Viewliner II Part 4: Sleeping Car production, delivery, deployment

[Kbyrdleroydogg]

I take a Lake Shore Limited train from Chicago to Albany Rensselaer NY on Wed night at 9:30.
What is the chance I will get a Viewliner II train rather than a Viewliner I?

 

[Bonser]

I take a Lake Shore Limited train from Chicago to Albany Rensselaer NY on Wed night at 9:30.
What is the chance I will get a Viewliner II train rather than a Viewliner I?

I took the LSL to New York two weeks ago and it was all Viewliner 1's.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I take a Lake Shore Limited train from Chicago to Albany Rensselaer NY on Wed night at 9:30.
What is the chance I will get a Viewliner II train rather than a Viewliner I?

What's the car number on your ticket? If it's 4812, then that should be a VLII

 

[joelkfla]

What's the car number on your ticket? If it's 12, then that should be a VLII

To clarify, if the car number ends in 12.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

To clarify, if the car number ends in 12.

Thanks, fixed.

 

[Kbyrdleroydogg]

What's the car number on your ticket? If it's 4812, then that should be a VLII

No. My car number is 4820—train 448.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

No. My car number is 4820—train 448.

Most likely it will be a VLI then

 

[John819]

Most likely it will be a VLI then

No VL II on the Boston section.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

No VL II on the Boston section.

Unless Amtrak decides to add one
I know that VLIIs have not been assigned to the Boston section, yet.

 

[pennyk]

Unless my eyes played tricks on me this evening (and the affected my comprehension), when I saw today's 92 pass north of Orlando, it appeared that there were only 2 VII sleepers and 3 VI sleepers (10 and 14 were new and 11, 12 and 13 were old), which is not the "usual" consist.

 

[joelkfla]

Unless my eyes played tricks on me this evening (and the affected my comprehension), when I saw today's 92 pass north of Orlando, it appeared that there were only 2 VII sleepers and 3 VI sleepers (10 and 14 were new and 11, 12 and 13 were old), which is not the "usual" consist.

Confirmed on Plant City railcam. So it was just 9212 that was abnormal; they probably had to swap in a spare VL I for a bad-ordered VL II.

 

[Kbyrdleroydogg]

Does anyone have a diagram of the current Viewliner II trains?

I have one where the roomettes are 12 but I was told by an Amtrak rep that they have 10 now.

 

[trimetbusfan]

There indeed are 12 rooms but only 10 available for revenue sale. One is for the car attendant and one is for linens (since the VIIs do not have linen closets)

 

[AmtrakBlue]

There indeed are 12 rooms but only 10 available for revenue sale. One is for the car attendant and one is for linens (since the VIIs do not have linen closets)

Uh, one of the “rooms” is now the two bathrooms.

 

[Kbyrdleroydogg]

I'm on a Lake Shore Limited from Chgo Union Station to NYC leaving at 9:30. Are these viewliner II cars or the older Viewliner ones?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

The 12 car should be a VLII

 

[fdaley]

The 20 car (to/from Boston) was a V1 when I rode earlier this month.

 

[zephyr17]

Car lines 11 and 20 are V Is, car line 12 is a V II

 

[quadrock]

I recently took an overnight trip in a roomette on the Crescent and was pleasantly surprised to find myself in a Viewliner II sleeping car. I didn't even realize that the IIs ran on this route yet and the SCA (who was great) mentioned that he rarely sees them and referred to them as "Florida cars". This was my first time in a Viewliner II roomette and I loved the improvements - from the lighting to the huge foldout tray and the more modern appearance in general, they are great cars.

My concern however is the fact that the interiors don't seem to be holding up very well to daily wear and tear. I noticed cracks in the plastic next to where the tray table folds down, large cracks next to the cupholders, and cracks in the light covers. I peeked into a few empty roomettes and saw that some of them had cracking in the same areas that was covered over by what looked like tape and glue. Even in the shower, there were already areas that looked like the plastic had started to separate and were had large areas that were filled in by a ton of caulk. My concern is that these cars are only 2-3 years old and are looking more worn than some of the Viewliner I interiors. I hope they look as good as the Is do 30 years from now! Has anyone else noticed this or did I just have a bad car?

 

[joelkfla]

My concern however is the fact that the interiors don't seem to be holding up very well to daily wear and tear. I noticed cracks in the plastic next to where the tray table folds down, large cracks next to the cupholders, and cracks in the light covers. I peeked into a few empty roomettes and saw that some of them had cracking in the same areas that was covered over by what looked like tape and glue. Even in the shower, there were already areas that looked like the plastic had started to separate and were had large areas that were filled in by a ton of caulk. My concern is that these cars are only 2-3 years old and are looking more worn than some of the Viewliner I interiors. I hope they look as good as the Is do 30 years from now! Has anyone else noticed this or did I just have a bad car?

Yes. IMO, people will naturally put their weight on that area when getting up from the seat, and it was not designed to support that. It's metal in the VL I.

Also, the thermostats are falling off the wall, and the electrically operated doors to the H-room either don't work, or continuously cycle open and closed until turned off with the override switch.

 

[quadrock]

Hopefully Amtrak's mechanical team can make some improvements over time. It's a shame as these are great cars otherwise.

 

[IndyLions]

Sorry I haven't been paying closer attention – but which cars on train 97 are the VLII's these days? I'm on 97 Wednesday out of Richmond. Right now I'm in 9710. Last year that was typically a VLII...

 

[joelkfla]

Sorry I haven't been paying closer attention – but which cars on train 97 are the VLII's these days? I'm on 97 Wednesday out of Richmond. Right now I'm in 9710. Last year that was typically a VLII...

Cars xx10 & xx12 are usually VL II's; car xx11 is usually a VL I.

 

[niemi24s]

I gather from some previous posts that VLII's are made bit on the cheap side. You'd think by getting rid of the commodes in the Roomettes, they could have put the $ saved into some more durable furnishings.

But, then again . . . . .

 

[lordsigma]

Cars xx10 & xx12 are usually VL II's; car xx11 is usually a VL I.

Would second that. 10 and 12 are VL2 and 11 is VL1.