I've been on a Superliner (Texas Eagle) and Midwest regional trains (Lincoln Service, Wolverine) but never on a long distance service like the Lake Shore Limited that has Viewliner coaches. What should I expect in terms of the seats for my upcoming LSL trip?
If you look at a typical Superliner car, it doesn't really seem like what you'd typically think of a double decker train, and also doesn't seem super space efficient...
https://preview.redd.it/f3v379o1ft981.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0701c3463b1712f502ca0d25b1e09fea184fcc60
Notice how there are 11 windows on the top.... but why does the lower deck really exist, since there are like ~3 windows (and I'm assuming that's not for any passenger seats, instead for cafe car seating, or extra luggage storage, or restrooms, all of which I don't really believe should take up that much space altogether?!)
Now compare this to a single-deck Amfleet:
https://preview.redd.it/jtgw7tmjgt981.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d3a03605ac9fbcb4e7edab431e86357b4dabbf5
According to this forum (https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/dual-level-vs-single-level-cars.35049/) the Amfleet holds 59 passengers, while the Superliner Coach holds 75. That's only ~16 more passengers for a double-decker train, and not what I expect out of a double decker train (which should have nearly double the capacity.....)
My husband and I are traveling from Chicago to New Orleans on CONO and a bedroom just became available for our trip (we had been booked in a roomette).
After watching a couple bedroom tours on YouTube, I thought the upgrade would be worth the additional cost. However, after upgrading, I realized we’re in Bedroom A, which is smaller than the other bedrooms and is configured differently, which limits the floor space around the standalone chair and doesn’t offer a mirror (which seemed to aid in making the other bedrooms feel bigger). There’s also less room to store baggage. I did look up a video specifically of Bedroom A and it feels very claustrophobic.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any other bedrooms available at this time.
For anyone who’s traveled in Bedroom A on a superliner: Are we better off sticking with a roomette in terms of space/feeling cramped (putting aside the advantages of having a bathroom/shower in the bedroom)?
We’ve traveled 2 nights on the California Zephyr and a couple of 1-night trips in roomettes in the past and found it to be cozy, but not cramped (we’re both on the small side). I know that the bedroom offers much more space, but will Bedroom A feel more cramped than a roomette due to the room configuration?
The main benefit of the bedroom in times of the delta variant is the private bathroom, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the additional cost over the roomette.
Thanks for any insight!
Viewliner Sleeper (right), in front of a bag-dorm car on the Crescent #20
Amtrak Crescent #20, traveling from Union Passenger Terminal (NOL), following Pontchartrain Expressway/New Basin Canal path to the Cemeteries. From there, the train turns onto the New Orleans Terminal Company (now Norfolk Southern) Back Belt, out of town, to its first stop at Slidell. Here's a video of the Crescent with Anniversary-livery AMTK 161 in the lead. (Can't get past the Reddit "50x50 error" with this vid.)
I know I recently posted a similar video, but I thought it interesting to compare the Amtrak passenger cars that we see here in New Orleans. I caught the City of New Orleans train and shared that video last week. The City uses "Superliner" cars, which are bi-level, on routes that don't go into the Northeast Corridor. The higher cars offer great views. Here's a blog post explaining it all in detail.
Because of the tunnels going into the stations in New York City (Penn Station, NYP) and Baltimore, Amtrak continues to use single-level, "Viewliner" equipment. That's what you see here, on the Crescent. This run up to NYP was pulled by AMTK 161, in its "Phase I 50th" livery.
I need to actually sleep on my next overnight coach ride, upper didn't work out for me so well.
I am looking for ideas for conveniently storing Kato Amtrak Superliners other than the jewel cases. I love the bookcase for this purpose with the other Kato Amtrak cars I have. I asked Kato and they told me none of the bookcases would fit the Superliners as is.
I am thinking of getting an empty bookcase and then finding a block of foam and cutting it to fit the Superliners. I am not sure what type of foam it is or if the type really matters.
My girlfriend and I recently completed a long-anticipated overnight segment on the Zephyr between Denver and Chicago, and unfortunately had quite a miserable night. I wanted to make this post and see what experiences others have had and hopefully discern whether it was a fluke or if overnight train travel in the US just doesn't work for us.
We were assigned roomette 14 during boarding, which turned out to be on the lower level towards the end of our Superliner I car. I don't know what exactly to attribute it to, but some combination of bad tracks, lower-level room, and older Superliner I ride quality had resulted in a very loud and jostling evening. The sound of going over the tracks at 80mph was like a machine gun, and the train horn was also being used several times a minute. In addition, the train car was knocking us around quite severely almost nonstop.
Ultimately, it was a lot of stimulus to handle at once and we didn't manage to sleep until the sun began to rise again, and even then it was not at all restful. We had a full itinerary for the rest of our day in Chicago and we were stumbling around as if we paid for a red-eye flight ⅒th the cost of our roomette. I've had decent sleep in both coach seats and beds on European trains so I was expecting to handle Amtrak similarly, but that was not the case.
I'll admit we didn't have the foresight to bring earplugs which probably would have helped a good amount, but I still wouldn't want to sleep in those conditions again even with them, and certainly not for more than one night.
We spoke with a passenger in the dining car who took several overnight trips in the upper cabins and couldn't relate to any of our issues. And indeed, when upstairs it was much quieter and the movement of the train seemed less of a jolt and more like a sway.
Some questions that are brought up:
- Could a lot of our issues have been inherent to sleeping on the lower level or is that just how travelling on rural routes goes?
- Is there a reliable method to ensure an upper-level booking next time we decide to travel overnight on Superliners? I don't think either of us would spend the time and money again without a guarantee of an upper-level accomodation.
- Is the comfort of the viewliner roomettes on the east coast similar to that of an upper-level superliner or are they somewhere in the middle?
Thanks all!
Can someone track this railcar number for me. I called csx but the bot just says a bunch of stuff that i cant understand.
The railcar number is ttgx691079
I wanna get on a newly refurbished superliner for the SW chief
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