RRUserious
OBS Chief
- Joined
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Are there any lines that routinely make connections?
Empire Builder Summer Blues Started Early this year
- Thread starter montana mike
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NW cannonball
Conductor
I'm beginning to wonder about all this track work slowing traffic from Minot to Grand Forks. Seems like much more than the Devil's Lake track lift job.
Is the BNSF's new owner wanting to make the MOT - GFK a viable freight alternative? Either to relieve the main line Fargo - Minot for doing serious upgrades on that route next season. And/or to develop an alternate route for the crude trains to go to Duluth or up into Canada?
Just speculating - but Warren bought the BNSF for some reason. Surely the Bakken oil traffic was part of the calculation.
No doubt the BNSF is spending much money on the track work that delays the EB (and their own trains)
And wondering how the (nobody knows) plans of the BNSF might affect Amtrak's EB.
Track upgrades -- good. More traffic - bad. In any case waiting out the track work and delays is bad for Amtrak pax on the EB route.
Is the BNSF's new owner wanting to make the MOT - GFK a viable freight alternative? Either to relieve the main line Fargo - Minot for doing serious upgrades on that route next season. And/or to develop an alternate route for the crude trains to go to Duluth or up into Canada?
Just speculating - but Warren bought the BNSF for some reason. Surely the Bakken oil traffic was part of the calculation.
No doubt the BNSF is spending much money on the track work that delays the EB (and their own trains)
And wondering how the (nobody knows) plans of the BNSF might affect Amtrak's EB.
Track upgrades -- good. More traffic - bad. In any case waiting out the track work and delays is bad for Amtrak pax on the EB route.
NW cannonball
Conductor
Now, #8 (august2) hasn't got to Spokane yet -- 7hours or so late now -- estimate 10-12 hours late at Chi? or more?
yarrow
Engineer
who knows? the only certainty is that amtrak isn't telling
montana mike
Conductor
It's like they have given up on any pretense of running this train on any kind of schedule now. Last night's arrival in Chicago was almost midnight and who knows when the one currently somewhere in WA will arrive in CHI-town.
So sad.
So sad.
yarrow
Engineer
according to julie 8 will arrive in spk sometime after 7am. i guess 28 has been waiting for it most of the night at spk.
D
Donna
Guest
I'm riding number 8 from Spk, hoping to board relatively on time, Monday August 5 at 1:30am. Today's news about the no. 8 not arriving YET at Spk is very disturbing (and I'm using restraint with my semantics here) .are they likely to return to the 'almost' onetime status for arrival in Spk, or are we all sunk indefinitely? I know you all don't know for certain, just wondering if this has occurred before, if they turn this absurd lateness to the west coast around in a quick manner. I know and can handle being even 5-6hours late TO Chicago....but waiting ALL Night in the Spk station isn't very attractive. Any insights from a historical point of view? Thanks!
yarrow
Engineer
last year they actually cancelled all eb departures for a day to get times back in order. they also had an extra trainset in sea/pdx for awhile to get the trains off on time. they also cancelled connections with the cl in chi for a month or so. none of that this year so far. good luck
As of now the EB is 52 minutes late arriving at Seattle King Street station. That's only about 2% off the schedule on the 46 hour trip.
yarrow
Engineer
other than yesterday 7 arriving into sea hasn't been too bad(a few turns in spk for 7/27). it's 8 that has been the consistent problem. 8 is more than seven hours late out of sea and it is still a day from the slow orders in e. montana and n.dakota
yarrow
Engineer
7 was several hours late getting to sea yesterday but so was 27 into pdx and it had a much quicker turnaround so i dunno
Ryan
Court Jester
7(31) arrived in SEA 8h11 late at 6:36pm on 8/2. Subsequently, 8(2) left 6h39 down at 11:19pm. A 5 hour turn is about the best that can be done, I think. Having the extra set available would have greatly helped out here.
NW cannonball
Conductor
On the bright side -- # 8 that left SEA on 07/01 departed MSP only 1 hour 40 minutes late.
Seems like it's gone from predictably 4-6 hours late # 8 at CHI to totally unguessable lateness with a range of 2 - 12 hours late. Sheesh.
And the westbound has been within an hour or two of on-time at SEA (with some notable exceptions)
No way to run a railroad --
Seems like it's gone from predictably 4-6 hours late # 8 at CHI to totally unguessable lateness with a range of 2 - 12 hours late. Sheesh.
