Sleeping Car Virtual Tour now at www.amtrak.com

That's cool! If only Amtrak had more sleeper space to sell.

They only have the Superliners in their tour.

Wonder if we'll find any frayed cushions or duct tape ?

hsr_fan wrote:That's cool! If only Amtrak had more sleeper space to sell.

IIRC, the general conclusion, at least with regards to the Superliner-equipped trains, is that sleeper capacity has not been an issue:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35015

wigwagfan wrote:IIRC, the general conclusion, at least with regards to the Superliner-equipped trains, is that sleeper capacity has not been an issue:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35015

Perhaps, but I think it's certainly an issue on the single level trains. Amtrak's decision to retire the Heritage crew dorms only worsened the problem. If Amtrak isn't going to get additional Viewliners, I think they need to look at creative ways of getting more single level sleeper capacity, be it through converting Amfleet coaches or bringing back Heritage cars or whatever.

Could there be a reason why Amtrak only released the virtual tour for the Superliners, for that very reason (lack of availability on the Viewliners)?

Either way a neat feature; hopefully Amtrak will be offering more. I've always enjoyed the interior photographs available at www.360360.com , hopefully Amtrak might license use of those photos.

Regarding sleeper space and Amtrak - from personal experience, I tried booking a trip from East Coast to West Coast in early June for the later part of June and with lots of dates in hand. I could get a sleeper from East Coast to Chicago for the most part, but I could NOT get a sleeper from Chicago west on multiple dates (be it a roomette or bedroom). And keep in mind I had to make connections in Chicago (sleeper to sleeper long distance train).

I then called Amtrak reservations to see if there was revenue space being sold in the Trans/Dorm. She kindly said yes and that was booked up too. I was trying to book on the Southwest Chief or CA Zephyr, with last resort as the Empire Builder (only like to take this train eastbound).

Well I couldn't get sleeper space available for the various dates I needed (with flexibility) so guess what - Amtrak lost out and I decided to take my summer vacation to the Canadian Maritimes, with VIA Rail as mode of transport (then car etc.). No trouble there booking a sleeper as sleepers are added to meet demand! So instead of visiting friends and vacationing on the West Coast of the US, I headed for the Canadian Maritimes.

Perhaps a sleeper was available for one section of the Amtrak journey, but I needed a connection. Now its being reported that sleeper space on Amtrak in July is limited!?! Looking forward to my return on the Adirondack (from Montreal) - will be slow and delayed as usual I suspect. And all those boarding in Canada get jammed into two out of the four coaches. Fun! So far on VIA, its been a pleasurable journey. Sorry but the lounge space makes all the difference (i.e. Skyline Dome, Park Dome/Car).

And I was not booking a summer vacation just to take a "train." Vacationing or visiting with friends is the main purpose, train just happens to be preferred mode of transport when available.

Tales like TP's regarding equipment capacity are why Amtrak needs to find the money to get whatever equipment is at Beech Grove servicable again. I used to have a list of it by type of car, but right now I can't seem to find it.

JoeG wrote:They only have the Superliners in their tour.

Why? They need to include their Viewliners too.

What was wrong with the Heritage crew dorms that led to their removal from service? I find it extremely frustrating that Amtrak chose to worsen the Viewliner capacity shortage by retiring the crew dorms and putting crew members into Viewliners instead. VIA Rail manages to keep its old Budd equipment in top shape, and also seems to recognize the importance of having adequate sleeper capacity on long distance trains. In fact, I think it normally runs with more sleepers than coaches on overnight trains.

I think Amtrak needs to address the Viewliner issue, either through better equipment utilization, or reintroduction of Heritage equipment to supplement the Viewliners, or a combination of the two. If new Viewliners aren't in the immediate future, there have to be other ways to increase first class capacity. The demand is there.

Mr HSR_fan,

I suspect some Assistant Vice-President did an economic model and said "These are getting too costly."

His boss said "Pull them."

Okay, now this is the kind of innovative thinking that I'm talking about! I'm flat out shocked that Amtrak is actually doing something like this!

Amtrak partners with luxury rail company

Still, they do definitely need to increase the regularly scheduled non-luxury sleeper space.

Edit: Okay, maybe it's not such a big deal. Sounds like the same model as when it was AOE - a few trips vs regularly scheduled service year round.

Mr hsr_fan,

Let me point you back a few weeks:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=39626

For more fun, I will point you to a specific post:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 982#407982

I called GrandLuxe. They're only offering end to end runs ... no shorts.

Why do I want to go to Chicago to catch a train that rolls right through my home city??? (3-4)

Why do I want to go to Chicago to catch a train which rolls not 3 hours from my front door? (5-6)

I hope GrandLuxe makes money; I hope more so Amtrak didn't give a revenue guarantee to GL.