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  • Viewliner II Delivery/Production

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1597730  by mcgrath618
 
Thank you all for the advice. I did indeed ride 48 in one of the VIIs.

I cannot see a world in which I would've preferred a toilet in my room instead of just the sink. I think I'd be pretty uncomfortable sleeping next to that. Getting up and going to the bathroom was fine.
The car tracked ok. Not great, but definitely better than the VIs. I imagine at least part of this has to do with how poor the track geometry is on NS. I would love to take the Silver Star and see how a VII tracks on the NEC. The interior will probably hold up far better than the VIs, which look ancient already.
The diner was superb. These cars should be on every LD train. Absolutely gorgeous.
 #1597757  by Matt Johnson
 
Thanks for the report. I have only been aboard the Viewliner I sleeper but from what I've seen the Viewliner II sleeper improves upon everything that needed improvement and is pretty darn near perfect in terms of design. I just wish Amtrak had ordered more than 25 of 'em, but I hope that either more are produced in the future or the design influences whatever the next generation of long distance rolling stock ends up being.

(I have been aboard a Viewliner II dining car - also quite nice and I'd love to see a sightseer lounge version.)
 #1597770  by west point
 
Has it been definitely established, that Amtrak owns the bule prints for V-2s? If so, biggest problem is can Amtrak find vendors to duplicate the interior s of V-2s.
Wonder if the V-2's various interiors will fit into a Siemens car? If so, all that the Siemens cars would need to be modified is that the modification would allows cutting in a removal side panel like V-2s. That would work if the modification can pass the crush test.
Definitely a lot of "IFs"
Last edited by nomis on Tue May 17, 2022 8:31 pm, edited 2 times in total. Reason: Fixed bad quote
 #1597772  by west point
 
Greg Moore wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:17 pm As bad as it was, I think CAF would still be the place to go for more. But time's running out.
Whoever can guarantee delivery the quickest. CAF would need to provide definite OTP>
 #1597774  by daybeers
 
Amtrak will definitely not be using CAF anymore, and probably won't get any new viewliners either. Superliner replacements will probably be the new single-level standardized design.
 #1598487  by markhb
 
daybeers wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 11:19 pm Amtrak will definitely not be using CAF anymore, and probably won't get any new viewliners either. Superliner replacements will probably be the new single-level standardized design.
That, at least, is a win for HC accessibility, if not for the current lounges, etc.

The one time I rode in a V-I sleeper, I had two observations about the in-room toilet:
  1. If your diet happens to contain too high a percentage of sketchy fast food, living in a small room with it isn't the most pleasant experience.
  2. The device fits your posterior perfectly if your name is Ariana Grande (I've seen her relatively up-close in person; the lady is very petite). For anyone larger, it may not be the most comfortable fit.
I would say, even sight-unseen, that going to hall-based facilities was an excellent idea.
 #1598678  by alewifebp
 
Let's not forget that the toilet was also right next to a window, where the curtains aren't always neatly aligned and left light gaps. Not exactly the best experience in total to be quite honest, even though they were convenient.
 #1598729  by hrsn
 
alewifebp wrote: Tue May 31, 2022 12:06 am Let's not forget that the toilet was also right next to a window, where the curtains aren't always neatly aligned and left light gaps. Not exactly the best experience in total to be quite honest, even though they were convenient.
Esp. in the middle of the night when no one else was wandering around to worry about. Of course, climbing down from the top bunk was a challenge!
 #1598794  by WhartonAndNorthern
 
west point wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 10:10 pm Has it been definitely established, that Amtrak owns the bule prints for V-2s? If so, biggest problem is can Amtrak find vendors to duplicate the interior s of V-2s.
Wonder if the V-2's various interiors will fit into a Siemens car? If so, all that the Siemens cars would need to be modified is that the modification would allows cutting in a removal side panel like V-2s. That would work if the modification can pass the crush test.
Definitely a lot of "IFs"
I believe that Amtrak owned the V1 drawings and production rights and the V2 contract was an attempt to find a contractor to build to print rather than design and build.

I believe the interior modules themselves were subcontracted to RailPlan International. Took me a while to remember/google for the source of that (another discussion site) and they've since merged so the website doesn't show the modules like it used to. So yes, Amtrak can call RailPlan and say build us more modules. However the rumor mill has suggested that some of the V2 issues were getting the modules to fit. Apparently, QC was lacking on the RailPlan side or CAF side or both.

Edit: googling a different route, here is the module vendor's website https://www.milman.ca/projects/listing/ ... wliner-II/
 #1598801  by R36 Combine Coach
 
WhartonAndNorthern wrote: Wed Jun 01, 2022 3:31 pm I believe that Amtrak owned the V1 drawings and production rights and the V2 contract was an
attempt to find a contractor to build to print rather than design and build.
The Viewliner is an in-house design. The 1988 prototypes (two sleepers and one diner) were built in-house by
Beech Grove, with the shells subcontracted to Budd.
 #1612875  by CSRR573
 
FWIW, Finally saw a V2 at Southampton tonight (12/31) scheduled to leave on the next 449. #62514 "Satilla River".
 #1613458  by FatNoah
 
I cannot see a world in which I would've preferred a toilet in my room instead of just the sink.
As someone who needs the toilet more frequently as a result of surgery in my younger days, I much prefer having the toilet in my room when I'm not sharing the room with anyone. I get access when I need, and I control the cleanliness of the environment, and sometimes with the shared toilets it's not so great. That said, I did survive a 9000 mile cross-country round trip mostly in Superliners, so I'd consider in-room amenities as a luxury rather than a necessity.
 #1634091  by StLouSteve
 
What about a program where Amtrak shops the V1s and brings them up to V2 standards including installing end of car toilet and removing the toilet bowls from the roomettes? Weren't the V1s built to be modular so they can be updated?
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