Sleeper 9712...Wow!

[IndyLions]

About the upper berth having no plug, when I was on the superliner bedroom, I just plugged my phone in to the plug by the sink and tucked my phone between the metal on the edge and the mattress. It worked fine. (My feet were by the window)

I bet that would work fairly well on the VLII Sleepers as well. Although you'd probably have to bring some "blue tack" or something crazy to keep the phone cable from accidentally becoming a late night "garrote" (ala From Russia with Love) and strangling your suite mate in the dark as they stumble to the sink to wash their hands after using the en suite.

See how I referenced a movie with great sleeper car scenes? Very clever on my part!

 

[IndyLions]

So after latching it inside—how easy is it to unlatch it and get out again?

Unlatching isn't quite as bad. But again - it works most reliably if you HOLD FIRMLY LATCHED-UNLATCH instead of just UNLATCH...

 

[PVD]

One other thing I noticed about the beverage station. It isn't fitted with coffee and ice makers - it is fitted with coffee and ice dispensers. That means both ice and coffee can be made efficiently in the diner - but be accessible directly from the sleeper car.

View attachment 21669

I think that's smart! It keeps some of the mess in the diner where it is easier to clean up, and presumably should mean higher coffee quality because of a "better" coffee machine in the diner with higher volume.

I like it!

By having ice dispensed in a device that does not permit the public to contaminate it, it satisfies the sanitary requirements that sort of killed the previous policy...

 

[IndyLions]

Individual Feature - Charging Mobile Devices

As most of you have seen, I have been a little bit critical of Amtrak not doing a better job accommodating mobile device charging. They didn't include USB ports, and they haven't included anything for charging at night while sleeping in the upper berth.

Just for interest, here are a couple of photos of how I went about charging my watch and iPad while in the VLII Bedroom on the way south...


That's the small shelf above the Couch. Not the most stable approach, but believe it or not the watch stayed put for a couple of hours while it was charging...


Here's the iPad - again - not the most stable location - but it stayed put. Notice how I routed the charging cable through the towel holder to keep it from "taking a bath" in the sink.

This little "cubby" I've talked about in the Roomette COULD be used for placing mobile devices while they are charging. It's located directly under one of the outlets, and within the reach of a typical 1m charging cable. It's also sized big enough to hold a phone, watch, or small tablet. I'll assume that is the purpose of the cubby and raise Amtrak's grade a bit...



So for Charging Mobile Devices - a solid C. Yeah - they should have done much better - but they could have done worse, as well.

 

[IndyLions]

Now for the VLII Public Restrooms

Nothing special here - which is probably why it is nearly last. I for one prefer public restrooms when I'm traveling in Roomettes, but appreciate private restrooms when traveling in a Bedroom. But I understand that's not the case for everyone. So the fact VLII's HAVE a public restroom while VLI's did not - that gets an A from me - but that's my preference. As to the grade on the restroom itself, you'll need to scroll down further to see that.

There are two public restrooms - both located at the end of the car across from the shower and adjacent to the "Railfan Window".

Here is a look into the the last restroom...

It's pretty much fully featured, with the toilet, storage shelf for paper products, 120V duplex outlet...


Sink and Mirror. And on the way out...

...don't forget to use the trash can.

For the VLII Public Restrooms, Grade B-. They didn't screw anything up - but they also didn't exactly advance toilet technology either. One thing I've noticed when using Amtrak restrooms - they ALWAYS work better "wet" then "dry". A Texas Eagle Sleeping Car Attendant taught me that.

That SCA taught me the Amtrak toilet will work nearly as well as your toilet at home IF it has a few cups of water in it before use. If it is left "dry", it will struggle to flush effectively. I've noticed some new Amtrak toilets are designed to be "wet", while other new Amtrak toilets (like the VLII) remain of the "dry" design.

It would be better if all new Amtrak toilets would be "wet". A lot of people in Coach and Sleeper would be a lot happier...

