Viewliner II - Part 1 - Initial Production and Delivery

[StriderGDM]

The new baggage cars look good! Are any going to be assigned to west/Midwest trains?

Any train that currently has a heritage baggage car will have it replaced, so I believe the answer is yes.

 

[Bus Nut]

Hey so now that these cars are being delivered does anybody know the timeline to replace the Heritage cars and do we know what trains will get a baggage car that don't have one?

I am nose-bleedingly excited about these cars and loving all the videos being posted. They look beautiful!

 

[afigg]

Hey so now that these cars are being delivered does anybody know the timeline to replace the Heritage cars and do we know what trains will get a baggage car that don't have one?

I am nose-bleedingly excited about these cars and loving all the videos being posted. They look beautiful!

As far as I know, there has been no public update from Amtrak on the deployment plan and schedule for the new baggage cars nor any official statements on which additional trains could get a baggage car. We have speculated on this a number of times and the most logical ones would be an additional daily Virginia Regional running to Boston, the Pennsylvanian (probably as part of the Capitol Limited pass-through cars), and if the Customs facility someday opens in Montreal, then after that on the Adirondack.

 

[DryCreek]

Maybe they'll even put canvas sling seats in the heritage baggage cars and sell reduced-fare steerage class passage? I'd hate to think that they would just scrap them.

 

[Guest]

Hey so now that these cars are being delivered does anybody know the timeline to replace the Heritage cars and do we know what trains will get a baggage car that don't have one?

I am nose-bleedingly excited about these cars and loving all the videos being posted. They look beautiful!

Beautiful is not enough. I have been hearing rumors about some issues. Like the racks can't be used since they won't hold the weight of many bags.

 

[PerRock]

Hey so now that these cars are being delivered does anybody know the timeline to replace the Heritage cars and do we know what trains will get a baggage car that don't have one?

I am nose-bleedingly excited about these cars and loving all the videos being posted. They look beautiful!

Beautiful is not enough. I have been hearing rumors about some issues. Like the racks can't be used since they won't hold the weight of many bags.

I wouldn't heed much to that rumor. If it were true I highly doubt Amtrak would a) be accepting as many cars as they are from CAF at this point and b) they wouldn't be sending the cars out across the country for training. At this point it's training & then deployment. All the testing (like to see if the shelves can hold the weight) has been done & and issues that arised have been corrected.

peter

 

[Bus Nut]

Are they still ordering bag-dorms and would those come off the assembly line only after the baggage order is complete?

 

[Ryan]

Yes and yes (actually the last plan we heard was bags, diners, bag dorms then sleepers, which makes sense to clear out the Heritage fleet asap).

 

[Guest]

Maybe they'll even put canvas sling seats in the heritage baggage cars and sell reduced-fare steerage class passage? I'd hate to think that they would just scrap them.

Sling seats? Put in full hammocks and sell them as slumber sleepers.

 

[jis]

I wonder where the bag dorms will be used. Cardinal and LSL Boston Section? In the case of the Boston Section, with the possibility of selling some accommodation?

 

[MikefromCrete]

Maybe they'll even put canvas sling seats in the heritage baggage cars and sell reduced-fare steerage class passage? I'd hate to think that they would just scrap them.

Those baggage cars are 60 years old and have their wheels run off with millions of miles of service. There's no more life left in them.

 

[StriderGDM]

I wonder where the bag dorms will be used. Cardinal and LSL Boston Section? In the case of the Boston Section, with the possibility of selling some accommodation?

Probably Zero since the dorm section would be used by the entire crew, not just the Boston section is my guess.

Besides, I'm not sure the Boston section traffic would be enough to warrant more than the full existing sleeper.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I wonder where the bag dorms will be used. Cardinal and LSL Boston Section? In the case of the Boston Section, with the possibility of selling some accommodation?

Maybe the Crescent also since the majority of the passengers ride overnight between NYP and ATL and the count drops off most of the year for the day trip between ATL and NOL?

 

[jis]

My guess is that LSL New York Section will get an additional Sleeper which will be used by the New York crew + regular passengers. It would be unusual to require the New York crew to pack their bag and baggage somewhere on the train without any accommodation until Albany. I don't think that will happen because that might be a violation of their contract.

 

[R30A]

I sort of suspect that the bag dorm will go to NYP while Boston gets the full baggage. If they keep organizing baggage like they do today (Boston used for intermediate and BOS baggage, NY used only for NYP baggage), I believe the Boston baggage car is the busier one anyway.

 

[jis]

I sort of suspect that the bag dorm will go to NYP while Boston gets the full baggage. If they keep organizing baggage like they do today (Boston used for intermediate and BOS baggage, NY used only for NYP baggage), I believe the Boston baggage car is the busier one anyway.

That may very well be. That effectively would make the entire additional Sleeper available for revenue from NY, and no additional Sleeper capacity to BOS, which may reflect reality better. Good point!

 

[Guest]

Hey so now that these cars are being delivered does anybody know the timeline to replace the Heritage cars and do we know what trains will get a baggage car that don't have one?

I am nose-bleedingly excited about these cars and loving all the videos being posted. They look beautiful!

Beautiful is not enough. I have been hearing rumors about some issues. Like the racks can't be used since they won't hold the weight of many bags.

I wouldn't heed much to that rumor. If it were true I highly doubt Amtrak would a) be accepting as many cars as they are from CAF at this point and b) they wouldn't be sending the cars out across the country for training. At this point it's training & then deployment. All the testing (like to see if the shelves can hold the weight) has been done & and issues that arised have been corrected.

peter

I would heed the rumor as it comes from more than one source. They are saying don't use the shelves. But we shall see.

