EB Mess - 2

[NW cannonball]

Number 8 is now 17:54 late and soon to be in Wisconsin.

What will Chicago turn for the June 19 # 7?

Time will tell. A 24 hour late train would be some kind of record? Yah?

Today's #7 departed only 5:22 late westbound. Better than yesterday, but not good. And not likely to arrive Sea on schedule.

It's the only train in town. Gotta learn to live with it.

 

[Gemuser]

Number 8 is now 17:54 late and soon to be in Wisconsin.

What will Chicago turn for the June 19 # 7?

Time will tell. A 24 hour late train would be some kind of record? Yah?

Today's #7 departed only 5:22 late westbound. Better than yesterday, but not good. And not likely to arrive Sea on schedule.

It's the only train in town. Gotta learn to live with it.

Just for comparison the record lateness for Australia's east-west trans continental train, the Indian Pacific is 69 hours!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Time will tell. A 24 hour late train would be some kind of record? Yah?

Ask amamba about her 30 29.5 hour EB trip.

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/49287-empire-builder-to-the-lsl/

 

[montana mike]

Time for a complete reset!! The wheels have literally come off this route. There is little chance they will be able to keep on time departures at either end of the EB route now with these massive delays, so be prepared for an occasional cancelation to try to restart the schedule. Very sad. And it is not just BNSF in MT/ND now. WI has been a cause for many delays over the past week or so as well.

My BNSF guys are just shaking their heads, saying just wait a while longer, even more construction is coming-wow! Hopefully this does mean that there is a light at the end of the tunnel-just hope it isn't another train!!!!

 

[Ispolkom]

And it is not just BNSF in MT/ND now. WI has been a cause for many delays over the past week or so as well.

I think that the spectacular delays on the Hi Line have overshadowed CP's considerable mismanagement of their line. For instance, the last few times I've been on #7 we have been delayed 30-90 minutes at Pigs Eye, just a couple miles from SPUD, because extra-long CP freight trains have blocked the switch on to the Merriam sub. While CP has not gotten as much oil patch traffic as BNSF has, it's enough to overload what used to be the Soo Line.

It's the only train in town. Gotta learn to live with it.

That's true, but it's becoming harder and harder.

 

[yarrow]

i wonder how much longer amtrak can live with the situation. even if they cancel a number of runs to reset equipment, in a couple days they would be back in the same spot

 

[JayPea]

I'm taking #7 on Monday to Seattle from Spokane and I've resorted to tracking the #8 that will turn in Chicago and become the #7/27 that I will take, the train of 6-21. So far that train is little over an hour late in western Montana. Hopefully it won't turn into another of those 18 hour late trains. And, if Saturday's westbound EB manages to leave Chicago reasonably on time, maybe, just maybe (drool) it will not be too late as it would run during the weekend, and they tend to do better on the weekend. One can always hope!

 

[montana mike]

Good Point. these 12-16 hour arrival delays are killing the entire route. Of interest may be BNSF's report to the Surface Transportation Board issued yesterday on their web site. They admit things are not going well. No mention of Amtrak issues. But they ack the complaints and concerns of their freight customers.

 

[montana mike]

I'm taking #7 on Monday to Seattle from Spokane and I've resorted to tracking the #8 that will turn in Chicago and become the #7/27 that I will take, the train of 6-21. So far that train is little over an hour late in western Montana. Hopefully it won't turn into another of those 18 hour late trains. And, if Saturday's westbound EB manages to leave Chicago reasonably on time, maybe, just maybe (drool) it will not be too late as it would run during the weekend, and they tend to do better on the weekend. One can always hope!

You can figure on the #8 now in western MT to lose about 6 hours between eastern MT and Fargo. After that it is a crap shoot, with some days losing "only" a couple hours, while others, like today, dropping 6-8 hours over the rest of the route.

 

[andersone]

and if it is not bad enough already,,,, 16 inches of snow, 6 inches of rain in GPK today,,,,, if the creeks don't rise !!!

 

[montana mike]

Fortunately the snow levels remained mostly above 6500 feet (where 1-3 feet of snow did indeed fall over the past couple days), far above where there EBs travel (Marias Pass around 5200 feet). We live just outside the Park and actually had a short period of heavy snow (no accumulation) two days ago, but it's partly sunny around 60 degrees now. The rivers are indeed high all throughout NW MT though. I don't think the weather will be an issue going forward for the trains. Forecast is for mostly sunny skies and temps around 70 degrees!!!

