The policy is to scrap them. If you don't scrap the cars you will see them in service again. Somebody will use them to take away your business in some fashion. Add insult to injury they might ask you to maintain them.
Case in point: Locomotion in Germany. This outfit is using old East Germany railcars to run service (low cost) on the same route that DB's ICE trains run.
If a state was looking for a low cost lounge car, a dinner could be used. Then Amtrak would / could be stuck maintain the equipment. The same equipment that just was replaced due to old age. Amtrak would lose rent funding, get a maintenance headache. Add a dose of bad words ever time it broke down.
That would be a sadly mistaken policy. I really don't think Amtrak has much to worry about over competition from museums, tourist railroads, and dinner trains. Add to that the cars have historical value and represent the last lot of Heritage cars Amtrak would be selling; I can't see the Amfleet II cars - when eventually replaced and finally sold - being as attractive (or similarly priced) to the same buyers.
The cars could always be sold on the condition Amtrak will not permit them on its trains, though they already operate private cars of the same vintage (or older). If someone really wanted to take business from Amtrak, they don't need retired Amtrak equipment to do so. How could you use just a diner or baggage car to do that anyway?
