(Seasonal) Lounge Car off the LSL (BOS)

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Train2104

OBS Chief
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Beginning February 16 through mid-April 2015, when ridership is typically lower, the Lounge Car will be removed from Trains 448 and 449 between Albany and Boston (only), while the equipment undergoes maintenance.
Free snacks for the coaches, sleeping car food unchanged.

It sounds like the Lounge Car will be going to NYP? Or is it going to get cut off at ALB and stay there?
 
Hopefully the Sleeper pax will get a "heavy" snack that leans more towards a meal. Maybe something along the lines of what is offered on the PDX section of the Builder.
 
I think if I was riding #448/#449 between BOS and ALB I'd just go in Coach and book the Sleeper on the NY Section West of ALB since the Lounge Car is where sleeper pax are served Lunch on #449 or Dinner on #448 by the SCA!

If Boxed meals are used for sleeper pax, I agree that they should be of the quality of the PDX Section of the EB! ( the Dinner, not the Breakfast!)
 
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I have on several occasions in the last several years taken the Boston section from Springfield to Chicago in a sleeper. Not once have I ever seen a boxed meal. I just get a snack in the lounge and eat in the diner after Albany. I think this is a bad move by Amtrak. Boston to Albany is 7+ hours, and depending on if the lounge is on the NY section or added to the Boston section in Albany, it might be 9 or 10+ hours given the time it takes to switch cars around. Also, I can see the lounge car not opening until after Schenectady! Pretty soon the Boston section of the Lake Shore is going to look like the remnants of the New England States on the PC in 1970...but it least that train had a snack car.
 
"Pretty soon the Boston section of the Lake Shore is going to look like the remnants of the New England States on the PC in 1970...but it least that train had a snack car."

My memory of the Twentieth Century-New England States combo in the mid 60's is a little fuzzy (it was still NYC). They cut a sleeper out of the Century in Albany (IIRC VERY early in the morning) and the New England States brought it into Boston for an afternoon arrival. Don't remember about the food situation but I know they never woke me up in Albany.
 
I am not sure how sleeper food can be unaffected by this change. Normally a hot dinner is served in the Café Car Eastbound between Albany and Boston. A cold lunch is served westbound from Boston to Albany.
 
What is the point of riding the LSL between Boston and Albany besides laziness (I say facetiously as a transit fan)? Seriously. It's a miserable, slow ride with 30mph curves. You get messed up west of Palmer by CSX. You could easily beat it in a bus on the Turnpike. I wouldn't be surprised if there are people driving or carpooling from Eastern Mass to Albany to catch the train there.

Boston to Worcester is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. If the state (cough) cared to upgrade the line west of Worcester things would be different. (I know they don't own the line W of Worcester but Maine doesn't own the Pan Am line to Portland either.) But given the way things are right now it's just such a miserable, frustrating ride. Probably not worth it to ride LSL to NYP and then hop Acela to Boston and then switch to commuter rail to get home but it's a near thing. In fact the main reason it isn't worth it are ALB delays and the Empire service overall being delay-ridden and just not living up to its potential. Imagine a world where NYP-ALB was HSR and NYP-BOS HSR had picked a better route than the ex-New Haven Shore Line route and it would be literally faster to travel to Boston via New York than to hobo it on CSX New England.

Discuss.
 
The lounge car will operate thru to NYP. The "box meal will be a generic thing that will be used for both meals and does not require refrigeration. Contents are: applesauce, granola bar, container of chicken salad, 2 pkg water crackers, 1 pkg each cheddar and swiss cheese, pkg of roasted almonds w/ chocolate pieces, and shortbread cookie.
 
The lounge car will operate thru to NYP. The "box meal will be a generic thing that will be used for both meals and does not require refrigeration. Contents are: applesauce, granola bar, container of chicken salad, 2 pkg water crackers, 1 pkg each cheddar and swiss cheese, pkg of roasted almonds w/ chocolate pieces, and shortbread cookie.
YUCK! Sounds like it is time to bring along a PIZZA!
 
