The HEP I cars were rebuilt from the ground up in the early1990s including the complete replacement of their electrical and mechanical systems, and the installation of computerized systems monitoring. Although the car bodies date from the 1950s these major systems are actually more up to date than those Amtrak's Superliner I's, which have mostly been refurbished, but without replacing the 1970s electrical and air conditioning
Most but not all of he HEP fleet, including all of the Manors sleepers and diners and most of the Skylines and Park cars, have had a major overall within the last few years, including new décor, but not the upgrading of major systems, except in the diners. The Chateaus and coaches have not been part of the latest rebuilding program.
The Renaissance cars have proved to be more difficult and costly to maintain and operate than anticipated, and are now mostly gone form the corridor. Their are certainly issues with respect to the suitability for operating during the winter and there were costly mandated modifications for accessibility. However, from my experience it is fair to say that they ride better than most North American rolling stock; that is characteristic of British undercarriages. On the other hand the tight loading gauges severely limit the room inside, e.g. in the sleeper corridors, and the fit and finish of the interiors is not particularly suitable for North American operating conditions, e.g. the use of wood panel trim the sleeping car rooms..
In my experience the food in the Renaissance diners is acceptable for pre-catered food. The presentation is excellent, as normally is the service. Some dishes lend themselves to reheating, while others do not, notably omelets. (My worst omelet on a train was on the Montrealer many years ago when the food service had been relegated to a café, and the reheating was in a microwave not a convection oven.)
But given the realities of the cost of on-train catering, the Ocean's meal service isn't too bad. Prior to introducing the Renaissance equipment the diner offered a pretty limited range, though the menu did include a grilled to order steak. It is interesting that the review from the Davie Crockett focuses as much the portion size as it does on the food itself.
In any case the claims made about cook-from-scratch train food is a bit of a red herring. Nowhere (not even on the Canadian) are meals truly made from scratch these days. The best train foods are finished on the grill, which you can't do on a Renaissance diner, Via Business Class car, Acela First Class, or the diner lite on the Cardinal. But the technology preparing food in a central commisionary is such that one should be able to get a decent meal on a train just like one can in a chain restaurant or the front cabin on a plane..
Finally, I am, not at all surprised to hear that the onboard staff is unhappy VIA management these days,. Remember that they were legislated back to work a couple of years ago and there were significant job losses due to the post-2012 cutbacks.
