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Amtrak previews second-generation Viewliners with retro paint scheme
Bob was in town and I didn’t know LOL. Wonder how he liked the area?
Amen to Mr. Vinson’s comment about tourist railroads. How does one “seek out” retired Amtrak rolling stock? Do they use a broker of some kind? Hold a public auction? Will these cars still be Amtrak certified to run on the system?
‘Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman says. “Amtrak is a major driver in the rebirth of an American rail manufacturing and supplier base that is strengthening our national economic health.”’
What Amtrak is having built amounts to a rounding off accounting error on Union Pacific’s budget for equipment purchases last year, because computers can’t calculate numbers out to infinity. Or to put it another way, NS probably scraps more equipment due to old age in one day than Amtrak will send out to pasture when it retires everything built before 1971. Anybody counting on Amtrak to revive the Obombeconomy is in for a long wait.
How about Viewliner coaches to replace aging Amfleet equipment?
I would like to see coaches and lounges as well. I like the 2nd row of windows in the diner, but any new lounges should have wrap around glass like the Superliners.
The sight of these new passenger cars will be exciting to see and ride. Railway museums and tourist lines best prepare to seek out heritage dining cars as they are retired.
Gosey has a point!! Amtrak does have so very, very little money, Gosey admits it. So lets send more money to spend well for Amtrak. Minnesota is working as we speak on adding another train from the Twin Cities to Chicago. The Hiawathas started with only a few cars, now they have 6 more cars are needed. So many other train sets could use more cars. Need proof? Try to book a ticket just before the departure date, they are sold out, especially the sleepers. How unfair, Ohare airport just opened another runway this past week, to the tune of billions of dollars- WHAT A WASTE OF MY TAXPAYER MONEY.
Great news of course, BUT I was looking forward to seeing sleek, modern, MATCHED train-sets of low-level equipment. With this retro paint scheme, once again the trains are going to look like a hodgepodge of different looking cars. Why this inconsistency Amtrak?
Actually the "pointless arrow’ doesn’t even work in this case because the original idea was to make a graphic link between slightly different looking cars to create a visually homogenous train.
Please pick a scheme and stick with it. I vote for Phase IV as the best looking scheme especially on Genesis locomotives, but whatever you decide, make it all match!
I’m loving the return to Phase III! Looks fantastic! Hopefully all long distance equipment will eventually look like this.
Man, if only Amtrak ordered a few new locomotives, I am glad these are made in America by Americans! Hope to see these along new routes to connect even more of America!
I agree with RICHARD ANDRE, but my favored scheme is Phase III: even red, white and blue stripes, representing our great country!!! The “retro” paint stripe on the new Viewliners looks sharp!! Wow!!! The only thing missing is Gooses idiotic head next the pointless arrow.
Will the baggage cars have gun safes and pet kennels? Methinks there be a lot of money in transporting ‘Fido’ and ‘Fluffy’. We need more checked baggage stations, too.
Why would want to deface these cars, Vasyl?
The new equipment interiors reflect a rediscovery of the elegance of rail travel in the fixtures and wood tones used, compared to the shrinking seating sizes and aggravations of airline travel. A design job well done…a sense of panache that was always a strong point of early stream-liners… Now if NS and CSX can get away from their monochrome schemes…pasted onto their equipment…I was surprised at the great scheme that was on the original NS as put on the heritage fleet…a real eye catcher…more of that is needed as a form of advertisement…
The new equipment interiors reflect a rediscovery of the elegance of rail travel in the fixtures and wood tones used, compared to the shrinking seating sizes and aggravations of airline travel. A design job well done…a sense of panache that was always a strong point of early stream-liners… Now if NS and CSX can get away from their monochrome schemes…pasted onto their equipment…I was surprised at the great scheme that was on the original NS as put on the heritage fleet…a real eye catcher…more of that is needed as a form of advertisement…
The critics of these new cars don’t think twice when walking through a lavish new air terminal or driving on a new unneeded roadway.
These are breathtaking. Great job Amtrak. The only disappointment is lack of a matched trainset!
So spending wildly inflated amounts of money (due to protectionist “Buy American” laws that prevent CAF from building these cars cheaper in Spain) taken OUT of the economy on train cars that less than 1% of the population uses in a year will revive the economy? Ok, Amtrak.
With this new car order, I hope that they consider the Cardinal to operate daily…it would be nice for me, since I don’t have a car or driver’s license to come back to WV or Cincinnati to visit family,etc