Nol to nyp 20 crescent. With surprise

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I've been a pax on 8400 twice, and had informal discussions with the crew, who like some stuff about the kitchen, but dislike others. Not as much space as the Heritage (partially because Heritage were designed for a full crew, where as Amtrak staffs with half or less)

VL diners are/will be much more modular, so that loading and unloading of stock, in theory, will be easier and faster. (We'll see) but everything else is will be brand new, so just by that fact alone, they should be a joy to work.
 
I've been a pax on 8400 twice, and had informal discussions with the crew, who like some stuff about the kitchen, but dislike others. Not as much space as the Heritage (partially because Heritage were designed for a full crew, where as Amtrak staffs with half or less)

VL diners are/will be much more modular, so that loading and unloading of stock, in theory, will be easier and faster. (We'll see) but everything else is will be brand new, so just by that fact alone, they should be a joy to work.
Do the new diners have the equipment that would be needed to act as an "old" diner (dishwashers, etc), or are they built for today's mostly-reheat dining?
 
The heritage diners don't have automatic dishwashers... That's the issue with using real plates correct?

The heritage diners in the good ole days had manual dishwashers.
 
Well this trip just got interesting. We lost hep power about 20 min ago and now they said on the scanner they have a problem with the #2 engine. We are crawling to a siding to try to restart it. Fingers crossed as it is 9 out side and getting cold in here.
Where y'all at and how's it going now. Got any pictures of Viewliner diner. I will be on there in March and want to know what to expect.
 
The heritage diners don't have automatic dishwashers... That's the issue with using real plates correct?

The heritage diners in the good ole days had manual dishwashers.
By "old" I meant pre-SDS dining, not necessarily a Heritage car.
 
Got any pictures of Viewliner diner. I will be on there in March and want to know what to expect.
When I was on the Crescent last July, the diner looked like this:

10494789_10101681832521244_7783376335063894277_n.jpg

10521963_10101681832675934_65018822632010730_n.jpg

The new (8400) Viewliner diners look like this:

3106.1337114370.jpg

(Photo by Christopher Blaszczyk)
 
Everytime I get on the Crescent I have diner like the first picture, I would love to be on the new one. It would probably be asking to much of Amtrak to be in a new sleeper car also. The Crescent sleepers are looking pretty worn. :p
 
Everytime I get on the Crescent I have diner like the first picture, I would love to be on the new one. It would probably be asking to much of Amtrak to be in a new sleeper car also. The Crescent sleepers are looking pretty worn. :p
Well since no new sleepers have been delivered for actual service yet, it'll be awhile ;-/
 
Everytime I get on the Crescent I have diner like the first picture, I would love to be on the new one. It would probably be asking to much of Amtrak to be in a new sleeper car also. The Crescent sleepers are looking pretty worn. :p
Well since no new sleepers have been delivered for actual service yet, it'll be awhile ;-/
Aww, I'm sure when the first one rolls out it will be posted on this forum.
 
Everytime I get on the Crescent I have diner like the first picture, I would love to be on the new one. It would probably be asking to much of Amtrak to be in a new sleeper car also. The Crescent sleepers are looking pretty worn. :p
The wear and tear aspect of the Viewliner (I) sleeper car you are in is mostly a reflection of how long it has been since the car was in for overhaul. 12 to 13 Viewliner sleeper cars go in for overhaul every fiscal year and with 50 Viewliner I sleeper cars, that works out to getting overhauled around every 4 years. If the car looked worn with torn or damaged carpeting, frayed curtains, doors and hardware coming loose, the car is probably closer to the end of the 4 year period since the last overhaul than to being fresh out of the maintenance shop.
 
Everytime I get on the Crescent I have diner like the first picture, I would love to be on the new one. It would probably be asking to much of Amtrak to be in a new sleeper car also. The Crescent sleepers are looking pretty worn. :p
The wear and tear aspect of the Viewliner (I) sleeper car you are in is mostly a reflection of how long it has been since the car was in for overhaul. 12 to 13 Viewliner sleeper cars go in for overhaul every fiscal year and with 50 Viewliner I sleeper cars, that works out to getting overhauled around every 4 years. If the car looked worn with torn or damaged carpeting, frayed curtains, doors and hardware coming loose, the car is probably closer to the end of the 4 year period since the last overhaul than to being fresh out of the maintenance shop.
That's new info that I didn't know.But if my brain had been working right I would have realized that if they had never been overhauled they would be worse than what I saw. Thanks afigg. When overhauled do they change out anything or just freshen up, I must say the bathrooms in the sleepers never look too bad.
 
