I have just booked a trip on 51. I got room 2 in this car. Is this the baggage crew sleeper? Iirc the sleeper on this train is usually 5100
Cardinal car 5109
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trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
bratkinson
Conductor
I was in #5109 room #5 back in July WAS->CHI. Then as now, it's was running an hour+ late at CIN and loses another hour before reaching Dyer. Most astounding was there were no delays whatsoever between Dyer and CHI!
I had a pleasant journey and chatted with the young attendant (20-25?) a couple of times. The car rode well, although I think the Buckingham Branch railroad portion was a bit on the shakey/rough side. Wifi was slow, really slow, or not at all on the route. I long ago found a cell phone app that can turn my cell into a wifi hotspot, secured hotspot, use bluetooth, or USB to connect to my laptop. The wireless methods are OK, but on the slow side. My 5G phone + USB connection worked extremely well as long as I had cell phone coverage. Indiana was 'sparse' for coverage outside of the cities.
I had a couple of concerns, though.
First was that the nearer restroom (of 2) to the roomettes was locked and the 'occupied' light was on for several hours as I boarded in WAS. About 9 PM, as I was on my way to the other restroom, I saw an Amtrak OBS come out of the 'locked' restroom and they left the door unlocked. It was 'permanently locked' again in the morning. My guess is that the OBS and conductors as well have 'reserved' it for themselves. I believe that the cafe attendant was assigned one of the rooms as was the young SCA.
Another concern is that like the 'full' Viewliner II sleepers, there's no place for clean linen. So a roomette gets taken over. We had a 2nd open roomette which was filled with perhaps 10-12 cases of water. Obviously, the folks that designed the V IIs never talked to anyone who worked them nor did they ever ride to ask how passengers felt, how SCAs felt, etc.
Lastly, the molded, one-piece plastic armrest/cup holder/tray table holder was starting to crack at the corners where the tray table fit. I checked a couple of rooms and they all had the problem. Add that to the list of design deficiencies for the cars.
As an aside, I refuse to eat the <whatever they call it these days> garbage meals on eastern trains. I wisely bought 2 grinders at Potbelly's in WAS station and one was dinner, the other, breakfast. I had a big breakfast at my hotel buffet that morning, so I didn't need lunch that Wednesday.
I had a pleasant journey and chatted with the young attendant (20-25?) a couple of times. The car rode well, although I think the Buckingham Branch railroad portion was a bit on the shakey/rough side. Wifi was slow, really slow, or not at all on the route. I long ago found a cell phone app that can turn my cell into a wifi hotspot, secured hotspot, use bluetooth, or USB to connect to my laptop. The wireless methods are OK, but on the slow side. My 5G phone + USB connection worked extremely well as long as I had cell phone coverage. Indiana was 'sparse' for coverage outside of the cities.
I had a couple of concerns, though.
First was that the nearer restroom (of 2) to the roomettes was locked and the 'occupied' light was on for several hours as I boarded in WAS. About 9 PM, as I was on my way to the other restroom, I saw an Amtrak OBS come out of the 'locked' restroom and they left the door unlocked. It was 'permanently locked' again in the morning. My guess is that the OBS and conductors as well have 'reserved' it for themselves. I believe that the cafe attendant was assigned one of the rooms as was the young SCA.
Another concern is that like the 'full' Viewliner II sleepers, there's no place for clean linen. So a roomette gets taken over. We had a 2nd open roomette which was filled with perhaps 10-12 cases of water. Obviously, the folks that designed the V IIs never talked to anyone who worked them nor did they ever ride to ask how passengers felt, how SCAs felt, etc.
Lastly, the molded, one-piece plastic armrest/cup holder/tray table holder was starting to crack at the corners where the tray table fit. I checked a couple of rooms and they all had the problem. Add that to the list of design deficiencies for the cars.
As an aside, I refuse to eat the <whatever they call it these days> garbage meals on eastern trains. I wisely bought 2 grinders at Potbelly's in WAS station and one was dinner, the other, breakfast. I had a big breakfast at my hotel buffet that morning, so I didn't need lunch that Wednesday.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Yeah I noticed the wifi not working too. But it worked fine when I was in the cafe car. (Which makes me think that it is not working in the sleeper car).
Luckily both restrooms were open for pax during the trip.
joelkfla
Engineer
I've seen that too, and worse. I think the designers didn't consider passengers using it as a support when standing up from the seats.