 

[neroden]

Pffft. I'm sure the shelves can be used, with care. This is probably a "don't be an *****" thing, with many of the employees being idiots (as usually happens in any organization, unfortunately). First note that you can't stack bags that high without the shelves (it's not safe for the bags on the bottom to pile up that many bags as the ones on the bottom can be crushed; plus, the piles can fall over).

Perhaps the shelves have a limit on how much can be put on them (maybe you can only put one or two bags on each shelf), but that's undoubtedly higher than the limit *without* using the shelves. I would believe a policy of "fill the area under the shelf before putting anything on the shelf", as a form of *****-resistance. If you're going to work a train with heavy baggage loads, I'd advise getting the full story.

 

[StriderGDM]

I also highly doubt Amtrak would have accepted 30 or so bags with what I would consider a serious defect. They've shown their willingness to delay acceptance by about 2 years, so I can see them willing to be push back on this.

And don't believer every rumor you hear. I once had an Amtrak conductor tell me the likely solution to the Acela's being 4" too wide was they'd saw a strip out the middle and weld them back together.

 

[jis]

Yeah, I have found that Conductors are about the worst source for reliable information about almost anything, sometimes including what the rules are that they are supposed to be enforcing, unfortunately.

The ultimate piece de resistance was a Conductor on the CONO out of Memphis that tried to tell me that the TSA requires him to check tickets off board the train. I read him the book and asked him if he could show me the TSA book that said so. That was a pretty short conversation. After that he avoided me for the rest of his duty.

 

[Guest]

I also highly doubt Amtrak would have accepted 30 or so bags with what I would consider a serious defect. They've shown their willingness to delay acceptance by about 2 years, so I can see them willing to be push back on this.

And don't believer every rumor you hear. I once had an Amtrak conductor tell me the likely solution to the Acela's being 4" too wide was they'd saw a strip out the middle and weld them back together.

I said they were rumors. Since I heard them from sources in two different departments I do give them some credence. From my own experience I find it plausible that Amtrak could be accepting the cars with such a defect. For one thing since the current cars don't have shelves, the cars could be put in service without needing the use of the shelves.

As far as the wide Acelas, those were accepted despite the extra width, they were still able to be used so that is not exactly an example that proves Amtrak would not accept equipment without defects....

 

[WoodyinNYC]

… I once had an Amtrak conductor tell me the likely solution to the Acela's being 4" too wide was they'd saw a strip out the middle and weld them back together.

As far as the wide Acelas, those were accepted despite the extra width, they were still able to be used so that is not exactly an example that proves Amtrak would not accept equipment without defects....

Were the Acelas really 4" too wide? I thought that the tracks were 4" too close. LOL.

But srsly, isn't the "too wide" thing only a problem on the MetroNorth segment roughly from the NY state line to New Haven?

(Let me admit I wasn't paying much attention to this way back when … )

 

[Ryan]

The Acela was exactly as wide as Amtrak asked for (which turns out to be 4" wider than Metro North would allow for a trainset that tilted).

The idea that Amtrak ordered a trainset, took delivery of it and someone realized "Hey, these are wider than the train we ordered" is somewhat silly.

 

[PerRock]

Pffft. I'm sure the shelves can be used, with care. This is probably a "don't be an *****" thing, with many of the employees being idiots (as usually happens in any organization, unfortunately). First note that you can't stack bags that high without the shelves (it's not safe for the bags on the bottom to pile up that many bags as the ones on the bottom can be crushed; plus, the piles can fall over).

Perhaps the shelves have a limit on how much can be put on them (maybe you can only put one or two bags on each shelf), but that's undoubtedly higher than the limit *without* using the shelves. I would believe a policy of "fill the area under the shelf before putting anything on the shelf", as a form of *****-resistance. If you're going to work a train with heavy baggage loads, I'd advise getting the full story.

I could believe this, what shelving the current baggage cars have (and only some of them do/did) was solid big chunks of metal things that didn't move or do anything besides be piled with stuff. So these news ones, seeing as the fold up, probably have a much lower weight capacity.

I could also see the shittier/lazy baggage handlers deciding that they don't want to care about making sure they don't overload the shelves. So to them they are "defective" and won't be used.

peter

 

[Guest]

Pffft. I'm sure the shelves can be used, with care. This is probably a "don't be an *****" thing, with many of the employees being idiots (as usually happens in any organization, unfortunately). First note that you can't stack bags that high without the shelves (it's not safe for the bags on the bottom to pile up that many bags as the ones on the bottom can be crushed; plus, the piles can fall over).

Perhaps the shelves have a limit on how much can be put on them (maybe you can only put one or two bags on each shelf), but that's undoubtedly higher than the limit *without* using the shelves. I would believe a policy of "fill the area under the shelf before putting anything on the shelf", as a form of *****-resistance. If you're going to work a train with heavy baggage loads, I'd advise getting the full story.

I could believe this, what shelving the current baggage cars have (and only some of them do/did) was solid big chunks of metal things that didn't move or do anything besides be piled with stuff. So these news ones, seeing as the fold up, probably have a much lower weight capacity.

I could also see the shittier/lazy baggage handlers deciding that they don't want to care about making sure they don't overload the shelves. So to them they are "defective" and won't be used.

peter

What I have heard is that the baggage department has been instructed not to use the shelves and that the train crews will be instructed not to use the sheves. However at this time pending training and written instructions I woud consider the above only to be rumors. I certainly would not attempt to use the shelves without training. Perhaps that is where the rumors come from, maybe they don't want the shelves used until everyone, station baggage handlers and train crew have been trained, and then they will use the shelves.