Viewliner II Part 4: Sleeping Car production, delivery, deployment

[OBS]

So they removed the shower from the H room? Interesting.

I didn't realize it had a shower...

 

[cocojacoby]

I didn't realize it had a shower...

There was a separate toilet/shower combo "room" like in the bedrooms. It seemed like a good solution and Amtrak could also sell these H rooms to anyone else if they were available. With this new design the toilet is exposed in the middle of the room and now the room is not as sellable as it was previously. So on trains like the Meteor, which often has three sleepers, Amtrak may possibly lose that revenue.

 

[TEREB]

I posted in dining about how bad lunch was.
I asked for ice tea with lemon. I was expecting their homemade ice tea. Instead I got this

 

[TEREB]

On the Silver service I am usually greeted with "Help me pronounce your name correctly". I always appreciate the personal attention. Of late the SCAs have all been remarkably good. Many of them new that I had never seen before.

I noticed in my V-II Roomette that I had to push the door towards the frame to be able to unlock even without any curtain stuck.

I was greeted by my first name. My last name is not hard to pronounce.

 

[TEREB]

After a little more than 7 hrs on the train, I’m finding the seats very uncomfortable. The seat doesn’t feel as deep as in the older car.
A lot of pluses to the new car. But comfort is not one of them. The backs of my lower thigh is hurting.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The train braked fast and the door slammed shut, locked, with the curtain caught between the door and the frame.. I had to pull the curtain to be able the unlock and open the door. Door wouldn’t unlock with the curtain stuck, got real nervous.

A Design Flaw that Amtrak needs to fix, this is common on all new Equipment.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

After a little more than 7 hrs on the train, I’m finding the seats very uncomfortable. The seat doesn’t feel as deep as in the older car.
A lot of pluses to the new car. But comfort is not one of them. The backs of my lower thigh is hurting.

Maybe they just need to be broken in.

 

[TEREB]

Maybe they just need to be broken in.

Seats are not deep enough

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'm part of the AUers that liked the Toliets in the Viewliners,so wouldn't mind continuing to ride in them after they are rehabbed since they're getting shabby!

As for the "Bugs" in the New V-2s, it'll take awhile for all of them to become known.

Whether or not Amtrak will "Fix" them is "Blowin' in the Wind!"

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Could someone clarify something: Do the new Viewliner Roomettes have a sink? I know they don't have toilets. An Amtrak reservations rep told me there are no sinks. I thought I had seen a video of a new Viewliner with a sink.

 

[pennyk]

Could someone clarify something: Do the new Viewliner Roomettes have a sink? I know they don't have toilets. An Amtrak reservations rep told me there are no sinks. I thought I had seen a video of a new Viewliner with a sink.

there are sinks in the Viewliner roomettes but not superliner roomettes. Many of the reservation reps have never traveled in a Viewliner sleeper (let alone a new one).

 

[Ferroequinologist]

there are sinks in the Viewliner roomettes but not superliner roomettes. Many of the reservation reps have never traveled in a Viewliner sleeper (let alone a new one).

Yes there are sinks and toilets in the original Viewliner but they've eliminated toilets in the new Viewliner -- My question is whether the sinks have also been eliminated. I don't believe so but Amtrak reservations people say they have neither toilet nor sink ! Is that correct?

 

[zephyr17]

Yes there are sinks and toilets in the original Viewliner but they've eliminated toilets in the new Viewliner -- My question is whether the sinks have also been eliminated. I don't believe so but Amtrak reservations people say they have neither toilet nor sink ! Is that correct?

Viewliner II roomettes have sinks.

Amtrak reservations agents are pretty well known for their lack of knowledge of conditions in the field, especially for long distance trains.

They reliably quote you a price and book a ticket. That is the extent of their reliability.

 

[IndyLions]

My question is whether the sinks have also been eliminated. I don't believe so but Amtrak reservations people say they have neither toilet nor sink ! Is that correct?

…and the new VLII sinks (especially the faucets) are much improved over the VLI, IMHO!

 

[Ferroequinologist]

I posted in dining about how bad lunch was.View attachment 22833
I asked for ice tea with lemon. I was expecting their homemade ice tea. Instead I got this
View attachment 22832

 

[cocojacoby]

…and the new VLII sinks (especially the faucets) are much improved over the VLI, IMHO!

View attachment 22970

I hated those old faucets and the way they splashed everywhere. These, and the lower water pressure, are a big improvement I have been told.

 

[JontyMort]

Is there any acceleration in the glacial roll-out of the V-IIs? I was hoping for one on the LSL in early October but am not holding my breath.

 

[jis]

Is there any acceleration in the glacial roll-out of the V-IIs? I was hoping for one on the LSL in early October but am not holding my breath.

If they simply localize the use of those to the Silvers they are pretty much upto their 80% active deployment number.

 

[JontyMort]

If they simply localize the use of those to the Silvers they are pretty much upto their 80% active deployment number.

I’ll put that down as “no”, then.

 

[Cal]

How many VII sleepers were ordered? Will there be enough to put them on all Eastern LD trains?

 

[PVD]

How many VII sleepers were ordered? Will there be enough to put them on all Eastern LD trains?

25 sleepers, in theory, one car could go into each set of single level overnight trains. Most people would argue that is not the likely (or most sensible) path forward.

 

[cocojacoby]

I know they have an option for 70 more cars. Would they have a choice of what kind of car that would be?

 

[PVD]

The original order was placed almost 11 years ago and we still don't have all of the cars. I would be pretty certain that the option cutoff date has long since passed, and even if it didn't it would be pretty hard to envision any scenario where Amtrak bought more cars from CAF or with an obsolete design.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Amtrak should never allow CAF to build any kind of car for them in the future. CAF truly botched this job in a big way. Is the sleeper order even complete at this late date? CAF must have one person working on the entire project at this date.

 

[cocojacoby]

Amtrak should never allow CAF to build any kind of car for them in the future. CAF truly botched this job in a big way. Is the sleeper order even complete at this late date? CAF must have one person working on the entire project at this date.

The devil you know . . .

CAF certainly has the experience building the Viewliners now and starting fresh with a new builder is probably riskier since it would involve an all new learning curve that Amtrak wouldn't want to deal with again. At least CAF stuck around all these years. They could have just gave up and walked away like Nippon Shayrio.

If the option is still available Amtrak should seriously consider using it in some way . . . more sleepers, dorms, or maybe even new Viewliner coaches.