Nostalgia & History > Amtrak Hi-Level Diner/Lounge for jkchubbs

TO member jkchubbs contacted me hoping I might have interior photos of the former ATSF Diners in their Amtrak modified layout.  I found only this one, taken in 1995 on the Capitol Corridor.  This is the "LSA view" of the lounge end of the car.  The center of the car was set up cafeteria style with a shelf for passengers to slide a tray outside glass partitioned steam tables (think Subway Sandwich shop), but the cars were never used that way- it was always sit-down service like any other Amtrak diner.  The diner end of the car looked much like any Superliner diner with booth seating.
These cars were modified for initial use on #35-36, the Desert Wind, in the mid 80's.  Later at least 1, or maybe 2, of the were assigned to the San Joaquin during a couple of years when those trains used SuperLiner/Hi-Level cars between the Amfleet and Horizon years.  When Oakland finally got the California Cars in the mid-90's for the SJ and CC trains they came back to Oakland again for about a year to stand in for the CA Car Diners that were delivered well after the CA Coach & Cab cars.   During this Last Stand someone (the CCJPB?) thought it would be cool to "dress up" the cars with Budweiser signs  (I personally found it kind of appalling).  I'm pretty sure this was the last use of these cars, as the Desert Wind was gone by the time Oakland was done with them.

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I also agree that the Budweiser signage is appalling!
Cute couple and little the little girl having a good time there.

James R.(Jim) Baker
Whittier, CA

I think only the cars Oakland got (I'm not sure we got all 5) received the Bud signs, and this was their last assignment.
All have been stored ever since.
SR

That's TO member Stevo_W, he was working in Sunnyvale at the time and rode with me often- we go back to AFT days. And that's my (soon to be) wife & her daughter waving.

Cool shot SR; I'm guessing Stevie would not touch one of those Bud's,
he just refuses to lower himself!

Sadly... not true:
I know he gets all hoity-toity at The Frog, but I happen to know he likes that lite lime stuff!
He claims it's "refreshing".

For SHAME!
SR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/17 15:44 by BoilingMan.

Usually signs like that are there because the beer or whatever company pays the venue to display them....

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Yeah, Amtrak went through a phase where they highlighted brand names on the menus, maybe they still do (that whole DunkinDonut thing). But this deal with to Bud signs was WAY beyond anything before or since.
SR

If someone got into Beech Grove for a peek, I wonder if they're still up?

Ah jeez, now I have to attempt to salvage what little remains of my reputation.

I'm not sure I've ever referred to BLL as "refreshing". But yes, a guilty pleasure, to be sure.

Okay, I'm kinda a beer snob - My current fav o' the week is Stoutella from Knee Deep...

S_W

Posted from Android

(snicker snicker)
SR

To my knowledge these cars would not be at Beech Grove, as I thought they were all sold years back, when the coaches were.  Did I miss something ?

I honestly don't know where these cars are now. Were they included in the sale of the coaches?
SR

So much for the family atmosphere that they promote in the lounge cars these days.
I could see one Budweiser sign, but 4? I never rode the Hi-level diners after
the steam heated days, so this is really interesting to see.

mundo Wrote:
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> To my knowledge these cars would not be at Beech
> Grove, as I thought they were all sold years
> back, when the coaches were.  Did I miss
> something ?

Mundo is correct. The hi-level diners are long gone. All sold into private ownership. Sadly, mostly to re-use those valuable outboard side bearing trucks underneath heavyweight business cars. One I know of that is intact is at the Dallas Terminal Railway.

Wait- what is intact? One of these diners, or a coach?
If these cars were being harvested for their trucks, I could see the diners being targeted for the 6 wheel trucks under them.
SR

It all makes sense now, as a kid I remember walking through one on a San Joaquin at night and recall there being some sort of neon sign but until now I couldn't figure what I saw.