posted
I just saw the pictures of the newly refurbished Pacific Parlour Car heading back to LA to get ready for the relaunch of the Coast Starlight this summer. And I must say I'm disapointed that it looks exactly like the old Parlour Cars, except with some tacked on electrical outlets and a brassy glass case installed on the bar.
It has the same upholstery pattern, same curtains, same vinyl, same wall paneling, same light fixtures, same everything. I assume all of that upholstery and carpet is new, but it's the same 1990's bland design and color patterns.
And this seems to me to be a lost opportunity. The Parlour Car is exclusive to the Coast Starlight, and it always has been. Amtrak seems very confident that the Parlour Car will continue to be a Starlight exclusive. So why not play up the West Coast theme of the train more in the Parlour Car? Why go with this bland (not to mention rather 1990's dated) looking design statement?
Why not use fabrics and patterns and colors that evoke the culture and sights of the West Coast that you'll be seeing along the Starlight route? Greens, blues and tans in crisp fabrics would play up the West Coast angle much more than 1990's burgundy and grey and brass trim seemingly borrowed from the lobby of a dentists office. And along the blank walls near the food service end of the car, how about putting up some nicely framed artsy photos of the West Coast cities the Starlight visits? In the end units near the vestibule, how about installing glass fronted display cases showcasing local Indian artwork or unique West Coast artifacts and culture? (I imagine an arrangement could be made with any of the dozens of museums in the cities served by the Starlight to loan out revolving art and small displays, with a sign thanking the museum for their gracious loan of course. And if that's too much work, just go on Ebay and buy some stuff yourself! Old logging equipment, old ski bindings, 1960's surfwear; there's a million things you could put on display that would be fun to look at and meaningful to the train route.)
The downstairs theater offers an additional space to include framed West Coast art on the walls, as well as interior design that truly reflects the country you are riding through, rather than a generic train car. How about an old Hollywood theme to the theater, with photos of famous 1940's movie stars arriving at LA Union Station?
The basic concept of the Pacific Parlour Car as an exclusive Sleeping Car space is so great, and it offers so much potential. And yet Amtrak really seems to have dropped the ball by not giving the Parlour Car a West Coast edge and design direction. The Parlour Car would never be sent off to run a Texas Eagle route or a Hiawatha commuter run, so why keep such a bland and meaningless design scheme going in a car dedicated to the West Coast?
Quite honestly, the rolling Dentists Office Lobby look isn't working for me.
sbalax Member # 2801
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I've got to agree with you, MA. They had a chance to do something interesting and chose not to. It was probably a question of funding. No money for design work or switching to anything new. I like the idea of the artifacts. It works very well for "theme" restaurants and I'm old enough to remember the Micronesian art in the Diamond Head Lounge (upper deck) on the first Continental 747's.
Frank in HOT SBA.
smitty195 Member # 5102
posted
It was either this, or no Parlour Cars at all. I'll take this.
Back when Mr. Kummant took over as CEO of Amtrak, the decision had already been made by his predecessor to remove the cars from service, strip them down, and scrap them. Then Mr. Kummant took his first ride on the Coast Starlight with the Parlour Car (#39974) on the train. I was on this train with him. He was extremely impressed, and told me at the time, "I need to re-think the notion of scrapping these cars. I really like them". Over the next several months, nobody was sure what would happen to them. Eventually, Mr. Kummant decided to keep them, but they would need major mechanical overhauls (especially the HVAC system). Like many things at Amtrak, it all comes down to the almighty dollar. Somehow, they were able to secure funding for keeping these cars. They didn't win the lottery and have an unlimited bank account to work with---they had a set and fixed amount, and did with them what they could in order to keep them on the road.
I'm curious to see if these cars will now maintain a comfortable temperature in the summer! In previous years, those cars got awfully hot in mid-afternoon. Not always, and on some trips it was perfectly comfortable. But as time went on, one (or both) of the a/c units would fail---making it unbearable to sit in there. Although on one trip, a group of cruise ship tourists decided that come hell or high water, they were going to hog the car and have it all to themselves.....and they did.....in the 100+ temp it was inside that car. Whatever floats your boat!
