I was suprised to see Amtrak decided to put the cloth seats in the lounge since they do wear. But they sure do look great!
Does anyone know when these will be spreaded to the rest of the Superliner trains? Looks like these are on the "New" Empire Builder.
Posts: 1082 | From: Los Angeles, CA. USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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i bet the lounges won't get the tables on the rest of the system, since they already have a dining car. but who knows. Brad
Posts: 15 | From: Eugene, Or | Registered: May 2005
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The tables in the lounge are likely for the wine and cheese tasting that is now a part of the Empire Builder's amenities (for sleeping car passengers).
It is comparable to the Pacific Parlour Car used on the Starlight. Only thing is the Empire's lounge will obviously not be first class only. Will be interesting what they do to keep the wine tasting to the extra fare paying passengers only. Unless the Builder has 2 lounge cars....I'm not super familiar with the consist.
-------------------- Matt Visit gallery for photos of our train layouts Posts: 579 | From: San Bernardino Subdivison | Registered: Dec 2001
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As I understand it, the EB upgrades are intended to be a model for system-wide upgrades. It is a laboratory of sorts to see what works and what doesn't before taking it further.
I was happy to see the lounge photos. I like the fact they have tables upstairs now to encourage social interaction. And I like the higher backs on the other seats. Its a good effort to make significant changes with minimal resources. In all, however, it still looks pretty cold and sterile. Nothing like the pre-Superliner lounges or the Pacific Parlour Car. A warmer color scheme might have helped. Blue, grey and white look too much like a medical clinic.
Posts: 2649 | From: California's Monterey Peninsula | Registered: Dec 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Southwest Chief: The tables in the lounge are likely for the wine and cheese tasting that is now a part of the Empire Builder's amenities (for sleeping car passengers).
It is comparable to the Pacific Parlour Car used on the Starlight. Only thing is the Empire's lounge will obviously not be first class only. Will be interesting what they do to keep the wine tasting to the extra fare paying passengers only. Unless the Builder has 2 lounge cars....I'm not super familiar with the consist.
The 'Empire Builder' lounge is the food service car on the Portland section. Perhaps the tables are used for meal service for the sleeping car passengers between Spokane and Portland.
There is also a section of 8 or 10 tables in one end of the superliner lounges used on the Auto-Train.......presumably for overflow meal service on that route.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Love the "musical entertainment" depicted in the photos. But when it comes to the reconfigured Lounge Car. . . I'm not crazy about Amtrak devoting half of the upper deck to booths.
Americans tend to be weird about having their personal space invaded by people they don't know. Let's face it, most of us share a table in an Amtrak Dining Car only because we're "forced to" by the crew.
I predict: unless each new Lounge Car booth is always occupied by a party of four traveling together, one or more seats at each table will usually remain empty. Even in high summer when the train is packed.
Only the boldest or drunkest among us will plop ourselves down in a boothful of total strangers -- particularly if those strangers (through body language or with a simple "get lost") choose to discourage others from encroaching on their turf.
I regularly notice this territorial behavior in Amtrak's single-level Cafe Cars -- where one or two passengers hog a four-person booth for hours on end. I doubt people will behave differently aboard a Superliner.
In comparison to the old single and dual seating, the new Lounge Car tables are also far less adaptable to different passenger groupings (which range from solo travelers to large herds of Mennonite farm kids).
Then too, the booths reduce the number of window seats (in the original cars, EVERY upper level seat was a window seat), and force many window seatees to ride backward. Fewer passengers will get a ringside view of America, despite the fact that the car is used primarily for sightseeing for up to 15 hours a day.
Yes, the seat coverings do look nice. But I give the new configuration a resounding thumbs-down.
After all, if passengers enjoy hanging out in booths during the evening, there's a much smarter solution already in place:
Use the Dining Car. Its carload of booths is, currently, a totally unused waste of space from dinner's end until breakfast time.
Posts: 793 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I too prefer the "old" Sightseer lounge seat configurations, and do NOT like the tables. In addition to being a waste of space, I prefer sitting in the lounge car facing the window, so I can look at the scenery and run my video camera. For people who want to be more "sociable," there are still plenty of opportunities to socialize in the old lounge configuration. The new table scheme in the Sightseer lounge looks WAY too "Amfleet-like."
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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