 

[IndyLions]

Last but certainly not least, the VLII Roomette

This is a little anti-climactic, as I have showed several of the differentiating features between VLI and VLII Roomettes in the preceding posts.

But there is additional detail I haven't shared yet - so let's get to it.

First the more obvious. Roomettes feature two wide seats facing each other. Both wide seats can recline. The two seats combine into a lower berth at night, and there is an upper berth that can be brought down from the ceiling - where it is stowed during the day. That's all exactly the same as in the VLI's.

Now for the ginormous difference - the lack of an in-room toilet. It's the Pro-Choice/Pro-Life issue of this forum. Food service may bring more passion and raise more blood pressure - but (most) everyone wants better food. This forum seems to be more evenly split between whether it is more gross to use a public restroom, or more gross to have an unenclosed toilet in your roomette...

Here's the ex-toilet turned expanded storage/shelf/step side...


...and below that lower shelf is a new luggage storage area we've covered in great detail earlier in the thread - including its exact dimensions.

And now for the opposite side...

This seat is wider. This side features an open closet (like the VLI's) - and a new much expanded stainless steel Trash bin...


We've covered the fact that the Roomettes feature two 120V Duplex outlets, versus one for the VLI. There is one outlet per side, but none high enough to be usable by the upper berth at night. Here is the open closet side...

...and the Sink side...


The fold-down sink deserves significant mention - as it is definitely improved from the VLI days - or appears to be. Below is the sink in the down position...

Sink dimensions alone are 12"L x 10"W x 3.5"D, or with countertop at 16"L x 12.875"W. The VLI sink was stainless steel - and the VLII is not - so durability may be a question left to be answered as more time passes. However - the "turn to operate" faucets work nicely, versus the "push to unleash 5000 psi and shoot lasers of water into your body and get totally drenched" operation of the VLI faucets they replaced.

(Continued on Next Post)

 

[IndyLions]

VLII Roomette (continued)

The VLII Roomette, like the VLI offers both lower and upper windows - with great views day or night at least on one side of the train. Unlike the VLI - the foldout table between the seats on the window side has been immensely improved. This has been covered at length in a previous, dedicated post.

Like the full-size Bedroom - there is luggage storage located up high above the hallway - and is dimensioned at 36"W x 15.75"D x 15.5"H. Also just like the VLI, there are complete lighting and ventilation controls accessible from the top bunk at night, along with a small pocket for personal objects (glasses, phone, etc.). As mentioned earlier - there is no power of any kind - charging or otherwise - in the upper berth area.

The sleeping arrangement of the upper berth remains a favorite of mine - with an upper window with nearly perfect placement - and the ability to watch the darkened landscape slide by at 80MPH while you drift off to sleep.

The Viewliner Roomette - earns a solid A from the "no unenclosed toilet" crowd like me, and something more like a shaky C from the other side. I will quote an "other sider" from my Meteor trip. This gal was obviously a New Yorker (from her accent) and a regular (by the way she was familiar to the crew). Her exact quote was "just give me my own damn toilet and I'll be a lot happier".

 

[IndyLions]

VLII Sleeper - Final Weighted Grade

Most Important Categories
VLII Bedroom Day time - A (Really nice!)
VLII Bedroom Night time - B (Nice, but sink / couch clearance is non-existent)
Roomette - A (for the Toilet? Ewww! crowd)
Roomette - C (for the Give me my damn toilet crowd)
H Bedroom - No Grade
Common Areas - A+ (Beautiful!)
Shower - A+ (Best shower on Amtrak by far!)
Public Restrooms - B- (Toilets should be of a "wet" design)

Individual Features
New Fold-out Tables - A+ (Awesome!)
Updated Sinks - A (Better faucets!)
New Roomette Storage - B average (I love it! unless I'd rather have a toilet - then I hate it!)
Mobile Device Charging - C (should have done better for the upper berth)
New Door Latches - D+ (if you need a user's manual to operate a latch, it's not good)

Final Weighted Grade: A-

 

[PaTrainFan]

Really nicely done. Greatly appreciate the thoughtful detail that went into your thorough review. Once I experience it I may have another opinion but they strike me as already dated in terms of controls, technology, functions, connections, etc. But they appear aesthetically pleasant and, from what you say, an advance in comfort; definitely a step up from V1. If Amtrak can refurbish Superliners, I hope they take it a step further from this.