But as much as we could look at the Parlour Cars and say, "Gosh, they should have done (fill in the blank)", personally, I'm happy to say, "I'm really glad we still have them, and that they have been overhauled so that the carpet and seats are not ripped, the car is clean, there is a new movie theater on the lower level (new TV and new movie contract with specific studios), a STAFFED car (as opposed to nobody in there), etc". After all, those cars could be sitting in Beech Grove right now all stripped down and waiting for the scrapper.
JONATHON Member # 2899
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well they didnt have alot of time, rite? the Starlights only down due to an accident, so they from what I know they didnt have time to plan anything major right?
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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I'm with Smitty on this one. The Parlour Car interiors were originally designed with input from Amtrak employees who worked the route and knew their customers. I think the design and color scheme is just fine as is. The cars are comfortable, and if you want earth tones the abundant woodwork provides. The wooden bar has a brass footrail, and the etched acrylic partitions with the train in the mountain scene is west-coast themed enough. These cars are the most luxurious in Amtrak's system. To say they are "bland" and no better than a dentist's waiting room is, frankly, absurd. That better describes a Sightseer Lounge.
Expecting Amtrak to do more on a shoestring budget, like Smitty said, is highly unrealistic. Be glad Amtrak budgeted a mechanical overhaul and thorough cleanup to keep these half-century old gems running at all. They were literally days away from being taken off-line completely when Mr. Kummant saw one and decided to spare them from the scrap yard.
MightyAlweg Member # 5407
posted
quote: These cars are the most luxurious in Amtrak's system. To say they are "bland" and no better than a dentist's waiting room is, frankly, absurd. That better describes a Sightseer Lounge.
Expecting Amtrak to do more on a shoestring budget, like Smitty said, is highly unrealistic. Be glad Amtrak budgeted a mechanical overhaul and thorough cleanup to keep these half-century old gems running at all. They were literally days away from being taken off-line completely when Mr. Kummant saw one and decided to spare them from the scrap yard. [/QB]
Well, if your dentist has a less attractive, older waiting area than a Parlour Car, maybe it's time to find a new dentist?
All kidding aside, I appreciate the info and backstory on the Parlour Cars. Previous to this thread I had no clue who the CEO of Amtrak might be, and I had no idea that he personally "saved" the Parlour Cars from extinction. But then I am a very, very amateur train fan and don't know all of these types of details. I simply like to take the Surfliner to San Diego once or twice a year, and have been on the Coast Starlight a few times in the past decade. Also, I spend too much time on the Internet.
And that might be a good thing to remember here, that the vast majority of the people who are sitting in a Parlour Car this summer will have absolutely no idea who Mr. Kumant is, or what the history of the Parlour Car is, or what happens in Beech Grove, Illinois. All they'll know is that the Parlour Car is reasonably well maintained, yet clearly nowhere near the 2008 standards for fashionable interior design and nothing out of the ordinary.
And since Amtrak went to the expense and hassle of keeping the Parlour Cars, wouldn't it be neat if they just took it one step further and plussed it up a bit and made it unique to the route it serves? Wishful thinking perhaps, but many succesful companies are succesful simply because they exceed expectations and focus on the details rather than just try to meet expectations and expect the customer to fit into their predetermined molds.
RRRICH Member # 1418
posted
Has the "Stublight" been running with Parlour Cars to Klamath Falls?
As Smitty said, yes, the HVAC systems need renovation in these cars. During my 1998 trip, I too was in a very very HOT Parlour Car from Portland to Sacramento. It was so hot, that very very few people were sitting in it other than myself. The next morning, however, passing through N. California, I went back into the Parlour Car and it was nice and cool, and the attendant (they actually still had Parlour Car attendants then!) told me he just "flipped a switch" and the car got cool again -- I don't know if he was serious when he told me that, though......
smitty195 Member # 5102
posted
quote:Originally posted by JONATHON: well they didnt have alot of time, rite? the Starlights only down due to an accident, so they from what I know they didnt have time to plan anything major right?
Hi Jonathon,
First of all, thanks for your report for the La Plata trip. Those pictures of the Parlour Car are the first to hit the internet! Good job. I wish I could have gone with you guys this time, but I had too many other things happening.
