I had the schedule on 7(28) last week, but not on 8(01).
Empire Builder discussion 2023 Q4 - 2024
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I understand from another list that 7(3) was in a collision with a truck west of Malta, Montana and that the locomotive #334(?) is reported to have sustained heavy damage. It is proceeding west with a BNSF locomotive in the lead.
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I just found this today. Did you already take the trip, and was it to Portland or Seattle?
Very curious because I'm on the planning stages of end-to-end from FTW to CHI to PDX (or VAN) and back the same way. I'd very much like to read about your trip. I'm planning mine for Sept 2025.
And thank you for what you said!!
Yes, I took my trip. CHI-SEA and back. It was enjoyable. Had no complaints.
I am a pretty regular rider on the Builder, it is one of my "home" trains since I catch it at Everett, 20 minutes from my house.
In fact, I will be connecting to 7 tomorrow off today's 49.
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Thank you! Did you stay overnight in Seattle? I'm seriously thinking of turning around the same day from PDX or VAN - which means I'm going to have to shell out for a bedroom (I would've anyway, it's a long trip).
How many days from SEA to CHI?
Thank you! Please tell us about it. How far are your going? Are you in coach or sleeper?
Chicago to Everett, WA, 2 stops short of Seattle. In a roomette.
It is a two night trip, leaves Chicago 3:05 pm, arrives Seattle 11:29 am/Portland 11:17 am second day.
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Merci Beaucoup!!
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Amtrak has posted some cancellations due to a storm:
https://www.amtrak.com/alert/modified-service-due-to-winter-storm-forecasted-impact-washingto.html
https://www.amtrak.com/alert/modified-service-due-to-winter-storm-forecasted-impact-washingto.html
Good job identifying Empire Builder as Empire Service, Amtrak.
Interesting now they are putting disclaimers about efforts to find alternative transportation.
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Amusing that Amtrak's alert refers to the Empire Builder as "Empire Service" throughout the alert and it got posted without anyone at Amtrak spotting the error.
A simple addition of one word "BUILDER" would have left no doubt in this case - - - !
Now getting back to that weather - gee what's wrong with the New York weather ?
west point
Engineer
No buses? That is becoming an indication of the loosing state of bus companies. Bus companies do not want the liability of possible problems in snow. It may come to the point sometime in the future that there will have to be a part Amtrak bus thruway system.
Greyhound LD around here is fast disappearing with no alternates. The only item is a few companies running expensive shuttle service to ATL airport.
Greyhound LD around here is fast disappearing with no alternates. The only item is a few companies running expensive shuttle service to ATL airport.
I
They truncated it in Spokane tonight and the alert I got is they are providing alternative transportation for 7(17). The next trains, 7(18) and later will truncate in Spokane with no alternative transportation.
They apparently let 8(18) out of Seattle go tonight.
What I do not get is the really heavy weather is not due in until tomorrow. I do not see a reason to truncate this train. Yes, there will be some snow in the passes overnight, but not the huge dumps expected to start tomorrow afternoon.
They did bustitute 7(17) from Spokane to Seattle/Portland. 7 arrived in Spokane at 2 am, we had been running early the whole trip and this was no exception. The Seattle bus finally showed up at Spokane station at about 4:45 am, the Portland one about 25 minutes earlier. We were not allowed to stay on the train until close to the time the buses showed. Everyone had to sit in the station and the agent did not know exactly when the buses would show up. Amtrak internal communications problems strike again.
As accurately predicted, there was no bad weather this morning over Stevens Pass. It was actually sunny going over the the summit. Most of US 2 over Stevens was bare and wet, slushy approaching the summit from the east side, and compact snow coming down the big grade on the west side. Bare and wet again by the bottom of the big hill (Scenic).
There was absolutely no reason to terminate the train in Spokane. That is not 20/20 hindsight. The weather was as predicted, and in no way "severe". Somebody at CNOC is a moron or got their dates confused reading the forecast
west point
Engineer
Iamwas on 7(17).