 

[Eric S]

Fantastic! Really appreciated the in-depth review.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

One other thing I noticed about the beverage station. It isn't fitted with coffee and ice makers - it is fitted with coffee and ice dispensers. That means both ice and coffee can be made efficiently in the diner - but be accessible directly from the sleeper car.

View attachment 21669

I think that's smart! It keeps some of the mess in the diner where it is easier to clean up, and presumably should mean higher coffee quality because of a "better" coffee machine in the diner with higher volume.

I like it!

As far as I know, no Amtrak cars have ice makers on board. It’s always loaded on at service stops.

It’s hard to tell for sure from the photo but it looks like there is a hot water faucet above the coffee dispenser so that may be a coffee maker as well.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Unlatching isn't quite as bad. But again - it works most reliably if you HOLD FIRMLY LATCHED-UNLATCH instead of just UNLATCH...

So unlocking the door from inside is tricky? Some people may get stuck inside! What was wrong with the old latches that couldn't possibly get stuck! Is the bedroom door latch the same?

 

[railiner]

Thanks for the very detailed review. By far better than anything I have seen anywhere else. Amtrak should adopt it for a "Q&A" section of their website...

 

[jiml]

@IndyLions, we all owe you gratitude for this thorough work. Just to echo @railiner above, it's a shame there isn't a description in this detail for every Amtrak accommodation to form a reference "Wiki" page. It would sure save a lot of repeat questions and possibly new threads by inexperienced Amtrak riders. Well done!

 

[cocojacoby]

Great pics. These two show my complaints about lack of floor space. For one person this design is great. But a roomette is designed for two people. When two people are in there, especially when the beds are made up or the table is up, where can two people stand?

I was hoping that with the removal of the toilet that area could have been opened up with fold-down or pull-out steps maybe. Opposite that, the trash container could have been moved back somewhat.

You and your partner end up crawling around a lot on the bottom bed instead of functioning normally upright and doing basic things like changing cloths and brushing your teeth and getting up to go to the restroom or shower. It becomes a chorography routine every time you need to do something.

I feel it's just a bit of stressful uncomfortable gymnastics for two passengers that could have been avoided with a better redesign. Certainly not that easy for an elderly couple.

 

[AG1]

VLII Bedroom at Night (continued)

So my grade? The VLII at Night earned a solid B. Why the B and not higher? Two reasons...

The biggest negative to the VLII Bedroom at night is the lack of clearance between the lower berth and the sink area. While I didn't measure it, we're talking about 4-6" or so.

The photo below was taken from the upper berth - but it does illustrate at least a little bit the lack of clearance between the sink area and the beds at night:

View attachment 21605

This lack of clearance caused my first reaction to the room to be negative - not positive. That's because we boarded at 9:45pm in Richmond VA, and they had already put the lower bed down.

Whether this is Amtrak policy or not I don't know - but it was either bad Amtrak policy or a poor choice by my otherwise excellent SCA. Along with ourselves, we had considerable baggage to get in the room through that 4-6" gap. With the lower berth down - it was very, very awkward. And for folks less nimble than ourselves - it would have been even more so.

While access to the bathroom at night was fine - access to the sink was not. That meant stumbling along the narrow opening to get to the sink in an effort to wash ones hands after using the en suite.

