Lake Shore Limited Diner Lite Discussion and Review

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The big disappointment about food quality on the LSL is that its one of the most expensive routes to Chicago. You pay a lot of money to ride this train. Sleepers are often at high bucket as are coach seats. The high prices, decreased amenities and lack of a diner are an absolute disgrace. .
I've never ridden this route, why is it so expensive?
Supply & demand. Need to remember the single level cars (LSL and Card) have less seats and rooms than the superliners (Cap Ltd)
In addition to the comparatively low capacity of the Viewliners, New York to Chicago is a significantly busier route than DC to Chicago (there’s much more business done in NY). And the Cardinal tends to be particularly pricey due to its short consist.
 
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. . . the LSL is that its one of the most expensive routes to Chicago.
The only other route that can be fairly compared with the LSL is the Cardinal.

AmSnag shows for the next three months that sleepers at the lower three buckets are available 51% of the time on the LSL while none are available at the lower three buckets on the Cardinal.

AmSnag also reveals that while LSL Bedrooms are at high bucket 68% of the time, LSL Roomettes are at the lower two buckets 77% of the time.

Contrary to your assertion, the facts tell me the Cardinal is the most expensive way to get from NYP to CHI on a single train - not the LSL.

<edit> And for the Oct to Dec 2018 period, sleepers are in the top two buckets 47% of the time on the LSL but 81% of the time on the Cardinal. I've a hunch the LSL is "one of the most expensive routes to Chicago" only when compared to the CONO.
 
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When I took the Cardinal last year, the food in the diner light was as good, or even better, than what I had on the Capitol the week before.

It was on par with what they served in the Pacific Parlour Car to be honest.
 
The breakfast selections in the diner-lite are essentially unacceptable. The rest of it I can tolerate, but I need my fresh eggs.

Amtrak isn't saving anything by running this equipment once the Viewliner Diners are available. Nothing.
 
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Q: When exactly did the the Diner Car on the LSL transitioned to a horizon coach to an Amfleet II?
 
That is disappointing, and the variability of peoples experiences traveling over the same route is a repeated topic here. I had a crew that clearly made a less than optimum setup decent, and under the same circumstance, your crew did not. Improving "soft skills" might go further than improving equipment. A good crew in a marginal environment made my trip pleasant, your crew in a new diner would still be unacceptable.
Amtrak should pay for new hires, and those requiring remedial training, to ride the Canadian for a couple days. Because that's how it's done! If those crews can be consistently great, even when trains are 24+ hours late, there is no excuse for some Amtrak crews being so brain dead.

Thankfully, not all Amtrak OBS staff are self-centered nor incompetent.
 
The Canadian doesn't have consistently "great" OBS staff in my experience. The entire operation is a bit more classy, but crew is pretty hit or miss.
 
Two sad words tonight:

Diner. And Lite.

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At least you didn't get the triple trifecta: Stew!

As I recall a number of years ago a Horizon cafe car was used as the diner.

Could be, I remember reading about a no diner stretch some years ago. There are some pretty good historians on this site that will let us know.
You recall correctly. They did use the Horizon on the LSL and Adirondack in the past. They've also used them on the Cardinal on occasion. In general, that has stopped since most of them are banned in third rail territory. It is easier to just send them towards the territory instead of risking letting one get through.
 
When I rode the LSL back in November (to RailNation Chicago) I was "okay" with the diner-light menu. My entrees were done up okay and everything was relatively fresh. I was dismayed with the lack of a side salad, but considering the circumstances, it was acceptable.

That said, we all await the return of a full diner!
 
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The Canadian doesn't have consistently "great" OBS staff in my experience. The entire operation is a bit more classy, but crew is pretty hit or miss.
I only have personal experience (most recently May 2017), and random comments from others to go by. I think the "typical" Canadian crew outshines the "typical" Amtrak crew. Sure there may be outliers--an occasional below-grade Canadian and above-grade American.

Even more remarkable because the Canadian is almost always horribly late, necessitating the crews be real troopers, and they almost always are. Despite its problems, the Canadian is still a matter of national pride. Have you ever seen US currency with a passenger train on it? Check out Canada's $10 bill...
 
I agree that the Canadians worst crew (in my experience) is still better than Amtraks worst... But what I've witnessed is far from a shining example of customer service.

Why send new hires to Canada? Why not send them to the best crews on Amtrak which do in fact outshine an average trip on the Canadian.

If Gul (legendary sleeper attendant from the empire builder) trained all of Amtraks OBS we would be in very good shape!
 
If Gul (legendary sleeper attendant from the empire builder) trained all of Amtraks OBS we would be in very good shape!
There's a difference between good training and good service. Just because an employee is trained by someone great at their job doesn't necessarily mean they'll be great.
 
Last year I was on the TE with a SCA who was training a future SCA. The trainer was excellent, not only did he have his trainee on top of things, he led by example. Service was suburb the entire trip. The SCA kept telling his trainee, always smile, be aware of every rooms needs. They used the water bottles, handing them out, as an opportunity to see if anyone needed anything. Both helped everyone with their bags off and on. When the trainee asked about being off duty, the SCA stated he never says he is off duty, he may close his curtain during the night, but never his door, so he can hear if he is needed.
 
My girlfriend and I witnessed a how not to training session on 21 durinf a trip to Stl. We overhead parts of the conversation from our roomette. GF rolled her eyes at some of the comments

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