As far as Amtrak not having the time and the mudslide up in the Cascades, actually, these things had no bearing on the Parlour Cars at all. The relaunch of the train was planned a year ago, and for the most part, everything is somewhat on-time........although the relaunch has been delayed by an undetermined amount of time right now. But time is not the issue at all----it's money.
I'm just looking forward to the relaunch finally happening. I'm really curious to see what the Saturday/Sunday brunch buffet will be like in the Parlour Cars, as well as the new downstairs movie theater and what films will be played. I wonder if they will bring back films in the Sightseer Lounge car for coach passengers?
PullmanCo Member # 1138
posted
quote:And this seems to me to be a lost opportunity. The Parlour Car is exclusive to the Coast Starlight, and it always has been. Amtrak seems very confident that the Parlour Car will continue to be a Starlight exclusive. So why not play up the West Coast theme of the train more in the Parlour Car? Why go with this bland (not to mention rather 1990's dated) looking design statement?
Why not use fabrics and patterns and colors that evoke the culture and sights of the West Coast that you'll be seeing along the Starlight route?
I've got a real novel concept: Let's redecorate these wonderful fifty-plus year old cars as they were before A-Day: The KACHINA LOUNGES of the El Capitan, the last true premier coach train on any railroad!
Of course, I suspect Amtrak used what was in their fabric storeroom at BG. It's not as though Amtrak has money to create custom cars as the railroads did before they surrendered their franchises 37 years ago Thursday.
CoastStarlight99 Member # 2734
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Well said Andy!
Southwest Chief Member # 1227
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Were the Parlors really going to be scrapped? I doubt it.
They likely would have been sold off to private owners, tourist lines, etc...
Sort of like what happened to many of the Hi-Level coaches and coach/dorms.
What an awful waste of such historic cars to simply scrap them. I'm sure at least one if not all would have been gobbled up by someone once Amtrak decided to get rid of them.
Just looked at the pictures. Not bad. But I'm weirded out by the new side striping. Not going to match the Superliners at all. What were they thinking on that large blue section? The old phase IV matched well with Superliners. I think it was even strategically placed at the right height to match the taller Supers.
If it were me, I'd make the stripes line up and match as best they could with IVb Supers. The teal blue section would have to be very small. So no room for the new name or little white "Superliner" lettering like the Supers have. Then I'd get rid of the old Pacific Parlour design on the lower placard and put the new car name there as well as the new sheets logo.
Scroll down to locate pictures of the interior and exterior. Click on any photo to see a larger size.
Jarrod Member # 4318
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quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: Has the "Stublight" been running with Parlour Cars to Klamath Falls?
No, the consists have been Sleepers, Diner, Sightseer Lounge, Coaches...
20thCenturyLimited Member # 1108
posted And since Amtrak went to the expense and hassle of keeping the Parlour Cars, wouldn't it be neat if they just took it one step further and plussed it up a bit and made it unique to the route it serves? Wishful thinking perhaps, but many succesful companies are succesful simply because they exceed expectations and focus on the details rather than just try to meet expectations and expect the customer to fit into their predetermined molds.
*Sigh* Your'e right, you really are a very new and amateur Amtrak Fan.
I think you need to take the time to really learn about Amtrak, it's history and it's struggles, especially with proper funding. Yeah, we'd ALL like it to be super luxury, but......
Amtrak207 Member # 1307
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Sigh... It's no Dyner-Leite but it'll do... You guys don't know how good you've got it. Lakeshore first class passengers have to look forward to... meals in a Lounge-Hevvey car or a trip in a Horizon cafe car that is pitch black outside because it hasn't been washed this year. Besides, that upholstery-choosing stuff is the kind of nonsense that delayed the Turbos into oblivion and pushed back the Acelas' launch. Someone said it took Amtrak six months to decide what color the curtains should be. It's there, so use it, create a demand for it, and tell politicians and Amtrak employees how much you enjoy it. Amtrak could have VERY easily converted these cars back to their Amtrak look pre-PP cars, say in the eighties and early nineties- you're going to say this sounds familiar, especially if you've eaten in Lounge-Hevvey lately- half booths, half lounge pedestal seating, all in brown, yellow, and orange. They've still got the stuff laying around. That would be retro!
posted ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)