Too bad the doors on the new cars were designed by dummies.Looks like that, even with the new baggage cars, Amtrak personnel are still stead-fast in their inability to close the darn doors.ImageUploadedByAmtrak Forum1430614082.681784.jpg
Here is a V2 Baggage On The Cardinal. I have been seeing old Baggages going on the H.S. Toward Beech Grove.
No Kidding!Too bad the doors on the new cars were designed by dummies.Looks like that, even with the new baggage cars, Amtrak personnel are still stead-fast in their inability to close the darn doors.ImageUploadedByAmtrak Forum1430614082.681784.jpg
Here is a V2 Baggage On The Cardinal. I have been seeing old Baggages going on the H.S. Toward Beech Grove.
I think they wanted Baggage Cars first. I also believe that was in the contract. Not sure though.Wow! Did Amtrak Have any say in the first car out of the factory? Because I would think they would want to start with the heritage fleet, and who knows, maybe get real diners on the cardnial!Sleepers and Diners are still a long ways away. I think it's one page back Jis posted that he had talked to someone that thinks Amtrak doesn't even know when they'll be getting more Baggage cars!
Yes they did say, and they wanted baggage cars and got them. And baggage cars are of course part of the heritage fleet.Wow! Did Amtrak Have any say in the first car out of the factory? Because I would think they would want to start with the heritage fleet, and who knows, maybe get real diners on the cardnial!Sleepers and Diners are still a long ways away. I think it's one page back Jis posted that he had talked to someone that thinks Amtrak doesn't even know when they'll be getting more Baggage cars!
Baggage cars were to come first from the first.Yes they did say, and they wanted baggage cars and got them. And baggage cars are of course part of the heritage fleet.Wow! Did Amtrak Have any say in the first car out of the factory? Because I would think they would want to start with the heritage fleet, and who knows, maybe get real diners on the cardinal.Sleepers and Diners are still a long ways away. I think it's one page back Jis posted that he had talked to someone that thinks Amtrak doesn't even know when they'll be getting more Baggage cars!
Ok, Thank You.They are just using Amfleet cafes as diners on 50-51, correct?Baggage cars were to come first from the first.Yes they did say, and they wanted baggage cars and got them. And baggage cars are of course part of the heritage fleet.Wow! Did Amtrak Have any say in the first car out of the factory? Because I would think they would want to start with the heritage fleet, and who knows, maybe get real diners on the cardinal.Sleepers and Diners are still a long ways away. I think it's one page back Jis posted that he had talked to someone that thinks Amtrak doesn't even know when they'll be getting more Baggage cars!
The heritage bag cars include the oldest cars in the fleet. So getting them out of the fleet first, and reducing maintenance costs and hassles in general makes sense.
The new baggage cars are the simplest model. Compare to the plumbing on the sleepers, and the kitchens and plumbing on the diners. Starting out with the simplest model is a no-brainer. The wisdom of this approach has been shown by the early appearance of problems (which we hope can be fully remedied) with the bag cars.
Not sure if the 10 bag dorms come next, or the diners. Remember the factory has two lines, so both bag-dorms and diners could be assembled simultaneously. Anyway, the diners will come soon enuff, and that's urgent because of their high maintenance costs and other inefficiencies.
So the first and bulk of the order is to get rid of the high costs of the unreliable heritage equipment. The last part, the 25 new sleepers (barring an option order), will add capacity and raise revenue. Sweet as that will be, it is not the top priority.
Thos cars are Amfleet II Diner-Lites, which are different from the Amfleet I Cafe Cars.
Every LD train will have either a bag car or a bag dorm, of course. It's been speculated here that some medium distance trains like the Adirondack could gain a bag car or bag dorm.
) that the ideal ratio of sleepers to diners maxes out to 3 ½ sleepers on each single-level train, and 4 or 4 ½ on each bi-level train (maybe I got that backwards? . More sleepers than that ratio and the diners can't handle all the customers; fewer sleepers per diner leaves unused dining capacity.
Trying to peg an ideal ratio is tricky, but assuming three seatings, with a 48-seat single-level diner you have 144 seats/meal and with a 72-seat bilevel diner you have 216 seats/meal. The theoretical capacity of a Viewliner I sleeper is 30 and the effective capacity probably somewhere in the mid-20s (I'd say around 24); for a standard Superliner the theoretical capacity is 44 and the effective capacity probably in the mid-30s (I'm guessing about 36).Every LD train will have either a bag car or a bag dorm, of course. It's been speculated here that some medium distance trains like the Adirondack could gain a bag car or bag dorm.
I've seen it posted (iirc, wish I could find it now
Of course, where there's no bag dorm, half a sleeper is out of revenue service,
Amtrak will need to figure out where paying customers can usually fill 2 ½ sleepers, or 3, or 3 ½, and then add the bag dorm "half-sleeper" as needed.
Again hoping they can find a way to buy a handful more cars out of the option order, to allow maximum flexibility in using the diners, sleepers, and bag dorms.
