David Benton wrote:i quess they could borrow a sleeper from the LSL ,on the grounds that some patronage would move from it to the pittsburgh train .
but it seems that there are enough viewliners to have a spare 3 now , if it wernt for the 24 hour black hole at Sunnyside .
Plain and simple - Sunnyside needs to get rid of the "black hole."
Amtrak is stretching what revenue Viewliners it keeps in operation very thinly. At least three more Viewliners should be released into revenue service in my opiion. Having 11 in reserve is just too many.
As I mentioned, even if some schedules of single level overnight Viewliner sleeper trains were adjusted - ever so slightly - Amtrak could get a "same day turn" out of some trainsets that come into Sunnyside. This would free-up extra Viewliner sleepers ONCE AGAIN. And frankly, this should be their goal with these high revenue priced cars. This was in place at one time.
I even remember when not only the Silver Meteor did a same day turn with one of its trainsets, but also the Lake Shore Limited when it had a later departure time westbound with Heritage sleepers!
Also, for Amtrak to keep 11 Viewliners in reserve, you'd think the fleet would be better maintained. If my recent "eastern long distance overnight trips" were any indication of the Viewliner fleet, Amtrak has NOT been doing a good job at what appears to be basic maintenance or "wear and tear." Having 11 Viewliners in reserve should be MORE than enough Viewliners for Amtrak to cycle through the shops in Hialeah, FL (near Miami).
I look forward to the "pilot" program that Amtrak is going to try on the Crescent - that is assigning ONE attendant to two Viewliner sleepers (re-arranging how the cars are positioned as well). With crew now occupying the revenue based VIewliner sleepers, I think this pilot is long overdue. Just try it out and see if it works!
One would think that Amtrak could "release" an additional 3 Viewliners to cover "through train operation" of the Pennsylvanian and Capitol Limited. Or for that matter, just two Viewliners to cover for an extra sleeper on the Cardinal route or overnight sleeping service on the NEC. It's been done folks! And this would still leave 8 Viewliners in reserve. I haven't heard of Hialeah working on more than three Viewliner sleepers at one time in a while. Course, they ought to with some of the rooms I had on a recent trip!
