Viewliner II Part 3: Bag/Dorm Car Production, Delivery, Speculation

[blueman271]

I think we can guarantee that one is going on the LSL; it very rarely needs two full baggage cars, and sleeper space on the LSL is super expensive (though the thoughtless trashing of food service is probably reducing those profits).

Exactly. It has two baggage cars because there are two sections. It's not because they need the capacity of two baggage cars.

But the Empire Builder has only one baggage car for its two sections. So????

The Portland section runs with a coach-baggage car which has no equivalent in the single level fleet. Therefore, only one baggage car required for the EB.

 

[ehbowen]

The Portland section runs with a coach-baggage car which has no equivalent in the single level fleet. Therefore, only one baggage car required for the EB.

(Tee hee!)

 

[blueman271]

The Portland section runs with a coach-baggage car which has no equivalent in the single level fleet. Therefore, only one baggage car required for the EB.

(Tee hee!)

I stand corrected lol

 

[cpotisch]

I think we can guarantee that one is going on the LSL; it very rarely needs two full baggage cars, and sleeper space on the LSL is super expensive (though the thoughtless trashing of food service is probably reducing those profits).

Exactly. It has two baggage cars because there are two sections. It's not because they need the capacity of two baggage cars.

But the Empire Builder has only one baggage car for its two sections. So????

Checked bags are put in the coach-baggage car.

 

[PVD]

If one were to accept the not having to move at Albany scenario, which may or may not be realistic, you would need to look at which rooms freed up would provide the greatest yield pattern (added rooms to sell against revenue if buckets are influenced) The NY section has more crew members, would those rooms bring in more than the BOS rooms? I don't know what the numbers are in terms of percent filled and yield. Is it easy enough for BOS OBS to move, as opposed to NY since the dining car is serving at that time? It is not really worthwhile to have these cars if you can't get a good added yield.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Next week ? The usual Monday or Tuesday ? Since this is SATurday ? ? ?

Next week. The usual days.

Almost guaranteed to be within a few days, as I'm leaving town for the week in the morning. TR7 seems to know my travel schedule and schedules deliveries when I'm unavailable.

Believe me, Fleets One and Two will not want much to do with this move. Due to track work and the Empire outage, the moves are taking place in the middle of the night. Even the move to WAS will occur on the Night Owl. Fleets Three and Four will find the cars in the usual spots, but on a Saturday.

Amtrak cut the order from 25 to 10.

So only 10 Crew-Bagged Cars order. The 15 other were converted to straight bagged cars.

Such a odd number.

It is an indeed an odd number. The only thing I can surmise is:

Lake Shore Limited=3

Silver Star or Crescent=4

The Cardinal=2

Protect=1

I figure the Meteor already has three revenue sleepers so that train is out. The Crescent currently has more staff so it will yield more rooms. We don't know how long that will remain the case. However, they continue to close more stations along the routes, eliminating the need for bag dorms.

Maybe Just Thinking was on to something when he said axle count cars. Logically, it would free up 10 coaches. Maybe they swap bag dorms for full baggage cars and send the bags as axle count cars.

I DO like the idea of putting them on the 67&66. Why not? it is pure revenue.

 

[LookingGlassTie]

It would be cool if at least some of the roomettes in the bag-dorm cars were sold to passengers. Based on where I live, I'd be more likely to ride a single-level LD train as opposed to a Superliner LD train (where I might have the opportunity to ride in a transdorm).

But it all remains to be seen, though.

 

[cpotisch]

It would be cool if at least some of the roomettes in the bag-dorm cars were sold to passengers. Based on where I live, I'd be more likely to ride a single-level LD train as opposed to a Superliner LD train (where I might have the opportunity to ride in a transdorm).

But it all remains to be seen, though.

It would be cool but on any full LD train, I don't think that it would be logical. You can only fit eight crew members in the bag-dorm, so it's unlikely that you would have any appreciable capacity for passengers as well. On trains like the Boston section of the LSL, the overnight Regionals, and the Cardinal, which don't have much crew and are often in need of more sleeper space, putting passengers in a bag-dorm might make a lot of sense. I guess we'll find out soon.

 

[PRR 60]

Will the bag/dorm have a toilet room?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Will the bad/dorm have a toilet room?

If it’s bad, then it’s probably in a corner.

 

[railiner]

Will the bag/dorm have a toilet room?

I would sure think so...plus a shower.

But not ever seeing a Viewliner version, I have to wonder if the dorm rooms would be finished the same way as a revenue room...hard to be more 'spartan', but they could be...plus the crew rooms would probably ony have a single bunk, unless they were built with the same modules as the revenue sleepers...not sure...

 

[Seaboard92]

They have the same modules.

