A quick trip to Washington, DC on 50 and 29.

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Steve4031

Engineer
AU Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Messages
7,211
Location
Chicago
I was initially going to do a round trip to New Orleans this weekend, but Hurricane Helene had different ideas. Though 58 and 59 have not been canceled, I thought they might be at the beginning of the week, so I changed my plans for ease of mind. The worst thing would be to find out today that 59 was canceled, and then I was unable to rebook on something else because all the options were sold out or too expensive.

I ended up in the 5000 car with a 669-dollar roomette cheaper than the roomettes on 30—an easy choice, especially with the potential for fall colors along the New River Gorge.

I will spend Friday in Washington, D.C., and return on 30 Saturday afternoon.
 
Yesterday, I checked on 51, and it was running close to 6 hours late because of engine problems in Philadelphia. It made up 1 hour and is now running 5 hours late. Of course, the stop in Indianapolis may add to the delay if they decide to send repaired cars to Chicago. So, I will be watching this closely. Hopefully, tonight's departure will not be delayed.
 
I'm in the lounge. I picked up a Stromboli from sbarros. It was good. Drank a free ginger ale in the lounge. No scolding for eating outside food in the lounge.

The person checking me in was professional and courteous. He said there were no updates "yet". He has the same suspicion I do and acknowledged they usually use the same equipment.
 
A shout out to the much maligned Chicago yard. They put together a replacement train and had it ready to go for an on-time departure. The sleeper is at the head end.

The redcap was new, but very helpful. We got down to the south concourse and there was some confusion because the equipment from the late 51 was still in the station and was someone thought that was 50. In reality 50 was on a different track. The various people involved got it sorted quickly and we were on our way.

There was an African American lady in management who was doing an excellent job under pressure.
 
The SCA remembered me from previous trips. They have a new flex menu, or at least one I have not seen. It’s not good. I told the sca I would like a cheeseburger. He told me I would have to pay for it. Not a problem. No tip for a stingy lsa. It was 7.25 for cheeseburger. I handed the sca and told him to keep the change. He’s hustling waiting in passengers in the 5000 car and baggage sleeper combo.
 

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The quick trip is no longer a quick trip. We encountered 80 miles of 20 mph running between Charleston and Prince. That made us 3 hours late. While I was eating lunch I could here the crew calling the dispatchers trying to arrange a recrew. I thought this would be accomplished in Clifton Forge. It wasn’t.

We made decent time and came to a stop near Afton, Virginia which was about 30 minutes west of Charlottesville arround 6:30. An announcement was made that we would be waiting for the new crew.

We sat until 9:45. I am not sure when the new crew arrived. They were there when I went back to eat a cheeseburger at 9:30. They were talking about a car stuck on the tracks. The new crew came all the way from Huntington which explained the wait. Despite the first crews best efforts they could get the new crew to 50 because no cab drivers wanted to drive them over the mountains in the storm.
 
It's predictable when a train is running late that it will need a new crew, except for the cafe worker, who just keeps working. Yet there is often a long delay. The same thing happened on a northbound Cardinal at Wilmington. The new crew came in from Philadelphia, which took about two hours. It almost seemed like Amtrak waited until the train got to Wilmington to make the call.

That was two or three years ago. Are more crews available now than then? That might have contributed to the problem getting people to Wilmington.

Also, thanks for the trip report! I also still enjoyed my trip on the Cardinal, on a bid for a roomette. Arriving at Penn Station in the wee hours there was plenty going on, including families rolling in their suitcases, while Amtrak checked tickets at the door to old Penn.
 
I wasn’t surprised. The crew that was already onboard were a bit misleading in there announcements. After we stopped they stated the crew would be there shortly. Thus I assumed the crew was coming from Charlottesville. They had to have known the crew was coming from Huntington. I saw in asm that we were projected to arrive in Charlottesville about 9:30. So I knew then that the wait would be longer. Then the late train gets later scenario kicks in.

A few photos from yesterday.
 

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