Nostalgia & History > Where is the Amtrak piano now?

When the Texas Eagle first received Superliners there was a Lounge Cafe' with a an electric keyboard in the lower lounge.  Unfortunately, all I got were pictures of it in 1982.  No sound of music for me. The attendant told me it never worked.  Shucks, did anybody ever get a chance to enjoy this fine, classical, onboard entertainment?

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Pawn shop somewhere

But it must have cost a fortune to put these in.  Not only the cost of the keyboard, but that artwork and the sums of consultant fees.  Just think of the laborious research that went into the acoustic study for that space. I am keeping my eyes open the next time I go to the pawn shop.


WAF Wrote:
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> Pawn shop somewhere

The murals were still in place when I hired out in 1984, but the pianos were long gone (well, not LONG gone- the cars were only about 5yrs old at the time).
Those seats still survive- they’re in the so-called “panic box” cafes (35000’s) now They are insanely uncomfortable!
SR

Check out the illustration of the locomotive in the panel on the upper right corner: buffers! That always amused me.

On a trip from Oakland to Reno Boz Scaggs was on the train and proceeded to give an impromptu concert on the piano all the way to Reno. It was a great trip of what I can remember of it. Smoking funny cigarettes was excepted back in those days the crew just looked the other way.

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

So, Photobob was the only lucky one?  Darn, the rest of us only got a dysfunctional keyboard with absurdly prosaic murals, orthopedic back spasms and tunes like, "Mary Had a Little Lamb."


BoilingMan Wrote:
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> The murals were still in place when I hired out in
> 1984, but the pianos were long gone (well, not
> LONG gone- the cars were only about 5yrs old at
> the time).
 

You think having a piano on Amtrak was bad American Airlines had one in their economy section of a B747. Here's a happy group enjoying a sing along at 35,00 feet. 

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

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Le Pub car on the Montrealer had a real piano and was always one of the best party trains of all time!

Lot's of funny cigarettes and alcohol were always consumed on this car on the way to Vermont for a ski trip.

photobob Wrote:
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> funny cigarettes was excepted back in those days
 
OK, The big hair photos fit perfect now. Forget the piano, bring back the stewardess uniforms from the 70's!

Prohibited song: 'Feelings'.
(an old joke among lounge singers)
...Lorenzo

The keyboard reminds me of the Fender Rhodes.

Posted from Android

It is a Fender Rhodes. When my wife and I rode Tennessee Central Railway Museum’s fall foliage train last year, our car (I think it was lounge TC 3119, ex-PRR and Amtrak, but I’m not sure) had a working Rhodes. The piano had a few sticking keys, but I banged out some Floyd Cramer and Beatles on it. I got a few glares but most of the passengers enjoyed it. :)

Floyd Cramer -
(Last Date)
Ahh yes!
...Lorenzo

Hou74-76 Wrote:
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> So, Photobob was the only lucky one?  Darn, the
> rest of us only got a dysfunctional keyboard with
> absurdly prosaic murals, orthopedic back spasms
> and tunes like, "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Ha!  Post of the day, or even week!

Andy

Hou74-76 Wrote:
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>Unfortunately, The attendant told me it never worked.  
>
A lounge car attendant (years later) told me they would often unplug the pianos and claim they were broken. And I don’t blame them. So many parents would let their kids go downstairs and start banging on the piano and I’m sure it drove the poor guys nuts hearing “chopsticks” over and over again day after day.

Posted from iPhone