That “omelete” is laughable!  What are the chances of Amtrak including the apple sausage on this route in addition to 91?  That was scrumptious!

Comment by Elizabeth Shapiro  on  01/17  at  09:36 PM

Perhaps there would be enough equipment if Amtrak did not store or sell off dining cars because they have the wrong stripes on the outside?  Stopping major overhauls and creating artificial equipment shortages is getting pretty annoying for some passengers. 
First, there weren’t enough Superliners in 2002, so the Cardinal converted and went tri-weekly.  The same applies for the Sunset. 
Then the equipment froze up and the Boston section of the Lakeshore became a stub train with no sleepers, “temporarily.” That was in 2003. 
After that, the Sunset was lobotomized to the east, “temporarily.” Now it cannot be restarted due to equipment shortages. 
Later, the crew dorms for eastern trains stopped getting their biennial inspections and maintenance and were removed from service when their FRA inspections lapsed.  Why don’t you have enough sleeper space?  Could it have something to do with the first six to eight bedrooms being used for crew quarters?
I guess it costs too much to run trains with Sightseer Lounges out west, and nobody chooses to care about a simple amenity like that.  Nobody looks out those windows, so why bother putting the car in the consist, let alone keeping the windows clean?  What is happening to all these cars they have pulled from service?  Is there such a shortage of Sightseers that you can’t run them anymore and instead just put them in the lot out back to rust to the rails? 
Now, some Heritage dining cars are having these inspection periods lapsed and not renewed because nobody wants to get around to it.  Besides, it’s a great excuse to force-try Diner Lite, which none of the passengers want but is being forced down their throats because, well, it still beats flying, and we should be happy the trains are still running.  After all, we’ve demonstrated cost savings in those critical areas. 

The Lakeshore Limited used to run with six coaches, a full diner, four sleepers, a true crew car, and one or two lounges/sightseer cars, and over 400 (paying) passengers aboard.  Now, the shell-of-a-train is down to one baggage, two or three sleepers, a lounge car, another, slightly different lounge car, and three or four coaches.  I do not understand how all these ridership gains going on over the past five years can happen if there are not nearly as many seats and accomodations available.  As much as people tend to point the finger at the maintenance forces, I believe that they are doing the best job they are allowed to do.  I agree it is nice to see a two engine, eight car trainset able to make up hours of delay time en route as it runs a schedule designed for a heavier train, but when is the managerial side of Amtrak going to start behaving as if they WANT to run trains again?  Every year, the budget shows up and it is divided into operations and maintenance.  When is maintenance going to get a decent slice of the pie and actually be able to keep up with demand?  It’s raining/snowing/windy outside/somebody sneezed, call the buses! 

I guess we should be punished for not getting in the car and driving.  After all, gas is cheap, energy is unlimited, and railroads are a thing of the past.

Comment by J. D. Oswald  on  02/17  at  11:30 AM