Did Amtrak remove the bathrooms from the Viewliner train roomettes?

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Kbyrdleroydogg

Train Attendant
Joined
May 27, 2017
Messages
94
Location
Chicago, IL
I read a Youtube post that the bathroom part of roomettes was removed from the Viewliner trains. Can someone confirm this or is these only new cars that have been released into the fleet that don't contain the fixtures?
 
The original Viewliners still have a toilet and sink in the roomettes.

The newly delivered Viewliners have sinks in the roomettes but no toilet. There are two bathrooms that are shared by roomette passengers. These two bathrooms are in a space that used to be a roomette, so each Viewliner II has one less roomette compared to a Viewliner I.
 
It is only for the Viewliner 2 roomettes. The VL2 cars are slowly being rolled out on the Eastern LD trains. Viewliner 1’s still retain the in-room potties.
 
In my younger days when I 'graduated' from a coach seat to a lower berth then into a Roomette (old style) with an in-room toilet and sink.....I thought they were the greatest! Even those tiny Slumbercoach single and double rooms had a private toilet right in the room with you. So compact!

Then along came the Viewliner 1 with the new style Roomette. Also with an in-room sink and toilet but unlike the old style Roomette where the toilet with it's padded cover was more like a foot-rest and then further covered by the bed ......the Viewliner toilet was right there next to your head when the bed was made down at night.

So....those Viewliner 2s with the toilet down the hall are just fine with me!

On my last couple of trips on VIA's Canadian ...I've booked a 'Cabin for Two' (Bedroom) that has a separate enclosed toilet annex in the room. Just the thought of all that carpeting (and I'm sure it's regularly cleaned) in a 'Cabin for One' (old style Roomette).....I find gross!

And on the Ocean......I'll take a Renaissance 'Cabin for Two' with it's separate private toilet/shower annex anyday over a Budd Chateau or Manor Sleeper!


Below.......Renaissance Toilet & Shower:
20190327_123848.jpg
 
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We were on the LSL yesterday and last week and both trips had Viewliner I's with the toilet. I slightly prefer it that way instead of having to walk down the hall at 3 am due to drinking a gallon of water after my salty "flexible dining" meal :) At least if the V2s have the sink that is nice that you can at least brush your teeth shave etc. in your room.
 
It seems that opinion is evenly divided on the toilet issue. Note that removing the toilets and keeping the sinks in the V II required the plumbing installation that added costs, as well as one more thing to break.
On the flip side there are fewer toilets to malfunction and passengers no longer have to void in the same place they sleep (and possibly eat).
 
It seems that opinion is evenly divided on the toilet issue. Note that removing the toilets and keeping the sinks in the V II required the plumbing installation that added costs, as well as one more thing to break.
Huh? They didn't remove the toilets. They built the cars without them. Less plumbing, not more. Where do you get the "one more thing to break"? It's not very clear.

If you used to build cars with 3 full baths and 12 with sink and toilet and now build them with 3 full baths, 2 shared with sink and toilet and 11 with sink, how does that make for added costs? You've now removed 10 toilets and their associated plumbing and added an extra sink.
 
I think the idea was that if you eliminated the sink as well as the toilet there would be less plumbing and less things to break.
But then you'd potentially have 22 people making themselves up and/or shaving in the morning with only two sinks, not to mention the "other business" which gets done in restrooms. Superliners get backed up enough with (potentially) 30 passengers using four shared toilets.
 
But then you'd potentially have 22 people making themselves up and/or shaving in the morning with only two sinks, not to mention the "other business" which gets done in restrooms. Superliners get backed up enough with (potentially) 30 passengers using four shared toilets.
There are, and correct me if I am wrong, sinks in both the VL2 and SL roomettes. It's only the toilet that is gone.

I have never seen all the toilets on an SL busy except momentarily, especially the ones downstairs. We generally do 2 roomettes instead of BR because of price.
 
I may be in the minority here, but I never had an issue with the Viewliner 1 in-room toilet. I never had an issue with smell or hygiene in the roomette. Like another forum post said, ask the SCA to make up your bed, so your feet are at the end of the room with the toilet.
 
Yes there are, but the suggestion was to remove the sinks as well as the commodes from the VL2s. My post was to point out that this could result in unpleasant overcrowding during high traffic times.
The original question was "Did they remove...?" but they did not so there is less plumbing than in the VL2s than the VL1s and thus lower cost of plumbing.
 
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