Passenger Trains > Sightseer lounge cars

Looking into booking an Amtrak trip this summer. Amtrak is making it difficult, but I was wondering if the sightseer lounge cars are still on the western LD trains? If so, what are the terms of their usage for passengers?

Posted from Android

Builder still has one. They have every other table closed.

Still on all LD superliner routes to my knowledge and Amtraks official policy. The use of them is in question. I won't say which train but conductors tell me they prohibit anyone from sitting in them. It's merely grab and go. Personal observation has been (possibly it's just the crew). Grab and go while the conductor sits in the lounge car playing on and I-pad and listening to music while demanding 100% mask compiance. 

Begs the question. What happened to no electonic devices being used while on duty? 

YoungOldHead Wrote:
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> Still on all LD superliner routes to my knowledge
> and Amtraks official policy. The use of them is in
> question. I won't say which train but conductors
> tell me they prohibit anyone from sitting in them.
> It's merely grab and go. Personal observation has
> been (possibly it's just the crew). Grab and go
> while the conductor sits in the lounge car playing
> on and I-pad and listening to music while
> demanding 100% mask compiance. 
>
> Begs the question. What happened to no electonic
> devices being used while on duty? 

Has that rule ever applied to crewmembers not in the locomotive cab?

Texas Eagle no longer has a Superliner lounge in a handful of January observations.  BSB 

29/30 do not have a slightseer lounge. Just a cross country cafe.

Posted from Android

Amtrak has been trying to take the Superliner Sightseer Lounge off the Capitol Limited - off peak and peak season - for the past few years. Even in Boardman's last years they said it would not run in off-peak winter months. But only recently (e.g. since the tri-weekly went into effect) has Amtrak actually gone through and pulled the Superliner Sightseer Lounge off of the Capitol Limited (merging all food service to the single Cross Country Cafe). Likewise, I can remember in the mid 2000's that Amtrak threatened a few times to take the Sightseer Lounge off of the Texas Eagle. On one trip, I thought for sure we would not be having a Sightseer Lounge, and low and behold, it appeared. But again, now with the tri-weekly schedule, Amtrak's taken some liberties to take it off the Texas Eagle. I would have thought the City of New Orleans would have lost the Superliner Sightseer Lounge as well, but by some miracle, they've left it on the City of New Orleans - for now at least! 

So no Superliner Sightseer Lounge on:
- Capitol Limited
- Texas Eagle

Actual usage, some conductors will allow passengers in as long as they are socially distanced (e.g. had no problem with this on the Empire Builder); others you are just allowed to get food and go......

On Friday 1/8/21 I enjoyed a round-trip from Sal Luis Obispo riding in business class southbound on the Pacific Surfliner and returning north on the Coast Starlight. After enjoying my coffee and snack pack in Pacific business class car Elysian Park, I rode the rest of the trip in the Superliner sightseer lounge car. The use of it was reserved for business class passengers. Only one other passenger was in the entire car. If one wanted any additional food or beverage, one needed to patronize the adjacent coach with the snack bar at the lower level. A Charger unit was the motive power for the train with the engineer in the cab control car at the southern end of the consist.

The northbound Coast Starlight sported 3 AMD103s at the head end. I checked out the sightseer lounge car and did purchase a beer from the attendant downstairs. There were quite a few passengers in the car so I returned to my seat in business class for less crowded conditions. The passengers seemed to be doing their best to maintain social distancing in the lounge car but no seats or tables were "roped off." All were available.  Nice ride on both trains but only a bottle of water was handed out on the Coast Starlight- no snack pack. So the clear winner for this trip was the Pacific Surfliner in terms of service provided.

 

No sightseer equals no travel on Amtrak for me.  I spend  much of any trip there.

Bob

So far, the consensus seems to be that there is no consensus. In typical Amtrak fashion, inconsistency is the word of the day and it depends on the crew, the day, the weather, the phase of the moon..........

Is it really this hard to run a railroad?

Posted from Android

So no consistant policy. Amtrak needs to have that. Either allow use or don't so passengers know what they can expect before bookking. Not fun to be trapped in one's room on a three day trip. 

YoungOldHead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------. 
>
> Begs the question. What happened to no electonic
> devices being used while on duty? 

On train #2 a few years back the Maricopa - El Paso conductor spent hours on his phone discussing union business.  He was clearly annoyed when summoned on the intercom to open a door for passengers at Deming, NM.  That's the only time I've seen operating crew using their phones for non-official business.

Dave

jeffgeldner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On Friday 1/8/21 I enjoyed a round-trip from Sal
> Luis Obispo riding in business class southbound on
> the Pacific Surfliner and returning north on the
> Coast Starlight. After enjoying my coffee and
> snack pack in Pacific business class car Elysian
> Park, I rode the rest of the trip in the
> Superliner sightseer lounge car. The use of it was
> reserved for business class passengers. 

A special "lounge" car for business class passengers - WHAT A CONCEPT!!! 

Even VIA Rail used a "service car" as an extra "lounge" for its buisiness class passengers for the Renaissance consists........

It adds value. 

Amtrak is as inconsistent as it comes!!! It's NUTS!!!

If they were consistent, it would add value, and you could actually build a BRAND!!! WHAT A CONCEPT!!!

Electronic device usage for non railroad purposes could be a major violation if an inspector were ever on board and observed it. I hope it was an onboard service crew member you observed.
Had this happen on my own road. Conductor was checking personal web pages in between station stops, and an inspector deadheading home, was just planning to ride and not actually inspect, passed by and badged the conductor.

Posted from iPhone

I called Amtrak today.  They said use of the lounge car was at the conductor's discretion.