Refurbished Superliner I's

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Steve4031

Engineer
AU Supporting Member
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On my trip to D.C., the attendant was raving about the rebuilt superliner I sleepers with wood paneling. He said that they are being done at the rate of 2 per month. Does anyone know how many are out on the railraod, and where they operate?

Just curious. :D
 
Where they're operating no one but CNOC knows, other than an occasional sighting by a railfan. However, the how many is easy, just check out the list on OTOL. It was last updated about a week ago.
 
AlanB said:
Where they're operating no one but CNOC knows, other than an occasional sighting by a railfan.  However, the how many is easy, just check out the list on OTOL.  It was last updated about a week ago.
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I traveled in one last Thanksgiving! There were two of them operating on the Sunset Limited. I guess Amtrak felt they at least owed their first class passengers something extra for traveling on such a pitifully-dispatched train. The ironic thing was that I was able to secure a standard room from Los Angeles to Maricopa, AZ (Phoenix) in one of the sleepers for just $43 on top of my $40 railfare! Talk about a bargain for a beautiful room and redone sleeper car! After traveling in such a nice sleeper I wasn't even all that unhappy when we arrived into Maricopa five hours late.

Thanks for the list, AlanB! I had no idea they have already remanufactured 8 of them like that! Hopefully they can keep going at a rate of one very two-three weeks or so. I'll no longer consider if the upgrade is worth the extra cost when the fleet is in that type of shape! Does nayone know if Amtrak is still working on upgrading the coaches to include power outlets at every seat? I saw one of these upgraded coaches on a recent Starlate trip and was surprised by how many passengers were taking advantage of their at seat plugs! We are in the 21st century now...
 
I didn't know there even was a program to upgrade the Superliners! :lol: For my own sake I do hope they'll continue the trend since I'll be traveling with my laptop and cell phone on the train for a few days. Worse comes to worse though I'll just spend some time with them in the Lounge to charge 'em up.
 
For those of you who haven't seen pics of the new cars click here. They are really nice built, Beech Grove has done a great job with these cars...I like what I'm seeing, definitely a sign of better times.
 
I think the plugs-in-Superliner-coaches thing is an older program that probably got stopped after maintenance money ran out.

There was one such coach on the Zephyr two years ago, and early last year I rode in one on the Starlight (there were two such cars on the Starlight that trip). However, I have not seen any other cars so-equipped, even those that have gone through Beech Grove and came out with a nice-looking paint update.

In other words, I have seen a total of three Superliner coaches with at-seat plugs (not to say there aren't more, but I've only noted three).

However, Amtrak has three Hi-Levels roaming around (two usually on the Heartland Flyer), and I happened to have one of them on a Portland Empire Builder section a couple of years ago, and that car had a plug for every seat pair.
 
Viewliner said:
For those of you who haven't seen pics of the new cars click here. They are really nice built, Beech Grove has done a great job with these cars...I like what I'm seeing, definitely a sign of better times.
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Those are nice pics, I remembered them from before, and wanted to get another look at them. Thanks. It looks like the seats are new too.
 
What disappoints me about this rebuild is one minor detail (but still, one that matters to me when I ride).

Someone else took photos when this car was on the Texas Eagle, and one photo showed that there is still a gap between the steps in the roomette (to climb to the upper bunk) and the wall. On Superliner IIs, the steps are flush with the wall. This bugs me because I can put stuff on those steps (small items, like my wallet, tickets, etc.), but am always worried about them falling into that gap between the step and the wall. On Superliner IIs, I don't have that concern.

It looks like they also kept that dumb little closet next to the door.
 
rmadisonwi said:
Someone else took photos when this car was on the Texas Eagle, and one photo showed that there is still a gap between the steps in the roomette (to climb to the upper bunk) and the wall. On Superliner IIs, the steps are flush with the wall. This bugs me because I can put stuff on those steps (small items, like my wallet, tickets, etc.), but am always worried about them falling into that gap between the step and the wall. On Superliner IIs, I don't have that concern.
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That's a very good point I hadn't thought about, but I did have my watch fall between there on a trip. Luckily my sleeper attendant was able to borrow a hook/stick from the agents in Albuquerque and we were able to get it out. She said it wasn't the first time a passenger had lost something in the space.
 
