For non trainfags, “heritage fleet” means the equipment that Amtrak inherited from the railroads when they nationalized almost all rail passenger service in 1971. This was a polyglot fleet of cars, many dating back to the 1940s, and until they were all repainted it resulted in crazy “rainbow era” trains with many various liveries. Despite some mechanical issues, these were relics from the golden age of American rail travel and I remember as a kid riding in old Santa Fe cars with interiors done up in Southwest Indian motifs. I rode a sleeper car in the mid 90s that was probably one me of the last holdovers and it felt like time travel.
Speaking of Amtrak bathrooms, I used to know gutter punk kids who did “Scamtrak”, sneaking aboard trains and hiding in the bathrooms to go as far as they could, not easy as conductors know everyone on their train and I’ve even had them remember me from previous trips.

>>18250578
>be amerisharts
>updating basic infrastructure costs money
>"welp, better scrap the whole thing, can't have that"
As an amerishartistan, this country is the pinnacle of retarded

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>>18250683

Got any stories about early Amtrak? How was the service, food, drink, and whatnot? From publicity photos, it still seems to have had at least some of that magic from the private era. Now it's just soulless metal boxes with ugly paint schemes (corporate globohomo artists would do a better job I swear) and interiors that feel I'm riding a fucking prison on wheels. Not to mention that the food is fucking prison-tier and I've had to ride with actual ex-prisoners who've tried to sell me drugs (there was actually a shootout on the Sunset Limited when it was in Tuscon a few years ago when police boarded the train and a couple of guys smuggling pot opened fire on them).

>>18250578
Bless you, op, stupid vignettes are my favourite kind of history. Reveal unto me, o wise autist, more train idiocy.

>>18251168
I only rode once in the early days as a little kid, on the Texas Eagle with the ex Santa Fe cars, but in the early 90s I rode a lot, young, carefree and they had these incredibly cheap fare deals. California Zephyr Chicago-Bay Area a couple of times with some of the best scenery of any train in America, and a route from Denver to Seattle that they no longer have. The cars were modern double deckers but great views especially from the dome car. Food was mediocre so I’d always bring stuff, as well as booze, and I’d sneak off for a toke at longer stops. Sometimes I had a guitar so jam sessions and partying in the lounge car, sometimes with the crew joining in. More than once there was the “I’m drunk on a train!!” guy that they had to call ahead to the cops in the next town.
Once I took the Sunset Limited from Texas to Jacksonville (stops short in New Orleans now) on Mardi Gras day and all afternoon we rolled through Cajun country watching people party, then that night I thought I’d get to spend a few hours in New Orleans but some drunk got his car stuck on the track near the station so we were stuck there forever and they did only a quick stop. From Jacksonville to New York is the only time I got a sleeper, in the vintage car I mentioned. (Cont.)

>>18251168
Nothing ever came of it but I had some fun flirty encounters with women on trains, once with this hippie chick with an accordion that I played music with in the bar car. We corresponded for a while but never saw her again. Then there was this Muslim woman (Pakistani?) that I shared a table with in the dining car, and same deal with an older woman that I later met for lunch in New York but turned out she was married. I was always too autistic to ever make a real move. Then there was this qt black conductorette on the Texas Eagle that was flirty with me on a couple of trips. Later I was drunk in a bar near the station in Austin and the train came in so I walked over there and she saw me. “Hey anon! You’re not on my train, are you?” “No I just live here!” and now I’m imagining hooking up with her in a bathroom or the crew quarters.
I haven’t ridden much in recent years, living now on a route that doesn’t go anywhere I want to, so expensive now and I’m too old to sit in coach on a cross country trip with a pint of Jim Beam. I’d love to do some of the western routes though.

>>18250578
>outfitting the entire Heritage Fleet with retention tanks that are periodically emptied at stations turns out to be too expensive, so most of the fleet is sent straight to the scrapyards as soon as they can be replaced
Nah it was unprofitable and anything good in this country that improves standard of living needs to be profitable but jewish investment gamblers can offload their failed investments as public debt and multiple defense and aerospace companies are no bid cartels for federal contracts
>>18251518
I really want a qt 3.14 submissive pakistani who laughs at all my jokes out of fear of the curses of Allah

>>18251168
Looking back, I’d say I hit peak Amtrak in those years. The early days were a shambles as they were trying to mesh together a lot of worn out disparate equipment, the 80s and early 90s were ok, then once Republicans took control of Congress in 1994 they cut the budget and fares went up while some routes were cut.
Even pre Amtrak trains weren’t that great on most railroads as they were losing money and cut everything to the bone. Some railroads like the Illinois Central, Santa Fe and Southern wanted to keep up their corporate image, eating red ink as they kept up standards with new rolling stock, real food on china plates, porters, domes and sleeping cars, but the average American passenger train by the late 60s was a sad remnant.
The biggest weak spot to Amtrak today is that most tracks are owned by the freight railroads and they give priority to their own trains even though Amtrak is supposed to get the green light. Until that changes they’ll always be slow and mediocre.

