Cardinal discussion

INDConductor wrote:From what I know, PV's can be added at New York, DC, Huntington, Cincy, Indy and Chicago.

Concur; that matches the information available to private car owners from Amtrak's CNOC thru AAPRCO.

jhdeasy wrote:

INDConductor wrote:From what I know, PV's can be added at New York, DC, Huntington, Cincy, Indy and Chicago.

Concur; that matches the information available to private car owners from Amtrak's CNOC thru AAPRCO.

Thank you both for responding.

BuddSilverliner269 wrote:Well I can verify that 50-51 does indeed have a bag attached to the train.51 will be the train for yours truly on Wednesday and Sundays .

Hey Budd, I didn't realize it was you runs train 51 into Washington on Wednesday and Sunday! I'm the one that takes it south to Charlottesville,Va. and brings train 50 back to DC. I'm on the board but have the job on "hold-down" right now.

AFTower wrote:

BuddSilverliner269 wrote:Well I can verify that 50-51 does indeed have a bag attached to the train.51 will be the train for yours truly on Wednesday and Sundays .

Hey Budd, I didn't realize it was you runs train 51 into Washington on Wednesday and Sunday! I'm the one that takes it south to Charlottesville,Va. and brings train 50 back to DC. I'm on the board but have the job on "hold-down" right now.

Af, look for me tomorrow. I will be there. Of course they will make me cut the motor off and put it away ..

Do we have clear confirmation that the Cardinal's lone Viewliner sleeper is at the front of the train behind the baggage car, despite the Viewliner being at the rear of the train even when the baggage car was in place a few years back with a single level consist. With such a short consist, this is one train that I wouldn't expect to have complaints from passengers riding in the sleeper with the "swaying" and other complaints Amtrak supposedly got when they briefly moved the VIEWLINER sleepers to the rear of the single level eastern long distance overnight trains.

Amazing that complaints about "rough riding" with VIEWLINER sleepers on the rear quickly made Amtrak switch the sleepers back to the front of the train. Should we all send complaint letters about the Viewliners being on the front of the train - the noise from the engine, noise from the adjacent baggage car etc.

Ridiculous - the sleepers belong the REAR of the train. I would also think that having the VIEWLINERS on the rear of the long distance overnight eastern trains would allow for more versatility if they had to be switched out for servicing, as they seem to be more prone to maintenance issues than say the Amfleet II's.

With the Cardinals' Viewliner on the front of the train, I suppose the Amfleet Diner Lite is also now "turned" accordingly. Not that this helps to match table seating with the the windows for good viewing while eating! Argh! Please Amtrak - re-align the tables in the Amfleet II Diner Lite to match up to the windows better and punch out a window for the booth seat (that can seat four people) adjacent to the far vestibule. I think the engineers who designed this car must have been blind to the fact that train cars have windows and part of the "joy of dining onboard" is being able to "look out the window." The Amfleet Diner Lites just need some minor modifications to align the booths with the windows - fix the $cr&w up please!!!!

The Amfleet Viewliner Diner Lites - another car that is completely under-utilized as coach passengers don't realize they too can partake of a "sit-down" meal in this car, rather than just cafe food.

jp1822 wrote:Do we have clear confirmation that the Cardinal's lone Viewliner sleeper is at the front of the train behind the baggage car?

Yes, the consist now has the Viewliner behind the baggage car.

jp1822 wrote:Do we have clear confirmation that the Cardinal's lone Viewliner sleeper is at the front of the train behind the baggage car, [SNIP]

With the Cardinals' Viewliner on the front of the train, I suppose the Amfleet Diner Lite is also now "turned" accordingly.

I observed train 51 on Sunday, June 6th, passing the vicintiy of AF interlocking in Alexandria VA. Consist was P42 locomotive, Heritage baggage, Viewliner sleeper, Amfleet II cafe-lounge and three Amfleet II coaches. All Amfleet II cars are operated with vestibule to the rear, so the cafe section of the car faced the sleeper, while the lounge end of the car faced the coaches.

All Amfleet II cars are operated with vestibule to the rear, so the cafe section of the car faced the sleeper, while the lounge end of the car faced the coaches.

Ah super, double window pictures. Let's hope my trip is sunny.

Did you happen to see which end the Viewliner vestibule was placed?

Mike, on Sunday, the viewliner vestibule was placed on the end against the baggage car.

Mike, on Sunday, the viewliner vestibule was placed on the end against the baggage car.

Well that's a plus at least

Jersey_Mike wrote:

All Amfleet II cars are operated with vestibule to the rear, so the cafe section of the car faced the sleeper, while the lounge end of the car faced the coaches.

Ah super, double window pictures. Let's hope my trip is sunny.

Did you happen to see which end the Viewliner vestibule was placed?

Amtrak operates Viewliner sleepers with the vestibule forward, so the sleeper's vestibule was facing the rear of the baggage car while its blind end was facing the cafe end of the Amfleet II cafe-lounge car.

How are the 1700 series baggage cars placed normally on this run?

Or is there no real pattern there?

Thanks

Davis

It would seem that something has to change in this consist because the Amfleet Diner-Lite section is adjacent to the "coach section" and not the "sleeper" section causing what I am sure is a pain in the neck for some crew and even passengers. The "cafe" section of the Amfleet Diner-Lite has always been lined up to be adjacent to the coaches and this reversal, would seem it wouldn't last. I can remember that the Viewliner on the Three Rivers ran on the head-end with a Horizon Dinette and Amfleet II coaches. My guess is either through crew complaints that the Viewliner will be turned around or the Cardinal's consist will revert back to "what it was" with the Viewliner sleeper on the rear.

TREnecNYP wrote:This is a good development, as i've known people to turn away from this train specifically because of luggage space issues. Families going on vacation before school ends coming home w/ their family member who is in school etc especially.

- A

I specifically stayed away because of the lack of a baggage car. We have to check car seats for the grandchildren.

My guess is either through crew complaints that the Viewliner will be turned around or the Cardinal's consist will revert back to "what it was" with the Viewliner sleeper on the rear.

You mean the Cafe will be turned around as flipping the Viewliner won't solve the issue with the Diner Lite section. Having the coach vestibules face front would solve the issue of getting a scenic portal in the New River Gorge. All of this sleeper flip flopping is more than a little irritating as one of the features I was looking forward to on my trip was the rear mounted Viewliner. I am going to be traveling with my dad and having to spend several subdivisions in the rear of the train is less than ideal.