Expanded Consists during Summer?

[AlanB]

I was in the H Room of 2830 when the coach car was added on July 11th of this year. I'm not sure exactly why, but our attendant made a point of letting us know, shortly before we arrived at the station, that the addition would be taking place. The only thing I can figure is that he thought that being in the last car of the consist, the coupling might create a small bump that might be more noticable to us than to those in other cars, and he was just being considerate and warning us of it!

That is precisely why he gave you that warning. He didn't want you to be scared by the bump and even worse, potentially caught off guard and knocked to the floor if the coupling was a bit rough.

 

[AlanB]

When I took the LSL on August 8th or 9th (can't remember which), the Amfleet II Diner Lite was adequate but the Horizon Café was not. I was told that the LSL is supposed to run with Amfleet I cafés but that all spares were transferred from Chicago to New York. I can't assume that the Amfleet I café would serve the pax better than the Horizon, but in my experience the Amfleets tend to be nicer than the Horizons. Anyway, my actual point is that while the LSL didn't lose any cars, each section of the train could use a café during the summer.
Plus, the LSL was, at least in terms of coach accommodations, sold out daily for almost the entire summer.

Actually it should be running with an Amfleet II cafe, the long distance version of the Amfleet car. However, there are enough of those to go around, so it gets a Horizon instead.

Once the Viewliner Dining car gets out of Beech Grove, the Horizon cafe will go away and the Amfleet II Cafe/Diner-Lite car will serve as the cafe between Albany and Chicago and it will function in its dual role of diner/cafe between Boston and Albany. The LSL will get a full diner back at that point, be it the prototype Viewliner Diner or a Heritage Diner.

 

[AlanB]

Last summer the Heartland Flyer was expanded to 4 Coaches, but this summer, it remained at its usual 3. The few times I rode it seats were generally plentiful, but then again that was always during mid week. Weekend loads tend to be much higher with families day tripping to FTW.

To watch Oklahoma lose! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Amtrak just announced this year's Red River Heartland Flyer will consist of just 2 P42s

Well I sure hope I don't get the seat over the exaust fan :lol: .

Yes, but just think about how well you'll sleep that night if you do get that seat, since you'll be totally exhausted. :lol: :lol:

 

[cpamtfan]

When I took the LSL on August 8th or 9th (can't remember which), the Amfleet II Diner Lite was adequate but the Horizon Café was not. I was told that the LSL is supposed to run with Amfleet I cafés but that all spares were transferred from Chicago to New York. I can't assume that the Amfleet I café would serve the pax better than the Horizon, but in my experience the Amfleets tend to be nicer than the Horizons. Anyway, my actual point is that while the LSL didn't lose any cars, each section of the train could use a café during the summer.
Plus, the LSL was, at least in terms of coach accommodations, sold out daily for almost the entire summer.

Actually it should be running with an Amfleet II cafe, the long distance version of the Amfleet car. However, there are enough of those to go around, so it gets a Horizon instead.

Once the Viewliner Dining car gets out of Beech Grove, the Horizon cafe will go away and the Amfleet II Cafe/Diner-Lite car will serve as the cafe between Albany and Chicago and it will function in its dual role of diner/cafe between Boston and Albany. The LSL will get a full diner back at that point, be it the prototype Viewliner Diner or a Heritage Diner.

Actually, the Horizon cafe seems to run the LSL Boston section daily now except a few times when a Amfleet I "Northeast Regional" cafe (not an Amfleet II) is put on. And when the Viewliner diner comes out (and that will probably be the only car, since the others aren't roadworthy) the Amfleet II"Diner Lite" diner will be transfered to BOS also serving as the Boston cafe from ALB-BOS and vise versa (although they could have cafe service in that car CHI-BOS to clear up the loads from that section). The Horizon cafe will go to NY along with the Viewliner diner for NY pax. That's how I see its going to be run, and it will be able to ease the crowds for both sections.

 

[AlanB]

When I took the LSL on August 8th or 9th (can't remember which), the Amfleet II Diner Lite was adequate but the Horizon Café was not. I was told that the LSL is supposed to run with Amfleet I cafés but that all spares were transferred from Chicago to New York. I can't assume that the Amfleet I café would serve the pax better than the Horizon, but in my experience the Amfleets tend to be nicer than the Horizons. Anyway, my actual point is that while the LSL didn't lose any cars, each section of the train could use a café during the summer.
Plus, the LSL was, at least in terms of coach accommodations, sold out daily for almost the entire summer.

Actually it should be running with an Amfleet II cafe, the long distance version of the Amfleet car. However, there are enough of those to go around, so it gets a Horizon instead.

Once the Viewliner Dining car gets out of Beech Grove, the Horizon cafe will go away and the Amfleet II Cafe/Diner-Lite car will serve as the cafe between Albany and Chicago and it will function in its dual role of diner/cafe between Boston and Albany. The LSL will get a full diner back at that point, be it the prototype Viewliner Diner or a Heritage Diner.

Actually, the Horizon cafe seems to run the LSL Boston section daily now except a few times when a Amfleet I "Northeast Regional" cafe (not an Amfleet II) is put on. And when the Viewliner diner comes out (and that will probably be the only car, since the others aren't roadworthy) the Amfleet II"Diner Lite" diner will be transfered to BOS also serving as the Boston cafe from ALB-BOS and vise versa (although they could have cafe service in that car CHI-BOS to clear up the loads from that section). The Horizon cafe will go to NY along with the Viewliner diner for NY pax. That's how I see its going to be run, and it will be able to ease the crowds for both sections.

The Horizon cafe will come off the LSL, it will not run through to NY. Except during the stub train years, the cafe car has not gone to NY for more than 10 years at least, if not longer.