The crew reserved one bathroom for themselves. The ledge by the window digs into you as you p sleep. Whoever designs these things never uses them.
I am travelling on the Cardinal in November between NYC and CHI before connecting onto the SWC. On the Cardinal I have a roomette in Car 5100. Am I better to call and see if I can be changed to 5109 the Bag-Dorm car? Looking forward to my adventure on Amtrak.
I don't see any reason to...
Sauve850
OBS Chief
5100 is a VII. No reason to change that I can think of. I was on it in September heading east in a bedroom. Nice trip, clean room and on time. Dinner and breakfast in dining car are fine for a one night trip. I had some snacks for lunch as I had an early dinner planned in Charlottesville VA.
Thank you.
Great and thank you for all the information it is much appreciated. I am looking forward to travelling on the Cardinal as part of my coast to coast trip on Amtrak. Fingers crossed meals shall be able to be taken in the dining car as well when I travel.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Not to ruin your hopes, but I think the Cardinal would be the last train to gain the dining car. It hasn't ran with a dining car even before the pandemic and all this Flex dining stuff started.
AFAIK, the Card never, ever ran with full dining service. I remember riding it in the 1990s when it was a CHI-WAS Superliner train.
They set up the seating area in the downstairs cafe of the Sightseer Lounge as the dining area for sleeper passengers but it was heat-and-eat even then (Superliner cafes can't do much else).
I do understand it was slated to get a Viewliner II diner after they were delivered, but Anderson blew everything up.
But I'd still happily swap a diner for Sightseer through the New River Gorge again.
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Thank you so much for the info @trimetbusfan. My mistake by referring to a dining car. I meant I hoped that as I am in a roomette being able to eat meals in the seating area of the cafe car rather than in the roomette and also being able to sit here to capture both sides to see the stunning scenery as I travel through.
Thanks for the info it is appreciated and I am really looking forward to seeing the New River Gorge.
Note there is no real lounge space on the current iteration of the Card, the closer thing are the cafe tables if they'll let you use them.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Most of the crews will let you eat in the cafe if you ask. Unfortunately half the booths do not line up with the windows well.
Before the Cardinal went to Superliner, ie originated out of NY, it ran with a 48 seat Heritage Diner. Went it first went to Superliner, it ran with the version you are describing, and would operate such as TE and City of NOL operate now, close down service to coach passengers and then invite in sleeping car guests. It was interesting, the Bosses in Washington DC ordered several combination microwave and convection ovens to use specifically on this train. each oven made a one way trip to Chicago and promptly disappeared, never to be seen again. After about 12-18 months of this service craziness, a diner was added to the train and ran til it converted back to Single level.
Sauve850
OBS Chief
You can eat in the cafe car. The SCA told me he thought everyone wanted to eat in their rooms. I indicated I didnt want to eat in my room. Fine with him. He took my order for dinner and breakfast. He would come back when it was time to go to have dinner. I then heard him offering the other rooms a choice. Most chose not to eat in their rooms and we had a pretty full car for dinner and nice conversation. Breakfast was less populated but steady as not everyone has breakfast at the same time. All food and drinks for both meals were delivered to the table. They were in boxes but it was ok.
What is the current day (3 times a week Su/W/F) consist of the Cardinal trains 50 & 51 ?
Engine - Baggage - Coach? - Sleeper? - Sleep/Dorm ? - Diner in the mix ?
Engine - Baggage - Coach? - Sleeper? - Sleep/Dorm ? - Diner in the mix ?
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
trimetbusfan - - -
Thank You !
Thank You !
Will be attending the ACE Event at Huntington WV next week -
Hotel (DoubleTree) I am staying at - advised that the Amtrak crew dorms there for a crew rest and that
hotel guests can or do ride the hotel crew shuttle to the hotel 9 or so blocks away.
Hotel (DoubleTree) I am staying at - advised that the Amtrak crew dorms there for a crew rest and that
hotel guests can or do ride the hotel crew shuttle to the hotel 9 or so blocks away.
If properly staffed, the meals turned out of non dining cars can be pretty good minus the items that require a grill. Had a few decent meals on the Lake Shore when the heritage diners were pulled, but the staffing was still there, and the food was not reduced to what is presently offered. The big windows make the VL diner more attractive, but the food doesn't have to be subpar.
