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Amtrak begins field testing new Viewliner II cars
If we could only get an all Viewliner consist. That would be not only attractive but contribute to the bottom line.
An aside: My Dad was once on business in Hammond, Louisiana via a rental car. His first day in town he turned as he heard a speeding train. The engineer, with googles and head out the window, was speeding into town blowing for the many crossings on the head of the orange and brown Panama Limited.
The sight so impressed him that when he concluded his business he turned in his rental car, bought a ticket on that “great looking train” to Memphis and caught the bus back to Middle Tennessee.
The point here is that the spectacle of the Panama Limited brought him on board. The miss matched Amtrak equipment of today can’t do that…yet.
Now they need to order some new Viewliner sightseer lounge cars similar to the upper level of the Superliner lounge cars, especially for very scenic routes such as the Cardinal.
A coach version of the viewliner would look good on the outside, but the windows would be partially blocked by the luggage racks whe. In use. What could be done is create luggage racks at each end of the car in lieu of say a total of four seats. Just a thought.
Superliner roomettes have NEVER had toilets, and passengers seem to have survived pretty well over the years that they have been in service, as the pax in the new sleepers’ roomettes likely will.
What a short-sighted, stupid thing to build new passenger cars and take out the toilets in the roomettes! Sure, they were a tiny bit cheaper to build, but the passengers will be inconvenienced and complaining for the next 40 years. DUMB!
Here is my experience regarding toilets in Viewliner roomettes: If travelling without a companion, the in-room toilet is handy. When with one, (more often than not for me) I don’t want to subject them to my morning constitutional activity. The choice then is to go to a coach restroom used by a hundred passengers. Or, send them off to the Amdinette that masquerades as a lounge car. My vote is for the new standard of two toilets available in the car for general use by a small number of passengers. Superliners have always been without in-roomette toilets and the call of nature is easily dealt with just mere steps down the corridor.
I certainly wouldn’t want to stink up my roomette. Hell, I’ll go the few steps to do my doody!
Western long distance trains need new equipment as well. Some of the Superliners are more than 40 years old now.
When my wife and I used roomettes on our trips to NYC and back, we avoided using the in-room toilet. In practice it just stinks the place up and it doesn’t matter how in love you are, you don’t want to watch your partner on the toilet, and she doesn’t want to watch you on one either!
The major issue was that the nearest toilet that we could use was three cars away. I gather the new Viewliners have a communal toilet, so that takes care of that problem.
Unless they can find a way to isolate the toilet in some kind of en-suite private room, I don’t want one in my roomette. I’d like the en-suite, but, well, I’d also like to be able to afford my ticket 
Maybe this new equipment will enable Amtrak to put sleeping cars back on the overnight Boston - Washington train. If so, I would certainly use it.
They need brand new equipment on the Empire Builder, and that Phase III scheme they are bringing back wouldn’t be a bad touch either.
I recently had the opportunity to view the “module” prototype of the new viewliner roomette. It was on the Amtrak P R train at the recent Streamliner event in N C.
I believe the negatives of a toilet in every viewliner room far outway the positives.
- The use of the is always “inconvenient” with two passenger room occupation.
- In frequent travels on superliner cars, availability of restroom use has rarely been a problem.
- The maintenance of these individual toilets has to be a NIGHTMARE for Amtrak shop people.
- The added storage in the room prototype, in place of the toilet, is a real plus.
I would hope that Amtrak has plans to cycle the existing Viewliners their shops and remove the toilets.
I recently had the opportunity to view the “module” prototype of the new viewliner roomette. It was on the Amtrak P R train at the recent Streamliner event in N C.
I believe the negatives of a toilet in every viewliner room far outway the positives.
- The use of the is always “inconvenient” with two passenger room occupation.
- In frequent travels on superliner cars, availability of restroom use has rarely been a problem.
- The maintenance of these individual toilets has to be a NIGHTMARE for Amtrak shop people.
- The added storage in the room prototype, in place of the toilet, is a real plus.
I would hope that Amtrak has plans to cycle the existing Viewliners their shops and remove the toilets.
At this point in time, I’d just be happy if there
could just be some way to get Amtrak the money to exercise that 70-car option it has. If I were a betting person though, I’d bet the farm against that ever happening.
One of the advantages of a roomette, prior to the appearance of
the Viewliner cars, was having a toilet under the fold-out sink.
Unfortunately and deposits in the toilet were flushed onto the
tracks. Have never traveled on the Viewliner sleeper cars but
one would think that any odor problems could be solved by a
rocket scientist. BTW, traveled on THE Canadian this past
March in a roomette and no problem with my toilet which did
go into a holding tank on the car. Maybe Amtrak folks should
have a chat with the VIA folks on waste disposal. And the shower in my car really worked !
One of the advantages of a roomette, prior to the appearance of
the Viewliner cars, was having a toilet under the fold-out sink.
Unfortunately and deposits in the toilet were flushed onto the
tracks. Have never traveled on the Viewliner sleeper cars but
one would think that any odor problems could be solved by a
rocket scientist. BTW, traveled on THE Canadian this past
March in a roomette and no problem with my toilet which did
go into a holding tank on the car. Maybe Amtrak folks should
have a chat with the VIA folks on waste disposal. And the shower in my car really worked !
One of the advantages of a roomette, prior to the appearance of
the Viewliner cars, was having a toilet under the fold-out sink.
Unfortunately and deposits in the toilet were flushed onto the
tracks. Have never traveled on the Viewliner sleeper cars but
one would think that any odor problems could be solved by a
rocket scientist. BTW, traveled on THE Canadian this past
March in a roomette and no problem with my toilet which did
go into a holding tank on the car. Maybe Amtrak folks should
have a chat with the VIA folks on waste disposal. And the shower in my car really worked !
Why do some people aka Michael Wellborn & William Grant have to repeat their comments so many times? Once is enough. As for the convenience of toilets ensuite vs. communal toilets as on Superliner cars, I have used both. When one is on a Superliner, they have to go downstairs to the restrooms which can be irritating when doing so in the middle of the night. I prefer the ensuite toilet arrangement when given a choice.
I think someone doesn’t know how to refresh their browser.