Wonder how much ridership would be affected if Amtrak ran a separate train Boston - Albany w/a cross platform change in Albany? Run 3 - 4 coaches Boston - Albany w/a cafe car. Full consist would run NYP - Chicago. Switching would be eliminated at Albany except for the power. Would probably speed up the Lakeshore, but don't know if it would affect ridership with the elimination of the through cars. Just a thought.
 
Wonder how much ridership would be affected if Amtrak ran a separate train Boston - Albany w/a cross platform change in Albany? Run 3 - 4 coaches Boston - Albany w/a cafe car. Full consist would run NYP - Chicago. Switching would be eliminated at Albany except for the power. Would probably speed up the Lakeshore, but don't know if it would affect ridership with the elimination of the through cars. Just a thought.
Huh? If they have a cafe car for this extra train, then they'd have a cafe for 449. The cafe car was taken off for maintenance.
 
Wonder how much ridership would be affected if Amtrak ran a separate train Boston - Albany w/a cross platform change in Albany? Run 3 - 4 coaches Boston - Albany w/a cafe car. Full consist would run NYP - Chicago. Switching would be eliminated at Albany except for the power. Would probably speed up the Lakeshore, but don't know if it would affect ridership with the elimination of the through cars. Just a thought.
They did this for several years. It was decided to put the Sleeper back on the BOS section and split the train at ALB.
 
The "box meal will be a generic thing that will be used for both meals and does not require refrigeration. Contents are: applesauce, granola bar, container of chicken salad, 2 pkg water crackers, 1 pkg each cheddar and swiss cheese, pkg of roasted almonds w/ chocolate pieces, and shortbread cookie.
Compare that to the eastbound menu on 448 from the Wayback Machine June, 2011

DINNER MENU

Your main course includes a choice of coffee, tea or milk and is served with a ciabatta roll.

Vegetarian Pasta

Florentine-style spinach and three cheese lasagna with tomato-herb cream sauce.

Chilled Beef Entrée Salad

Beef tenderloin medallions, pesto, sweet pepper orzo pasta, baby spinach and sliced tomatoes with fresh mozzarella.

DESSERTS

Select from these two choices:

Apple Pie

Rockslide Chocolate-Caramel Brownie

or the westbound menu on 449

LUNCH MENU

Your main course includes a choice of coffee, tea or milk.

Vegetarian Entrée Salad

Greek salad with red onion, olives, grape tomatoes and feta cheese. Served with feta dressing and ciabatta roll.

Marketplace Specialty Sandwich

White meat chicken breast salad with tarragon and golden raisins on a croissant. Served with kettle cooked chips and strawberries.

DESSERTS

Select from these two choices:

Rockslide Chocolate-Caramel Brownie

Apple Pie
 
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It would be interesting to know what the "complementary snack items" are for the coach passengers, as advised in the official Amtrak notice. Also, if the lounge car operates thru to NYP, isn't that kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul?

And I agree, that boxed meal does sound pretty gross.
 
At this point if I were travelling from Syracuse to Boston, eastbound I'd go into Albany on an earlier Empire Service, and eat in the Albany station before continuing. Westbound I'd buy food in Boston and bring it on board.

If I were going all the way from Chicago to Boston, I'd stay overnight in Philadelphia. :-(

A lot of people aren't as hardcore about trains as I am and would just find another means of transporation. Pretty much all the recent food changes are very ill-thought-out.

Regarding the state of Massachusetts and Worcester-Albany... they spent a long time fighting with CSX before they managed to buy Framingham-Worcester. They're apparently still finalizing the details of the purchase contract for Springfield to (just short of) the Vermont border. The state has been buying up all the rail lines in the state bit by bit -- eventually they'll probably get around to buying Worcester-Albany, but give them time.
 
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