Amtrak's Pennsylvanian: When Business Class is WORSE than Coach!

hello and welcome back to Harrisburg Pennsylvania today we are continuing our journey out west with a ride on Amtrak's Pennsylvanian from here through the Appalachian Mountains to Pittsburgh Harrisburg Transportation Center is the Western Terminus for the Keystone Corridor in addition to serving Amtrak's Pennsylvanian the transit center also sees inner city bus services from Greyhound and Fullington Trailways plus the local Capital Area Transit bus Network and although smaller than most has a total of eight tracks across four Island platforms although really only two or three of those tracks are regularly used waiting for departure in the foreground is Pennsylvanian train 42. the southbound counterpart to our train 43 out to Pittsburgh train 42 is led by gep 42 DC number 46 adorned in Amtrak's 50th Anniversary livery on the next track over is the train that brought us here Amtrak Keystone number 663. if you missed that video click the link in the top right or in the description below to check it out right as the clock hits 105 PM train 42 departs continuing its ride back to New York City the transit center in Harrisburg is a quaint and very homely Station built back in 1887 by the Pennsylvania Railroad and then rebuilt in 1905 after a serious fire the station has seen very little change over the years the interior features a row of white columns a multitude of chandeliers and a beautiful tiled floor the station Hall features a poster board about the history and potential future of the station building describing the expansion from a small building to a full-fledged Station House the station was listed on the national register of historic places in 1975 and is also a National Historic Landmark just beyond the main hall the environment changes a bit but often the corner is an interactive Christmas train as much as I wanted it to work pushing the comically large button illuminated the cityscape but the train didn't move an inch that being said it was the middle of summer at the time of filming and why this display was still up in late June is beyond May [Music] the real waiting area is housed in the hallway out above the tracks out here are benches along the walls in the center of the space with ticket machines and information screens every few feet the plaque for the National Historic Landmark can also be found here listing the Harrisburg station and train shed as historic landmarks as of 1983. while we wait for our train let's take a look at our route for this afternoon Our Journey Begins heading Northwest out of Harrisburg following the Susquehanna River into the Appalachian Mountains the mountains guide our terrain through the twists and turns carving Through The Valleys past Lewistown Huntington and Tipton past Altoona are trained rounds the world famous horseshoe curve continuing on past Cresson Johnstown and Greensburg our train then reaches the outskirts of Pittsburgh briefly grazing the Monongahela River before breaking off to wrap around the city center to arrive at Pittsburgh's Union Station we'll cover a total of 249 miles across Pennsylvania today with a travel time of 5 hours and 23 minutes the weight in the station isn't super comfortable on the wooden benches but fortunately our train soon arrives and we can head down to track level making our way towards the end of the train we can hop in line and climb aboard for the first time on our travels across the Northeast our coach is an amfley 2 not an amphi one M Fleet 2s were designed for Amtrak's long distance single level routes and feature larger windows and more leg room they were also the last inner city coaches built by bud seating on M Fleet 2s is amazing there might as well not be a seat in front with how much legroom there is even at 6'3 I have more than enough space to stretch out my legs fully just barely reaching under the next seat with this extra legroom comes a foot rest like you'd find in business class on the Northeast Corridor which folds down by pressing the lever to the side of the seat back the seat back pocket is about the same size as the rest of Amtrak's Rolling Stock and holds the safety information card for our ampleet 2 coach [Music] the tray table folds down from the seat in front and can extend rather far to bridge the canyon between the seats above each row are two lights activated by the buttons in between two outlets are located on the wall below the windows the window shades that can slide back and forth to block out the sun if needed the M Fleet 2 seats include two methods of adjustment instead of the usual one the upper button reclines the seat back like on all other coaches but the lever below is used for the leg rest located beneath the seat reaching beneath the seat passengers can pull out the leg rest which ratchets into place the legrist is considerably longer than I had expected and creates a comfortable relaxing or sleeping position when combined with the recline of the seat back pushing the lever on this side of the seat releases the latches allowing the leg rest to fall back beneath the seat with the intermediate Smoke Stop completed the continuing passengers reboard the train and we depart Harrisburg beginning our five and a half hour Journey Through the Appalachian Mountains a few hundred yards out of Harrisburg the overhead electrification comes to an end as we transition out of Amtrak territory and onto the Norfolk Southern main line Urban Harrisburg soon becomes Lush rural Pennsylvania the tracks aligned with Greenery as far as the eye can see our conductor came through the car to check tickets and upon scanning hours informed me that our ticket was actually for business class not coach they mentioned that I could stay where we already were seated if I wanted to or I could move up to the business class coach at the front of the train excited to see what could be considered business class on a long distance train I grabbed my belongings