by mtuandrew
John_Perkowski wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 8:06 am I think Tad’s hypothetical order has merit. I think the other part of it is you reorder the Santa Fe hi-level cars, and fully re equip the Western fleet. Build either the lounge or the diner to be the transition, and you’re done.I want to push back against this. Order all the single-level Pullman-Standard and Budd coaches you want* but if you want to use the Hi-Level dynamic envelope you may as well go whole-hog on what would become the Superliner. Knowing that the archetypal 10-6 sleeper would have to become at best a 10-4-1 sleeper (1 accessible room) and more likely a 12-2-1 sleeper as with today’s Viewliner, I’d rather have the flexibility and capacity of a 14-5-1-1 Superliner.
Here’s a point worthy of considering: A heavyweight sleeper outshopped in 1929 by Pullman was as old on A-Day as the Amfleet I and Superliners are today.
* as for the standard coaches, Tad is half-right: the Horizon was a great purchase and not very troublesome, though the Amfleet was a better purchase for Amtrak. Would’ve been nice to split the massive Budd order into a large Budd Amfleet order (converting the Metroliner fleet thusly into cabs), a medium P-S Comet order, and a mid-small Silverliner order for the high-speed service we were discussing.