Viewliner

This article is about the Amtrak passenger car. For the former Disneyland attraction, see Disneyland Viewliner.

Viewliner
Viewliner #62047, the Village View, at Albany in 2009. It was formerly assigned to the Twilight Shoreliner as part of the NortheastDirect brand as seen from the decal at top left.
Manufacturer	Budd Company Morrison-Knudsen CAF
Constructed	1987-1988, 1995-1996, 2012-
Number built	53 (+130 on order/70 options)
Capacity	30
Operator	Amtrak
Specifications
Maximum speed	110 mph (177 km/h)

The Viewliner is a single-level car type used by Amtrak on eastern routes. With the exception of a prototype dining car named "Indianapolis" , all cars built so far are sleeping cars and are assigned names that include the word "View."

Early design

In the 1980s, Amtrak was looking to replace its Heritage Fleet railcars, which had been in service as far back as the 1940s. While new Superliner cars were built starting in 1979, those cars were too tall to run on Amtrak's eastern routes due to clearance issues in and around both New York Pennsylvania Station and Baltimore Pennsylvania Station (see loading gauge and structure gauge).

Working with the Budd Company, Amtrak drafted plans for new single-level sleeping and dining cars that utilized a 'modular' design where the interiors of the cars, especially the sleepers, were built in units separate from the exterior shell. These units contain all fixtures, electrical components, sewage and fresh water handling internally and are then mated with the car exterior shell upon assembly. This approach allows for easier maintenance and reconfiguration through removal and replacement of individual units. Access for this purpose is via a removable hatch on the side of the car, a distinguishing feature of the Viewliner series. Unlike the Superliners, occupants of both bunks in the bedrooms have an outside view.

The design of the cars was created by Amtrak's design group, which received input from every department in the company. At the time of their introduction into service, Amtrak planned to assemble a fleet of over a thousand cars during the ten years after their introduction.

The prototype Viewliner cars were assembled at Amtrak's shop in Beech Grove, Indiana, in 1987-1988 from Budd components. Two sleeping cars (2300 and 2301) were built, as was one dining car (8400). These cars were tested on the Auto Train beginning in 1988. The prototypes were in regular service until 2002; however, money from the 2009 stimulus package recently funded the restoration of dining car 8400 to service.

Production

Viewliner I

The first production Viewliners were built in 1995-1996 by Amerail (now Alstom)/Morrison-Knudsen. Amtrak's original intention in the 1980s was to order 500-600 new cars, of which 100 would be sleepers and the rest coaches, diners and lounges. This would have enabled Amtrak to replace its remaining Heritage Fleet equipment and run trains with solid Viewliner consists. However Amtrak's strained finances led to only 50 sleeping cars being ordered, which contributed to the Budd Company's decision to completely exit the railcar market. The design was transferred to the Amerail/Morrison-Knudsen consortium with delivery finally being completed in 1996 alongside the Bombardier-supplied Superliner II fleet. The Viewliners arrived just in time to retire most of Amtrak's Heritage sleeping cars which were coming under increasing environmental pressure due to their use of non-retention toilets. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s Viewliner sleepers ran on East Coast single-level trains in consist with Amfleet coaches and Heritage diners.

Viewliner II

In the 2009 budget, increased funding was provided to allow Amtrak to initially order 130 Viewliner II cars in the form of diners, sleepers, baggage-dorms and baggage cars with an option to purchase 70 additional cars.

On July 23, 2010 Amtrak placed an order worth $298.1 million with CAF USA, a fully owned subsidiary of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles located in Elmira, New York, for the full order of 130 new cars. According to Amtrak president Joseph Boardman, CAF's capability to construct the entire car at its factory, rather than relying on subcontractors, as well as submitting a lower bid, were the reasons the company won the contract over Alstom, the only other bidder.

The order totals are as follows:

Initial 130 new cars
25 sleepers
25 diners
25 baggage/dorms
55 baggage cars

Usage

Viewliner cars are primarily used on Amtrak's long-distance routes in the Eastern US, due to clearance issues in and around both New York Pennsylvania Station and Baltimore Pennsylvania Station that prevent tall cars from clearing the tunnels (see loading gauge and structure gauge). These long-distance routes typically include some segments of track along the Northeast Corridor, but extend north, west or south beyond the Northeast Corridor.

A one-of-a-kind Viewliner dining car, car number 8400, was rebuilt with stimulus funding and restored to revenue service in October 2011. Originally a prototype dining car with experimental trucks built during the Viewliner design phase in the late 1980s, the car was completely rebuilt at Amtrak's Beech Grove shops and currently serves on Lake Shore Limited trains between New York and Chicago. Information learned from building and using this car will be applied to the dining cars included in the new order of Viewliner cars.

Future plans

Per the Amtrak Fleet Strategy Plan, released on February 1, 2010, the high number of baggage and baggage/dorm cars are to replace all Heritage Fleet baggage cars in service system-wide. Most of these cars are over fifty years old and cannot be used on 125 MPH Northeast Regional trains which is the reason that checked baggage is not offered on these trains. The additional Viewliner II diners will also replace the Heritage Fleet diners currently in use on single-level service. Lastly, the additional sleepers will provide Amtrak with a much-needed larger inventory of single-level sleeping cars to allow for a reserve fleet as well as the rolling stock required for expanded long-distance overnight service in the future.

The first car of this new order, a diner, is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in October 2012.

Accommodation

A seat in a Viewliner roomette.

Each Viewliner sleeping car offers three types of rooms: Roomette, Bedroom, and Accessible Bedroom. The two Bedrooms can be combined to form a Bedroom Suite. In addition, each sleeping car includes a smaller room containing a shower and a room for a car attendant.

Roomette

Originally known as a "compartment", and later as a "standard bedroom," a Viewliner Roomette can hold one or two people. Viewliner I Roomettes include an in-room toilet, but not a shower. Each Viewliner I sleeping car contains 13 Roomettes, one of which is usually designated for use by the attendant.

Bedroom

Originally known as a "deluxe bedroom," a Viewliner Bedroom is designed for two people but can accommodate three. Bedrooms include a complete private bathroom, including shower. Each Viewliner I sleeping car contains two Bedrooms and they may be combined to form a single Bedroom Suite with room for 4–6 people.

Accessible Bedroom

An Accessible Bedroom is similar to a Bedroom, but offers more space for a wheelchair or other mobility device. The Accessible Bedroom cannot be combined with a Bedroom to form a Bedroom Suite. One Accessible Bedroom is present in each Viewliner I sleeping car. Prior to 2012, reservations for Accessible Bedrooms can only be made by calling Amtrak and speaking with an agent; this changed in 2012.

See also

• Metropolitan View
• Sleeping car

References

• Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. MBI. http://books.google.com/books?id=313LC1TljQMC. 

External links

• Unofficial Viewliner information page
• Amtrak Photo Archives