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

[Bob Dylan]

I just spoke to a supervisor from MIA, who I know and who is on the train. The "water running" sound is actually the vacuum system for the entire car which likely is located under the bedrooms. The sound bedrooms A and B (and possibly H) are hearing is the flushing at the other end of the car. I can say that there is whole lot of flushing going on right now at the other end of the car. It is quite annoying, in my opinion. My portable white noise machine helped me sleep overnight.
I asked about the ladder. The supervisor knows that it is stored in the upper bunk on Superliners but historically there was a cubby for it on Viewliners. He said the situation is being discussed and there was concern about putting it in the upper bunk for safety reasons (because it had not previously been there). He thinks eventually it will be stored in the upper bunk.

Those are real design flaws re the Toliet and Ladder.

Is it bad enough to make you book a Roomette on a VLI so you have a Private Toliet?

 

[Cal]

I wonder if Amtrak should consider an "up-charge" roomette keeping the toilets for those who want them on trains with more than one sleeper?

With the insane prices currently, you want them to be raised?

 

[Mailliw]

I wonder if Amtrak should consider an "up-charge" roomette keeping the toilets for those who want them on trains with more than one sleeper?

You can already get a private toilet for an upcharge; they're called Bedrooms.

 

[jis]

You can already get a private toilet for an upcharge; they're called Bedrooms.

Including an en suite shower no less!

 

[cocojacoby]

You can already get a private toilet for an upcharge; they're called Bedrooms.

Well it's $1436 for a bedroom next week from NYP to MIA and $557 for a roomette. Maybe you think it's worth $879 for a private toilet but I bet many single travelers would think differently.

 

[pennyk]

I just boarded 97 in a bedroom. The ladder is in the same location (behind the chair). It’s too soon to know if I’ll hear everyone’s toilet flushing for 20 hours.
the call button is working (and so is the heat - and it’s hot)
There is a mirror on the sliding door in this room. The wasn’t one on the door in my last room.

 

[jis]

I just boarded 97 in a bedroom. The ladder is in the same location (behind the chair). It’s too soon to know if I’ll hear everyone’s toilet flushing for 20 hours.
the call button is working (and so is the heat - and it’s hot)
There is a mirror on the sliding door in this room. The wasn’t one on the door in my last room. View attachment 22283

Everyone? I thought there were only 5 toilets in the entire car, no?

 

[pennyk]

Everyone? I thought there were only 5 toilets in the entire car, no?

I figure everyone will eventually use one of those 5 toilets. Yes

 

[jis]

I figure everyone will eventually use one of those 5 toilets. Yes

But at least there are not 15 toilets flushing away

 

[me_little_me]

old blanket

What do you expect? You know Amtrak management lied about the new blankets coming - TWO (or was that THREE) years ago.

We should start a thread (or better yet a forum) on Amtrak management promises and failure to live up to them and the downgrades on LD trains. So, can they be trusted to want them to continue?

Remember the promise about allowing both points and cash on a reservation?

Remember the promise about new bedding and amenities?

Remember the claim about how millennials just couldn't wait for those delicious flex meals?

Remember the new diners that are not used as diners?

Remember the new sleepers that took forever to be put in service after they were delivered?

Remember the disappearance of baggage handling at all those stations in spite of having all those new baggage cars?

NOT ONE OF THOSE ABOVE had anything to do with Covid.

Remember the promised dates for return of Traditional dining on western trains? Did they really make a decision before finding out if the dates were even reasonable?

Remember the cutbacks on LD train schedules but no additional cars added in spite of sleepers being sold out while the excess cars sat idle?

 

[pennyk]

But at least there are not 15 toilets flushing away

But the 2 at the end of the car seem to be going nonstop.

 

[jis]

But the 2 at the end of the car seem to be going nonstop.

Lot of crap flowing from the car....

 

[Steve4031]

So that then there can be a cacophony of complaints here about having to pay $100 more just for a stinking toilet?

It’s called the turd tax.

 

[MARC Rider]

Would I get a DISCOUNT then, if I don't want a toilet, and I get a roomette that has one?

He,he, if I were running Amtrak, I would ask everyone reserving a roomette if they want a toilet in it. If they say "yes," then I put them in a V2 and tell them there is no toilet, but for a "small additional charge" I can out them in a V1 that does have one. If they say "no", I put them in a V1, and then tell them that for a "small additional charge" they can be put into a V2.