The wear and tear aspect of the Viewliner (I) sleeper car you are in is mostly a reflection of how long it has been since the car was in for overhaul. 12 to 13 Viewliner sleeper cars go in for overhaul every fiscal year and with 50 Viewliner I sleeper cars, that works out to getting overhauled around every 4 years. If the car looked worn with torn or damaged carpeting, frayed curtains, doors and hardware coming loose, the car is probably closer to the end of the 4 year period since the last overhaul than to being fresh out of the maintenance shop.
That's new info that I didn't know.But if my brain had been working right I would have realized that if they had never been overhauled they would be worse than what I saw. Thanks afigg. When overhauled do they change out anything or just freshen up, I must say the bathrooms in the sleepers never look too bad.
If the Viewliner sleeper had not been overhauled since it entered service in the mid-90s, it would look far, far worse than it did.
There are others here who are more knowledgeable abou7t what is done in a routine overhaul, but I expect it includes replacing the carpeting, drapes, upholstery (where needed), fixing all the mechanical items, along with the maintenance of the trucks, HVAC systems, doors, also now apparently replacing all the interior lighting with LED lights, etc. In the FY14 budget, $7.6 million was budgeted for overhaul of 13 Viewliner sleepers. That works out to around $580K per sleeper car, so it is not minor work. In addition. in FY14, $70 million was budgeted for Amfleet overhauls and $56 million for Superliner overhauls. The rolling stock overhauls are a significant piece of Amtrak's capital project overhead costs.

Do not underestimate how much abuse the interiors likely get from some passengers. Not everyone treats theif room and equipment with respect. I worked in the house keeping department of a mid-level Marriott hotel one summer back when I was in college. This was not a low end cheap hotel. Being the short term summer guy at the bottom of the heap, I got the less pleasant jobs, quickly learning that there were some guests who would not think twice about trashing their room, tearing the towel rack out the wall, breaking the furniture or lamps or the toilet, damaging/staining the carpet to the extent it could not be cleaned but had to be patch repaired. I did the grunt clean-up work, then the hotel would call in the repair guys. How a sleeper car lasts 4 years between major overhaul and interior replacements, I don't know. The maintenance shops must sometimes have to do major work during the 4 year period.
 
To be fair to the hotel guests, I've found that hotels often install utter junk for furnishings: towel racks which rip out of the wall if you look at them funny, furniture which seems to be made of cardboard, etc.

Amtrak puts really heavy-duty stuff in the sleepers, which is one reason they last as long as they do. They may be cosmetically damaged, but heavy use of heavy-duty metal means they're usually mechanically sound.
 
When I was on the Crescent last July, the diner looked like this:

attachicon.gif
10494789_10101681832521244_7783376335063894277_n.jpg
That's a "Temoinsa rebuild" -- about half of the Heritage diners look like that, because they had their interiors replaced in the 1990s. I quite like the look myself.

The other half of the Heritage diners, which have mostly original furnishings, look OLD; they're really showing their age.
 
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When I was on the Crescent last July, the diner looked like this:

attachicon.gif
10494789_10101681832521244_7783376335063894277_n.jpg
That's a "Temoinsa rebuild" -- about half of the Heritage diners look like that, because they had their interiors replaced in the 1990s. I quite like the look myself.

The other half of the Heritage diners, which have mostly original furnishings, look OLD; they're really showing their age.
Oh, that's right. I think Jis and a few others told me that back when I first posted my trip report.

I love the interior. They're really pretty. My only complaint was the extremely loud noise coming from a compressor of some kind (probably the A/C). It was located behind the vents near the door to the diner, and the sound was so loud that people had to shout to be heard. It also vibrated the tables so badly that when I sat at the table near it, I had to hold onto things to keep them from rattling off the table.

I'm extremely sensitive to noise, so between the A/C compressor and the people shouting conversations at each other, my nerves were completely frazzled by the time I finished each meal. Truthfully, I should have asked my (really sweet and wonderful) SCA if I could have meals in my room.
 
I treat my sleeper compartment with respect,realizing that others have to use them. So I guess I shouldn't complain if there is a little wear and tear. They are still comfy and always clean.
 
8400 is on 19 (27) again. Nice to see it getting some varied scenery.
 
The 8400 used to be a major shop queen, but it is holding up well as of late. I was in the new dining car when it made its tour and it seems to be as cramped as the 8400. However, as previously noted it is not designed for the full kitchen staff of yesteryear. The grill area is tiny. If creativity is ever allowed to return, there isn't a lot of room to "go nuts."
 
When I was on the Crescent last July, the diner looked like this:

attachicon.gif
10494789_10101681832521244_7783376335063894277_n.jpg
That's a "Temoinsa rebuild" -- about half of the Heritage diners look like that, because they had their interiors replaced in the 1990s. I quite like the look myself.

The other half of the Heritage diners, which have mostly original furnishings, look OLD; they're really showing their age.
That's the diner I had on the Star and the Meteor earlier this month--I really liked it. It was more comfortable than the original Heritage diners.
 
The 8400 used to be a major shop queen, but it is holding up well as of late. I was in the new dining car when it made its tour and it seems to be as cramped as the 8400. However, as previously noted it is not designed for the full kitchen staff of yesteryear. The grill area is tiny. If creativity is ever allowed to return, there isn't a lot of room to "go nuts."
I'd settle for documented ingredients. :p
 
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