We just returned today from an interesting rail journey. The overriding theme is: Has Amtrak deferred maintenance on its Viewliner sleepers? We had one of the large bedrooms on each of 4 trains and 3 of 4 had issues.
Silver Meteor: Our room was a toasty 86 degrees (or more as our travel thermometer goes no higher). The train was sold out but after 5 hours we were moved to a smaller room (sorry, but roomette applies to old one person rooms)in another car which was nice and chilly. It was available due to a no show employee.
Lake Shore Limited: Boston sleeper: 82 degrees throughout the trip. Promised that Albany mechanics would check it out but all they did was make a 1 minute effort to throw a switch in a control panel after the train had sat there for 90 minutes waiting on the NY section.
Cardinal: Excellent sleeper: very cool and all worked well.
Crescent: So-so a/c...temp in the room was about 77 but it felt acceptable since we carry travel fans and compared to two prior sleepers, it was at least below 80. A loud banging under the car (maybe the coupler?) kept us awake some of the night.
Overall, very poor equipment maintenance. Much of this is a flaw in Viewliner cars as they have 2 separate a/c systems. The deluxe and handicapped bedroom end often is hot while the rest of the car is chilly.
Posted by Southwest Chief (Member # 1227) on :
Not just the Viewliners.
I've been reading several reports of P42s dying or unavailable for service in the past few months.
Posted by amtrak92 (Member # 14343) on :
I know my car Summer View on one the Silver Meteor was freezing in the bedrooms. While the area with roomettes was comfortable. I had trouble sleeping in the cold. I have also dealt with the locomotive problem but it wasn't on my train. It was on the train behind us and we dropped a locomotive off for it. And we lost power in the middle of the night, as they were taking the third locomotive off.
Posted by SilverStar092 (Member # 2652) on :
Unless it's in the dead of winter, I'd be happy to have had a freezing car. Shutting the a/c vents usually warms things up plus it may be possible acquire an extra blanket. The only way to survive the heat was with a fan we carried and even that was of limited help. Bottom line: Amtrak's maintenance is not in good order, at least as it relates to sleepers and engines.
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
Sad to say but I suspect you improve your odds on any train trip if you take it in spring or fall. Less likely to see extreme temperatures, delays due to track maintenance programs, avoid summer or holiday crowds. So you can tell your friends-take Amtrak only if you travel the first week of November or March.
Interesting that Cardinal sleeper was good - that was our experience earlier this year. Hope to see a trip report.
Posted by amtrak92 (Member # 14343) on :
I could agree on the Spring and Fall. But I should have gotten an extra blanket, but I just put it out of my mind. But I think they aren't maintaining everything right. Maybe that is the bargaining chip for new equipment. But also the maintenance facilities are backlogged.
Posted by Ray S (Member # 3175) on :
I live in south Florida and over the years have taken many trips in a Viewliner bedroom back and foth to Wash DC. Dozen or more. Never had what I would call a really cool room. Temp in the rest of the car always seems cold.
Posted by City of Miami (Member # 2922) on :
I just returned from my 27 day trip which involved six trains (total of 9 days & 5 nights on the trains). All were on time; the last, 2(01) left LAX 2 hrs 15 min late and arrived on time in SAS last night. In LA they cited 'mechanical problems discovered in the yard' as the cause of the delay and I for one was happy they 'discovered' them in the yard rather than on the road. There seemed to be brief intermittent power issues throughout that trip but it was minor - for passengers at least.
Everything seemed to be in good working order...no breakdowns, no non-functional toilets. I didn't even use my duct tape or safety pins. I had some outstanding car attendants and diner crew. All trains were clean and well patronized. In SLO I walked down to the station for the 11/14 meet everyday and they were both on time (with PPCs) every day.
So I have no complaint after a MAJOR Amtrak experience. I enjoyed every moment and it was not a minute too long. I got where I wanted to go in a very agreeable mannner and at an acceptable price. What's not to like?
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
I had a similarly excellent 14-day western trip on 12 different trains this May, with 7 nights on the train; I posted a "response" to it just so it moves back up and you can see it, City of Miami. My Florida trips last winter were also fine. Did have a few problems on Crescent to Atlanta last March, but OTP was fine.
Would love to hear more details of your trip when you have a chance!
Posted by SilverStar092 (Member # 2652) on :
I've had few problems on the western trains. The problem seems to be most evident in Viewliner bedrooms (what used to be called "de;ux" and accessible") as the a/c is lousy in that end of the cars. From here on, I will reserve the smaller rooms when traveling in summer.
Posted by PullmanCo (Member # 1138) on :
I would ask the question by way of certified mail, return receipt, to Amtrak at 60 Mass...
There just are not excuses for mechanical problems. You're paying a premium rate + transportation for a 42 sq ft rolling hotel room. Up to the last day, the Pullman Company understood this. They were in the business of comfortable travel by rail
Posted by Amtrak207 (Member # 1307) on :
Parents had a cold sleeper a little over a year ago on 49- it's just the luck of the draw sometimes. Viewliners seem to pick one temperature (or distributions thereof) and stay that way. Amfleet equipment tends to just vary all over the place. I noticed that the adjustability to all three thermostats on my March "Insane in the Train I" trip was kind of touchy; I had to start with the thermostat right in the middle of the range and make very small adjustments over fifteen-minute increments.
Many Viewliners have been going through moderate overhauls over the past year and a half. If yours still has a name, it's one of the ones that hasn't been touched for a while. About all that the road maintenance crews can do is try resetting the breakers. Since the Viewliner pool is in constant use and has never been rehabilitated, I won't be too surprised if it takes another 2-3 years of budgeted maintenance to get them all working again. At least yours didn't involve any major mechanical faults. On 48 in 2002 I heard that "there was a large puff of smoke out of the clerestory vents and the entire car's electrical system went dead" and the car had to be evacuated.
