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Amtrak Online
An Unofficial Amtrak Website
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Viewliner Information
The Prototype Viewliners were built in the 1987 and 1988 in Amtrak's Shops
at Beech Grove, Indiana. There were 2 Sleepers (2300-2301) and 1
Diner (8400) built. The cars were designed by Budd and Amtrak and incorporated
the suggestions of passengers and crew members. The cars were built in kit
form, the vendor built the frame and body shell and the interior was in kit
form. The exteriors seem to have built by Budd based on the comparisons
between the "prototypes" and the Amerail fleet. You can see the
difference in types of exterior panels and interior design. The cars
were rolled into BG and Amtrak employees installed the interiors, wiring,
piping, etc.
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The 8400 Diner was completed around February 1988, and built in the same
fashion as the sleepers. Of course, it was more labor intensive with all
the kitchen equipment and associated wiring required.
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The cars ran way over budget during construction, and were always a
maintenance problem because various components were not standard parts that
were shared with other types of cars. This caused the cars to be pulled
from service frequently, waiting for parts that had to be manufactured at
considerable expense. Many parts were also made overseas, causing long
delays. The design of some components made running repairs very difficult,
causing the cars to be pulled.
Viewliner 2300 was completed on
October 5, 1987. It made its debut
at the American Society of Travel Agents Convention in Houston, TX on
October 7-10, 1987. It made its
first overnight run with passengers on the Capitol Limited from
Washington D.C. to Chicago on October 29, 1987. Viewliners 2300 and Diner 8400 were completed around February
1988. Originally the Sleepers had
14 Standard Bedrooms, but was later changed to 12 Standard Bedrooms, one
shower and an Attendants Room.
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Some differences between the Prototype
and Production Viewliners, which were build by Amerail in
1995-1996,
include that the prototypes only have in room audio equipment, while the 50
Production Viewliners feature both audio and video equipment. Also the
sides of the Attendants Room and Shower Room were switched in the Production
Viewliners. In the Prototype there is only one chair in the attendants room.
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The each car consists of 12 Standard Bedrooms, 2 Deluxe Sleepers, and 1 accessible
sleeper for passengers with disabilities. All rooms have a toilet and sink,
and hold two passengers. The Deluxe and Accessible bedrooms have an enclosed
toilet and shower. For Passengers in Standard sleepers there is a shower at
the end of the car. The unique identifying feature of the Viewliner is its
two sets of windows, one set for each berth
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Eventually, Amtrak
ordered 50 Sleepers from Amerail, which had shops in Hornell, NY and Chicago.
The order was originally for 100 Sleepers, but had to be reduced, for lack of
funding. To date no diners or any additional Viewliners have been ordered.
At first Viewliner 2301 along with its
sister 2300 made regular runs on the Capitol Limited. Later
2301 had been assigned to the Twilight Shoreliner, and had the window
curtains associated with that train, but also had on the Boston Section of
the Lake Shore Limited. Diner 8400 had been operating on trains,
particularly the New York- Miami, Silver Service, but had been pulled for
problems, mainly the Air Conditioner and lack of parts, in June 2002, and was
put into "Dead Storage" in Beech Grove, Indiana in July 2002. A problem with
the prototypes is that they often require expensive, parts that sometimes
come from overseas, causing them to sit up to a month.
Viewliner 2301 was renumbered to 62091 in
2001, due to the delivery of new P-42 Diesel Locomotives. 62091 has been
acting as a crew dorm, but also is going through problems like 8400, mainly
Air Conditioning failures. It has
made one revenue run on the Silver Star.
The only way 8400 could come back out is if
they retrofit the Air Conditioning units or replace the temperature control
system and wiring to a standard unit, from an Amfleet II or a Viewliner. 8400
is now in "Dead Storage" in Amtrak's Main Shops in Beech Grove,
Indiana
Viewliner
2300 was put into Storage in Amtrak's Bear, Delaware Shops (DPF) in 1998, and
presumably has been renumbered 62090.
It is still believed to be stored there, but has yet to be confirmed
- Special Thanks to "Miami Joe" an Electronic Technician
in Miami, for the Amtrak Silver Service Trains.
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