Superliner Baggage Cars?

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Got to ride in one today. Here is an inside hot of the baggage area. I noticed that the cargo doors have no sealing of any kind and just let the light from the outside right through. In the winter, this could possibly be a problem on LD trains in cold parts of the country.

IMG_0867 by seat38a, on Flickr
 
I noticed that the cargo doors have no sealing of any kind and just let the light from the outside right through.
And the wind. Yeah, could be cold - but obviously the space isn't full of baggage, and coach pax with aching ankles would be attracted, yes,? as I posted before?

Can' tell from the photo, but looks like the plastic, not dirty carpet, floor in this car.

So - amtrak, rent the floor space -- new carpet a few hundred bucks - add-on 20 or 50 USD for an 7x3 foot space on top of coach fare -- more revenue :unsure:
 
So - amtrak, rent the floor space -- new carpet a few hundred bucks - add-on 20 or 50 USD for an 7x3 foot space on top of coach fare -- more revenue :unsure:
Or at least move the lounge lizards there.
Naah - let them try to sleep where they do, the dirty carpet out of the way is prize space for us who trust leaking doors and dirty carpets better than other lounge lizards and the inevitable walking paying customers and the lumpy seats (OK for sitting, bad for sleeping) in the lounge.

Naah, let the bag-coach floor-space remain for those who don't disdain to use it, or charge per square foot - whatever.
 
Got to ride in one today. Here is an inside hot of the baggage area. I noticed that the cargo doors have no sealing of any kind and just let the light from the outside right through. In the winter, this could possibly be a problem on LD trains in cold parts of the country.

IMG_0867 by seat38a, on Flickr
Surprised to hear that....IIRC, the "plug type" doors originally did have a full rubber seal into which they were 'seated' when the door was closed, and the handle was turned to tighten them....
 
My latest visit to the baggage part of one of these Coach-Bags was May 2014 on the SWC ABQ-LAX - the plug doors in the baggage part of the Coach-Bag did not close tight - talked to the attendant who was down there - "just stretching, loosening up" , ( he wasn't hiding from work, did a good job, in my opinion ABQ-LAX)

There was no way the doors could seal. No way to crank them any tighter. Good for fresh air upstairs in coach. 4-6 inches leakage all around.
 
The bag room (and its contents) must get a nice bath when passing thru heavy rain....

not to mention a healthy coat of dust and road grime, otherwise.....
 
The bag room (and its contents) must get a nice bath when passing thru heavy rain....

not to mention a healthy coat of dust and road grime, otherwise.....
This seems to be a problem with their baggage cars as well. I have seen pictures of their baggage cars pretty much just full of snow.

That's way Amtrak is buying new baggage cars, to get rid of the current ancient fleet and their problems. Although some people seem to think Amtrak should hang on to them.
 
There are actually some heavy duty looking luggage racks before the entrance to the bulk area. It almost looked like it could be comfortable with a pillow and some blankets :)
Good luck finding a spot to sleep in them however; they fill up pretty quick with people's luggage. They're also right next to the door so you'll be 'bothered' at most stops.

peter
 
The bag room (and its contents) must get a nice bath when passing thru heavy rain....

not to mention a healthy coat of dust and road grime, otherwise.....
This seems to be a problem with their baggage cars as well. I have seen pictures of their baggage cars pretty much just full of snow.
If you're writing about the old 'Heritage' baggage cars, I agree. Those cars have a simple sliding door, that did not seal as well as the plug-type doors, I well remember opening those doors at the Denver station during the aftermath of the Mount St. Helens eruption, when the baggage, and everything else, was covered with a thick layer of volcanic ash.

We had to take time to sweep off the ash, before delivering them to detraining passengers....

And the same thing with the snow. The heritage baggage cars did not always have working heater's, (and of course, no A/C).....
 
This is an old thread but thinking about recent Long Distance replacement discussions I was thinking that a new (or even rebuilt) bilevel Baggage/Dorm might be a good solution. Unlike the existing Superliner Baggage/Coach, this car would have roomettes, bathrooms, showers and maybe a small lounge if there is room, on the upper level for the crew. The entire lower level would be just for baggage unlike the pictures above which show bathrooms taking up half the car. I would think that that configuration with racks might be sufficient for most LD trains. Of course better designed sealing doors would be necessary. Seems like a sensible solution.
 
This is an old thread but thinking about recent Long Distance replacement discussions I was thinking that a new (or even rebuilt) bilevel Baggage/Dorm might be a good solution. Unlike the existing Superliner Baggage/Coach, this car would have roomettes, bathrooms, showers and maybe a small lounge if there is room, on the upper level for the crew. The entire lower level would be just for baggage unlike the pictures above which show bathrooms taking up half the car. I would think that that configuration with racks might be sufficient for most LD trains. Of course better designed sealing doors would be necessary. Seems like a sensible solution.
Assuming, of course, the new LD car order is bilevels, which at this point doesn't look likely.
 
Tere is a possible baggage car problem in the future. It is unknown because we and Amtrak has no idea what baggage capacity will be needed in say 5 - 7 years. Amtrak may keep its LD trains at near the same revenue seat capacity close to what it is today. However, if it goes back to some train routes having 14 - 16 revenue cars then a separate baggage car will probably be needed on those trains.

For longer trains depends on Amtrak's will, congress will to provide necessary funds, and how Class 1's fight both longer trains and new routes. No prediction here.
 
There is a possible baggage car problem in the future. It is unknown because we and Amtrak has no idea what baggage capacity will be needed in say 5 - 7 years. Amtrak may keep its LD trains at near the same revenue seat capacity close to what it is today. However, if it goes back to some train routes having 14 - 16 revenue cars then a separate baggage car will probably be needed on those trains.

For longer trains depends on Amtrak's will, congress will to provide necessary funds, and how Class 1's fight both longer trains and new routes. No prediction here.
Sorry if I don't understand what you mean, but Amtrak has 70 VL2 baggage cars on roster. How is that going to be an issue?
 
Tere is a possible baggage car problem in the future. It is unknown because we and Amtrak has no idea what baggage capacity will be needed in say 5 - 7 years. Amtrak may keep its LD trains at near the same revenue seat capacity close to what it is today. However, if it goes back to some train routes having 14 - 16 revenue cars then a separate baggage car will probably be needed on those trains.

For longer trains depends on Amtrak's will, congress will to provide necessary funds, and how Class 1's fight both longer trains and new routes. No prediction here.
I have no idea what you are talking about. Amtrak has enough baggage cars to serve all the current trains even at double their current length with leftovers for a couple more trains. Additionally, new short Superliner trains will do fine with Coach Baggage Cars and do not need full baggage cars.
 
Sorry if I don't understand what you mean, but Amtrak has 70 VL2 baggage cars on roster. How is that going to be an issue?
The point is that some day in the future a big "IF" Amtrak expands it route structure enough that the 70 baggage cars might not be enough. That is a lot of "IFs" come together. Just a few. 1. Major route expansion. 2. Equipment purchased. 3. Proper marketing. 4. Changing management's prime directive
 
The point is that some day in the future a big "IF" Amtrak expands it route structure enough that the 70 baggage cars might not be enough. That is a lot of "IFs" come together. Just a few. 1. Major route expansion. 2. Equipment purchased. 3. Proper marketing. 4. Changing management's prime directive
Of course regarding the purchases in item 2 we don't know at this time what the composition of the new hypothetical order would be. So we don't know what the number of Sleepers, Coaches, Diners, Lounges and of course Baggage Cars might be.
 
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