Good Morning from a Leight Trane Ate( or Where I lerned 2 zpel.)

[greatcats]

Now that I have your attention, a cheery hello from Train 8, Empire Builder, approaching Detroit Lakes, MN. We departed Fargo a little over 5 hours late on a clear and crisp autumn morning. The famous delays of this train over the summer did not disappoint us. The accumulated delays seem to have not been the result of any one major item, such as sitting still for hours at a time. We were pretty much on time until Havre, where it was necessary to water the Portland sleeper, which had been without plumbing - not good. ( not sure if it solved that problem. ) Then a series of delays for freights and slow running. After we went to bed last night, we seemed to lose a big chunk of time before Grand Forks. We were actually in Fargo as dawn appeared, and our attendant, Jimmy, said he had never seen this station before in his five years of working this train. We are projected to arrived Chicago around 7:30 pm, which I will believe when I see it. It looks iffy as to holding Train 30 - time will tell. My friend and I were hoping to attend a performance in Chicago tonight, but we do not reserve tickets in advance in cases like this, for we are seasoned travelers!

Otherwise, the trip has been very pleasant from Seattle. The scenery up Puget Sound, then heading east up the Cascades, Glacier Park, and then the Great Plains, has been eye filling and spectacular. While the equipment is a bit tired looking, I have to say the crew on this train is above average. The dining car crew of Timmy, Cherie, and James is one of the best I have ever encountered. The wine tasting was cleverly run by the two Seattle sleeper attendants, Jimmy and Joseph. The conductors have been a friendly bunch.

A great way to travel, just don't be in a hurry. See you folks at the Gathering in a few days.

 

[greatcats]

Addendum to above: We were also favorably impressed by the recently renovated King St. Station in Seattle. When I was last in there about two years ago, it was an ugly dump. Now it sparkles, although in my view a train departure board is in order. I was also impressed by the cozy waiting room in the otherwise bland looking Shelby, MT station and the very attractive waiting room filled with plants in Havre. These three places ( along with Portland ) have so much more charm than the average airport.

 

[SarahZ]

Flagstaff to Seattle to Chicago?

I love hearing about the roundabout ways people use to get to the Gathering.

 

[montana mike]

Enjoyed reading the travelogue!! Yes, you nailed it--no one thing, just lots of traffic congestion, construction, equipment issues, et. al. My BNSF contact here in MT has been remarkably accurate with his delay estimates of 3-5 hours for the weekdays and around 2 hours for the week end for this train. I too try not to plan on any early evening event in Chicago the day of arrival (or any connections earlier than 8 PM when passing thru), with one or two on time arrivals over the past 6 months, just not worth the worry. Glad you enjoyed the beautiful fall ride.



Given your current delays and what still is in front of you (track work in WI) the EB will likely arrive in CHI closer to 8:30-9 PM tonight.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Great trip, wish I was headed that way too (but firewood and other fall chores need my attention). Hey, just wondering... I've gotten the impression from some other threads that the EB delays are mostly in summer, do you think that they will soon be over for the year? I am headed that way in less than two months... LOVE the mountains and prairies in the winter!

 

[the_traveler]

I love hearing about the roundabout ways people use to get to the Gathering.

That's not roundabout! That's barely on the train, for me!
To get to the gathering from RI, I'm headed to CHI via FL. And my return is via PDX, LAX and SAS. Last year, I went from RI to PHL (both on the NEC) via LAX!

 

[sitzplatz17]

Jimmy was my attendant back in March. Great SCA!

 

[greatcats]

It was just announced that due to our late train, a complimentary stew dinner will be served to the entire train. I was hoping for steak, but now will be able to sample the famed emergency rations. A beer should go well with this feast

 

[GG-1]

Flagstaff to Seattle to Chicago?

I love hearing about the roundabout ways people use to get to the Gathering.

Aloha

Last year I went to Philadelphia via LA, and Joined Dave And Jim.

 

[SarahZ]

I wish I had enough vacation time to do trips like that.

Stew sounds good.

 

[GG-1]

I wish I had enough vacation time to do trips like that.

Stew sounds good.

I will trade some of my time for money. :giggle:

Aloha

 

[montana mike]

Great trip, wish I was headed that way too (but firewood and other fall chores need my attention). Hey, just wondering... I've gotten the impression from some other threads that the EB delays are mostly in summer, do you think that they will soon be over for the year? I am headed that way in less than two months... LOVE the mountains and prairies in the winter!

Sadly, what you are seeing is just the "better" version of summer. Last summer it was not uncommon to see 6-8 even 12 hour delays into Chicago. BNSF has issued "guidance" saying to expect 1-2 hour arrival delays in Chicago for weekend EB travel and 3-5 hour delays (what you are seeing now on todays #8 into CHI) for Monday thru Friday travel into CHI-town. Interestingly going west bound the delays are less--anywhere from on time to 1.5 hours into SEA and PDX. I quirk in where the schedule padding is and where the heavy freight traffic is (MT and ND going east is especially tight due to the energy and grain trains).

My local BNSF contact says things should improve a little more after the construction season ends in November, but delays should still run to around 1-2 hours on average for Eastbound EBs until some time in April, when the 2014 construction season begins!! This is a multi-year effort ($1.46 BILLION) on the Hi-Line, so the challenges will be with us off and on for quite some time.

 

[greatcats]

The stew was passable. They are doing several rapid fire sittings to feed the entire train of nearly 300 passengers. Therefore, I did not get my beer!! (. Would have involved a transaction. ). My intention is to drop in on Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago later.

 

[zephyr17]

Ah, Greatcats, you have now experienced that grand Amtrak tradition, the Late Train Dinty Moore Feast.

Too bad I didn't read it earlier, I could have warned you about not being able to get a beer at the Dinty Moore Feast.

Unlike your attendant, despite not working for Amtrak but averaging at least one trip on the Builder a year for several years, I've seen that Fargo station in daylight several times. Usually followed later in the day by Dinty Moore.

 

[greatcats]

Ah, but I had hummus and pretzels in the lounge plus a beer. Mighty satisfying! The lower level of that lounge looks really seedy. We are slobbering along six hours late toward Columbus. It has been a nice trip, due to scenery and the excellent crew. I wrote an email earlier lavishly praising the dining car crew, led by Timmy.

 

[the_traveler]

I wish I had enough vacation time to do trips like that.

Stew sounds good.

I will trade some of my time for money. :giggle:
Aloha

I'll see your time and raise you some stew for lots of money!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

The quality of that otherwise borderline nasty Stew would go up exponentially for me if I was "forced" to partake of it whilst on a train

 

[SarahZ]

Hummus, pretzels, and beef stew + a train. That sounds like the perfect evening.

 

[the_traveler]

Hummus, pretzels, and beef stew + a train. That sounds like the perfect evening.

...and a beer or two or three or ...!

 

[SarahZ]

I don't like beer. I'll happily drink all of the wine, though.

 

[TraneMan]

I wrote an email earlier lavishly praising the dining car crew, led by Timmy.

I'm friends with him, and I told him about your post. He said he may know who you are if you showed him your email.

 

[greatcats]

That was me. I showed it to him and the two ladies, who were all smiles. I like handing out compliments, not complaints.