Here's another one.....In cities that are equipment/crew bases, like CHI, NYP, LAX, etc., how about keeping a diner and lounge car tucked into the end of some unused track (if there is one), and operate a restaurant/bar using regular crew members, but perhaps a more upscale menu than on the regular trains. Back in the 1970's, the Rock Island, also suffering financially, did just that at LaSalle Street Station and called it the "Track One Restaurant". You even had to write your choice on the check as in a diner. I had lunch there a couple of times, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience while watching commuter trains go in and out. I recall the food as being pretty good.
They could also rent out the cars for special occasions, unique weddings and other parties...
First, you raise an interesting idea that's crossed my mind lately: Though I would set things up either as a subcontractor relationship with the operators or just simply lease them out on a multiple-year, renewable basis (where the lessee is responsible for upkeep), I think they could generate a moderate amount of income off of the old diners even if they just have them parked. For an example, in Shockoe Bottom in Richmond, there's an old SAL freight yard that's been
mostly paved over, but where one or two of the tracks are still in place in the middle of some parking lots. Parking a diner (or two) in the area and having it operated as a restaurant might well be a winning proposition...as might setting something up in conjunction with the Science Museum of Virginia there's still a vestigial siding which runs to the back of the building, which is the old Richmond Union Station on Broad Street). I suspect you could do something similar in Denver or Salt Lake City with the old CZ diners.
What I'd be inclined to do is arrange for the diner(s) to be re-dressed in the vein of how they were in the 50s/60s (i.e. fairly upscale) and upgrade the menu. If liability became an issue, you could conceivably knock the trucks off and cement the diners in place if you needed to...or keep them (very nominally) "movable" and use that to avoid some code issues. But I do think this could be done...and hell, some of those diners
do have real history that you can link them to and make a pitch. Yet another option would be to try and cut a deal with the Rio Grande Scenic Railway folks or one of the other "tourist train" operators to slot these diners into their services (albeit at very low speeds or over very short hauls). Like I said, there are some unique pitches you can make with a few of these diners, considering their pedigree.
There's one big option that I think Amtrak could pursue with the the LD trains, and that is offering a guaranteed diner access upgrade to coach passengers. My reasoning is thus: While it is true that a lot of coach passengers don't have the budget for the diner, I know that you get a decent number of coach folks on any given run who are in coach not because of the cost
per se, but because it doesn't make sense to take up a room in a sleeper for a daytime run (say, CHI-MSP on the Builder, CHI-Omaha on the Zephyr, NYP-Buffalo on the LSL, or intra-Florida travel on the Silvers) and pay
that much more. Basically, you'd pay for a guaranteed slot in the diner for dinner (to be acquired after the sleepers get their reservations, with some preference given to those with earlier departures from the train), and those who don't pay the fee would be third in line.
This has the advantage of both providing extra revenue to Amtrak
and not needing to rearrange any cars. You could easily constrain slots on this to a maximum estimate on the number of sleeper passengers on a train (so if you could accommodate 120 folks in the diner in theory and you've got three sleepers attached, you'd have something like 30 such slots available on any given segment)...but it would be extra cash in hand for, in effect, next to nothing. Mind you, this isn't a panacea...but I think it could generate an extra few million dollars per year without aggravating folks too badly.
Edit: I'd like to respond to Amtrak George. I've taken the train NPN-RVR/WAS more than once, and today was one such day. It used to be traditional that the cafe would open after WBG, but today it opened somewhere just past Lee Hall. I know there has to be time at each end of a trip to both handle initial boardings/process paperwork, but they've really tightened this up.
:angry: :lol:
