Passenger Trains > Viewliner Diner 8400 Interior Photos

Taken by an authorized person with my camera last night. The car is presently three cars ahead of me on train 50, the Cardinal, and will be taken off at Washington. The last photo was taken by me at Indianapolis Union Station.
I personally can't wait for the new cars to come in. It's going to be sad to see the last heritage cars go, but I'm certain someone (cough VIA cough) will make good use of them.

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And my leader in Huntington this morning, just for kicks.

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Totally utilitarian. I think Id rather sit in an older heritage diner. Looks like a viewliner replaced with the guts of a lounge car.

I agree it is not beautiful, but at least it is a little better than I expected. The curtains definitely help. The coloring of the ceiling and the lighting on the ceiling are attractive. White table cloths and flowers will enhance the scene.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/11 17:28 by MEKoch.

Hospital cafeterias have more warmth and comfort. So does a gym locker.

Nice windows. Of course, that's the part of the design that was inherited. I do hope the workspaces are good for the crews.

And I'm thankful we can still sit at a table and be served a meal while watching the countryside roll by. So in the end, a good thing. Plasticky. But a good thing.

OK - take the nostalgic memories of classic dining cars and strip them of their linens, flowers, china, and you will also have sterile rows of tables, often with worn, bare plywood table surfaces.

(Ever wonder why it is nearly impossible to find any internet pictures of out-of-service dining cars stripped of their linens, etc . . . because those images don't fit our remembered experiences.)

What we have in these photos is a solid, hygienic food service space of durable modern materials which can be easily cleaned, supported by an equally hygienic food preparation area.

Want to know why many of those older cars had so many dark surfaces and rugs? So you couldn't see the dirt.

Want to ruin your dining experience back home -- go see your favorite restaurant outside of dining hours when the tables are bare, the lights are on, and you can actually see the furniture.

To my eye, this looks like an inviting platform on which to build a colorful service through the proper use of flowers, menu colors, "china" accent colors, etc. Also, eliminate the photoflash glare, use natural daylight or warmer spectrum evening lighting, add people into the picture with their own colorations, and the food itself, and the picture changes greatly.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/11 18:04 by RevRandy.

Does the design configuration of these new diners require any certain placement in the consist? Aaron 24

RRmemories Wrote:
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> Does the design configuration of these new diners
> require any certain placement in the consist?
> Aaron 24


Its the same shell as the Viewliner Sleeper, so I'm sure they can be put anywhere. Amtrak's practice on Florida trains is to place the diner between the sleepers and the lounge car and coaches. I believe this is so the Dining Car crews can identify the passengers coming from the Sleepers as their meals are included with their ticket.

Dining cars have traditionally been between coach and sleeper accommodations. This protects the sleeper passengers from the traumatic experience of having to walk through the coaches and makes it easier to keep the coach passengers from wandering into the sleepers.

I am assuming that this is the one Amtrak built a number of years back but pulled out of service.

MILW16 Wrote:
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> I am assuming that this is the one Amtrak built a
> number of years back but pulled out of service.


yes

Notch16 Wrote:
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> Hospital cafeterias have more warmth and comfort.
> So does a gym locker.
>
> Nice windows. Of course, that's the part of the
> design that was inherited. I do hope the
> workspaces are good for the crews.
>
> And I'm thankful we can still sit at a table and
> be served a meal while watching the countryside
> roll by. So in the end, a good thing. Plasticky.
> But a good thing.

You were expecting Brazilian Mahogany or Indonesian Teak? Once it has table cloths, flowers, and the lighting dimmed it will look just fine.

Dave

Will do the job for me for next 35 years or so. Don't forget the lighting " dimmer switch".

It is far better then when it was new!

RevRandy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK - take the nostalgic memories of classic dining
> cars and strip them of their linens, flowers,
> china, and you will also have sterile rows of
> tables, often with worn, bare plywood table
> surfaces.
>
> (Ever wonder why it is nearly impossible to find
> any internet pictures of out-of-service dining
> cars stripped of their linens, etc . . . because
> those images don't fit our remembered
> experiences.)
>
> What we have in these photos is a solid, hygienic
> food service space of durable modern materials
> which can be easily cleaned, supported by an
> equally hygienic food preparation area.
>
> Want to know why many of those older cars had so
> many dark surfaces and rugs? So you couldn't see
> the dirt.
>
> Want to ruin your dining experience back home --
> go see your favorite restaurant outside of dining
> hours when the tables are bare, the lights are on,
> and you can actually see the furniture.
>
> To my eye, this looks like an inviting platform on
> which to build a colorful service through the
> proper use of flowers, menu colors, "china" accent
> colors, etc. Also, eliminate the photoflash
> glare, use natural daylight or warmer spectrum
> evening lighting, add people into the picture with
> their own colorations, and the food itself, and
> the picture changes greatly.


I totally agree... Not bad at all for an Amtrak diner!

DavidP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> You were expecting Brazilian Mahogany or
> Indonesian Teak? Once it has table cloths,
> flowers, and the lighting dimmed it will look just
> fine.
>
> Dave

IMO, the Temoinsa (sp?) Heritage rebuilds look nicer inside, but this isn't bad.

How many booth seats: 40 or 48 ?

Well, there you go! A little design-and-decor-based criticism actually kicked an entire thread into praising and defending something about Amtrak!

And it's about time! :-)

~ BZ

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> How many booth seats: 40 or 48 ?

I believe there are 6 row of tables but one of the end tables is ADA accessible, so capacity is probably not 48, but is something like 44 or 46. But I could be wrong.

It looks somewhat Temoinsa-like to me, and it looks quite nice frankly. A few paintings hung on the end walls and some fittings and table clothes will make it quite acceptable. The rest of you can please get your own PVs to match your exquisite tastes. :P

DavidP Wrote:
-------------------------------------
>
> You were expecting Brazilian Mahogany or
> Indonesian Teak? Once it has table cloths,
> flowers, and the lighting dimmed it will look just
> fine.
>
> Dave

...and rich Corinthian leather!

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