Viewliner II - Part 1 - Initial Production and Delivery

[JohannFarley]

The museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has done a very nice job with an original Zephyr. It is also where I learned the Burlington Budd was related to the Car Builder Budd

I've been there, the restoration and preservation they did was amazing. If only every museum had the resources the did to perform such restorations.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

A special train left Miami at 5am this morning taking the new Viewliner IIs back north.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

A special train left Miami at 5am this morning taking the new Viewliner IIs back north.

Let's hope the cars passed this first field test with flying colors and maybe we'll see new ones on the line by end of year.

 

[jis]

I have heard from a usually reliable source to expect at least two new Diners in service by late May early June, and maybe more.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I have heard from a usually reliable source to expect at least two new Diners in service by late May early June, and maybe more.

Wonder if the Lake Shore and the Meteor will get them,that's the logical choices??? ( then the Crescent and the Cardinal with the Silver Starvation hopefully getting back its Diner someday,!)

 

[Acela150]

Obviously they're going to put them on the Star. Oh. Wait. Lol!!

 

[WoodyinNYC]

If the new Viewliner diners aren't going back on the Silver Star, they could be used somewhere else. Like on a revived Broadway Ltd or an extended Pennsylvanian. Or to make the Capitol Ltd single-level, and redistribute its Superliners to needy trains across the Midwest and West.

Quite comfortable now with the idea of the two Silvers at different price points, with/without a diner, on a largely overlapping route.

Much more interested in another East Coast-Chicago frequency that will give daylight stops to Pittsburgh-Cleveland-Toledo-Waterloo (Ft Wayne), and so would need Viewliner diners. Not absolutely sure it would need Viewliner sleepers; maybe 2+1 seating business class plus a diner would do it.

Still wish we had part of the option order, if not all 70 cars of it. We'll be needing more sleepers before the 25th one rolls off the line. Maybe after the election. I'm figuring 2 1/2 of the 5 candidates would be pro-Amtrak in the Oval Office, 2 1/2 would try to kill it. (And then Congress, God help us all.)

 

[erierail]

Woody I like your thinking, we definitely need day light service east of Chicago. Like to see a second train that could split in Cleveland with a section running to buffola and Pittsburgh.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

... we definitely need daylight service east of Chicago. Like to see a train split in Cleveland with sections running to Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

First let me say, this site, Amtraktrains, is usually better. But a similar site for the past 2 or 3 days was aflame with discussion about "what defunct line would you restore if you could?", which spun off a thread on "restoring the Broadway Ltd." Speculation with or without Viewliners.

Much of the inflaming was due to one poster who seems to think that Philly is or should be the Hub of the Universe, while everybody knows that CHI is the Hub of the Amtrak Universe. So I've been practicing my argument that CHI-TOL-CLE-PGH should be the primary focus of any added East Coast-CHI train. Go to railroad.net to read much more. But make sure you come back here to the better site.

Of course, what those cities most need is a 110-mph service like St Louis-CHI and Detroit-towards-but-not-quit-near-to-CHI will soon enjoy. A 110-mph corridor CLE-TOL-Ft Wayne-CHI would cost at least $3+ Billion.

Good news is that probably $1 Billion, or $1.5 Billion, would be spent Union Station-deep into Indiana, a.k.a. South Of The Lake, to connect to the fast Michigan line. So Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and the feds will have to come up with funds for that segment.

That will leave Indiana, Ohio, and the feds to finish up to CLE with $1.5 Billion or more. Another stretch CLE-PGH would cost at least $ half a Billion. But for $3 or $4 Billion you'd get 8 daily corridor trains CLE-CHI, and bonus, cut 2+ hours each way out of the trip times of the Lake Shore, the Capitol, and the daylight train thru Ohio. So yeah, just one more Stimulus and we'll be needing a lot more Viewliners.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Since I managed to miss them, can anyone (safely) comment on the interior?

 

[Ryan]

Still wish we had part of the option order, if not all 70 cars of it. We'll be needing more sleepers before the 25th one rolls off the line. Maybe after the election. I'm figuring 2 1/2 of the 5 candidates would be pro-Amtrak in the Oval Office, 2 1/2 would try to kill it. (And then Congress, God help us all.)

