Empire Builder discussion 2023 Q4 - 2024

[railiner]

Not sure, but they gotta get home as well. They can't work back on another train. 8(31)'s crew will turn on 7(3).

And Amtrak would have to pay 2 crews to deadhead home…more likely cheaper to fly them home…🤷‍♂️

 

[Steve's Wanderlust]

The LCA seemed stressed out, others were performing well enough I didn't notice.

 

[zephyr17]

The LCA seemed stressed out, others were performing well enough I didn't notice.

If you mean the cafe LSA, that position is on 27/28 and so is normally based out of Chicago, not Portland. Portland does not have an OBS crew base.

 

[Rasputin]

An Empire Builder bustitution is apparently in place between Shelby and Whitefish due to a derailment near Essex:

https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2024/oct/13/freight-train-derails-on-border-of-glacier-park/

 

[Amtrak25]

How much corn spilled ? Bears have been rumored to feast on derailed, fermented, spilled corn, get drunk, and act more unpredictably than normal.

 

[Siegmund]

How much corn spilled ? Bears have been rumored to feast on derailed, fermented, spilled corn, get drunk, and act more unpredictably than normal.

This Montana Free Press article characterizes it as "hundreds of tons," which is believable (for a fairly small value of 'several' like 2 or 3) if a number of loaded hoppers overturned.

Bears drunk on fermented corn is more than just a rumor, and is a perennial point of contention between BN(SF), Montana Fish and Game, and the Park Service. The railroad is required to clean up the grain now, but TBA how good of a job they do.

 

[zephyr17]

Bears drunk on fermented corn is more than just a rumor, and is a perennial point of contention between BN(SF), Montana Fish and Game, and the Park Service. The railroad is required to clean up the grain now, but TBA how good of a job they do.

A requirement driven in no small part from BNSF trains smacking into wasted bears foraging for their favorite intoxicant on the ROW.

 

[Amtrak25]

Positive food / alcohol reinforcement will encourage them to hang out by RR tracks. Bears are not stupid and reason by association.

 

[Palmland]

We got to witness bears at work at the site of a derailment on Ed Ellis' Rio Grande Scenic RR aka San Luis and Rio Grande in 2007. What a shame it sucummed to poor managaement as the train made the very scenic trip from Alamosa to La Veta, CO.