Crescent cancellations?

[Pswiderski]

Anyone know why the Crescent is cancelled to many days in January and February 2019 from ATL to NOLA?   Also looks like only running between NYC and ATL, then bus the rest of the way. 

 

[cpotisch]

 

[GaSteve]

Happens this time every year.

 

[John Bobinyec]

When the Crescent lays overnight in Atlanta, where does the consist go to be serviced?

jb

 

[west point]

The Atlanta station has Potable water supply boxes that service the Crescent every day.  As well they have a motorized honey wagon for toilet servicing as well.  Once the water servicing is complete the train set proceeds south to Howell junction and wyes there then proceeds north past the station, takes a siding that is on the SE side of the 2 main tracks and then backs down past the station onto what is called the steel spur ( siding ) and parks .  Depending on train set    length locos may end up just SE of station.  Toilet servicing, refueling, and cleaning then proceeds.  Do not know if cleaning crew starts work on cars as train set goes thru the wye process ?

Some time before departure train set proceeds north up siding then backs down to station for an on time departure .  .

 

[GaSteve]

The Atlanta station has Potable water supply boxes that service the Crescent every day.  As well they have a motorized honey wagon for toilet servicing as well.  Once the water servicing is complete the train set proceeds south to Howell junction and wyes there then proceeds north past the station, takes a siding that is on the SE side of the 2 main tracks and then backs down past the station onto what is called the steel spur ( siding ) and parks .  Depending on train set    length locos may end up just SE of station.  Toilet servicing, refueling, and cleaning then proceeds.  Do not know if cleaning crew starts work on cars as train set goes thru the wye process ?

Some time before departure train set proceeds north up siding then backs down to station for an on time departure .  .

It's called the steel spur because it used to extend southwest to the Atlantic Steel Company, where the Atlantic Station development is located today.  A great example of a brownfield redevelopment.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Tri-weekly service ATL-NOL.  I often wonder what happened that makes Atlanta unable (or unwilling) to store equipment in their station.

I've asked the above question in the past, knowing the Crescent turns at ATL.

The Atlanta station has Potable water supply boxes that service the Crescent every day.  As well they have a motorized honey wagon for toilet servicing as well.  Once the water servicing is complete the train set proceeds south to Howell junction and wyes there then proceeds north past the station, takes a siding that is on the SE side of the 2 main tracks and then backs down past the station onto what is called the steel spur ( siding ) and parks .  Depending on train set    length locos may end up just SE of station.  Toilet servicing, refueling, and cleaning then proceeds.  Do not know if cleaning crew starts work on cars as train set goes thru the wye process ?

Some time before departure train set proceeds north up siding then backs down to station for an on time departure .  .

So, what is stopping them from turning a train or sleeping cars at ATL on a daily basis? In terms of turning cars without engines, the calendar day inspection for the car could expire. However, that would apply to a train.

 

[Seaboard92]

Well that and it's also the Piedmont Division mainline and whenever a passenger train is present in the Atlanta Station it creates a large bottleneck as correct me if I'm wrong. But no traffic is allowed to approach the station when the platform is occupied by passengers.

Now if the station was located in a siding off the mainline things could be done. But that's a long time in the future because no location in Atlanta is really suitable. Ideally you would want a station off of the mainline that can access the Southern Mainline to Washington, Birmingham, Chattanooga, and Macon. The Atlanta & West Point to Montgomery, the Central of Georgia to Macon, Louisville & Nashville to Chattanooga and the Seaboard to Macon. And no location really has ever worked for that task.

Atlanta is just a gigantic bottleneck and always will be.

 

[GaSteve]

Correct about blocking the main in Atlanta. 

There actually was a good station location investigated 5 or so years ago west of the current one in the Atlantic Station area (old steel mill), but the State let it drop and sold the land.  There has been another suggestion north of town near I-285 parallel to the Doraville MARTA station.

 

[acelafan]

With the NB consist originating in ATL, does anyone know if the diner will serve dinner those days? I can probably guess the answer... 

 

[west point]

Diner serve  yes as it should be on time out of ATL !