Amfleet Refresh

No trouble here with accessing it.

mtuandrew wrote:Maybe Amtrak will try to style the A-I dinettes like the V-II diners with their wood-panel trim and LED lights.

Is wood trim back "in"? It was typical on 1970s-80s passenger equipment including the MTA LIRR/MNCR M-1 through M-6 series, NYCT R44/R46, MBTA Blue/Orange cars, GCRTA "Airporter" MU, PATH PA1-PA2-PA3-PA4, Boeing LRVs and CTA 2400/2600.

If you're old enough to remember, Chrysler K-cars with wood trim were common in the 80s, with "woodgrain" wagons "in" during the 70s.

Wood trim on those 70s/80s RR cars was bad fake-wood paneling (think suburban rec rooms that so many of us had in our homes then). Metro-North also a lot of it left. I hope that it doesn't return.

Backshophoss wrote:IT'S PAYWALLED!

Hit the link into another tab/window, close that new tab/window, then hit the link again.

Edit: Checked the article. It's basically the same as the press release.

Blue/gray/white interior. Doesn't look particularly sexy to me. With the LED lighting it needs warmth. What is "upgraded wainscoting"? Does it have lots of power outlets?

R36 Combine Coach wrote:If you're old enough to remember, Chrysler K-cars with wood trim were common in the 80s, with "woodgrain" wagons "in" during the 70s.

I certainly do remember maroon Plymouth Reliants (and Mercury Grand Marquises, Buick LeSabres, and Jeep XJ Wagoneers) with a broad band of "wood" from stem to stern. The V-II diners have a similar formality, but have the decency to keep the wood trim on the inside That's the kind of style I'd like to see in Amfleet food service cars.

(If you want to talk fugly, my grandparents owned a 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass with an all-red interior. Entirely. Red.)

The only question I have with the Amfleet refresh ..... is will they come out of the refresh in Phase III ??

One suggestion I would have would be to take 20 or 30 coaches and redo them as business class cars. Replace the 2 by 2 seating with 2 by 1 seating. This would create a business class standard for all eastern Amtrak trains.

mtuandrew wrote: The V-II diners have a similar formality, but have the decency to keep the wood trim on the inside That's the kind of style I'd like to see in Amfleet food service cars.

A tasteful application of fake wood trim as in my Subaru Legacy is nice imo, even if a little anachronistic, although fake carbon trim seems to be the new in thing. I liked the real wood in the Pacific Parlour car on the Coast Starlight. Probably the classiest car in the Amtrak fleet!

R36 Combine Coach wrote:If you're old enough to remember, Chrysler K-cars with wood trim were common in the 80s, with "woodgrain" wagons "in" during the 70s.

Or how about this Mr. R36?

That was my family's first "postwar" auto.

Thank goodness that, so far as I was concerned, my Mother and Father were safe drivers. The thought of being in a bad collision in that with its wooden carbody, no seat belts or airbags, no crumple zones, and me sitting in a seat just setting atop the front bench seat - complete with a steering wheel.

RRspatch wrote:The only question I have with the Amfleet refresh ..... is will they come out of the refresh in Phase III ??

It's interior treatments (curtains, lights, cabin paneling "wainscoting", seat cushions) only.

I have to wonder if there will be extra rows of seats.

Good for them, but I think two things are missing.

1. Leather seats aren't that great for 2+ hour rides. Cloth breathes better. On a 6-8 hour ride, that's your new home for the day.

2. Still no armrests. Refer to the above 6-8 hour ride. It's nice to have a little separation from your neighbor.

Red Wing wrote:I have to wonder if there will be extra rows of seats.

Given they said they're not altering the street pitch, probably not.

Tadman wrote:Leather seats aren't that great for 2+ hour rides. Cloth breathes better. On a 6-8 hour ride, that's your new home for the day.

Are the new Amfleet seats "real" leather, as on the upgraded Acela first class? What about the 2-1 club-cafes, is that real as well? Some airlines have added real leather in first class.

I'm thinking of an analogy if Amfleet coach is upgraded to the real leather, it would be the equivalent of a mainstream/lower price car offered with the same seating as a luxury model (first class). The 1993 Dodge Intrepid was the first lower-end North American brand car (not luxury ie. Cadillac, Lincoln, Buick, Chrysler, etc.) to offer real leather in years, with the exact same leather as the luxury Chrysler Concorde/LHS at lower price.

Leather can be a mighty "slippery slope" as is the case with that used in the AmClubs.

Now the "supple" leather, such as there is in my Ekornnes easy chair, is likely more costly than what Amtrak is prepared to dole out.