They could call it the "Dr Zhivago express".Maybe they can contract with the freight company to have box cars available....
Empire Builder service disruption
- Thread starter IndyLions
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Looks like there is pretty big CP derailment east of Columbus, WI. 8(2) is holding at La Crosse. That is the train that already had been delayed for about 4 hours due to a wildfire outside Bingen-White Salmon, BTW. 7(4) is in service disruption and apparently hasn't left Chicago.
The Empire Builder just cannot catch a break these days.
The Empire Builder just cannot catch a break these days.
moselman66
Service Attendant
Anybody know what's going on in Wisconsin today leading to the Empire Builder to detour from La Crosse to Chicago eastbound and Chicago-La Crosse westbound? I'm hard-pressed to recall when this section last had a detour like this. I assume they are following the routing of the old Burlington Northern CHI-MSP service -- anybody know how to tell?
Major freight derailment near ?Reeseville?
Amtrak Track a Train shows trains on detour, at least on each end. Not sure about asm.transitdocs.com. It isn't showing 7 while Track a Train is right now.
Track a train has 7 moving slowly south of CUS past Halstead, it is apparently backing up to enter the BNSF Chicago Sub facing forward. 8 is still in La Crosse. Not sure how they are going to handle it, the CP/BNSF junction appears to only have a northwest quadrant junction track, not the needed southwest one. They may need to make some relatively long back up moves to get it faced the right direction. Back up over the river, wye it at River Jct, back again over the river, past La Crosse station, back through that northwest quadrant track at the CP/BNSF junction, then pull forward on the BNSF Aurora Sub and off to Chicago.
CP rail dump 20-30 cars with the additional bonus of blocking a bigger road. US Hwy.
Just curious, would there be any chance of this issue being resolved by this weekend? I'll be in IL this weekend and was hoping to do some railfanning on that line (around Glenview) to get #7 or #8 passing through.
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I do believe there is a bypass, not sure how this will impact your experience. That said this weekend it might be running on the normal lines.
I'm hoping so. I'll check back towards the end of the week.
I'm assuming this is also impacting the Hiawathas?
I'm assuming this is also impacting the Hiawathas?
moselman66
Service Attendant
Thanks for all the info! For what it's worth it looks like westbound from 7/4 (train 7) ended up not detouring as it shows times for all the normal stops, though it's about nine hours late into MSP now.
The eastbound (8) running today appears planned to following the normal route on time.
The eastbound (8) which should have run yesterday has no information beyond La Crosse (including no CHI arrival time). There was a tweet last evening saying it had finally departed LSE and was running 8+ hours late but that was that last sign of it.
So it appears the derailment site has been cleaned up and inspected / back in service.
Hiawathas have been running fine -- the derailment was roughly 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee, so MKE-CHI was unaffected.
The eastbound (8) running today appears planned to following the normal route on time.
The eastbound (8) which should have run yesterday has no information beyond La Crosse (including no CHI arrival time). There was a tweet last evening saying it had finally departed LSE and was running 8+ hours late but that was that last sign of it.
So it appears the derailment site has been cleaned up and inspected / back in service.
Hiawathas have been running fine -- the derailment was roughly 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee, so MKE-CHI was unaffected.
delayed Zephyred
Train Attendant
From my PDX friend yesterday 28 was a bus to SPK.
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moselman66
Service Attendant
Interesting! Sure looks like 7 yesterday took the detour, The Station Stops tab lists times at the intermediate stations which is why I suspected it ultimately took the normal route. However...from MKE and beyond every departure was exactly 4:42 late which is pretty suspicious, so perhaps they had to input fake times at those stations to allow something to function. At any rate today's eastbound 8 shows as planned to make all normal stops between LSE and CHI so things are apparently back open.
When there are detours like this I'm sure most passengers aren't thrilled and may not really be aware of anything other than they are going to be even later. But I wonder if there are railfan types onboard who are excited to be taking a route which passenger trains have not normally run in decades.
When there are detours like this I'm sure most passengers aren't thrilled and may not really be aware of anything other than they are going to be even later. But I wonder if there are railfan types onboard who are excited to be taking a route which passenger trains have not normally run in decades.
diesteldorf
Lead Service Attendant
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2006
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I was on 7/27, originally departing CHI on July 4. As others have mentioned, Canadian Pacific had a freight derailment, so all stops from CHICAGO to La Crosse, WI were canceled.
Those passengers were put on a Hiawatha from CHI to MKE and bussed the remainder. Of course, I was originally stopping in La Crosse, and was happy to take the train the entire journey. However, regular Amtrak crew are not qualified for the detour, so we left Chicago around 7:45 PM, got about an hour outside the city, and then had to wait for a pilot from CP to take us the rest of the way to La Crosse.
They canceled evening meal service in the diner, but we had at least been given $15.00 meal vouchers by the Metropolitan Lounge staff before leaving Chicago.
Ordinarily, I like detours, but 90% of the journey was in the dark, arriving into La Crosse at around 4:00 am, sure made going to work fun today.
This really wasn't Amtrak's fault, but I spoke with Customer Relations this afternoon and was awarded a transportation certificate for future travel, so all is well.
