Passenger Trains > Baggage and Transition Sleepers ever to return to LD trains?

I know this may have been asked before, but once again.  Are the Baggage and or Transition cars ever coming back to 3/4, 11/14, 21/22, and 58/59?
The Chief looks like a Capitol or Surfliner only being 6 cars long.  The Starlight looks ok, but just not right without the Baggage and Transition cars.
 If they're expecting any crowds this summer, the Coach Baggage car ain't gonna cut it.   I know there are plenty of both cars just collecting dust in the yard(s).  The Zephyr has kept both (except for the highest low ridership period during Covid).  

Thanks for any info.

Top Cat.

I have no answer, but...  I rode train #51 into Chicago this week and we carried four cars from Beach Grove on the head in from IND to CHI.  Viewliner baggage car, Superliner diner, Superliner sleeper 32002, and a Superliner Transition sleeper  (transgression car!)  All four looked brand-new, with beautiful trucks, and total outside cleaning, including the ends of the cars.  I took a good look inside the lower level rooms of the sleeper when I walked by them, and the insides looked as gleaming as the outside of the cars.  Let's hope!

The rumor is the Chief is getting a transition sleeper this summer in place of the regular sleeper it is losing. Hopefully when they get more cars available the chief will keep the transition dorm when it eventually gets a second sleeper back. We should have all the answers Monday.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/22 12:55 by lordsigma.

58/59 have had a trans sleeper since January, losing it next week in turn for another coach.

Posted from iPhone

lordsigma Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The rumor is the Chief is getting a transition
> sleeper this summer in place of the regular
> sleeper it is losing.


So, a net loss in capacity. Has Gardner put the Chief on hospice?



> We should have all the answers Monday.


Hopefully not more bad news.

Just some re-arranging of the deck chairs!!! 

EDIT - I just hope in some way, Amtrak is getting the point of a "net add," whereby we have this grand shuffling going on for the summer, but is overall capacity being added. The Empire Builder usually got its second sleeper by May 1st. Now, the hope is July 1st, SAME as last year, but not same as PRE-COVID. In Boardman's years the CA Zephyr was able to operate with three sleeper for the peak summer season, as well as even the Southwest Chief. And as mentioned, the Empire Builder had a second Seattle sleeper - nearly 10 months out of the year. Amtrak's NO where near offering this amount of capacity. And thus the growth and ridership numbers of the National Network will never get "the rise" that they could get if capacity was expanded - or just restored. I understand Amtrak removed a number of LD cars from operation as the pandemic unfolded. But as quickly as they took them away, they are sure taking an awful long time to get returned. They need more mechanical and "craft" positions filled. I get it. It would have been nice to have seen more progress on adding capacity into this peak period season than what is transpiring. And is the grand shuffle that will unfold shortly be the best in securing the largest revenue opportunity. For example, Amtrak will bring in more revenue and more riders to its totals if it moves a sleeper from the City of New Orleans to the Empire Builder. But Amtrak has lost a lot of this institutional knowledge and know how......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/22 17:22 by jp1822.

lordsigma Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The rumor is the Chief is getting a transition
> sleeper this summer in place of the regular
> sleeper it is losing. Hopefully when they get more
> cars available the chief will keep the transition
> dorm when it eventually gets a second sleeper
> back. We should have all the answers Monday.

I'm not holding my breath, they should've been doing all this way before COVID was even mentioned, this shows how careless Amamangment has been, and that's since Airline Boy was CEO! Only way my mindset is gonna change is having the bag and dorm back, and allowing coach passengers access to the dining car again!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/22 17:32 by ProAmtrak.

Not sure why everyone is so worked up over baggage cars. It's not like many passengers ride in them.

I wonder if the Empire Builder and Zephyr still have their transition dorms because of the long tunnels they go through, Moffat on the Zephyr and Cascade and Flathead on the Empire Builder.  Surely the transition dorms offer more protection from locomotive exhaust gases than the fiberglass panels that fit over the diaphrams of regular Superliner cars put directly behind locomotives.

The reason I get "worked up" over missing baggage cars is because I slept in a sleeping car directly behind the locomotive on my recent trip on the Capitol Limited. Had to listen to; LONG, LONG, SHORT, LONG horn blasts at every single little country road crossing between Washington DC and Chicago. A baggage car would have reduced the racket considerably.

Tell, Mr. Deval Dragon, why I should not be "worked up" about that?

OnTime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The reason I get "worked up" over missing baggage
> cars is because I slept in a sleeping car directly
> behind the locomotive on my recent trip on the
> Capitol Limited. Had to listen to; LONG, LONG,
> SHORT, LONG horn blasts at every single little
> country road crossing between Washington DC and
> Chicago. A baggage car would have reduced the
> racket considerably.
>
> Tell, Mr. Deval Dragon, why I should not be
> "worked up" about that?

After being subjected to horn noise all night long in the Boston section sleeper on the Lakeshore Ltd as well as the CONO, I swore I would never ride next to the locomotive again...especially since I paid BIG dollars for the privelege.  As I live in the Springfield MA area, whenever I ride the Lakeshore Ltd, it's business class (oops...soon to be removed from the Boston section) ALB-SPG and New York sleeper at the rear ALB-CHI. 

MacBeau just posted a photo of the CA Zephyr https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,5476794. The train is running with a baggage car and what appears to be a transition sleepr up front. 

So it can be done -- why not for other LTDs. None of this baggage car at the rear:-(

WP17

 

OnTime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The reason I get "worked up" over missing baggage
> cars is because I slept in a sleeping car directly
> behind the locomotive on my recent trip on the
> Capitol Limited. Had to listen to; LONG, LONG,
> SHORT, LONG horn blasts at every single little
> country road crossing between Washington DC and
> Chicago. A baggage car would have reduced the
> racket considerably.
>
> Tell, Mr. Deval Dragon, why I should not be
> "worked up" about that?


Because your sleeping car fare would have to increase the cost of adding a baggage car. In addition to increased fuel costs Amtrak would have to pay for the upkeep and required inspections and periodic part replacement.

Amtrak is keeping costs down and being fiscally responsible by not running empty baggage cars.

DevalDragon Wrote:

> Because your sleeping car fare would have to
> increase the cost of adding a baggage car. In
> addition to increased fuel costs Amtrak would have
> to pay for the upkeep and required inspections and
> periodic part replacement.
>
> Amtrak is keeping costs down and being fiscally
> responsible by not running empty baggage cars.

Yours is an extremely lame excuse, sounds like corporate BS. They removed the baggage cars, and sleeping car rates shot up anyway. The incremental cost of adding a baggage car is very minimal to the overall the cost of the train. For one thing, it is not staffed. Why is Amtrak Express still "temporarily suspended" since 9/15/20 even though daily service has mostly resumed ? ? ? Greyhound still offers package express service to shore up revenue, but these Amtrak flunkies won't. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/22 12:08 by joemvcnj.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DevalDragon Wrote:
>
> > Because your sleeping car fare would have to
> > increase the cost of adding a baggage car. In
> > addition to increased fuel costs Amtrak would
> have
> > to pay for the upkeep and required inspections
> and
> > periodic part replacement.
> >
> > Amtrak is keeping costs down and being fiscally
> > responsible by not running empty baggage cars.
>
> Yours is an extremely lame excuse, sounds like
> corporate BS. They removed the baggage cars, and
> sleeping car rates shot up anyway. The incremental
> cost of adding a baggage car is very minimal to
> the overall the cost of the train. For one thing,
> it is not staffed. Why is Amtrak Express still
> "temporarily suspended" since 9/15/20 even though
> daily service has mostly resumed ? ? ? Greyhound
> still offers package express service to shore up
> revenue, but these Amtrak flunkies won't. 


Adding a baggage car would increase expenses because they don't generate revenue.

Amtrak Express service requires employees Amtrak doesn't have.

You can call these facts a "lame excuse" but it doesn't change the reality.

DevalDragon Wrote:

> Adding a baggage car would increase expenses
> because they don't generate revenue.
>
> Amtrak Express service requires employees Amtrak
> doesn't have.
>
> You can call these facts a "lame excuse" but it
> doesn't change the reality.

Your "reality" is corporate BS and victim mentality. Amtrak got bailed out over a year ago. If they don't have enough employees, it is because they were too cheap, lazy, arrogant, and stupid to do any hiring. Food service cars generate more cost than revenue too. We bought 90 baggage cars for a purpose, not to collect dust and say "never mind". They are to be used or Amtrak should not be permitted to procure anymore equipment. 

Send the baggage cars back and use the shells for next generation LD equipment - coaches or sleepers - whatever! Lets consider that Amtrak has been able to use Superliner Trans-Dorm Sleepers for make shift baggage cars....... Very telling in what can be done creatively when needed......

WP17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MacBeau just posted a photo of the CA
> Zephyr https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/rea
> d.php?4,5476794. The train is running with a
> baggage car and what appears to be a transition
> sleepr up front. 
>
> So it can be done -- why not for other LTDs. None
> of this baggage car at the rear:-(
>
> WP17
>
>  

They're still in the process on keeping downgrading the LD Network, it's dumb what they're doing with The Chief!

Posted from Android

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> > You can call these facts a "lame excuse" but it
> > doesn't change the reality.
>
> Your "reality" is corporate BS and victim
> mentality. Amtrak got bailed out over a year ago.
> If they don't have enough employees, it is because
> they were too cheap, lazy, arrogant, and stupid to
> do any hiring.

You are right. Amtrak is the only company that is having trouble finding qualified workers right now.


> Food service cars generate more
> cost than revenue too.

I would not use this as an argument as to why Amtrak should restore full dining car service to the eastern trains or as to why coach passsngers should be allowed in the diner.



> We bought 90 baggage cars
> for a purpose, not to collect dust and say "never
> mind". They are to be used or Amtrak should not be
> permitted to procure anymore equipment. 

What solution are you proposing then?

Why is it the Portland section of the Empire Builder has had heavy Superliner trans dorms used solely as baggage cars, not available to other trains that need them, but would not use actual baggage cars, which are lighter, glorified box cars, in their place, which are piled up in Chicago ? Because nobody is watching the store and management has no idea of what they are doing. So much for fuel savings, of an extra car in the consist, which is a non-issue. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/22 05:08 by joemvcnj.