Capitol Limted - "diner lite" now?

[D.P. Roberts]

I saw on the Amtrak Facebook group that the CL now has a "diner lite" instead of a lounge. Is that just an "off season" thing, or is that permanent? I've ridden the CL every summer for the past few years and I haven't seen that - just the regular Sightseer & diner.

 

[The Whistler]

No SSL and maybe a Café Car? A "diner lite" is essentially a café car where one side is used for meals and the other is used as a lounge. Maybe Amtrak in its cost cutting mode is not running the SSL on the CL in the "off season" . This cost cutting stuff is getting old. All these cuts are going to do is to **** off their loyal customer base many of whom will use car or air travel. There are alternatives to train travel but notice that the Acela continues its First Class service to accommodate the Washington political elite.

 

[MikefromCrete]

This is part of the off-season consist reductions that I believe is going to end at the end of February.

 

[Palmland]

Anyone know if the lounge area of the CCC car is staffed since no SSL. If it is, I think that would be a first.

 

[AKA]

Are the SSL'S getting shop time ?

 

[Alexandria Nick]

There are alternatives to train travel but notice that the Acela continues its First Class service to accommodate the Washington political elite.

I'd be extremely skeptical that that's the reason.

Off-season CL is just not as full as Acela would be at...well any day of the week and time of the year. Plus it's not like Acela has to share SSLs and Diners with other routes.

 

[guest]

Anyone know if the lounge area of the CCC car is staffed since no SSL. If it is, I think that would be a first.

I rode in mid-January, and that's exactly what was going on. The lounge area was staffed, and half the car was set up as a lounge.

 

[PaulM]

I saw on the Amtrak Facebook group that the CL now has a "diner lite" instead of a lounge. Is that just an "off season" thing, or is that permanent? I've ridden the CL every summer for the past few years and I haven't seen that - just the regular Sightseer & diner.

Isn't facebook's terminology a little off? Isn't "diner lite" a euphemism for the single level car used as a diner on the Cardinal and for a while on the LSL? I thought the CL was substituting a diner-lounge (formerly know as a Cross Country Cafe) for the diner and SSL. If I recall, the D-L differs from a diner only in its configuration, not food service.

My question is: can the D-L function as a lounge? My only experience with them is on the CoNO and I didn't pay much attention since it has a SSL. I seem to recall only two tables in the so-called lounge area; and the staff had commandeered both.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Anyone know if the lounge area of the CCC car is staffed since no SSL. If it is, I think that would be a first.

I rode in mid-January, and that's exactly what was going on. The lounge area was staffed, and half the car was set up as a lounge.

We also rode in mid January and the CCC car was staffed on both ends. The cafe side only had a few seats available for customers and did not really serve as a lounge per se. I believe the term diner-lite was not the correct term here.

 

[fulham]

I have wondered if it would have made more sense to run the SSL in place of the CCC on the Capital. Right now there basically is not a lounge to speak of, and I don't know if the cafe part of the CCC has the same menu available as on a SSL. Granted full service dining would not be available, but it is only an overnight trip, and having the full upper level of the SSL for a lounge is a plus for the train. Also crew costs would be reduced since you would only have a attendant in the downstairs portion of the SSL. It might be setting a dangerous precedent, and you would have to adjust the sleeping car fares, or give sleeping car passengers meal vouchers to use in the SSL.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah, no. Lack of full meals is a non-starter.

 

[rrdude]

I'm doing CHI-WAS RT in May, no doubt full consist will be back by then. But, I am simply AMAZED at how often Amtrak seems to totally disregard the Sleeper Class passengers, that contribute so much extra to the overhead of LD trains. Why do they even HAVE lounges? When will they figure out that lounges don't MAKE MONEY, and cut them out?

 

[MARC Rider]

I have wondered if it would have made more sense to run the SSL in place of the CCC on the Capital. Right now there basically is not a lounge to speak of, and I don't know if the cafe part of the CCC has the same menu available as on a SSL. Granted full service dining would not be available, but it is only an overnight trip, and having the full upper level of the SSL for a lounge is a plus for the train. Also crew costs would be reduced since you would only have a attendant in the downstairs portion of the SSL. It might be setting a dangerous precedent, and you would have to adjust the sleeping car fares, or give sleeping car passengers meal vouchers to use in the SSL.

I rode the CL on Jan. 28/29 and found the CCC to be perfectly adequate for the passenger load. The diner side was more than large enough for the passengers (including some from coach) who were eating meals there. The lounge side was staffed with a cafe attendant, and the cafe appeared to have all of the offerings of a typical cafe car. I rode in the lounge a bit during the morning through Indiana to get views out of both side of the train. There was plenty of lounge seating for the people who showed up, and the crew did not take up seats, at least not for an extended period of time. I'll admit that if I were traveling eastbound I would have preferred to have an SSL for the transit across the Alleghenies and the Potomac Valley, and also the "Mafia seats" in the CCC lounge made sightseeing a little difficult for those unfortunate to have to sit at those tables, but in general, I don't think the use of the CCC significantly degraded the travel experience. And we arrived in Chicago early!

 

[Big Iron]

I saw on the Amtrak Facebook group that the CL now has a "diner lite" instead of a lounge. Is that just an "off season" thing, or is that permanent? I've ridden the CL every summer for the past few years and I haven't seen that - just the regular Sightseer & diner.

Isn't facebook's terminology a little off? Isn't "diner lite" a euphemism for the single level car used as a diner on the Cardinal and for a while on the LSL? I thought the CL was substituting a diner-lounge (formerly know as a Cross Country Cafe) for the diner and SSL. If I recall, the D-L differs from a diner only in its configuration, not food service.