I wonder which one you're counting as the half - I can only guess Kasich, who is also virulently anti-rail. I think that it's a safe bet that he, Cruz, and Trump would bode extremely poorly (along with the continued Republican-held House) for Amtrak.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Maybe after the election. I'm figuring 2 1/2 of the 5 candidates would be pro-Amtrak in the Oval Office, 2 1/2 would try to kill it.

I wonder which one you're counting as the half -

That would be Trump. I'm noting his ability to get on both (several?) sides of an issue within a single day. So, I'm thinking he's a solid 50/50 on this. And I ain't mad at him.

Bernie would grab a map and a magic marker, in a minute the map would look like NARP's map of future service, LOL, and he'd say, "Do this." Hillary would set up a study group, and things would move slower, but she'd do us no harm. So that's 2.

Then Kasich and Cruz want to shrink government and drown it in the bathtub, and they will want to kill Amtrak. So that's 2.

And Trump, 1/2 and 1/2.

I know this isn't a political site, and we're trying to be objective here. As you note, Kasich is really on the record on this subject. You say he's "virulently anti-rail", and I say he'd take that as a high compliment.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

Since I managed to miss them, can anyone (safely) comment on the interior?

No comment. h34r:

 

[Ryan]

Got it - that would have been my second guess, but I'm not as hopeful as you are.

 

[Agent]

YouTube user SpeakerPolice filmed the northbound Viewliner special at Pine Castle, Florida on Friday.

 

[Acela150]

YouTube user SpeakerPolice filmed the northbound Viewliner special at Pine Castle, Florida on Friday.

If only this guy had his camera on a tripod.. It's a good clip, but the tripod would make it a great clip!

 

[tommylicious]

Awesome! How soon before these beauties are deployed?

 

[CCC1007]

Awesome! How soon before these beauties are deployed?

Could be a while yet, don't get your hopes up on this order, as every indication so far has been that it will slip again, as all other goals have.

 

[Ryan]

You must have missed this:

I have heard from a usually reliable source to expect at least two new Diners in service by late May early June, and maybe more.

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

Back to the talk about presidents and Amtrak, the theme sounds like Democrats are pro-Amtrak and Republicans are anti-Amtrak. It is worth noting that the two biggest rounds of cuts in Amtrak service happened while a Democrat was sitting in the White House. We've had seven years of Amtrak Joe as vice president yet I can't think of a single new or restarted route since Obama took office (we'll see about NOL-Florida). I'm not feeling that who sits in the White House will have any long term effect on Amtrak, Congress will have more of an effect. And Congress really hasn't had much effect on Amtrak either that I recall with one big exception.

 

[jis]

Back to the talk about presidents and Amtrak, the theme sounds like Democrats are pro-Amtrak and Republicans are anti-Amtrak. It is worth noting that the two biggest rounds of cuts in Amtrak service happened while a Democrat was sitting in the White House. We've had seven years of Amtrak Joe as vice president yet I can't think of a single new or restarted route since Obama took office (we'll see about NOL-Florida). I'm not feeling that who sits in the White House will have any long term effect on Amtrak, Congress will have more of an effect. And Congress really hasn't had much effect on Amtrak either that I recall with one big exception.

Are you sure you are in the right thread? Whatever makes you believe that this rant about presidents is appropriate for a thread on Viewliner delivery?

 

[CSXfoamer1997]

Nice! I can't wait to see them in service!

However, have the Viewliner I sleepers still not been modified and upgraded for speeds up to 125 MPH? If not, how long is it going to take?

And why weren't they designed for 125 in the first place?

 

[jis]

And why weren't they designed for 125 in the first place?

They require some minor modifications. Thirdrail can probably give more details. As for why they were not done before, that was because It was not felt to be necessary that is why, since LD trains were already restricted to 110mph due to other reasons.

 

[amtkstn]

Once the new baggage cars were placed in service, the long distance trains could run 125. they were the last thing holding trains to 110.

 

[edjbox]

FYI

The Viewliner 1s have already been tested at 125 mph, most recently at the same time as a NJ Transit 125 mph rating locomotive test.