Viewliner II Delivery/Production

That was the plan, Mr. STL Steve.

However the usual culprit "surfaced".

Why is there a need to swap modules . just whip the toilets out , refresh everything else , job done.

StLouSteve wrote: ↑Sat Dec 02, 2023 6:49 am What about a program where Amtrak shops the V1s and brings them up to V2 standards including installing end of car toilet and removing the toilet bowls from the roomettes? Weren't the V1s built to be modular so they can be updated?

Believe it or not, there's a segment of the population that enjoys? having the in room toilet. Personally I find it gross. I think the reason it hasn't been done is because there are enough people that are vocal about wanting the in person rest room.

I must wonder how Amtrak space control handles the different configurations. Does Amtrak assign a specific number of V-II's to each single level set, or do they consider ALL V's to have the II's 11-2-1 configuration and, where a I shows up, they have an empty Roomette that maybe they can sell on-train?

I wouldn't say there is a segment of the population that wants an in room toilet, but there is a population that doesn't want to share a toilet with others and will accept an in room toilet to accomplish not having to share a toilet.

Just because you HAVE an in-room toilet doesn’t mean you have to use it.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Sun Dec 03, 2023 7:11 am Just because you HAVE an in-room toilet doesn’t mean you have to use it.

True, but you do have to sleep next to it!

Indeed. but it should have been serviced and cleaned prior to departure. If you're not taking a crap in there and you haven't eaten asparagus, provided there's not some type of malfunction, you shouldn't be subject to terrible odors.

Then you have the smell of the chemicals used to clean it . Some can be very strong in a small space.
I can't handle air fresheners, many of the car ones make me sick.

The Viewliner 1 refresh is not including removing the toilets. That ship sailed a few years ago. That was the plan back when the Viewliner 2s were ordered and Boardman was still around. That plan has been shelved since at least Anderson’s time.

David Benton wrote: ↑Sat Dec 02, 2023 5:09 pmWhy is there a need to swap modules . just whip the toilets out , refresh everything else , job done.

To give the Roomette passengers some replacement place, the plan also included removing 1 roomette and replacing it with 2 public toilets. Unfortunately, the location for that change was to be at the other end of the car from the opening in the car's side where room modules were to be removed.

JimBoylan wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:55 pm

David Benton wrote: ↑Sat Dec 02, 2023 5:09 pmWhy is there a need to swap modules . just whip the toilets out , refresh everything else , job done.

To give the Roomette passengers some replacement place, the plan also included removing 1 roomette and replacing it with 2 public toilets. Unfortunately, the location for that change was to be at the other end of the car from the opening in the car's side where room modules were to be removed.

You are right but maybe the toilet modules could be installed in the center of the car and leave the rest of the roomettes as is?

In my recent trip, the LSL I was on (on the 29th) was a Viewliner I. I was traveling with a friend who flew from Seattle to Baltimore to experience the trip as well (his last trip was on the Auto Train decades back). He's very heavy set to the detriment of his leg and movement, and the plane trip really didn't help his back.

The toilet in the Viewliner I is laughable... and unusable by him. We used the coach bathrooms (we were right behind the diner).

In comparison, I was on the Capitol Limited 30. The seats are uniformly wide.

I can definitely go for upgrading the Viewliner I's to Viewliner II's... and if the bathrooms are opposite the showers, then it becomes an order of operations to remove all the roomette modules before putting in the bathrooms.

I was originally a fan of the in-room toilet in the Viewliner roomettes but a 2013 cross country trip aboard Superliners converted me to the opposite view. I do prefer the Viewliner II configuration, but I can see the arguments on either side. Incidentally, in October I took a ride aboard an old Pullman sleeper behind Reading 2102 from Reading, PA to Jim Thorpe and back. (That's me above the H on Hickory Run at the 10:30 mark in this video!) While not operational, the compartment was equipped with a toilet so I guess that configuration has a long history!

Matt Johnson wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 2:34 pm I was originally a fan of the in-room toilet in the Viewliner roomettes but a 2013 cross country trip aboard Superliners converted me to the opposite view. I do prefer the Viewliner II configuration, but I can see the arguments on either side. Incidentally, in October I took a ride aboard an old Pullman sleeper behind Reading 2102 from Reading, PA to Jim Thorpe and back. (That's me above the H on Hickory Run at the 10:30 mark in this video!) While not operational, the compartment was equipped with a toilet so I guess that configuration has a long history!

I would need a room layout to really decide that. The issue really comes up with two people in the roomette.