My question is: can the D-L function as a lounge? My only experience with them is on the CoNO and I didn't pay much attention since it has a SSL. I seem to recall only two tables in the so-called lounge area; and the staff had commandeered both.

I'm with you on the terminology. Call it a Diner-Lounge or CCC but they both serve/served the full dining car menu offerings or the route served. I guess the diner-lite euphemism still applies to the Cardinal. I think the D-L would make for a fully functional lounge car, just no downstairs access and a poor substitution for a SSL.

 

[TVRM610]

I rode the Capitol during the winter consist as a sleeping car passenger and I barely missed the SSL. Yes I would have ridden in the SSL after breakfast for the views of the river, but that's it. My sleeping car has windows that work just as well. The lounge was staffed, and on my train both the dining car and lounge car LSA's made frequent announcements explaining the set-up so everyone knew that both the diner and lounge were in the same car.

As to the suggestion of using just the SSL... WHAT?

Now that they have fixed the booths on the Dining Side (all traditional now) the Cross Country Cafe / Diner Lounge Cars are actually very well designed in my opinion. They can be used as a Diner or Lounge, or both if needed. That's pretty impressive really.

 

[Wade Harris]

Did anybody bother to check with Amtrak's Service Alerts on their main website?

This can be found there:

Beginning January 12, 2015 through February 28, 2015, the Dining car and Sightseer Lounge car will be removed from the Capitol Limited for maintenance and replaced with a Diner/Lounge car. Meals normally provided in the Dining car will be provided on one side of the Diner/Lounge car and the opposite side will serve as the Lounge car.

 

[rrdude]

I rode the Capitol during the winter consist as a sleeping car passenger and I barely missed the SSL. Yes I would have ridden in the SSL after breakfast for the views of the river, but that's it. My sleeping car has windows that work just as well. The lounge was staffed, and on my train both the dining car and lounge car LSA's made frequent announcements explaining the set-up so everyone knew that both the diner and lounge were in the same car.

As to the suggestion of using just the SSL... WHAT?

Now that they have fixed the booths on the Dining Side (all traditional now) the Cross Country Cafe / Diner Lounge Cars are actually very well designed in my opinion. They can be used as a Diner or Lounge, or both if needed. That's pretty impressive really.

Fixing the Mafia-style seats is a big improvement, on the full-service meal side, but please remind me, the CCC only has the regular coach/dining car windows, yes? Not the windows that wrap up to the ceiling?

 

[Ryan]

Did anybody bother to check with Amtrak's Service Alerts on their main website?

This can be found there:

Beginning January 12, 2015 through February 28, 2015, the Dining car and Sightseer Lounge car will be removed from the Capitol Limited for maintenance and replaced with a Diner/Lounge car. Meals normally provided in the Dining car will be provided on one side of the Diner/Lounge car and the opposite side will serve as the Lounge car.

Yes, we did. It's beed discussed in about a half-dozen threads here.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, though.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Fixing the Mafia-style seats is a big improvement, on the full-service meal side, but please remind me, the CCC only has the regular coach/dining car windows, yes? Not the windows that wrap up to the ceiling?

That is correct; the CCCs are rebuilt Superliner I Diners.

 

[Larry H.]

Did anybody bother to check with Amtrak's Service Alerts on their main website?

This can be found there:

Beginning January 12, 2015 through February 28, 2015, the Dining car and Sightseer Lounge car will be removed from the Capitol Limited for maintenance and replaced with a Diner/Lounge car. Meals normally provided in the Dining car will be provided on one side of the Diner/Lounge car and the opposite side will serve as the Lounge car.

So as usual Amtraks thinking is that the people who are paying full sleeper fare do not deserve the same amenities as the people who ride in different months? Another chink in the saga of never ending price hikes while removing many of the reasons one would pay those high sleeper fares. No one at amtrak seems to understand rail passengers and the congress is by far the worst at that.

Larry

 

[Bob Dylan]

As one whose home train is the Texas Eagle, I don't mind eating in the CCC, but we usually have a Sightseer Lounge in the consist also, which makes a Big Difference!

When a second CCC is added in place of the SSL, or even just a combined Diner/ Lounge in the CCC is in the consist like on the Cap, it really sucks!!!

 

[TVRM610]

No, the sightseer car is not an amenity included in sleeper fare. If that was true all the single level trains would be cheaper since they have no type of sightseeing car at all.

I rode the Capitol in sleeper and found no issue with the value of my trip.

There is still full diner service, there is still full menu lounge service.

 

[Rail Freak]

Maybe Sightseer Lounges are going a similar path as the Dome Cars! Hurts to think about it!!!!

 

[D.P. Roberts]

No, the sightseer car is not an amenity included in sleeper fare. If that was true all the single level trains would be cheaper since they have no type of sightseeing car at all.

I rode the Capitol in sleeper and found no issue with the value of my trip.

There is still full diner service, there is still full menu lounge service.

Passengers value different aspects of their trip differently.

I value the SSL tremendously. I could care less about the "lounge service", I'd be perfectly happy if the car was unstaffed.

The fact that it has really large windows - both higher and lower than a sleeper or diner's windows - makes a big difference to me.

I am currently making plans for summer travel, and the presence or absence of an SSL on various routes impacts my decision as to which trains to take, and whether to take the train at all.

The service announcement makes it clear that this is a temporary move in order to do maintenance, and I can understand that - you might as well do maintenance during a slower season. But if Amtrak ever decides to get rid of the SSL entirely (as they have done with many other amenities) then they will lose money when people like myself choose to travel via other means.

 

[Ryan]

No, the sightseer car is not an amenity included in sleeper fare. If that was true all the single level trains would be cheaper since they have no type of sightseeing car at all.

The fact that they're open to coach passengers sort of shoots a hole in that argument as well.