My wife loves the train (hates driving) and so this would be quite interesting to us. But I've heard too many Amtrak horror stories, like the one about how the train broke down about ten miles away from her destination, and they wouldn't let her get off, so she had to sit there for ten hours until they were able to fix it.
This is definitely the weirdest part, their refusal to treat passengers with any respect. For the most part the crew often doesn't know if it will get fixed in one hour or ten hours, but they don't communicate this and there's never an option to bail and have someone pick you up.
Last time I took Amtrak out of LA Union Station, it broke down but luckily was able to pull into the next station so people could get off and find another route. I stayed on and after about 4 hours we were towed back to union station.
We once rode the Amtrak from Sacramento to Reno, through the snow, with the kids. Figured it would be a fun adventure. On the ride up, we were about an hour behind schedule - no problem. On the way back, we started our day at 8am and didn't arrive home til 8pm. Train had to keep stopping for "unexpected delays". Regulars on the train were saying it happens all the time. Not fun.
Why anyone would pay 100x the price to have the same experience is beyond me.
That is not how Amtrak cars are laid out. That's just categorically not a thing on Amtrak. Not in coach, not in the roomette, and not in the private rooms.
Welp, I've never been on an Amtrak with a Viewliner, so my mistake, but I've ridden the Amtrak many times and have never seen that particular style of railcar. They've always been two-story, and apparently that's a one-story railcar (presumably why they need to economize space like that).
Wikipedia says that they're primarily used on the east coast, so that's probably why I've not seen one. I've ridden all over the lines west of Chicago. I'd love to do their new Chicago to Miami line sometime, so perhaps I'll have the privilege.