I think my wallet fell victim to it as well. Fortunately my hands are thin enough to reach back there to grab it. I do think that the closet is a pain, the Superliner II setup is better. But, they were second built so apparently Amtrak learned from its mistakes. :blink:
 
battalion51 said:
[T]he Superliner II setup is better. But, they were second built so apparently Amtrak learned from its mistakes. :blink:
Click to expand...
But then forgot the lessons again when it came time to do the rebuilds
 
Yep - I rode a refurbed S I sleeper last Dec on #2 also. A bit of a surprise when first going up the stairs and seeing the new paneling. Also all new light fixtures in the halls and rooms, and looked like fresh S II style upholstery and carpet. But I have mixed feelings about the refurbs. My car had a very weak AC (if you could even call it AC). Talked to the attendant for a while at NOL and he stated that the refurbs are 90% cosmetic, that none of the major systems were touched. So still problems with AC, vacuum, PA, etc. just like pre-refurb. Hmmmmm.

Although one really nice thing - the bathrooms are much improved. The toilets now sit in the corner at a 45 deg angle which makes for more room. And the sinks are a fake-marble looking pedestal sink (classier looking by far) that have really nice tall faucets with those push-and-the-water-stays-on-for-a-while valves. And, if you can believe it, the pressure regulators work, so they don't splash and splatter. And an actual door replaces the curtain in the shower.

I do believe the closet and step setup in the roomette were just the same as before though. Can't win 'em all.
 
The HVAC seems to be very ineffective on the Viewliners also. One of the biggest complaint my family has is how the Viewliners get too hot during the day and the AC provides very little relief...that's if the compressor doesn't constantly reset itself and shut down after a while, even if the attendant resets the thing it only works briefly. In fact the temperature is very inconsistant in the cars, usually the Roomete side of the car (A end) is cooler than the Bedroom end (B end). I often go to sleep in a Viewliner feeling pretty warm, and wake up in the middle of the night freezing.
 
I rode in a remodeled Superliner sleeper on no 6, the eastbound CZ, on Monday and Tuesday from Emeryville to Denver. The new color scheme is a treat, especially after our close encounter with too much burnt orange on the westbound trip. The latest look is based on a rich blue upholstery & curtains contrasted with rich red paneling in the halls. This makes the bedrooms look calmer and, yes, the bathrooms are surprisingly bigger. I enjoyed my shower during transit of the Moffat Tunnel. No view to miss there. sadly, the A/C was still wheezy and weak, though at least the control lever didn't have to be duct-taped open to stay in position through the train's movements. Finally, one thing wasnt fixed-- the in-car sound systems. Today everyone plugs into their iPods, I guess.

Despite the improved decor, we had toilet trouble in this car, #631. The tanks were full departing EMY. Around SAC, we got the clearance from the sleeper attendent to "tinkle," and full flushing came shortly later.
 
I rode in a remodeled Superliner sleeper on no 6, the eastbound CZ, on Monday and Tuesday from Emeryville to Denver. The new color scheme is a treat, especially after our close encounter with too much burnt orange on the westbound trip. The latest look is based on a rich blue upholstery & curtains contrasted with rich red paneling in the halls. This makes the bedrooms look calmer and, yes, the bathrooms are surprisingly bigger. I enjoyed my shower during transit of the Moffat Tunnel. No view to miss there. sadly, the A/C was still wheezy and weak, though at least the control lever didn't have to be duct-taped open to stay in position through the train's movements. Finally, one thing wasnt fixed-- the in-car sound systems. Today everyone plugs into their iPods, I guess.

Despite the improved decor, we had toilet trouble in this car, #631. The tanks were full departing EMY. Around SAC, we got the clearance from the sleeper attendent to "tinkle," and full flushing came shortly later.
 
I beleive it was 32060 which was in my consist of 29. those refurbs are very VERY nice Unfortunately i was stuck in 32019, a 1995 refurb.
 

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