Viewliner Dining Car Mockup Photo

[printman2000]

There is a photo in the latest Ink magazine with a Viewliner Dining car mockup picture.

Can be seen here.

 

[printman2000]

Here is the picture...

 

[Ryan]

Hopefully it'll look better with some color.

The table layouts look odd - the one on the left looks real narrow and the one on the right just looks plain small. The big dividers seem to ruin the open look that I'd hoped the car would have.

Overall grade: D

Is that a mockup of a sleeping car you can see out the right window? Looks kind of like a bedroom to me.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Here is the picture...

:hi: Thanks for Posting! Looks like a McDonalds!Too much Plastic!! Imagine how long it will stay clean and new looking! :help: Grade: F

 

[boxcar479]

Where is the Amtrak blue?

 

[Ispolkom]

Is that picture taken with a fisheye lense? the left table seems longer than the right one, and the coffee mugs seem exceptionally oval. That picture makes the new dining car look much less attractive than the Temoinsa Rebuilds. I hope the final product will be more attractive.

 

[printman2000]

I am assuming all color and finishing is not included.

Good eye, that does look like a sleeper mockup out the right window!

 

[printman2000]

Is that picture taken with a fisheye lense? the left table seems longer than the right one, and the coffee mugs seem exceptionally oval. That picture makes the new dining car look much less attractive than the Temoinsa Rebuilds. I hope the final product will be more attractive.

Perhaps the table on the left is wheelchair accessible?

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

The table layouts look odd - the one on the left looks real narrow and the one on the right just looks plain small. The big dividers seem to ruin the open look that I'd hoped the car would have.

Is each table/station a bit different for evaluation purposes? I noticed there is a glass partition with the Amtrak logo on the right, but not on the left.

 

[afigg]

I would guess that the mock-up is all-white so color swatches and schemes can be tested out later. As a mock-up, the seats and tables may be nothing more than plastic shells to allow for form review for easy model layout and revisions.

The picture does look like it was taken a wide angle lens with some distortion. Before people get too upset about what is in the photo, it is a mock-up, not one showing the actual furniture or color schemes. Unless Amtrak has been brought by Steve Jobs and Apple, seriously doubt that they are going with the all white interior. The first rebuilt 8400 field reports will be more relevant.

The Amtrak Ink article content also has interesting info. The first car to be delivered is expected to be a diner for testing in October 2012. Hope the Viewliner II production line does not stop with the 130 units. The mock-up interior photo with the windows shows that an additional order of lounge cars, with or without café service, would be a nice addition to many of the Amfleet II and I trainsets.

 

[Steve4031]

Don't like it!! Seems like the beginning of a ccc set up. They need to stick with 4 top tables and booths. This yuppie buppie business of odd side tables does not work on a train.

 

[spidersfan351]

I rather like it - I feel the white is probably just for mock up sake, but at least it is bright. The oval mugs are likely indicative of the mock up - they may not even be real, as weird as it seems. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy appearance put aside, I'm willing to hold any appearance issues I have with it in appreciation for the the fact that these will provide a nice place to view scenery on eastern routes outside the sleeper. I would take this over the poor, though beloved Cardinal's setup any day. In all honesty, I still really like the remodeled Heritage Diners, but I understand the need to replace them. On a recent journey on the Silver Star, I was really impressed with the green accents and retro (but clean) look.

 

[Steve4031]

Don't like it!! Seems like the beginning of a ccc set up. They need to stick with 4 top tables and booths. This yuppie buppie business of odd sized tables does not work on a train.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Don't like it!! Seems like the beginning of a ccc set up. They need to stick with 4 top tables and booths. This yuppie buppie business of odd side tables does not work on a train.

AGREED!

Without any color it looks like something from 2001 A Space Odyssey

 

[Acela150]

Here is the picture...

If this is what it looks like then UGH!! Do we have any pictures of 8400 yet???

 

[George Harris]

Now, if we could just get a lot of coaches built with the Viewliner body shell. At least, we could then get to a train that looked somewhere near as good as the 1950's steamliners. Right now the eastern trains look like the collection of miss-matched equipment that they are. The early 60's mix of heavyweight cars and streamliner cars that prevailed on most of the Southern Railway, and others trains in the South looked more coherent than the current eastern conglomerations.

 

[Ryan]

The table layouts look odd - the one on the left looks real narrow and the one on the right just looks plain small. The big dividers seem to ruin the open look that I'd hoped the car would have.

Is each table/station a bit different for evaluation purposes? I noticed there is a glass partition with the Amtrak logo on the right, but not on the left.

That's a real good point.

 

[afigg]

I rather like it - I feel the white is probably just for mock up sake, but at least it is bright. The oval mugs are likely indicative of the mock up - they may not even be real, as weird as it seems.

The apparent oval shape of the coffee mugs on the right side are likely due to the distorted wide field lens snapshot. Note that mug further away behind the basket on the right side does not look oval shape. The near table on the right also has 4 place settings, indicating that it is a four person booth. It just looks shorter because it is in the near field of the distorted wide angle view.

What I am curious about is what is down the hallway - so to speak - beyond the booths. Is that shot taken towards the food preparation work area?

 

[The Journalist]

That looks like a space station. But there's an Amtrak logo. I can't wrap my mind around this combination of things, but it's not half bad.

I imagine it'll look less futuristically spacey when it's not all white and spotless.

 

[henryj]

Thanks for posting that link. There was a good write up on the Texas Eagle in that issue also.

 

[printman2000]

What I see is the second doorway appears to be the entrance to the kitchen. Looks like a rounded wall at that doorway which would lead to the corridor for passengers to get to the next car.

What I am more unsure of is what is between the first doorway and the kitchen doorway. Looks like maybe a one sided booth on the left. Maybe a work table for the crew?

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Yikes I hope they put some color in there. All white will get dirty in a hurry.

 

[dlagrua]

There you have it folks, the 2012 Viewliner version of the CCC! I dislike the cramped look and hope that it gets changed. On a separate note its good to see how the orders for new equipment are creating many new jobs for American workers. When it comes to passsenger rail, it's an added benefit that the politicans seem to ignore.

BTW does anyone know what the interior layout of the prototype Viewliner of a few years ago is like? I do not believe that it was ever put in service and is still at the Beach Grove shops for testing and evaluation.

 

[chrsjrcj]

I like it a lot. Wouldn't mind some color, but truthfully, I don't mind the all white look. I think everyone is stuck on the current look and once the full fleet is rolled out, we all will be used to it.

 

[afigg]

I like it a lot. Wouldn't mind some color, but truthfully, I don't mind the all white look. I think everyone is stuck on the current look and once the full fleet is rolled out, we all will be used to it.

The picture is of the engineering and design layout mock-up. Colors and details come later. The interior is not going to be all white. It is a diner car, not a Sci-Fi flick or an Apple store.

The rebuilt 8400 Viewliner Diner prototype will reportedly be entering revenue service on the Lake Shore Limited next month. Hopefully some one will take pictures on one of the first few trips, so people can stop wondering what the interior will look like. Amtrak might put out a news release or announcement once the 8400 enter service. Maybe that will have photos of the interior.