Passenger Trains > Cross Country Cafe Pictures

The dining part of the car has 10 tables, but they use two tables to store all items they need to use like steak sauce, and all the other condiments,and the new setup for the next group and on the other table the server will use it to keep the menus and all of her orders on it, so it only leaves 8 table for the passangers. The Lounge has 4 table for a max of 16 people, and that would be pushing it.

---

---

---

Here are a few more

---

---

---

Thanks for posting these great pictures!

I'm surprised that the lounge area is so small. In your photo, only one person is using it. Was it this empty throughout the trip? I'm wondering how crowded this area will be on a crowded train. It's pretty small!

Also, were people waiting for tables in the dining car portion of that car? I don't understand why Amtrak would build 10 tables, only to have 2 of them used up by the crew for "stuff". Don't they have storage areas????

The pictures were taken about 20 min out of New Orleans, by the time we left Memphis you could not fine a seat in the Lounge. The server in the dining part said there was no place to store anything in that part of the car, there was room in the area where you ordered you food and the drinks for the lounge, but not where she could just pick up what ever she needed for the tables or the request of the passengers with out having to go around to the front of the lounge counter.

What a waste of money - sorry. But the amount of money they are spending to recondition these cars into a "diner-lite" is not going to pay off in the near term for the removal of the Sightseer Lounge Car.

One of the ideas was that the removal of the Sightseer Lounge car would reduce costs, as the maintenance and inspection for this car would no longer have to occur. But what do you get instead - a cramped diner and lounge in the remaining car (a former Superliner I Diner). Clearly there's not enough lounge space. And lounge space has good seating and good viewing windows. Amtrak lacks the later. But I'd hate to see a Superliner Sightseer become a "diner lite" car even though I know one or a few are in the works for potential conversion and trial.

If Amtrak Superliner trains left their destination at 5:00 p.m. and arrived at the final destination at 9:00 a.m., then maybe these cars would work. But people have to endure the car for afternoon hours without a lounge. I just do not see the cost savings - short term. Long term - Amtrak should be looking to increase patronage on its long distance fleet therefore requiring more of a train set and cars. Again, waste of money if this is what the final product is.

No storage space so they have to take up two extra booths? That's a blantant design flaw that should be remedied so these tables can be freed up. Amtrak is in need of restoring cars to service - the deadline at Beech Grove. Get these cars out on the road before messing up perfectly fine cars.

Go put this Cross Country Cafe on the Auto Train. See if it works there. That should be where Amtrak tests its new meal/beverage services. But no, instead they pick a low ridership train, that if one were to look at the long term, they shouldn't be just relying on this train for continued low ridership. That's not a good business plan - not that Amtrak's advertising or marketing department seems to look outside the box for growing patronage on LD trains - or even corridor trains for that case. A train will continue to have low ridership if Amtrak puts "lower ridership" built cars in the train set - thus perpetuating the problem.

And the Sightseer Lounge Cars taken off the City of New Orleans, Amtrak should put these on some service and perhaps offer a premium charge for riders who want to use them. These cars could pay for themselves if in a defined separate class of service. The Coast Starlight, when it gets back to running its full route, should have a substitute Sightseer Lounge if there's no Parlor Car, in light of the fact that the City of New Orleans no longer carries a Sightseer Lounge car.

Well, I sure wouldn't want to be stuck on a train with just a Cross Country Cafe for more than a quick overnight journey. It would be awful to have just that one car on, say, the Starlight.

BTW, were you able to sample any of the new "specialty" menu items, such as the jambalaya or bread pudding?

smitty195 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I sure wouldn't want to be stuck on a train
> with just a Cross Country Cafe for more than a
> quick overnight journey. It was be awful to have
> just that one car on, say, the Starlight.
>
> BTW, were you able to sample any of the new
> "specialty" menu items, such as the jambalaya or
> bread pudding?

I had the Red Beans and Rice and the Bread Pudding. Photo of the Red Beans and Rice, bread pudding was very Good, It was gone before I could take the Photo.

---

OMG!!!! I'm glad it tasted good. That photo has me laughing hysterically. And I thought the Bob Evans Scramble looked bad?!?!

Is the picture your lunch, or after you lost your lunch ?

This whole thing is so damned stupid. Spending $1M per car to put out inferior diner and lounge service also limits consist size, and therefore revenue. I am sure a better ROI could be had by instead spending that money on wreck repairs, consist expansion, and revenue enhancement without adding train miles. It goes to show Amtrak does not want to improve its bottom line per se, but just cut costs, to hell with revenues. This is just so much you can mis-use and abuse yield management.

Well the Texas Eagle is supposedly next to receive the "diner lite." I can't imagine this car on the Western long distance trains where you have two nights on the train end to end.

I have heard of restaurants that serve "toilet food", but I never imagined Amtrak doing so.

Deduct two more tables for the conductor and assistant conductor to do their paperwork so we now only have only 6 dining tables. Doesn't anyone at Amtrak ride trains and talk to employees to check how cars are actually used? Obviously, the dining car server needs a place to store condiments, steak sauce, menus and other supplies. Also obviously, the conductors need a place to do their paperwork but places to serve these needs should be provided in locations other than revenue producing dining/snack booths. I used to own an ACF ex-C&NW coach built to same specs as the UP coaches. At one time it had a built in conductor table and a chair than could retract under the table. It did not take much space. I had a career as an engineer in heavy manufacturing and when I designed tooling and facilities I always found good ideas by talking to the workers. As they had been consulted, they "bought in" and made an effort to make new tools and procedures work. Best regards, Frank Corley

Isn't the City of New Orleans still running with a Trans Dorm/Sleeper? Some used to have a "conductor's space" there. How about in the adjoining coach to the "Cross Country Cafe."

"Deduct two more tables for the conductor and assistant conductor to do their paperwork"
I did not see the conductor or the assistant use the car for paper work, they had turned around 2 seats facing each other, with a table to do there paper work,
so they just took up 4 seats in the coach car.