 

[montana mike]

Interesting Article in the Wall Street Journal today about Amtrak delays, with the Empire Builder mentioned in the article:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/amtrak-sees-delays-increase-1403133350

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Interesting Article in the Wall Street Journal today about Amtrak delays, with the Empire Builder mentioned in the article:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/amtrak-sees-delays-increase-1403133350

Interesting that I got an email with a link to this...have no idea who sent it to me (did not recognize the email address).

 

[jphjaxfl]

Amtrak will not need to discontinue the Empire Builder. The unpredictable schedules will drive off the passengers except for a few railfans. Its a crime that this is allowed to happen.

 

[JayPea]

Fortunately the snow levels remained mostly above 6500 feet (where 1-3 feet of snow did indeed fall over the past couple days), far above where there EBs travel (Marias Pass around 5200 feet). We live just outside the Park and actually had a short period of heavy snow (no accumulation) two days ago, but it's partly sunny around 60 degrees now. The rivers are indeed high all throughout NW MT though. I don't think the weather will be an issue going forward for the trains. Forecast is for mostly sunny skies and temps around 70 degrees!!!

Hope that weather holds! I'm taking the EB to Glacier Park after a day or two in Seattle and I'm hoping that Going-to-the-Sun Road will be open fully by then. That may be too much to hope for though.

 

[pianocat]

Hope you get to do the whole Going-to-the-Sun route, right now [today] it looks like a substantial portion of the road is still closed. [http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm] In 2011 about this same time of year, it was only open a little bit on St. Mary side, too. Still....for a person with acrophobia....it was one of my greatest successes, but also one of the most terrifying rides I've ever taken. Good luck to you!! Breathtaking scenery [literally]

 

[JayPea]

I know it said on another part of their website the earliest it could open is tomorrow. I was there around the same time of year two years ago and it had just opened then. If it's still closed, well, there are plenty of other places around the park to enjoy!

 

[pianocat]

The Many Glacier hotel road is open, and that's a great place for a hike, nice lunch, then watching wildlife around the lake from the hotel lobby.

 

[Erin]

I'm heading out from Chicago to Portland on Tuesday (6/24) - I was supposed to leave on Wednesday for a friend's wedding, but decided to head out a day early (just in case) after getting the e-mail/text/phone call from Amtrak this weekend ... Reading this thread was like watching a car wreck, or something. It's terrible to see, but too magnetizing to look away...

 

[NW cannonball]

Right now NOAA is predicting floods near Hastings and Red Wing. It's been raining all day the last few days here at MSP.

Probably won't affect the rails - but could.

I have seen the tracks closed with water on them at Hastings and Red Wing when the Mississipi floods.

Hope it isn't worse on top of bad for the EB.

 

[neroden]

Bleah. Severe flooding in that area could easily close both the CP and the BNSF lines. The detour options are:

(1) Minnesota Commercial to Stillwater, then UP through Wisconsin

(2) CP connecting to CN through Chippewa Falls

Either route would be quite slow, and either would skip every stop between St Paul and Milwaukee

- CN has been uncooperative with reroutes in the past; I can't think of a single example where a train was rerouted onto CN tracks due to an emergency.

- It's quite hard to get from the UP route to Milwaukee station, possibly impractical.

During the June 2008 floods, Lake Delton dumped mud over the CP line, the BNSF line was flooded out by the Mississippi river, and I think the UP and CN lines flooded out in other places, so we ended up with a complete cancellation east of St. Paul.

 

[NW cannonball]

So - my son boarded #8 on time at SEA, and the TaT and all tell me he got past Everett.

Now it's a "service disruption" . Good that we knew from AU how possibly bad the timekeeping might be.

Hope to see the kid sometime Saturday, or whenever. No cell service wherever the train is.

Que sera.

 

[montana mike]

Fortunately the snow levels remained mostly above 6500 feet (where 1-3 feet of snow did indeed fall over the past couple days), far above where there EBs travel (Marias Pass around 5200 feet). We live just outside the Park and actually had a short period of heavy snow (no accumulation) two days ago, but it's partly sunny around 60 degrees now. The rivers are indeed high all throughout NW MT though. I don't think the weather will be an issue going forward for the trains. Forecast is for mostly sunny skies and temps around 70 degrees!!!

Hope that weather holds! I'm taking the EB to Glacier Park after a day or two in Seattle and I'm hoping that Going-to-the-Sun Road will be open fully by then. That may be too much to hope for though.

The local GNP people say the end of June or early July for an opening. They haven't even gotten to the "Big Drift" yet--which is a reported 80 feet deep right now!

 

[yarrow]

8(19)had a failed engine around everett. waiting for new power. probably be running around 4 hours late

 

[NW cannonball]

8(19)had a failed engine around everett. waiting for new power. probably be running around 4 hours late

Thanks for the news.