and headed forward passing through the cafe car reveals the reality of the situation the coach at the front of the train certainly was business class however the coach was actually an amphlete one the same as seen on Northeast Regional trains the business class seats certainly aren't bad but they're definitely not what I was expecting there's around 12 inches between my knees and the seat back with plenty of space beneath the next seat to stretch out however the seats are closer together than in coach the same foot rest as seen in coach is also included here folding down from the seat back in the same manner the seat back pocket is the same as those in coach class and includes the usual safety information card for the amphi 1 coach the tray table folds down from the seat back with the same two lights on the ceiling above controlled by the buttons in between Powers the same with the two 120 volt Outlets located on the wall despite being called business class these seats are actually worse than those in coach the reduced distance between each row means less leg room which in turn results in the foot rest being unusable for taller passengers the shorter seat pitch means that the leg rest is gone too which means the overall Comfort is reduced certainly not what I'd refer to as business class what I was expecting were seats like the big leather armchairs seen on the combination business class Cafe cars on Corridor services those would have been a step up from the amphi 2 coach seats as they're operated in a two by one configuration and have much nicer cushions than the rest of the fleet the Appalachian Mountains grow on the horizon as our train cruises along the three-track main line passing freight trains as we trundle onward thank you the rear of the train is often one of the best places to be as the doors at the end provide an incredible view of the tracks out behind us Altoona is our next stop and the last stop before we reach the most beautiful section of this journey by far a quick exchange of passengers later and we're on our way continuing out of Altoona we climb back into the mountains sneaking around Lake Altoona and the beginnings of horseshoe curve horseshoe curve is one of the most well-known sections of track across the U.S with its incredibly tight radius turn at just under 200 meters or 650 feet the track curves at this constant radius for an impressive 220 degrees totaling 2 375 feet of curve the curve was first built in 1854 to reduce westbound grade through the Allegheny Mountains with the observation park on the inside of the radius constructed soon after in 1879. just briefly we get a peek out over the valley and the kittening reservoir below horseshoe curve is such a high traveled rail Fanning site that virtual railfan has a permanent camera set up at the top of the park pulling up the live stream we can get a rare and somewhat surreal view of watching our train go past while also being on it [Music] foreign [Music] just around the curve is something I certainly didn't expect to see toppled over spine cars with FedEx trailers on top a little research reveals that these are actually remaining cards from the June 7th 2021 Norfolk Southern derailment note that this derailment happened in 2021 and this video was filmed over a year later in late June of 2022 the fact that these cars are still here is astounding but at least they're empty so no one is missing any packages if you're enjoying the video so far I would really appreciate it if you hit the like And subscribe buttons down below it's totally free and it really helps support the channel if you're so inclined then feel free to check out the Channel's patreon patrons get their name in the video access to exclusive weekly posts and even the opportunity to vote on future videos if those perks pique your interest then click the link in the top right or in the description below to learn more the gorgeous Mountain views continue are drain twisting and turning through the Appalachian valleys bathrooms on amply one coaches are located at the end of each car with one regular and one accessible the bathroom isn't really in the best shape with toilet paper and water across the floor certainly not business class quality the sink does work well though with plenty of soap paper towels and toilet paper the 120 volt Outlets are located beside the sink and appear to work but who knows how well the bathroom is well just that a bathroom it's not super fancy but it gets the job done that being said a quick clean and refresh would be greatly appreciated at this point in our journey I was getting pretty hungry which means it's time to head to the cafe car to grab some lunch Amtrak offers a selection of snacks and drinks from the bar plus a few larger options for lunch and dinner the specific selection varies from route to Route and recently changed when Amtrak revamped their Cafe menus on long distance trains across the U.S from the options at hand I went for a healthier choice selecting the fresh southwest salad bowl in a bag of chips I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the bowl the lettuce was crisp and fresh and the selection of chopped veggies on top made for a filling meal helped in part by the side of sea salt chips I wasn't expecting much when I made the choice for a salad and for nine dollars I was expecting a total rip-off but I was pleasantly surprised was it still a little overpriced yes but it was way better value than I had first thought so if you're looking for a lighter healthier options then I highly suggest the bowl as we enjoy our lunch through the Appalachians let's take a look at some stats about our train our train this afternoon is Amtrak Pennsylvania number 43 and is powered by GE Genesis p42dc number 113. each p-42dc is powered by a gev16 engine producing 4200 horsepower propelling trains to a top speed of 110 miles an hour M fleets are the workhorses of Amtrak's Fleet making up the majority of east coast and Midwest