Empire Builder Summer Blues Started Early this year

[RRUserious]

While flying home from Portland, I reconsidered the possibility of a trip on Amtrak with a sleeper. Costs approximating what first class on Delta costs. Takes many days. First class in the air can never match a roomette for comfort. So, it seems almost like a tossup. It is just a fact you need all the patience in the world for the schedule disruptions.

 

[montana mike]

Aaaack, things are getting worse. #7 still has not reached SEA and is now just under 6 hours behind, which means the departing #8 tonight will be very late starting out--ouch! #8 in WI is well over 5 hours late and #7 heading westbound departed CHI just under 2 hours behind!!!

 

[zephyr17]

I'll be interested to see how fast (or not) they turn the train in Seattle. I don't think 8 will get out of Seattle before 9 or so tonight.

 

[yarrow]

Aaaack, things are getting worse. #7 still has not reached SEA and is now just under 6 hours behind, which means the departing #8 tonight will be very late starting out--ouch! #8 in WI is well over 5 hours late and #7 heading westbound departed CHI just under 2 hours behind!!!

maybe we should ask john bobinyec to delete the eb from his status maps and solari boards as it is just too painful to look at

 

[yarrow]

I'll be interested to see how fast (or not) they turn the train in Seattle. I don't think 8 will get out of Seattle before 9 or so tonight.

and why (lack of buses?) did they bus 27 spk to pdx but not 7 spk to sea. if the train were turned in spk could have had an on time departure tonight

 

[jebr]

Also looks like the 7 left CHI an hour and a half down today. That doesn't help it out at all.

Amtrak really needs to get a service alert on this train, now. If it's this late consistently, better to have customers in the know and able to reconsider than to make customers mad and not have them ever consider Amtrak again.

 

[CHamilton]

And if the EB doesn't have troubles already, there is a forest fire burning near Leavenworth, WA. As far as I can tell, it has not affected any trains yet, but locals are being told to be ready to evacuate.

 

[RRUserious]

Argument for the southern route?

 

[gn2276]

There was buses to Portland and the whole train set came into Seattle being pulled by a BNSF engine due to HEP problems on two engines.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

It's a bad day for Amtrak trains across the board. 5 (20), 5 (19), and 4 (19) all suffered massive delays as well.

 

[yarrow]

It's a bad day for Amtrak trains across the board. 5 (20), 5 (19), and 4 (19) all suffered massive delays as well.

judging by the status maps today looks to be worse. i feel for the operating and obs employees on the eb whose home and family life has to be taking a big hit from the delays

 

[Steve4031]

8 is running 4 hours plus late this morning into Minneapolis. I have buddy on this train who is connecting to 30. Wonder what will happen with him?

 

[Ispolkom]

Mrs. Ispolkom and I just finished breakfast at the Izaak Walton Inn, and given how late #8 is, it looks like we'll have lunch here too. I wonder if the BNSF business train we saw stopped here yesterday is affected by the delays.

The first two legs on the Empire Builder (MSP-SEA and PDX-ESM) were on time, but I knew it was too good to last.

Oh well, better stuck here than in Glasgow, and now I'm really glad we booked a roomette for the day trip between Essex and Minot.

 

[CHamilton]

Mrs. Ispolkom and I just finished breakfast at the Izaak Walton Inn, and given how late #8 is, it looks like we'll have lunch here too. ...Oh well, better stuck here than in Glasgow, and now I'm really glad we booked a roomette for the day trip between Essex and Minot.

Yes, at least you can have some huckleberry cobbler! Too bad about the delays, but Essex is a really nice place to stay while waiting.

 

[yarrow]

8 is running 4 hours plus late this morning into Minneapolis. I have buddy on this train who is connecting to 30. Wonder what will happen with him?

lately they have been holding 30 though i don't think they will do it for a 4+ hour late eb. if 30 is missed they might put him up and feed him in chi and stick him on next day's 30 or i won't forget the time we were on a late eb and they put us on a cute little 18 hr bus ride to dc

 

[amamba]

Mrs. Ispolkom and I just finished breakfast at the Izaak Walton Inn, and given how late #8 is, it looks like we'll have lunch here too. ...Oh well, better stuck here than in Glasgow, and now I'm really glad we booked a roomette for the day trip between Essex and Minot.

Yes, at least you can have some huckleberry cobbler! Too bad about the delays, but Essex is a really nice place to stay while waiting.

Glasgow will forever hold a dear place in my hard to my unexpected 20 hour stay. But yes, there is truly nothing thing of merit. Sorry Montanans.

 

[amamba]

Do OBS employees get paid by the hour? I think the answer is yes, right?

So at the very least, when there is a delay, they do get paid for the additional hours worked? I felt super bad for the OBS on my late EB last year because I was thinking that must lose out in tips for things that are not even their fault. And our OBS was AMAZING through that ordeal.

 

[montana mike]

Excellent points about the Amtrak employees. We tend to focus on OUR issues with the delays and missed connections. These folks are living this mess every day now. The 4-6 hour (or more) daily delays, missed connections, total disruption of their "normal schedules" must be miserable and taking a toll on them all.

Looking at ALL of the EBs this AM-every one is very late, with the eastbound #8 somewhere in MT around 5 hours behind (normally in WFH around 7:24 AM, now expected some time after 1 PM today)--I can imagine this one will be very late when it finally arrives in CHI late tomorrow night, since it still must run thru the gauntlet in eastern MT and ND, which should add about 3 more hours to their misery. Once this mess snowballs into this type of situation I wonder how Amtrak will recover? Today's #7 currently still in Eastern WA will again arrive in SEA almost as late as yesterday's train, which will likely mean #8's departure tonight will again be many hours behind, which just perpetuates the disastrous timekeeping (or lack thereof).

I asked my BNSF guy today if the host RR is doing something to cause these additional delays and he was emphatic that BNSF was trying to do everything they could to help the Amtrak trains, but once they get so far out of their slots there isn't much that can be done. He also said Amtrak equipment problems have also plagued several EBs over the past few days as well.

 

[yarrow]

7 is over 5 hours late to minot. would think it would be a cinch to turn in spk tonight. we'll see

 

[montana mike]

I was surprised they didn't turn #7 yesterday in SPK. Today's #8, just left WFH a short time ago--just under 5 hours behind schedule, with all of the slower zones ahead of it. It wouldn't be out of the question to see an arrival in CHI tomorrow night between 10 and 11 PM!

 

[yarrow]

ok, 7 which is last listed as leaving minot more than 7 hours late has disappeared from the status map and 7/27 heading to sea/pdx which had been shown as west of spokane on both routes has now disappeared also

 

[tonys96]

We were lucky, on # 28/8 arriving in MSP just two and a half hours late on Sunday morning.. Prayers do work!

 

[yarrow]

i did learn that on-times buses from spk to sea/pdx will take folks west tonight and that there is no eta for 7 into spk. just a little nugget for eb junkies(ok for montana mike and me)

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

8 (20) is still hovering around 5 hours late. Why did this train skip LWA, EPH, SPT, LIB, WGL, ESM, and CUT? Did it really skip all those stops or is this just a Status Maps glitch?

Ispolkom is really in trouble if the train actually skipped ESM!

Edit: 7 (20) is now showing a Service Disruption! Last report was at MOT, a full 7 hours 11 minutes late! Anyone know what happened?

 

[Ryan]

The train didn't skip any stops.