Viewliner II Part 2: Dining Car Production, Delivery, Speculation

[Ryan]

By the time the ensuite toilets are gone, we’ll have bag dorms and the point will be moot.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Is any of this really an issue? Is there mass booting of passengers from sleeping cars in favor of employees? I mean other than eliminating the dorm cars and robbing revenue from sleeping cars on an everyday basis, of course?

 

[stappend]

Any chance all three of the ones skipped before will get delivered this time around; 68009 Concord, 68010 Dover, 68011 Frankfort

 

[cpotisch]

Harrisburg has left the yard. First revenue trip to NYP today via the Meteor.

This has been confirmed? Which is it replacing?

 

[StriderGDM]

Any chance all three of the ones skipped before will get delivered this time around; 68009 Concord, 68010 Dover, 68011 Frankfort

Is there a chance? Sure?

Does anyone have actually useful data?

Not here.

 

[jis]

Harrisburg has left the yard. First revenue trip to NYP today via the Meteor.

This has been confirmed? Which is it replacing?

What in your mind would constitute a confirmation beyond information conveyed by a guy who has access to actual consist information at Amtrak?

 

[cpotisch]

So does anyone happen to know what diner Harrisburg replaced?

 

[cpotisch]

Harrisburg has left the yard. First revenue trip to NYP today via the Meteor.

This has been confirmed? Which is it replacing?

What in your mind would constitute a confirmation beyond information conveyed by a guy who has access to actual consist information at Amtrak?

It was less me actually doubting his info, and more of a "Wow, the diners are really being pumped out" kind of rhetorical question. It's hard to convey tone through a computer

 

[PRR 60]

Several posts that strayed way off topic have been removed.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

So does anyone happen to know what diner Harrisburg replaced?

I'm sure it's running on either the Meteor or the Crescent right now, with one VLII taking a "rest"/serving protect mode.

If I've been reading things correctly, those are the only two routes that had the Horizon diners. I seriously doubt any VLIIs will be put on the other routes until they have enough for all consists of a given route.

 

[Thirdrail7]

So does anyone happen to know what diner Harrisburg replaced?

It swapped out with Hartford.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Harrisburg has left the yard. First revenue trip to NYP today via the Meteor.

... "Wow, the diners are really being pumped out"

Well, if you put it that way Yeah, Wow. That's good news from AmtrakLKL about the Harrisburg.

After interminable delays that drove us all plumb crazy, recently we've had a fairly steady dribble of diners out of CAF. Enuff to amount to something at long last and to do some good.

Seems we can expect that in just a few more months CAF will finish the last Viewliner diners. Then we can start to ask of the bag-dorms, "Are we there yet?" LOL.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Seems we can expect that in just a few more months CAF will finish the last Viewliner diners. Then we can start to ask of the bag-dorms, "Are we there yet?" LOL.

I wouldn't expect that at all. Even if they consistently kick out two a month, we're still talking about it being July 2018 until they are all delivered. I'd hardly call that a "few" months.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Yep, you youngster AUers will be Old by the time this order is completed.( I hope to see it in my Lifetime and I'm 73!!!)

 

[A Voice]

Harrisburg has left the yard. First revenue trip to NYP today via the Meteor.

... "Wow, the diners are really being pumped out"

Well, if you put it that way Yeah, Wow. That's good news from AmtrakLKL about the Harrisburg.
After interminable delays that drove us all plumb crazy, recently we've had a fairly steady dribble of diners out of CAF. Enuff to amount to something at long last and to do some good.

Seems we can expect that in just a few more months CAF will finish the last Viewliner diners. Then we can start to ask of the bag-dorms, "Are we there yet?" LOL.

Seems we can expect that in just a few more months CAF will finish the last Viewliner diners. Then we can start to ask of the bag-dorms, "Are we there yet?" LOL.

I wouldn't expect that at all. Even if they consistently kick out two a month, we're still talking about it being July 2018 until they are all delivered. I'd hardly call that a "few" months.

Ultimately more important, though, is just why the diners continue to come so slowly. The entire contract is already behind schedule, but there are now a number of completely serviceable cars delivered. CAF has demonstrated ability to deliver complete cars so, again, what exactly remains the hang up and - critically - just who or what is at fault? Is the problem one of lack of skilled workers or production facilities at CAF (certainly, they've had time to expand both, but such would cost money for a contract of finite size), or slow delivery of components by a subcontractor? Or is Amtrak at fault, unwilling to bear higher costs in return for faster completion?

 

[west point]

Could it be lack of passenger car trucks ? Every picture we have seen of cars at CAF have the cars on shop trucks. It would help if someone could give us a new picture(s). Maybe why returned cars to CAF have not been released if their trucks were cannibalized ? 3rd rail ? ? ?

 

[Thirdrail7]

The IG report mentioned one of CAFs key suppliers had major difficulties, which caused delays. Perhaps this is still the case. Additionally, focusing on a few cars and doing them correctly trumps working on multiple cars. The less defects they have when the emerge, the better.

 

[cpotisch]

Harrisburg has left the yard. First revenue trip to NYP today via the Meteor.

... "Wow, the diners are really being pumped out"

Well, if you put it that way Yeah, Wow. That's good news from AmtrakLKL about the Harrisburg.
After interminable delays that drove us all plumb crazy, recently we've had a fairly steady dribble of diners out of CAF. Enuff to amount to something at long last and to do some good.

Seems we can expect that in just a few more months CAF will finish the last Viewliner diners. Then we can start to ask of the bag-dorms, "Are we there yet?" LOL.

Seems we can expect that in just a few more months CAF will finish the last Viewliner diners. Then we can start to ask of the bag-dorms, "Are we there yet?" LOL.

I wouldn't expect that at all. Even if they consistently kick out two a month, we're still talking about it being July 2018 until they are all delivered. I'd hardly call that a "few" months.

Ultimately more important, though, is just why the diners continue to come so slowly. The entire contract is already behind schedule, but there are now a number of completely serviceable cars delivered. CAF has demonstrated ability to deliver complete cars so, again, what exactly remains the hang up and - critically - just who or what is at fault? Is the problem one of lack of skilled workers or production facilities at CAF (certainly, they've had time to expand both, but such would cost money for a contract of finite size), or slow delivery of components by a subcontractor? Or is Amtrak at fault, unwilling to bear higher costs in return for faster completion?

I am of the opinion that the current rate of production is pretty decent. Sure we're 2-3 years late, but I think that the 2 cars per month maintained for the past 3 months is pretty good. That said, I know close to nothing about normal train car production rates.

 

[west point]

""IF"" a major supplier is slow then maybe many cars are almost finished ? If so if the supplier can get its act togegher then sometime we might see a flood of cars being delivred ?

 

[cpotisch]

Is Charleston currently acting as a protect? Haven't seen it anywhere.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Is Charleston currently acting as a protect? Haven't seen it anywhere.

No it is not acting as a protect. Where are you looking? Realistically, there are 8 dining cars operating on a calendar. Are you in the position to see them all simultaneously? You'd have to spend quite a bit of time between ALX and NYP to do so.

 

[cpotisch]

I spent a few days railfanning in NJ. Didn’t see it at all.

 

[CCC1007]

I spent a few days railfanning in NJ. Didn’t see it at all.

Did you see every meteor and crescent run for three days passing there?

 

[cpotisch]

I spent a few days railfanning in NJ. Didn’t see it at all.

Did you see every meteor and crescent run for three days passing there?

I think I saw 7 diners, with a bunch of which I saw twice. Since I hadn't heard about, seen, or found any vids of Charleston, I was just wondering if it was a protect.

 

[Thirdrail7]