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

[cocojacoby]

[/QUOTE] I do feel that the Viewliner is a good looking car and it does look good in Phase III.

 

[cpotisch]

[ Not used to this new setup yet. Don't see how to delete.

Click edit, then "More Options", and then just hit the delete button to the right of the image.

 

[KnightRail]

Madison & Richmond are up to some shenanigans in Chicago. Pacific Bend is headed that way too.

 

[me_little_me]

Madison & Richmond are up to some shenanigans in Chicago. Pacific Bend is headed that way too.

Probably to modify them into Sleeper-Lounges which will eliminate the beds and bathrooms to "make them more contemporary" by adding cots and porta-potties.

 

[PerRock]

Looking 3 tracks over from my Wolverine I can see that #68001 is deadheading on the Cardinal tonight.

Peter

 

[me_little_me]

14JUN2019
Diners in consists:

Crescent:
19(13) 68018
19(14) 68019

20(13) 68020
20(14) 68024


Silver Meteor:
97(13) 68013
97(14) 68012

98(13) 68007
98(14) 68017

Lake Shore Limited:

48(13) 68015
48(14) 68003

49(14) 68001

Can you clarify that? Of 25 sleepers, only 11 in active use?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Can you clarify that? Of 25 sleepers, only 11 in active use?

Those are diners, not sleepers.

12 in use
6 as B/O (bad ordered)
2 went to Chicago (perhaps for training the Cardinal crew??)
1 is scheduled
1 is protect
3 are Warranty (whatever that means)

 

[bretton88]

Those are diners, not sleepers.

12 in use
6 as B/O (bad ordered)
2 went to Chicago (perhaps for training the Cardinal crew??)
1 is scheduled
1 is protect
3 are Warranty (whatever that means)

Warranty usually means manufacturer is on the hook for repair. So Amtrak must have found a defect pretty quick in those units.

 

[JustOnce]

Those are diners, not sleepers.

12 in use
6 as B/O (bad ordered)
2 went to Chicago (perhaps for training the Cardinal crew??)
1 is scheduled
1 is protect
3 are Warranty (whatever that means)

Is that a normal bad order rate? To my layman's eyes that appears high, but I realize that these thing see many more miles than a automobile does. I imagine certain things are considered wear items, just as on my Ford, I have a bumper to bumper warranty, but certain things are wear items and excluded (wiper blades, tires, brakes, ball joints, tie rod ends, swaybar link ends, filters, etc.) I don't know what these would be on a railcar. A guess: HVAC filters, brakes and brake shoes, air hoses, door seals, truck springs? Brake valves as well?

 

[KnightRail]

Is that a normal bad order rate? To my layman's eyes that appears high, but I realize that these thing see many more miles than a automobile does. I imagine certain things are considered wear items, just as on my Ford, I have a bumper to bumper warranty, but certain things are wear items and excluded (wiper blades, tires, brakes, ball joints, tie rod ends, swaybar link ends, filters, etc.) I don't know what these would be on a railcar. A guess: HVAC filters, brakes and brake shoes, air hoses, door seals, truck springs? Brake valves as well?

Keep in mind that these are food service cars and there are a lot more items that can have issues than a baggage car or coach. Something such as a coffee maker can shop a car.

 

[JP1822]

No, it's not a normal bad order rate. Amtrak can't figure out what to do with these cars.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Didn't they do a punch list/walkthrough kind of acceptance test when they took delivery? It does sound like a high rate of problems.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Didn't they do a punch list/walkthrough kind of acceptance test when they took delivery? It does sound like a high rate of problems.

With a microscope, ultrasound, dyes, X-Rays, and 3D scans probably...


However if your flooded with a bunch of extra cars, your focus is getting the cars that you don’t have a spares back on the road. Why use your limited mechanical forces to fix a dinner at night, when you have so many dinner cars sitting around ready to roll?

 

[chrsjrcj]

Harrisburgh is deadheading on 98-06 today.

 

[Ryan]

Didn't they do a punch list/walkthrough kind of acceptance test when they took delivery? It does sound like a high rate of problems.

Sometimes it’s cheaper and easier to accept delivery of a flawed product, and conduct the repairs yourself. Doubly so if you have a contractual provision that allows you to retain the value of correcting the defects from the final payment.

Edit: another place it makes sense is if you have any changes or updates to the original design. Rather than pay the OEM to make the changes, it can be much cheaper and easier to just DIY the change in postdelivery.

 

[KnightRail]

Boston, Hartford, and a Dorm are headed to Chicago for a Long Distance test train...

Also a RUMOR out there that the Meteor is going the way of the Lakeshore at the start of the new fiscal year...

 

[OBS]

Boston, Hartford, and a Dorm are headed to Chicago for a Long Distance test train...

Also a RUMOR out there that the Meteor is going the way of the Lakeshore at the start of the new fiscal year...

Might have heard it at same place, but I just read the same rumor about the Silver Meteor....

 

[BBoy]

Hoping they are not going to remove the dining car from 97/98.

 

[jis]

Hoping they are not going to remove the dining car from 97/98.

They won’t remove it. Rumor has it they might change the type of service provided in it.

 

[Seaboard92]

I hope they don’t do that either. The new meals on the Cap and LSL stink.

 

[jis]

I hope they don’t do that either. The new meals on the Cap and LSL stink.

I think it is quite inevitable at this point. Oddly even RPA has generally refused to stand up and mount an effective opposition to this move. They apparently have other bigger fish to fry, in a different Diner, in a manner of speaking.

 

[JustOnce]

Boston, Hartford, and a Dorm are headed to Chicago for a Long Distance test train...

Also a RUMOR out there that the Meteor is going the way of the Lakeshore at the start of the new fiscal year...

When are they moving them? My first thought was maybe I can catch them on a rail cam (North East PA on the LSL is on youtube right now). Second thought I swear someone said three V2s on the Capitol Limited the other day and I had a ??? moment thinking he had meant Superliner IIs.

 

[Brian Battuello]

Good question about the RPA and the meals. Why aren't they screaming about them? I'm taking my kid for a ride on the Empire Builder in a few weeks while we still can.

 

[bretton88]

I think it is quite inevitable at this point. Oddly even RPA has generally refused to stand up and mount an effective opposition to this move. They apparently have other bigger fish to fry, in a different Diner, in a manner of speaking.

I think the RPA is just being pragmatic about it and seems to have shifted their dining focus on how to improve the new product, and make it better for the customers. An Amtrak divorce from Aramark would be a nice start. I'd be interested to see if the SM was the first train to feature the new and improved diners with the heavy duty convection ovens. I suspect that would make a big difference vs the LSL and CL products now.

 

[jis]

They could do the same thing on the LSL since there is no difference between the Diner cars used on the LSL and the SM.