posted
I don't usually post on such trips, but there are some good & bad things to report. Sleeper passengers were boarded from Metropolitan lounge at 8 PM in anticipation of the 9:30 departure. Those of us in "Boston" sleeper found ourselves 7 cars away from the diner, and fortunately I took advantage of the red cap service since the 448 sleeper was so far from the station that I began to suspect it was parked somewhere near Gary, Indiana! Business must be booming on the LSL since the consist (and I don't have car names or numbers) was 448 Viewliner sleeper, 3 coaches, snack bar/cafe car, 3 more coaches, diner, New York sleeper. Quite a hike when the train is stopped, and a definite challenger when rocketing along. Experiences in the diner were mixed. Diner was a refurbished something, better than I remembered with padded seats & a little more room between table & seat for the Queen-sized. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but the Australian Chardonnay was pleasant enough. The accompanying snack plate contained samples of 3 kinds of cheese, grapes, an enormous strawberry, and water crackers. So far so good. The next morning I staggered through the 7 cars and enjoyed a hearty breakfast of omelet with veggies & cheese, grits, OJ, and a croissant The omelets appeared made to order, and although I was tempted by the special (corned beef hash and scrambled eggs), I was pleased with my choice. The wheels came off at lunch. Lunch reservations were taken, and I joined the first group at 12:00 since I was supposed to detain at SDY. I ordered the Ceasar salad with optional grilled chicken breast. What arrived was a Chef's salad topped with something that was not chicken. A poke of fork and a tiny taste confirmed that it was salmon and very greasily fried. Normally I like fish, but that was too greasy for me. I told the waiter that this was not what I ordered and requested a different meal. He was apologetic about not being told that a different salad was being served, but was a little miffed that I requested a replacement. Instead I chose the Veggie burger, which would have been fine, except he brought me the regular hamburger. Back again to the kitchen. When I finally got the meal I ordered, it was satisfactory. I did hear him telling new arrivals about the change in the salad. The sleeping car attendant Anthony was polite & efficient, but often MIA, and call button did not seem to work. Fortunately I had him make up the bed while I was at the wine & cheese party, but in the morning, he was nowhere to be found until about 10 am. Hr did appear to help with bags at SDY
It appears I may be heading back on 49(28). I'm not looking forward to 15 hours in coach, but I do have AGR-purchased passes to the Metropolitan lounge in Chicago if I miss my Hiawatha connection to Milwaukee.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
Judy -
Could you tell whether the diner was a 'regular' heritage fleet diner or was it the one prototype 'Viewliner' diner? I understand that this one of a kind car, first rolled out nearly 20 years ago, had been refurbished just last year and was in use now on the Lake Shore Limited route. (Of course, since there is only one Viewliner Diner and 3 LSL consists, your odds of getting that car are only 1 in 3)
You could identify it as the Viewliner diner if it had the row of upper windows like the sleepers do.
palmland Member # 4344
posted
Since Amtrak has engine servicing facilities in Albany, I'm surprised they can't do a better job of putting these two trains together and keep the sleepers together.
I guess it's the road crew that sets one train on top of the other and this would be the best you could do if that's the case. Otherwise it would mean 3 cars of coach passengers would walk through the sleeper to get to the diner/lounge if the sleepers were back to back
But, surely Amtrak has personnel to handle the trains that terminate in Albany as well as move engines within the service facilities. Could not some groundbreaking agreement be made to have them handle the switching so the sleepers and coaches were properly positioned?
Glad the trip was OK, Judy, but Amtrak does have a hard time with the details. Pre-Amtrak there was a dining car steward to make sure it was run properly. Not likely now since Amtrak has to cut corners to keep it viable. I'm glad you made them get it right. Likely your diner was one of a group that had an unfortunate refurbishment with a mexican contractor - lots of plastic, but at least it's still going. Maybe on the return you'll get the new diner David mentions.
Judy McFarland Member # 4435
posted
I didn't think to look to see if there upper windows in the diner. I'll look on the way back as I will probably have breakfast in the diner. If it helps, there was a service counter of sorts with a galley kitchen behind at one end of the car and a ceiling panel with lots of little lights.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
The galley kitchen/service counter arrangement suggests that this was one of the Heritage Diners and not the Viewliner.
That counter was put in maybe 8-10 years ago in a stillborn 'cross-country-cafe' kind of plan.... the idea being that passengers traveling alone could get a quick hot meal lunch counter style. So far as I know, the counter was never used in this way...... kind of like the lounge end of the CCC cars have never really been utilized as intended.
There is precendent, however, for lunch counter meal service. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad (and perhaps the Kansas City Southern as well?) were able to trim dining service expenses using lunch counter set-ups in the 1960's.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
posted
Mr. Palmland, we both know that roads previously added and cut cars routinely in and out of consists. Your L&N certainly had quite a display of choreography at Nashville twice a night.
But such escapes Amtrak. There have been enough anecdotes reported here that even the simple "pull the pin" on 448's consist, highball, back down #48's power, couple up, and highball, represents a challenge to Amtrak that to the L&N at Nashville was simply routine. Drilling the 448 Sleeper from the rear that was placed there for no reason other than "passenger convenience"? Uh, "too much".
We both know that handling 448's cars on the head is definitely the most efficient way to meet an operational situation that was eliminated during the Gunn administration - only to have (I'm certain) some heavyweight doing a little leanin' to have the through cars restored.
palmland Member # 4344
posted
Yes, GBN, the spectacle at Nashville was a text book lesson in how to do switching of a passenger train. As late as the mid 60's three inbound trains (from Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati) had their 9 Pullmans switched to two outbound trains (New Orleans and Atlanta). In 45 minutes two switch engines, one on each end, did that amazing shuffle that included various head end cars, diners, lounges etc. Of course the departing trains were in proper consist order: baggage/mail, coaches, diner/lounge, sleepers.
But that was then, and this is now. I know I shouldn't be so frustrated with Amtrak, but knowing how good passenger rail can be, it's hard to accept what we have now. But then in the 70's you will recall the dire predictions that all passenger trains, and certainly all sleepers, would shortly disappear.
notelvis Member # 3071
posted
I'm a little too young to recall the heyday of trains 'changing cars' enroute but I can think of three instances where I had the opportunity to witness such -
Those were -
1) Late 60's - Louisville Union Station - L&N's Pan American being combined with the South Wind for a southbound departure. I was 6 and a favorite aunt had taken her nephew down to Union Station so he could look at trains. It wasn't until 10 - 15 years later when I had gotten into collecting passenger timetables from the 1960's and tracking the decline of the private sector passenger train that I understood what was happening that afternoon.
2) Late Mid-70's (like 1976 or 77) I was riding coach on the Southern Crescent from Washington, DC to Spartanburg, SC. There was a special charter as far as Greensboro, NC and the train departed Washington in two sections. I was on the 10-car 1st section which was a baggage car, a lounge, 7 coaches, and a diner. The 2nd section was a diner, a lounge, and 8 sleepers.
In Greensboro they set out from 2nd #1 4 sleepers and a diner and spotted them on another track then added the remaining pullmans and lounge to our 1st section so that we departed Greensboro as a single 15-car train.
All this action was accentuated by the northbound Southern Crescent arriving in Greensboro immediately after 1st #1 but before 2nd #1. I watched it all from the vestibule of the last coach.
3)Late 1980's - Salt Lake City. I was a Denver-Seattle passenger on the Pioneer and was able to witness from the platform the breaking of one California Zephyr into three trains.
Judy McFarland Member # 4435
posted
No little windows near the ceiling in the diner on 49(29)
posted