trains built by bud in the 1970s and 80s and fleets were modeled after coaches on the metroliner emu's operating on the Northeast Corridor Amtrak ordered two types the inner city and Fleet 1 and the long distance ampleet 2. am Fleet ones were built with one set of doors on either end of the car for faster loading and unloading ampleet ones are mainly used on shorter Corridor Services across the network with frequent intermediate stops M Fleet twos are the long distance counterpart to the empty one amphi 2s were manufactured by Bud between 1980 and 1983 with 150 cars delivered in total although only 138 are still in service these long distance variants came in two configurations coach and Diner light coach cars were outfitted with 59 passenger seats while Diner lights had a selection of booths plus a conductor's office before we left the cafe car I grabbed a bag of M M's and a can of Coke the can of Coke was complimentary a perk of traveling in business class but I had to pay for the M MS passing one of the many sightings along the way I spotted one of norfolk's Southern's Heritage units NS 8099 painted in the Southern Railway livery Southern Railway was the predecessor to Norfolk Southern operating between 1894 and 1982. the railway operated with a golden green paint Scheme and Norfolk Southern honors their lineage with this locomotive so after a full five hours on the Pennsylvania a question arises is business class really worth it in my opinion no the main advantage of business class comes from larger seats and seat reservations but with an amfleet one business coach business class ends up being worse than coach the seats get smaller and notably there aren't any seat reservations despite that being an advertised amenity which is two of the largest benefits to business class down the drain the only other pluses are complimentary Beverages and a 25 reward bonus but that's hardly worth the almost 50 percent price increase if you do end up with business class on a long distance inner city train then I recommend taking a seat in coach as you'll be much more comfortable than in business class the final few miles of the journey are fairly uneventful and we soon reach the outskirts of Pittsburgh a run into Pittsburgh City Center runs parallel to the MLK Junior East busway one of the key arteries of public transit across the city along the bus way buses can stop at stations much like light rail but then transition to regular Street Running After exiting the busway it's a great system but in my personal opinion a light rail line here would be a much better investment after just over 5 hours and 30 minutes the first sign of Pittsburgh Penn Station filled the window and it's not long before our train comes to a stop at the end of the line for the Pennsylvanian grabbing our belongings we hid down the car and disembark into Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for the first time today we're able to take a look at the locomotive that brought us here p42dc number 113 took the lead today trailed by a single CAF baggage car with six amp fleets in tow a few tracks over is an Ohio Central business card named Sugar Creek the car was manufactured by Bud for the Missouri Pacific Railroad as number 611. the coach was delivered in September of 1949 as a lightweight sleeper and was used on the Colorado Eagle in 1971 the car was rebuilt to heavyweight business card number 11. in the late 70s the car was restored as the McDonald's special number 11 and was donated to the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway on October 22nd of 1976 by none other than Ray Kroc the man who was responsible for the rise of the Fast Food Giant with which the car shared its name the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway eventually sold the car in the late 80s where it was then refurbished into the Sugar Creek car we see before us that is only a brief history of such a beautiful car and if anyone has any more information surrounding the coach then please leave a comment down below it seems that this one in particular has very few records of its past and I would love to learn more about it specifically about its stint with the hvsr as the McDonald's special our journey onward continues with Amtrak's Capital limited out to Chicago we made that journey in one of the Amtrak's accessible bedrooms the largest bedroom that Amtrak has to offer that video went live a few months back so if you missed it click the link in the top right or in the description below to check it out after a completed journey and a brief look at some railroading history it's time to bring today's video to a close next week we'll be back in the air to fly from Atlanta to London Heathrow on one of Delta's Boeing 767s if you're new around here I would really appreciate it if you hit that subscribe button down below it's totally free and it really helps support the channel there's a lot more incredible content on the way so stick around if you want to see more I also want to give a huge shout out to my patrons over on patreon if you too want your name in the video or just want to support the channel in more ways than one then head on over to the patreon link in the description below but anyways that's all I have for today thanks for riding with me and I'll see you in the next one

Channel: Lonestar Trip Reports

Views: 39,199

Keywords: Amtrak, Amtrak acela, Amtrak coach, Amfleet, Siemens Venture, Acela, amtrak acela, lonestar trip reports, avelia liberty, amtrak trip report, amtrak review, business class review, trip report trains, Amtrak Keystone Corridor, Keystone Corridor, Keystone, Amtrak Keystone, Avelia Liberty, Metroliner, Amtrak Metroliner, Amtrak Pennsylvania, GE GG1, PRR, Amtrak Pennsylvanian, Pennsylvanian, Amtrak Penny, The Penny, Horseshoe Curve, Norfolk Southern, Brightline, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh

Id: 4SDb6aS0RQE

Length: 20min 42sec (1242 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 28 2023