Currently on my Viewliner 2, all of the toilets are out of service!! And a couple of passengers are not, understandably, happy campers. I’ve never heard of this issue happening on the sleepers, especially the brand new VL2s. Can they fix this problem enroute?
Viewliner 2 Toilet Troubles
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Well, the V IIs aren't really brand new any more.
The toilets in the Viewliners (both generations) are basically the same vacuum operated ones as those in the Superliners. My experience on those is generally if the toilets go out and cannot be fixed by doing a reset, they'll stay out. They don't have the mechanical forces or parts to fix them outside maintenance bases.
PS, it happens a lot, at least on Superliner sleepers.
The toilets in the Viewliners (both generations) are basically the same vacuum operated ones as those in the Superliners. My experience on those is generally if the toilets go out and cannot be fixed by doing a reset, they'll stay out. They don't have the mechanical forces or parts to fix them outside maintenance bases.
PS, it happens a lot, at least on Superliner sleepers.
Flushing paper towels will kill the bathrooms. Jamming the pipes is a common problem that will require a shop to unstick the clog.
jis
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I had that happen on a V2 last year on the Super Star. We just used the toilets in another V2 in that case. It was never fixed en route.
That'll work for the Meteor now, but not for the Star, nor for the future Meteor if they delete a sleeper. It's a long walk from the 2nd sleeper to a coach car.
Maybe it would make sense to put 2 VL2's on 1 Silver, and 2 VL1's on the other. Then if the toilets go out on one VL2, at least there would still be the public ones on the other.
Happened last May on the westbound Lake Shore Limited I was on - Car 4912 was a Viewliner II Sleeper and the train was brought from Sunnyside Yard into NYP with toilets “out of order.” After a delay of about an hour at the platform (for mechanical to try and do “some sort of last minute fix”), the train was just released with the bad-ordered and non-functioning toilets. Passengers were moved to the Viewliner I ahead - car 4911 - as much as possible. That same train returned to NYP with bad ordered and non-functioning toilets as there was no spare Viewliner sleeper in Chicago! Around and around the merry go round we go!
jis
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The Chicago Roll In Roll Out method of maintenance
Admittedly Sunnyside should not have released the car in that state, but I suppose the choice was between downgrading a whole bunch to Coach vs. letting them have their beds but suffer inconvenience with toilets. Hobson's choice I suppose 
As with many of us, I've been riding since Amtrak was created and I never heard of a community potty before. At least they threw in a real roll of toilet paper and not just a stack of the tiny rolls they put in the rooms. In the unlikely case that prices return to reasonable levels, it's bedrooms for me from now on.
I'm very aware of the paper towel problem. I wonder if there is some way they could make a self-destructing paper towel for use in transit bathrooms.
Qapla
Engineer
One of the problems is, some of the clogs are caused by paper/objects the passengers brought on board with them, not what Amtrak supplied.
Indeed. I recall a trip on the Starlight some years back where one of my fellow passengers in the PCC was dispensing advice about how to make an Amtrak trip more pleasant, including recommending bringing one's own 'squeezably soft' toilet tissue. When I suggested that this might end up causing problems for the equipment, the passenger seemed genuinely surprised to consider this.
I don’t use the squeezable soft stuff at home- a plumber once told us it stops up quite a few toilets. Never heard of a community toilet roomette toilet. It’s so sad that I’m considering trying to get over my fear of flying because trains are going downhill. So very sad
The "community toilet in a roomette" was only available because the roomette was not being occupied most likely the rest of the train's journey.
"Necessity is the Mother of Invention!"
SubwayNut
Conductor
How about Amtrak just installs Japanese-style toilets with bidets and stops supplying toilet paper!
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Americans who pride in how much toilet paper they have stockpiled at home will never fall for that one
ljclark
Train Attendant
Late last month the last leg of my Amtrak triangle was the Cardinal from Washington, DC to Chicago. My roomette turned out to be in a Viewliner 2. As soon as we were rolling, the sleeping car attendant advised us that the two toilets were out of service and that we were to use the Coach restrooms on the other side of the Cafe Car. Apparently the personnel at Union Station lacked the knowledge to resolve the problem, even considering the long DC stop. She then added that the conductor we would be picking up down the line might be able to fix the problem.
Sure enough, the next morning the toilets were back in service. Apparently a knowledge problem...Not a parts problem.
Sure enough, the next morning the toilets were back in service. Apparently a knowledge problem...Not a parts problem.
That story has got me wondering. Is it really a “knowledge problem”, or maybe a matter of someone willing to do a dirty job, (pardon the pun,) “beyond their line of duty”?
Why shouldn’t a train attendant, who spends the entire trip working and caring for a car, not have that knowledge if a conductor does? Or more imortantly, why weren’t mechanical forces in Washington brought in to fix the problem before departure?
If it is just a matter of know how, than surely that knowledge should be taught during training…
ljclark
Train Attendant
1. To clarify, one or more Amtrak personnel at Washington attempted to resolve the problem, but could not.
2. Training is both a cost and an investment. Every hour of training subtracts from total workforce hours on the job -- 2080 hours of training per year across that workforce reduces that workforce by one FTE (full time equivalent). Also, training "fades" over time. The requirement to perform mechanical repairs in addition to the tasks already assigned to a sleeping car attendant reduces the pool of potential employees. And the list of reasons "why not" goes on...
I can't say for sure, but it sounds like the design of the Viewliner 2 toilets may be a wee bit too finely balanced.
Here's an interesting observation. On May 13, I was at BWI Airport Station awaiting the arrival of Acela 2216 that left at around 2:21. The Southbound Silver Star passed the station at around 2:15 that day. It was the exact same consist I had traveled on because I remembered the car numbers on the coaches and also the dining car Tallahassee. The only difference: The Viewliner 2 sleeper 9211 was not the Rappahannock River!!! It was a different River. So, it plains to see that Rappahannock River was bad-ordered and replaced--likely in Miami. I traveled on Rappahannock River back on May 5-6 with my parents when we had the "potty" issues!!
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Yep, since the Viewliners are serviced in Florida, this is most assuredly what happened!
IFRC, don't the Superliner have macerating equipment in the waste disposal systems? Charmin would be no issue in this case!
Maglev
Conductor
The macerators were associated with spraying effluent on the tracks, which is no longer done. The vacuum system for transporting waste from the toilets to the holding tank does not involve any grinding process, so inappropriate toilet paper might indeed clog the system.IFRC, don't the Superliner have macerating equipment in the waste disposal systems? Charmin would be no issue in this case!