IndyLions
Thank you for a very nice presentation. There is a simply solution to the lack of space between the sink and bed in the extended position. Don't extend the bed fully or push it back a foot if the attendant does so. After you use the sink you can fully extend the bed . In the morning, lift the inside cushion(wall edge) and push the bed back for room. I did this on a VL 1 the only time I rode in a bedroom because I was unexpectedly moved from a roomette for free.

 

[NYP2NFL01]

IndyLions,

Thank you for such an in-depth review of the new VLII Bedroom. I have a bedroom booked for mid-September travel on both the Silver Star and Silver Meteor. I read another post on this forum that all sleepers on the Silver Service trains now feature the VLII sleepers. I hope that is true. I can't wait to experience them.
I remember when the VLI sleepers had that "new-car" look and smell (circa 1997)

 

[Cal]

I read another post on this forum that all sleepers on the Silver Service trains now feature the VLII sleepers. I hope that is true. I can't wait to experience them.

I believe that currently 2 sleepers are VII's, not all 3.

 

[jis]

I believe that currently 2 sleepers are VII's, not all 3.

This was certainly true on 10 April, 2021 91(9) and 92(10), at least on the two consists that I traveled by.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Great pics. These two show my complaints about lack of floor space. For one person this design is great. But a roomette is designed for two people. When two people are in there, especially when the beds are made up or the table is up, where can two people stand?

I was hoping that with the removal of the toilet that area could have been opened up with fold-down or pull-out steps maybe. Opposite that, the trash container could have been moved back somewhat.

You and your partner end up crawling around a lot on the bottom bed instead of functioning normally upright and doing basic things like changing cloths and brushing your teeth and getting up to go to the restroom or shower. It becomes a chorography routine every time you need to do something.

I feel it's just a bit of stressful uncomfortable gymnastics for two passengers that could have been avoided with a better redesign. Certainly not that easy for an elderly couple.View attachment 21697View attachment 21698

Pre Amtrak Roomettes were designed for ONE person and that is how it should have remained. Unfortunately Amtrak regressed. The current two person Roomette is far too small and should never have been redesigned to allow for two berths instead of one. Now with the tricky latches that may not function from inside, imagine the nightmare for people who can't get out! I remember Paul Theroux writing about such an experience on a decrepit train (I believe in Eastern Europe). Inside his compartment he struggled to get out becoming increasingly anxious that he would be trapped.

 

[railiner]

I haven't seen the new latches, but I would imagine that Amtrak has developed some plan to open the door from the outside, in such an event, and perhaps trained crews, accordingly. Children or elderly will sometimes get "locked in" to restrooms and such, and there are means to open them from the outside.
As far as being "trapped", in a worst case scenario, you could escape thru the emergency window, by removing the rubber seal...

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Pre Amtrak Roomettes were designed for ONE person and that is how it should have remained. Unfortunately Amtrak regressed. The current two person Roomette is far too small and should never have been redesigned to allow for two berths instead of one.

I disagree 100%. I much prefer the Amtrak roomette design over heritage roomette.

 

[Exvalley]

I disagree 100%. I much prefer the Amtrak roomette design over heritage roomette.

I agree. It's not as if Amtrak forces solo travelers to be paired up. So I don't see how having the option of a second person in the roomette is a bad thing. I also prefer the upper bunk in a Viewliner roomette.

 

[cocojacoby]

Pre Amtrak Roomettes were designed for ONE person and that is how it should have remained. Unfortunately Amtrak regressed. The current two person Roomette is far too small and should never have been redesigned to allow for two berths instead of one.

The room would be fine for two if they only allowed the extra floor space as I suggested. My wife and I have taken them many times and I like the rooms a lot, especially the upper berth window, but it's just difficult to maneuver around when there is only a 2' X 2' open floor area.

It was a lost opportunity to make the roomette a little bit better.

 

[Cal]

I have no problem with the size of the roomette, you are only there for a few days, and you usually have other places to sit on the longer journeys. And it's a great use of a small space