In 2006 my sleeper's windows leaked (water, inside) and none of the light switches worked. In my early 2010 trip all three cars I rode in all the buttons worked, the toilets worked, the lights worked, and the temperature stabilized at the cool side of comfortable. The showers worked too, and the curtains weren't threadbare. One car was a veteran (still named) and the other two had been through the shop, one within the past few months. Plus all the bunks and seat recliners worked. Air quality was great. I have allergies.
I have to agree about shutting down many of the vents; I also used the low and medium fan speeds exclusively. In the daytime I'll open the windowsill vents partway and turn one wall vent on. At night the sill vents get closed. During the day I also open the door if I'm not napping.
One of my considerations in buying luggage is whether or not the prospective bag is the right height and profile to use to prop up an Amfleet (II or I biz-cafe) leg rest when the latches fail, six months out of overhaul. Instead I just shove my bag underneath it to prop it up. Works great!
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
This "State of Good Repair" discussion leads me to wonder if possibly the expectation curve is too high - not only with Amtrak and other public agency sponsored transportation, but also the private sector as well.
Two weeks ago, I was on a United flight returning from Richmond (KRIC) to Chicago (KORD); the aircraft was an A-320 still in Battleship Gray, or now two liveries (latest being the Continental livery) out of date. While nothing here is to be construed that I had any reservations regarding the aircraft's airworthiness, it just "looked shopworn' with noticeable scratches on the exterior and an interior complete with now-disabled Airfones - and in my case a seat pocket that had doubled as someone else's trash barrel.
But no harm done, and as I've often remarked about air travel "no fun, but in a few hours over and done". However I should note that with an Amtrak trip, is is a bit more that the "few hours...." noted and since for so many here, especially judging from the several postscripts several members choose to attached to messages, the journey is part of the fun, the impact from any of the shortcomings noted in earlier postings is greater than on the 2hr flight I've noted.
I think the maintenance standards that The Pullman Company ascribed to (I was once moved from a Roomette to a Duplex Room on the Broadway because the fluorescent lighting was "flickering') are simply unrealistic in our contemporary "lean and mean" world. Public agencies are perpetually broke (have they ever been otherwise?) and are always looking for a non-essential, i.e. other than safety, corner to cut. Private sector airlines must "keep 'em flying' in order to eek out a living.
This is life in "lost decade" recession riddled 21st century. While it is great to hope for the best, I think one must accept that "expect the worst (well not quite)" could well be watchwords.
Finally, I guess a good airfan (Mr. Andy Smith seems to be one; and so for that matter was DPM) would have recorded that A-320's registration (tail) number, and awaited it to be the first Airbus appearing in "Continental" livery - and the first non-Boeing aircraft to wear the new colors.
Posted by Southwest Chief (Member # 1227) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: This "State of Good Repair" discussion leads me to wonder if possibly the expectation curve is too high
Interesting thought to ponder. Especially for climate controls, working lights, dirty windows, etc...
But when it comes to major mechanical failures, there have been more then a few lately that either I endured or knew someone who was on the train.
1) Coast Starlight pulls out of Los Angleles a few feet and then has to wait an hour to get the second loco to cooperate. If this had happened anywhere outside of Los Angeles where there just happens to be loco repairmen and the possible spare loco a measly hour could have been much worse.
2) Southwest Chief locos loose air compressor, one near Kansas City the other near Trinidad. BNSF freight loco had to pull the crippled train the rest of the way. 10 + hours late.
These two instances where within the last two weeks.
Amtrak has some serious locomotive issues and they might be getting worse. My cousin works in the Chicago Amtrak facility. He says most of the P42s in the long distance train pool are in rough shape mechanically with most needing major overhauls. Overhauls which Amtrak does not have the money nor time to do at the moment.
Posted by SilverStar092 (Member # 2652) on :
Given the absurdly high sleeper charges, it is not unreasonable to expect tolerable air-conditioning. Note that I said "tolerable" not "excellent". If there is a compressor problem with the a/c, shop crews should swap it out before the car makes another run. Amtrak should adopt the same standards as any reputable hospitality company.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
Not for one moment am I suggesting that any commercial carrier be excused under any circumstances, such as 'we're broke', to operate vehicles/crafts in any less than road/air/sea/worthy condition. No way!!!
But when I read 'carps' (including my own about United's Battleship Grey A-320) to the effect of "it looked shopworn", 'the curtains didn't fit",. "I need some duct tape" would all have been "not an option' with The Pullman Company, this is a different world in transportation today.
Finally, Mr. Turner's immediate comment falls into the "in between' world; properly working HVAC within a car that he has paid the King's Ransom to occupy, SHOULD be addressed. But the fact remains that both parties fulfilled the transportation contract (he paid; they delivered). As for myself, again the transportation contract was fulfilled - hey, I'm here to tell you about it.
Posted by ehbowen (Member # 4317) on :
On my recent trip back from Chicago, the Roomettes half of my Superliner sleeper likewise had an A/C problem. (Fortunately, my father and I had a Bedroom) People were complaining about the A/C from the time they boarded. When we arrived in St. Louis (three hours late, due to a detour over UP's ex-C&EI freight line for track work) an Amtrak mechanic was able to get it running with a few minutes work, for which the other passengers in the car were grateful. Still, I can't help but think that there is very little excuse for dispatching a car from the Chicago maintenance base without working A/C.