I could've been stuck in coach for the entire 8 hour trip, and with no Metropolitan Lounge access, but I snagged a reasonable sleeper fare through BIDUP.
moselman66
Service Attendant
Wow -- thanks for the interesting story. And yeah, at least if the detour was in the daylight it would have been more interesting.
Today's easbound now show "service distruption" from La Crosse and beyond again, and while an hour ago they you could still buy a Columbus (CBS) Chicago ticket now it says unavailable. Sounds like a late-our decision to detour again, perhaps?
Today's easbound now show "service distruption" from La Crosse and beyond again, and while an hour ago they you could still buy a Columbus (CBS) Chicago ticket now it says unavailable. Sounds like a late-our decision to detour again, perhaps?
8(3) is showing as just south of La Crosse on BNSF on asm.transitdocs.com right now, so it's detouring.
I saw that via a capture from RailStream (below) that it went through Oregon, IL, which Amtrak never goes through there.
From the TransitDocs graphics above, as well as the TD info that I just pulled, it looks like it goes through the stops from WI to IL, but just severely delayed? I'm just confused as I know above, it stated that the passengers were put on one of the Hiawathas.
@diesteldorf - We appreciate your passenger perspective of the trip.
From the TransitDocs graphics above, as well as the TD info that I just pulled, it looks like it goes through the stops from WI to IL, but just severely delayed? I'm just confused as I know above, it stated that the passengers were put on one of the Hiawathas.
@diesteldorf - We appreciate your passenger perspective of the trip.
Not sure if this is the right place, but an update on the reason for the Eastbound Empire Builder (8) departing on April 2nd service disruption east of Williston, ND. The North Dakota Highway Patrol has released it's final press release on the crash. It was delayed due to the nature of the occupants, namely all minors.
https://www.nd.gov/ndhp/sites/www/files/documents/News/2023 Media Release/April-2023/2023.4.4.WilliamsCounty.TrainCar.FatalCrash.pdf
Rant time, but this continues to infuriate me up this way. This was an unguarded crossing with only a crossbuck signpost. The amount of well traveled roads with just crossbucks on the freaking northern transcon is a shame. No, I don't expect grade separation everywhere, especially here but these tragedies need to stop.
https://www.nd.gov/ndhp/sites/www/files/documents/News/2023 Media Release/April-2023/2023.4.4.WilliamsCounty.TrainCar.FatalCrash.pdf
Rant time, but this continues to infuriate me up this way. This was an unguarded crossing with only a crossbuck signpost. The amount of well traveled roads with just crossbucks on the freaking northern transcon is a shame. No, I don't expect grade separation everywhere, especially here but these tragedies need to stop.
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Williams County Fatal Crash
What: Fatal Crash
Where: 57 th St Ne near Springbrook, NE of Williston
When: 4/3 @ approx. 8:17 pm Central Time
Road Conditions: Clear
Weather Conditions: Clear
If you ask me more noticeable lights on the train could help. In the daytime those incandescent headlights don't attract enough attention. Of course sometimes people try to race the track through a crossing.
I wonder if anyone could miss a train like this coming down the tracks...:
What: Fatal Crash
Where: 57 th St Ne near Springbrook, NE of Williston
When: 4/3 @ approx. 8:17 pm Central Time
Road Conditions: Clear
Weather Conditions: Clear
If you ask me more noticeable lights on the train could help. In the daytime those incandescent headlights don't attract enough attention. Of course sometimes people try to race the track through a crossing.
I wonder if anyone could miss a train like this coming down the tracks...:
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I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the lights (on the train) aren't the problem. In broad daylight, a train is plenty visible on its own, provided that sight lines aren't obstructed. But the number of drivers out there that have no awareness of anything beyond their own noses is a significant problem.
I just wonder that they don't seem to try anything other than the standard headlights. Lights don't cost much and anything to attract attention from distracted drivers might help. Maybe they need something like this
The old school Mars light would draw attention.
moselman66
Service Attendant
The crossing with the early April accident averages 14 vehicles per day compared to 28 trains. Switching from a yield to a stop sign is about all that can reasonably be done at the countless crossings with so little traffic.
https://www.willistonherald.com/new...cle_29a8d692-dc94-11ed-abb1-976582c5e818.html
https://www.willistonherald.com/new...cle_29a8d692-dc94-11ed-abb1-976582c5e818.html
Most trains are carrying freight and I know they don't go as fast as a modern Superliner.
It seems like no one knows how these kids got hit, whether they didn't see it or tried to beat it through the crossing, but it looked like the area should have good enough visibility.
It seems like no one knows how these kids got hit, whether they didn't see it or tried to beat it through the crossing, but it looked like the area should have good enough visibility.
moselman66
Service Attendant
Sounds like it was around sunset but It's not clear to me if the truck was headed into the sun or away. The driver is the sole survivor but remains in bad shape with a long recovery road, plus it wouldn't be surprsing if he doesn't remember much.
Changing from yield to stop sign won't 100% prevent these crashes because some people blow through stop signs, of course. But I do think they get a notch more mental attention because you can get a ticket for not stopping, and it might make a difference. A double track with 28 daily trains up to 79 MPH shouldn't have yield signs at any crossing.
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