at attention but being respectful enough to use personal headphones during your movie watching goof off time could have done wonders. It seems to me that Amtrak needs customers and cash far worse than Buckingham Palace.

 

[fairviewroad]

There's nobody in the lounge car in DA's picture but the attendant and the person holding the camera. Should the attendant sit at attention -- or stand like a Buckingham Palace guard -- rather than commit the apparently mortal sin (shared by generations of store clerks during "dead" periods, yours truly included) of reading when there's nobody to attend to?

This on-duty employee was blasting her television stories through her phone's external speaker to the point that they could be heard even at the far reaches of the SSL. That kind of lazy and disruptive behavior wouldn't be accepted in any back office job I've ever worked so I'm not sure why you think it should be accepted in a front line customer facing position. This lady appeared to be utterly useless when asked even simple questions like "What comes with meal X?" or the similarly basic "Is there going to be a wine tasting today?" Later in the trip she interrupted a customer focused message from the conductor to discuss trading hours over the PA with another employee. The lack of professionalism and even basic courtesy was both surprising and disappointing to me. Nobody said anything about standing at attention but being respectful enough to use personal headphones during your movie watching goof off time could have done wonders. It seems to me that Amtrak needs customers and cash far worse than Buckingham Palace.

I agree. That sounds very unprofessional. I have a trip on #14 later this month and while I'm aware of the distinct possibility of having no PPC, I dread even more the possibility of having to interact with employees like this for 30 hours.

 

[City of Miami]

No parlour car pacifique on 14(9). They're calling the extra lounge car the parlour car. OK with me - after the 1st time I never really 'got' the ppc mystique. Lots more seating in the ssl. Kisha is working hard all day cheerfully. 12 cars on this train - 1 whole superliner is business class. The food is good - pork shanks excellent

 

[rtabern]

No parlour car pacifique on 14(9). They're calling the extra lounge car the parlour car. OK with me - after the 1st time I never really 'got' the ppc mystique. Lots more seating in the ssl. Kisha is working hard all day cheerfully. 12 cars on this train - 1 whole superliner is business class. The food is good - pork shanks excellent

Sounds like one can predict (at least for the immediate future) which trainsets will not have the Parlour Car.

It was missing from our #14(05) --- which then turned as #11(07) --- which turned as the above poster's #14(09).

If this rotation continues through mid-May 2016 here, the following train sets will be without the PPC:

#11(11), #14(13), #11(15), #14(17), #11(19), #14(21), #11(23), and so on.

Wow, don't get the "mystique" behind the PPC? Besides being one of the oldest cars in the Amtrak fleet and the history behind the car, wouldn't you rather sit in one of the nice pink/purple-ish swivel chairs in the PPC vs. a seat in the Sightseer Lounge? The PPC is a lot more comfortable. I think just part of the mystique is that -- a) this is a unique experience/car you can't ride on any other train... b) it's almost like riding on a private car... and c) most travelers and railfans I think realize this special car won't be around much longer with its failing mechanical issues and Amtrak's recent slashing of amenities. Also, we purposefully made the Coast Starlight our last train of an 11-day trip so we could have a change of scenery. We had a Sightseer Lounge to use on the Captiol Ltd, City of New Orleans, and Southwest Chief -- we were looking for a different type of car to ride in.

Okay... I guess what makes me *smack my head* the most is how Amtrak has handled the Pacific Parlour Car situation over the last 10-15 years or so. Originally, Amtrak had 6 of these beautiful cars. This was as recently as 2001 or 2002. That was enough equipment for the 4 cars that would actually be "on the rails" at any given time and 2 spare cars to be used as back-ups. You could put on in LAX and one in SEA even. Meaning, with 2 back-up cars, you were almost never in danger of not having a Pacific Parlour Car on your train.

Well, somewhere along the line -- some bean counter at Amtrak who was hurting for some quick cash decided to sell off one of the 6 cars to a private car owner -- who has done absolutely nothing with them. Some may recall that I actually tracked this ex-PPC down a few years ago and filed this report on AU:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/40055-the-missing-pacific-parlour-car-in-illinois/

The car is sitting in my friend Roger's railyard in Madison, IL, but is owned by someone else who is just parking it there. And yes, it's still sitting rusting away as you read this post. I went back to visit it in November 2015.

So anyway, that dumb move for some quick cash has left Amtrak just 5 Pacific Parlour Cars -- the 4 that are actually "on the rails" at any given time and one spare.

That means when a Pacific Parlour Car is not operating (like now) --- at least 2 of the 5 cars are not in operable condition. That is 40% of the available PPC's being down (The spare one and the one pulled from the actual road). I find that totally unacceptable... especially after hearing the cars were supposedly taken out of service for maintenance for several months over the winter so that would be more reliable during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. If all repairs were properly done during this "down time", 40% of the cars wouldn't be out of service now. What is especially poor is that several posters on here and numerous Amtrak employees I have talked with have said the cars, in all reality, were just sitting on a track in the LAX yards during the "down time" and nothing was done to them at all. Hence, our PPC attendant mentioning that with-in the first week of their return in March 2016, 3 of the 5 cars had to be pulled.

It appears the ones "down" right now are #39973 (which has been floating between Chicago and Beech Grove atleast twice in the last month) and #39974 which no one has reported seeing in months now.

 

[zephyr17]

When they substitute a Sightseer Lounge, where is the attendant typically stationed when working? Down in the normal cafe service area, the upstairs drink station? Somewhere else?

 

[Lonestar648]

Maybe this is Amtrak's way of easing the PCC out of service by using extra SSL, then eliminate that car totally like during the winter months. Current management is only focused easing in more cost cutting, not caring about increasing ridership. PCC make the Coast Starlight an even more special train.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Maybe this is Amtrak's way of easing the PCC out of service by using extra SSL, then eliminate that car totally like during the winter months. Current management is only focused easing in more cost cutting, not caring about increasing ridership. PCC make the Coast Starlight an even more special train.

I think you're probably right but if we're going to focus on cutting costs maybe we should consider removing the PPC attendant first and see how that goes. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have proactive at-seat drink and snack service from a PPC attendant, but they almost never do that in my experience. Since the PPC meals have degraded below any semblance of premium service we might as well cut the server loose and see how much money we save.

 

[zephyr17]

Have to disagree on the meals. I was on the PPC the first of April and the lamb shank was wonderful and the short ribs were pretty doggone good.

 

[blondninja]

Yep. I'm on the starlight now and the ppc is a ssl.

 

[TylerP42]

The PPC Food was so much better than the diner food... Then again, the time I had it was when I already had had diner food for the past 3 days.

 

[rtabern]

The PPC Food was so much better than the diner food... Then again, the time I had it was when I already had had diner food for the past 3 days.

The PPC food is pretty tasty... but, it too, has seen its cuts.

The food was better a few years ago... and the real nice touch was specialty desserts you couldn't get anywhere else on Amtrak. The thing I remembered was a custard/fruit tart that was only served in the PPC. I think a fresh walnut/chocolate brownie too.

But yes, food on the SWC and CS were much better than the CL, SM, or CONO.