You still have the cooked meals, the challenge is getting people served in a timely and professional manner.
Capitol Limited
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On my 1st Amtrak trip, My CL attendant was a lady by the name of Brenda. I think she has been the best SCA I've ever had the opportunity of having!!! That was in 2008 & I believe she was retiring soon after.
So with the smaller staffing in the CCC, is there still a Full Menu offered for Dinner out of CHI?
And can you still have both Breakfast and a Limited Menu Brunch the next morning between PGH and and WAS, as used to be the case when a Regular Diner and Full Crew was used on the Cap?
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Brenda was the best SCA I've encountered on the rails, and yes, she retired right around 2008. She had the knack of knowing when you needed her and when to leave you alone without having to be told.
When I rode it last April and May, there was a CCC both times. There was a full menu with things prepared on board. The steak was great.
I was told that the brunch menu was used in case we were running late. Both times at around 9:30 the diner closed for the rest of the trip.
Philly Amtrak Fan
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When I rode the CL recently, I thought the dining service meals were too expensive. I remember a steak for $24 (and it's an Amtrak steak). I felt many of the other menus were priced too high compared to the "normal" prices of these items. I feel that Amtrak uses the fact that the Amtrak customers are a captive audience and that they feel they can jack up the prices to take advantage of that fact. I'm not saying that's wrong and if it works for Amtrak they shouldn't change their prices. That is why I did not order any full meals along the CL (or any of the other three LD trains I traveled on this year (LSL, CZ, SC). All my food was purchased via lounge cars. Certainly the diner service is a clear perk for sleeper car service. I have never ordered sleeper service because I almost always travel Amtrak alone and the cost of any room is high for a single person. I'm not saying Amtrak's diner car model doesn't work, it just doesn't work for me.
On my CL experience, the train normally arrives at 1:05pm into WAS. I believe the train didn't get into WAS until after 5pm (the first NER train I could get out of WAS was 6:05pm). Lunch is usually not served on the CL because of the expected arrival time into WAS. I believe no diner car lunch service was available this day (only lounge car service) and the train actually passed out snack packs and bottled water because of the delay.
On my CL experience, the train normally arrives at 1:05pm into WAS. I believe the train didn't get into WAS until after 5pm (the first NER train I could get out of WAS was 6:05pm). Lunch is usually not served on the CL because of the expected arrival time into WAS. I believe no diner car lunch service was available this day (only lounge car service) and the train actually passed out snack packs and bottled water because of the delay.
Actually the Cap Ltd offers a "brunch" setup which allows you to get breakfast early around 6:30 and then return around 10:30 for an Amburger before departing the train in DC. Usually lunch menus are served until the train reaches Martinsburg, WV, if train is on time and sometimes later if train is running late. Some crews are a bit hard line on the issue but most of our recent CL trips have followed the above policy.
When I was on the CL (#30 Aug 1-2) (#29 Aug 8-9) full (standard menu) meals were prepared and served on the CCC. The problem was the CCC is only half a diner (the other half being lounge) and as I understand from the staff, fewer staff members than a full diner. The CL is not a lightly traveled route from what I could see. For dinner on #30 out of Chicago, they were more than an hour late in calling the sittings. Time change aside (brought up regarding an earlier post of mine), I wasn't the only one turned away at the appointed time...many of us simply showed up thinking we missed the announcement when in fact, it hadn't even been called. All that aside, I find the seating in the diner portion, nicer than what you get in the full diner.
Last time I rode the CL (nov 2014?) I tried to go back for "lunch" and you would have though I asked them to throw their granny overboard. The waiter wouldn't seat me until the LSA told him it was OK, but then he was such an A-hole about it I said, "Well, I can tell you don't want to serve me so I'll just take it up with customer relations."
I got up and walked out. And I got a voucher that cost Amtrak more than the lunch they would have served me.
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