They truncated it in Spokane tonight and the alert I got is they are providing alternative transportation for 7(17). The next trains, 7(18) and later will truncate in Spokane with no alternative transportation.
There was absolutely no reason to terminate the train in Spokane. That is not 20/20 hindsight. The weather was as predicted, and in no way "severe". Somebody at CNOC is a moron or got their dates confused reading the forecast
Suspect that Amtrak did not want an EB train set stranded in SEA. Now what is Amtrak going to do with 2 train sets in Spokane? Do you have any name of the bus company that took you to SEA? Where based? Private or regular intercity? What type of bus? What pit stops and meals on your bus trip? Did driver make any comment about the snow tomorrow?
Since 8 went last night, they now are without a Builder set in Seattle, will have to restart 8 with a bustitution. How does that make sense? You say stranded, I say in position.
Regular intercity bus with luggage hold and tiny bathroom in the rear. Don't recall the company name, but it wasn't a major. No pit stops, ran straight through stopping at the Amtrak stations, Ephrata, Wenatchee, Leavenworth.
Amtrak has snack boxes out to grab.
Driver was very good, but didn't say much, except he made clear he didn't work for Amtrak when we all had gotten on. Otherwise it was just announcements, "Wenatchee in 15 minutes" kind of thing.
I do not think anyone local would comment too much on a heavy snowstorm on Stevens in November. That's not exactly an unusual event.
It’s been fixed. The overnight communications people are new and probably are still learning all the routes…such as that there are 2 routes with Empire in the name.
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I'm suspecting more that this Empire Builder cancellation out of Seattle was the product of someone at Amtrak in DC who knows absolutely nothing about the Northwest and its weather and didn't think anyone here could possibly know anything. From what I'm reading on national media, this storm was way over-hyped anyway. I never saw anything about our mountain highway passes closing, though the hype seemed to indicate there was no question they would. Admittedly something like half-a-million people lost power around the region, but power losses here seem to be more and more common now with even slightly-above-average storms.
Are you aware that a Cascades train hit a downed tree at 79 mph last night? Part of the tree broke through the windshield into the Talgo’s cab. Luckily the engineer was not hurt. And also no passengers were hurt. I suspect the high winds from the storm knocked that tree down. How many more trees might be blocking the tracks along the EB’s route?
That sort of thing killed an Alstom engineer on an NJT train on their D-LRT Riverline a few weeks ago.
If the Talgo was damaged, they are going to have an equipment crisis for a while. They are now running all the Horizons they have with no back up.
If the Talgo was damaged, they are going to have an equipment crisis for a while. They are now running all the Horizons they have with no back up.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Yeah I'm guessing that is one of the reasons why they decided to keep the Builder off the mountain pass last night. The cab car on that Talgo might be totaled.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/am...7rt1WqtFjy9wiNV-Ng_aem_-HBcG7kVkiFcIBx9dVKWGg
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The storm was pretty severe, lots of trees down lots of power out.
However, that does not change the fact that Amtrak cancelled 7(17) that was scheduled to arrive more than a half day before the storm was predicted to hit. That was wholly unnecessary.
The decision to cancel the Builders was made long before the incident with the Talgo.
trimetbusfan
OBS Chief
Obviously. And I don’t think there was any risk of running 7/27 in the morning. But with the way the equipment works, it flips to 8/28 the same day, so if they canceled that then they would have a set stuck in Seattle (which would cancel the train from not just SEA-SPK, but also SPK-CHI)
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Now they've got it stuck in Spokane instead of in position in Seattle to resume service on 8. They aren't bustituting the Builder except for the one I was on. 8(18) went out normally so isn't a Builder set in Seattle. When they resume service they'll have to start by bustituting 8/28 to get to the Builder consist stuck in Spokane instead of in position in Seattle.
Exactly how does that make sense?
