Question on two things with the Amtrak Eastern Pack

Kazareh · Joined: 29 Aug 2010 Posts: 77

Ok, has to do with the coaches...

1: Is there any particular reason that 2 of the cars in the Silver Star consist have blue seats? I like it, but it does strike me as odd.

2: With the coaches, why is there a sideways 'U' shaped partition in the middle of the car, that you would have to walk through to get to the other end of the car?

dcarleton · Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 60

Question #1 -
It was the '70s, and that's what was in style.

Question #2 -
That's the way those cars were built, with a partition in the middle to break up the tunnel effect of a coach.

David Carleton

Kazareh · Joined: 29 Aug 2010 Posts: 77

Tunnel effect? Whatdya mean? I don't quite get that.

dcarleton · Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 60

A coach is naturally a long tubular structure. The idea was to break it up into smaller spaces that the customers might feel were less crowded and therefore more comfortable.

David Carleton

Kazareh · Joined: 29 Aug 2010 Posts: 77

rfranzosa · Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:43 pm Post subject:

Hi Kazareh,

When Amtrak original refurbished the cars they 'inherited' they went with blue seats. As this set features 'before and after' cars, that is why some seats are blue and some aren't

To further explain the cars with the interior partitions, they were, in fact, ordered that way by the Chesapeake & Ohio. The cars represented in this set were originally C&O cars. I have also heard the tunnel-effect referred to as the 'bowling alley' effect. The C&O felt that dividing the cars into small 'rooms' would make them feel more home-y, less like a train.

Rick