 

[joelkfla]

But the 2 at the end of the car seem to be going nonstop.

Maybe they'll have to start taking reservations for the toilets, as they do for the diners.

 

[Willbridge]

Maybe they'll have to start taking reservations for the toilets, as they do for the diners.

Flex toilets?

 

[pennyk]

I am currently in a bedroom in the Silver Meteor 12 car. The air conditioning was out when I boarded. In WAS, Mechanical boarded and "fixed" the issue. It cooled off during the night but failed again by morning. The H room, bedrooms and rooms 1 and 2 are hot. The rest of the car is cool (more like cold).

The conductor that just boarded allegedly has experience fixing the HVAC system on Viewliners. He could not fix car 12. I had options to move to another car or just keep my stuff where it is and sit in a roomette in the same car, cool off, then go back to my room to use the restroom, change clothes or whatever. I chose option 2 - it is the easiest since I only had a few hours left on the train.

Back to toilets.....
While chatting with the conductor about the AC, we heard the "toilet noise" and discussed that for a while. I told him it was much worse in the 10 car than in the 12 car. I assumed it was because there were more passengers in the 10 car, and they were older (and thus used the restrooms all night long). The conductor also mentioned that the 11 car is a V-1 with no public restrooms and quite a few passengers walk forward to the restrooms in the rear of the 10 car to use the public restrooms when they did not want to use their in-room toilet. Thus, the 10 car toilets are getting a real workout and the passengers in rooms A and B hear every flush. Not exactly a selling point for the most expensive rooms in the brand new Viewliners.

 

[Cal]

The conductor also mentioned that the 11 car is a V-1 with no public restrooms and quite a few passengers walk forward to the restrooms in the rear of the 10 car to use the public restrooms when they did not want to use their in-room toilet. Thus, the 10 car toilets are getting a real workout and the passengers in rooms A and B hear every flush. Not exactly a selling point for the most expensive rooms in the brand new Viewliners.

That makes sense. Not sure how we didn't see that coming..

 

[Mailliw]

That makes sense. Not sure how we didn't see that coming..

Amtrak should not be running VIs and VIIs on the same trainsets (unless they go through w/ their original plan of adding shared toilets to the VIs).

 

[Ryan]

Why not?

 

[Steve4031]

Flex toilets?

Flex toilet: what happens to the toilet after I eat flex dining.

 

[jis]

Flex toilet: what happens to the toilet after I eat flex dining.

I can't help but be reminded of that incident in Chicago which left a poor store clerk in tears.

 

[Sauve850]

I am currently in a bedroom in the Silver Meteor 12 car. The air conditioning was out when I boarded. In WAS, Mechanical boarded and "fixed" the issue. It cooled off during the night but failed again by morning. The H room, bedrooms and rooms 1 and 2 are hot. The rest of the car is cool (more like cold).

The conductor that just boarded allegedly has experience fixing the HVAC system on Viewliners. He could not fix car 12. I had options to move to another car or just keep my stuff where it is and sit in a roomette in the same car, cool off, then go back to my room to use the restroom, change clothes or whatever. I chose option 2 - it is the easiest since I only had a few hours left on the train.

Back to toilets.....
While chatting with the conductor about the AC, we heard the "toilet noise" and discussed that for a while. I told him it was much worse in the 10 car than in the 12 car. I assumed it was because there were more passengers in the 10 car, and they were older (and thus used the restrooms all night long). The conductor also mentioned that the 11 car is a V-1 with no public restrooms and quite a few passengers walk forward to the restrooms in the rear of the 10 car to use the public restrooms when they did not want to use their in-room toilet. Thus, the 10 car toilets are getting a real workout and the passengers in rooms A and B hear every flush. Not exactly a selling point for the most expensive rooms in the brand new Viewliners.

Over the course of many years V-1 bedrooms Ive been in have had HVAC issues with rest of car cool. I'll be in V-2 bedroom (hopefully) heading back to Fl from DC in Sept and its not encouraging to hear a/c in your bedroom was not working.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

There is two different AC units on a Viewliner. One covers the bedrooms, the other is for the Roomettes. That why Penny is hang out in a roomette while her bedroom is hot.

 

[cocojacoby]

We certainly all have our opinions here on how to run things. Would you put your money where your mouth is if you could do so with Amtrak:

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