And the westbound has been within an hour or two of on-time at SEA (with some notable exceptions)
No way to run a railroad --
NW cannonball
Conductor
Actually, there seems to be a spare trainset or so at Chicago, so westbound departures from CHI are often on-time.
But if the eastbound #8 keeps having worse and worse problems (bulldozer on the track is not Amtrak's fault, and they seem to have had enough spare to compensate for that problem)
Eventually too many trainsets will be too late, too many will be out on the rails somewhere.
Like happened to UP freight with the floods a few years back. Too much delay, run out of locomotives because too many are delayed. Then run out of crews because they time out on the law getting nowhere slowly.
Hope this kind of evil cascade (no pun) doesn't happen on the Hi Line
But if the eastbound #8 keeps having worse and worse problems (bulldozer on the track is not Amtrak's fault, and they seem to have had enough spare to compensate for that problem)
Eventually too many trainsets will be too late, too many will be out on the rails somewhere.
Like happened to UP freight with the floods a few years back. Too much delay, run out of locomotives because too many are delayed. Then run out of crews because they time out on the law getting nowhere slowly.
Hope this kind of evil cascade (no pun) doesn't happen on the Hi Line
7 went to Seattle to pick up the display equipment for the move to Spokane on train 8. They should of turn the late 7 equipment in Spokane to become a on-time 8, but the customer are not important. It seems...
yarrow
Engineer
we were just down at the display train and a guy who works the eb told me that no buses were available in spk due to a convention or sea due to seafair so they couldn't turn in spk yesterday. thus the late start for yesterday's 8
I wondered how much if any the decision to not turn #7 had to do with the display train. Getting ready to head to Spokane now; it will be worth the 2 hour roundtrip just to see something associated with Amtrak at the Spokane station during daylight that isn't hours late! :lol:
Yarrow I like your reason better than mine.
Hope it true, that train going to cost Amtrak a few hotels in Chicago.
Hope it true, that train going to cost Amtrak a few hotels in Chicago.
RRUserious
OBS Chief
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2011
- Messages
- 505
As I said, I took the section that branched off to Portland. It arrived 45 minutes early! How often in Amtrakland is that true?
yarrow
Engineer
in my experience, when the eb runs on time, hopefully starting in the fall, 7/27 usually arrive 10-40 minutes early into sea/pdx and 8/28 are into spk anywhere up to 45min early
I just got back from seeing the display train and I was also told there were no buses available due to a convention. Also that 7 arrived in Spokane 5 hrs and 50some minutes late, just under the 6hr deadline for turning the train in Spokane, but during the switching process, an engine died and it took another 3 hrs to get another one. And so it goes.
yarrow
Engineer
from the status maps it appears that 28 has not yet departed pdx. 8 is on time but looks like 28 will be late tonight to spk
EB_OBS
Conductor
Trains 7 & 27 of the (31st) did indeed arrive into SPK at 7am Friday morning.
There are a couple of sports tournaments in town this weekend as well as some kind of convention. Every hotel in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Airway Heights, Liberty Lake and even Post Falls, ID were fully booked for the weekend. Additionally, there was only one bus available in Spokane, which Amtrak procured to transport Coast Starlight connections to Klamath Falls, OR.
Since no other buses were available it was not possible to terminate 7/27(31) in SPK.
The Amtrak Exhibit train has it's own loco, Engine 42. It was considered when discussing terminating the train in SPK but the exhibit train likely would have been deadheaded to SPK if necessary.
Upon arrival of 7(31) into SPK, the rear traction motor on the lead locomotive was smoking with a seized axle. It had to be set out. #27 departed but #7 had to wait for a BNSF loco in order to continue on to SEA. That's why #27 arrived into PDX so much earlier than #7 did into SEA.
Hope this clears things up a little.
There are a couple of sports tournaments in town this weekend as well as some kind of convention. Every hotel in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Airway Heights, Liberty Lake and even Post Falls, ID were fully booked for the weekend. Additionally, there was only one bus available in Spokane, which Amtrak procured to transport Coast Starlight connections to Klamath Falls, OR.
Since no other buses were available it was not possible to terminate 7/27(31) in SPK.
The Amtrak Exhibit train has it's own loco, Engine 42. It was considered when discussing terminating the train in SPK but the exhibit train likely would have been deadheaded to SPK if necessary.
Upon arrival of 7(31) into SPK, the rear traction motor on the lead locomotive was smoking with a seized axle. It had to be set out. #27 departed but #7 had to wait for a BNSF loco in order to continue on to SEA. That's why #27 arrived into PDX so much earlier than #7 did into SEA.
Hope this clears things up a little.
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