Private Rail Cars: Resources, Operations, & Discussion

jackintosh11 wrote:Are people in private cars allowed to walk through to the rest of the train?

On Superliiners, the vestibules doors and floors don't match up, so they can't. Rarely will you find the Transition Sleeper as the very last Superliner car on a train.
While the vestibules will match up on Amfleet and Horizon cars, I don't think someone rich enough to ride in a private car would want to socialize with us that can't. Never-the-less, I don't think they are allowed to use the Amtrak part of the train anyways. Note I wrote -think- because I'm not aware of the official Amtrak policy.

Electricron has it right; if you've mortgaged the farm to ride in a private car you won't waste a minute in something you could ride any day. And guaranteed, the food--and the view!--will be better in the private car.

I have wondered about the practicality of chartering a Sleeping Car that doesn't have Food Service capabilities and eating in the Amtrak Dining Car on the same train.
Or chartering an Observation Car or Dome car for a long overnight trip and putting the overflow passengers in the Viewliners for the nighttime portion of the trip.
On a Superliner train, transfers might be made at regular station stops.

I want to say there is has been a few trains that had access to the rest of the cars...but I have no clue where or why I remember that...

As to Jim Boylan's post, that could certainly be worked out and save the expense of hiring a private car with food service. Also, I believe (and Mr. Deasy would know) that access to the rear of the train by the train crew must be preserved; therefore it's physically possible to move between the two except where Superliners are involved, as mentioned above. Out of curiosity, back in pre-Amtrak days there was a standard provision that you could charter a sleeper for 18 first-class fares (or more if there were more than 18 occupants)--did any of that get carried forward by Amtrak?

Nice article on PV restoration: St. Louis Today

Craftsmen Restore Old Train Cars in Madison for Luxury Travel

MADISON • It looks like a cemetery for old passenger trains — tight rows parked along sidings behind a high fence. Faded plywood covers shattered windows. Nearby is a jumble of rusting wheels.

It’s a different story inside the tidy workshops nearby, where skilled craftsmen meticulously restore old rail cars for private owners, from wealthy railroad enthusiasts to excursion lines. An occasional specialty job for major railroads helps pay the bills.

“Some people think we’re just a scrap yard,” said Roger Verbeeren, president of Gateway Rail Services. “Truth is, we don’t scrap anything.”

Since 2000, Gateway has operated on part of a former Union Pacific yard next to Illinois Route 203 near the heart of this old railroad town. The company has about 140 old passenger and baggage cars, a few from the 1920s, on its 10 tracks. Many are salvage from Amtrak, the nation’s passenger service since 1971.
...