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>>18251495
>The cars were modern double deckers

God, I hate Superliners. Most generic ugly car designs ever.

>but great views especially from the dome car.

You're probably thinking of the lounge cars (which is what they call them) since I don't think Superliners were ever used in conjunction with the older domes. Even those are pretty ugly compared to their older cousins, especially since Amtrak basically never replaces the windows and they're all covered in decades of accumulated grime.

>I’d sneak off for a toke at longer stops.

Someone tried doing that on the Coast Starlight one time and the conductor smelled it and started shouting at all the passengers to put it away or be kicked off. It'll especially get you in trouble since Amtrak is Federally-run and thus subject to far more anal drug crackdowns. I never smoke pot anywhere besides my home for that reason.

>>18251518
>Nothing ever came of it but I had some fun flirty encounters with women on trains, once with this hippie chick with an accordion that I played music with in the bar car.

Lucky you, the closest I've ever gotten to hooking up was a couple of girls who had been trained as ticketing agents and were being sent on a company-paid trip as a congratulations present. We got really drunk together.

>I haven’t ridden much in recent years, living now on a route that doesn’t go anywhere I want to, so expensive now and I’m too old to sit in coach on a cross country trip with a pint of Jim Beam. I’d love to do some of the western routes though.

If you have the opportunity, you should definitely see about riding a private car. There's not as many around as there used to be because Amtrak is run by literal retards who change their schedules without notice, but the experience really is something else. The booze is free and basically all you can drink and the food is freshly prepared with changing menus and even second courses.

>>18251691
Superliners are just knockoffs of Santa Fe’s El Capitan cars, they sway a lot, and the lower level feels claustrophobic, but I always enjoyed the lounge car views no matter how grimy.

I was a stupid hippie with the weed but never had trouble though I heard of others getting nabbed. I’d just walk along the platform far from people and take a hit or two. Once I smoked behind a big Just Say No sign for railroad employees in Texarkana, wondering if I’d get busted in Texas or Arkansas. A weird car attendant offered me a hit from a pipe made from a beer car but I didn’t want to smoke aluminum.

Guess I’ll never have sex on a train. I’ve tried to talk my waifu into a long cross country trip in a sleeper but she gets motion sickness easily. When I was a kid I got a huge crush on Jill Clayburgh after seeing her in Silver Streak where she hooks up with Gene Wilder on a train.

Near where I live I sometimes see these two private cars on a siding and I talked to one of the crew once. They’re owned by some midwestern CEO and he takes friends and clients around to college football weekends and such. I should check around with railfan groups. Then there’s those cruise trains in the Colorado and Canadian Rockies that cost mega bucks.

I think the last real shot at the golden age of passenger rail was those Canadian trains running older equipment until recently. A friend of mine rode the Ocean to Nova Scotia right before they modernized.

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>>18251841
>Once I smoked behind a big Just Say No sign for railroad employees in Texarkana

heh, maybe I'm more careful just because I own a ton of guns and can't risk a drug conviction

>>18251841
>I’ve tried to talk my waifu into a long cross country trip in a sleeper but she gets motion sickness easily.

Might want to try one of the services that uses Viewliner cars. They're single level and sway a lot less. Viewliner II cars are apparently a substantial improvement.

>When I was a kid I got a huge crush on Jill Clayburgh after seeing her in Silver Streak where she hooks up with Gene Wilder on a train.

BASED

>I should check around with railfan groups.

You can also talk email the owners of some cars directly, sometimes they'll offer spare rooms at a decent price.

>I think the last real shot at the golden age of passenger rail was those Canadian trains running older equipment until recently.

IIRC, The Canadian still uses its old streamliner equipment, they keep it in running order specifically because of its niche value. Although they will be replacing it at some point in the 2030s (at that point the equipment will be ~80 years old). The commuter services are receiving upgraded rolling stock though though.

>>18250578

lmao

>>18250578
They went after the trains because they kept killing too many browns

>>18250578

Why would you design a toilet that flushes onto the tracks to begin?