trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Does anyone know much about the VL2 transdorm cars? (Supposedly Amtrak is going to start selling revenue rooms in this car on the Cardinal starting soon).
Do these cars have a shower or shared restroom like the other VL2 cars?
Viewliner II Bag-Dorm roomettes
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Does anyone know much about the VL2 transdorm cars? (Supposedly Amtrak is going to start selling revenue rooms in this car on the Cardinal starting soon).
Do these cars have a shower or shared restroom like the other VL2 cars?
VL2 are bag dorms, not transition, since they are single level
I for one would swoop them up immediately if they became available. They are newer, VL2 style rooms – and I prefer those to the VL1. Others prefer VLI with the in Roomette toilet…
Of course the summer after my Cardinal trip.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Just called them a few hours ago. The very nice lady on the phone said the only rooms available are in the (regular) '00' car. Hopefully, they actually update their reservation system to actually allow booking in the dorm-bag car!
Since there is no accessible room in the bag dorm, I am very surprised they can legally be sold.
It's been reported now by a couple of sources that the Cardinal will see excess roomettes in the Viewliner Bagg-Dorm sold as revenue space (summer months or peak period). Not sure when or if it has been loaded into the reservation system. There's only a few roomettes being used here for staff and according to original blueprints - 9 roomettes, a common shower, and two common restroom. There's a storage compartment of sorts taking the space of where one of the roomettes would go against the vestibule end of the car. The onboard staff need facilities too so of course the Bagg-Dorm is going to have shower and restrooms.....Hopefully if it works out here, they'll consider opening up other Viewliner Bagg-Dorms for revenue purposes. Six are presently in regular service - two on the Cardinal and four on the Crescent.
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Interesting. Not sure how they're going to do that, as the car is open to the baggage area, with no door, so anyone can access checked bags. Only really a problem, because you can check things you can't carry, (i.e. firearms) but I see that being a problem, unless they retrofit doors separating the bag area to the roomette area. Maybe there is a door they just don't use much, I don't know, but every time I've looked in one (and I travel the crescent a lot), the hallway opens directly to the baggage area.
jis
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Who knows? It could be yet another one of the "ready, fire, aim" projects manifested as "announce something and then discover it does not work"
Do bag-dorms have a bike rack like the full baggage cars? And are checked firearms kept in a locked safe? If the answer to both (from anyone who knows) is yes, then an open baggage area is a good thing because it would allow passengers to use the bike rack when boarding or alighting at stations without baggage service.
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Theoretically yes. Practically it will be an uncontrolled situation if potentially every passenger is give unsupervised access to the baggage car. Just IMHO of course, and suffice it to say I know next to nothing about baggage cars, except that I would be terribly uncomfortable if every Tom, **** and Harry had access to my checked bags unsupervised throughout the journey..
Yes
My recent experience at an unstaffed station was this. As the train pulled to a stop in front of the Amshack - a crew member in the baggage car had the “garage door” open and ready to go. I handed up my bike - walked 40’ to board the sleeper, and in <2 minutes the train took off again.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
It's mentioned in this article in case anyone was wondering.
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...distance-trains-to-daily-service-in-late-may/
But after seeing these comments about the open access to the baggage area, I am wondering how it would actually work for pax. I guess we'll see what happens in the coming weeks/months!
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...distance-trains-to-daily-service-in-late-may/
But after seeing these comments about the open access to the baggage area, I am wondering how it would actually work for pax. I guess we'll see what happens in the coming weeks/months!
Doesn't EVERY passenger have access to ALL the baggage on trains WITHOUT checked baggage?
How are firearms handled on trains without checked baggage? Are they allowed? Wouldn't the same rules apply to trains with checked baggage but without a secure baggage area?
How are firearms handled on trains without checked baggage? Are they allowed? Wouldn't the same rules apply to trains with checked baggage but without a secure baggage area?
The website says;
- Firearms/ammunition may not be carried in carry-on baggage; therefore, checked baggage must be available on all trains and at all stations in the passenger's itinerary.
jis
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Sure but I have a choice of chain locking my bag to a rack or some other solid fixture. Can't do that if it is in checked baggage
I got into this habit in India, where it is a somewhat common practice, since things do get snitched at times.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
BTW,
I think the Bag-dorm rooms are now bookable. Yesterday my app said there was only 4 available rooms on the Cardinal (on the day I'm traveling), and today I checked and there are at least 8 available! (with this a lower roomette bucket has been unlocked as well!)
I think the Bag-dorm rooms are now bookable. Yesterday my app said there was only 4 available rooms on the Cardinal (on the day I'm traveling), and today I checked and there are at least 8 available! (with this a lower roomette bucket has been unlocked as well!)
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Was able to get moved into one. FYI, the reservation system calls this the ‘09’ car.
Cool! Please take photos & report back after your trip.
jis
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And yet they won't de-mothball any of the over a dozen VL-Is in the cocoons. Sigh. I guess it is hard to transition from a devious LD destruction plan to a growth plan in the middle of a pandemic, eh?
Could it be an attempt to circumvent a CBA requirement? Does a full car require an assigned attendant where a dorm might allow adjacent car or coach attendants to cover? If that is the case, expect a grievance, with Amtrak losing. Still very surprised it passes ADA muster. Would not be shocked to see a lawsuit on that front, with Amtrak losing again.
jis
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Why would this be any different from Roomettes sold on Trans-Dorms as far as OBS goes? Those are served out of adjacent cars like forever.
BTW, this setup appears to violate 49 CFR 38.111(a)(6).
BTW, this setup appears to violate 49 CFR 38.111(a)(6).
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But not normally in the mode of dropping the regular sleeper to sub the BD. TD have been around for years as occasional revenue cars. These cars were never intended to be revenue cars. Anytime I rode one it was the adjacent car SCA who covered, and and SCA in a SL sleeper has more rooms to begin with. But CBAs often have long forgotten "gotchas" that pop up, so I figure it was worth asking. Definitely agree on the legality. Would be shocked if a disability advocacy group doesn't file quickly when this is made "official".
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