 

[Maglev]

Speaking of modules, what is the status of the modules? Are they made slowly to order, or are have they already been mass-produced?

 

[railiner]

They have the same modules.

So in that case, no reason why some couldn't be sold as revenue space, just as they are in the Superliner trans-dorms....

In either example, they are a far cry from the heritage bag-dorms or in some cases, kitchen-dorms, where they had up to 15 bunks, stacked three high!

 

[cpotisch]

They have the same modules.

So in that case, no reason why some couldn't be sold as revenue space, just as they are in the Superliner trans-dorms....

Trans-dorms have way more roomettes than the bag-dorms, so they have plenty of space to sell to passengers. The bag-dorm has eight roomettes, and once you put crew in there, it just might not be worth it to sell revenue space. Let's say there are seven crew members on a given LD train. Would it really be worth it to sell one room in the bag-dorm? With such limited capacity, it just often wouldn't be practical to bother putting revenue passengers in there.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

They have the same modules.

So in that case, no reason why some couldn't be sold as revenue space, just as they are in the Superliner trans-dorms....

Trans-dorms have way more roomettes than the bag-dorms, so they have plenty of space to sell to passengers. The bag-dorm has eight roomettes, and once you put crew in there, it just might not be worth it to sell revenue space. Let's say there are seven crew members on a given LD train. Would it really be worth it to sell one room in the bag-dorm? With such limited capacity, it just often wouldn't be practical to bother putting revenue passengers in there.

I think it would be worth REVENUE.

 

[PVD]

The RailPlan (company that builds the modules) website shows quite a few of them on the warehouse floor packed for shipment and that is an old picture.They are the largest supplier to CAF for this project. I don't know present stauts, but obviously, if they were built, they would want to get paid. I have not looked at their financials, a major deferral of delivery would have to have been noted. I believe it is a privately held company, so it is not as easy to see numbers as with a publicly traded company.

 

[railiner]

The RailPlan (company that builds the modules) website shows quite a few of them on the warehouse floor packed for shipment and that is an old picture.They are the largest supplier to CAF for this project. I don't know present stauts, but obviously, if they were built, they would want to get paid. I have not looked at their financials, a major deferral of delivery would have to have been noted. I believe it is a privately held company, so it is not as easy to see numbers as with a publicly traded company.

Thanks for posting that...I had no knowledge of this company until I read your post....

http://www.railplan.com/caf---amtrak-viewliner-ii.html

https://www.caf.net/en/productos-servicios/proyectos/proyecto-detalle.php?p=189

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

The RailPlan (company that builds the modules) website shows quite a few of them on the warehouse floor packed for shipment and that is an old picture.They are the largest supplier to CAF for this project. I don't know present stauts, but obviously, if they were built, they would want to get paid. I have not looked at their financials, a major deferral of delivery would have to have been noted. I believe it is a privately held company, so it is not as easy to see numbers as with a publicly traded company.

Thanks for posting that...I had no knowledge of this company until I read your post....
http://www.railplan.com/caf---amtrak-viewliner-ii.html

https://www.caf.net/en/productos-servicios/proyectos/proyecto-detalle.php?p=189

I see the new, toilet-less, roomettes will still have the storage cubby over the hallway ceiling.

 

[cpotisch]

The RailPlan (company that builds the modules) website shows quite a few of them on the warehouse floor packed for shipment and that is an old picture.They are the largest supplier to CAF for this project. I don't know present stauts, but obviously, if they were built, they would want to get paid. I have not looked at their financials, a major deferral of delivery would have to have been noted. I believe it is a privately held company, so it is not as easy to see numbers as with a publicly traded company.

Thanks for posting that...I had no knowledge of this company until I read your post....
http://www.railplan.com/caf---amtrak-viewliner-ii.html

https://www.caf.net/en/productos-servicios/proyectos/proyecto-detalle.php?p=189

I see the new, toilet-less, roomettes will still have the storage cubby over the hallway ceiling.

Dear god. Thanks for that image!

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

I love the storage cubby over the hallway ceiling!

However, the pictures of the modules do look a bit depressing--just like large storage boxes til they get fitted into the train. (A box in which to enjoy your picnic in a box....

)

 

[cpotisch]

I love the storage cubby over the hallway ceiling!

I think you might have missed the joke...

 

[cpotisch]

Thirdrail, can you give us a cryptic ETA of the new cars?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Thirdrail, can you give us a cryptic ETA of the new cars?

Hmm, he already did let us know when the 1st one is headed south. See diner thread.

 

[PRR 60]

Thirdrail, can you give us a cryptic ETA of the new cars?

Hmm, he already did let us know when the 1st one is headed south. See diner thread.

He might mean eta of the first bag/dorms (aka, bad/dorms

). My guess is a long-running ABC news show.