Heartland Flyer Scuppered

[OlympianHiawatha]

As expected the Heartland Flyer has been cancelled for the foreseeable future. The tracks run right through the core of the Moore tornado destruction and nothing has been running north or south on the BNSF through Norman since the tornado hit.

And because I-35 is closed between Norman and OKC for at least a day Bustitution is not an option.

But right now everyone is more concerned about finding survivors.

 

[the_traveler]

Yes, I hope for the best for Moore. And thank goodness the HF was not going thru at the time!

 

[jimhudson]

Terrible Tragedy! Our thoughts are with the folks of Oklahoma, especially around OKC!!! Reminds us what's really Important in Life! Transportation is way down the List of Importance Right now!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Terrible Tragedy! Our thoughts are with the folks of Oklahoma, especially around OKC!!! Reminds us what's really Important in Life! Transportation is way down the List of Importance Right now!

Although right now they can use extra buses and shuttles to get refugees out of the area and down to OU in Norman or other shelter locations. Many are literally walking out and trying to get to the shelter areas.

The Heartland Flyer is obviously cancelled both directions for Tuesday but is booking for Wednesday. While it appears the BNSF took minimal damage in Moore they still need time to clear the tracks and complete nearby rescue operations. Not to mention clearing the backlog of Freight since nothing is running.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Wow, I hope that everyone in that region can recover quickly. Very sad thing indeed.

 

[user 1215]

Thankfully the one trainset wasn't set to depart FTW until 5:25 PM - two hours after the disaster hit.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

We seem to be hitting a period of new and previously rare extremes.

 

[sitzplatz17]

I assume the Wednesday AM train is cancelled as the trainset is still down in FTW. Hopefully it's up and running by Wednesday.

That said, I agree that the most important thing right now is helping the victims and making sure emergency personnel have the space they need to work.

I was in Edmond, OK (Just north of OKC) on Sunday and saw my first tornado, I can only imagine how scary it was for the people who were in the path of Mondays'.

 

[NE933]

Didn't learn of this until yesterday. God's blessings and best wishes to all.

 

[Tracktwentynine]

Didn't learn of this until yesterday. God's blessings and best wishes to all.

That's okay. It happened yesterday.

 

[dart330]

Train 822 just left FTW a few minutes ago. The morning train for tomorrow is still "Sold Out" but the return train for tomorrow is selling tickets. Not sure how that works, are they going to run an empty train back down to FTW tomorrow morning?

 

[fairviewroad]

Train 822 just left FTW a few minutes ago. The morning train for tomorrow is still "Sold Out" but the return train for tomorrow is selling tickets. Not sure how that works, are they going to run an empty train back down to FTW tomorrow morning?

It might be listed as "Sold Out" because it really is "Sold Out." With today's southbound train canceled there were probably a significant number of passengers

who were shifted onto tomorrow's southbound train. Add that to previously booked passengers and you could have a genuinely sold out train.

 

[dart330]

Good point, just surprised as weekday trains usually have much lower passenger loads on that route. I would think they could easily fit 3 weekdays worth of passengers on one train or most people would go ahead and drive or catch a bus since the interstate was already re-opened this morning.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Train 822 just left FTW a few minutes ago. The morning train for tomorrow is still "Sold Out" but the return train for tomorrow is selling tickets. Not sure how that works, are they going to run an empty train back down to FTW tomorrow morning?

That is good to hear service has been restored sooner than expected. The Red Rock Sub opened back sometime Tuesday and Freight trains have been running as fast as Dispatch can push them through. At least now the Heartland Flyer will be able to make a full turn beginning Wednesday.

 

[PaulM]

We seem to be hitting a period of new and previously rare extremes.

So what is this telling you? I can just see the media hype. 2011, or whatever year that was, had the most tornadoes per year in 40 years, or whenever that other spike was!

Or are you concerned about that drastic 1 year drop at the end of the graph?

 

[user 1215]

Out of billions of years, the last 40 years is but a zit on a blip.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

So what is this telling you? I can just see the media hype. 2011, or whatever year that was, had the most tornadoes per year in 40 years, or whenever that other spike was! Or are you concerned about that drastic 1 year drop at the end of the graph?

Don't worry, that graph isn't telling us anything at all Paul.

Moving on, I'm just remembering about how Oklahoma didn't want to spend federal money on Hurricane Sandy's victims, and yet here they are accepting federal aid for their own disaster. Why aren't they refusing it?

 

[dart330]

This has been in the news: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/oklahoma-senators-disaster-relief_n_3309234.html

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Keep in mind the Huffington Post is a bastion of liberalism and the reason Inhofe and Coburn voted against the Sandy Bill is that it was loaded with wasteful spending not at all related to Hurricane relief. That is what they were opposed to.

 

[PaulM]

So what is this telling you? I can just see the media hype. 2011, or whatever year that was, had the most tornadoes per year in 40 years, or whenever that other spike was! Or are you concerned about that drastic 1 year drop at the end of the graph?

Don't worry, that graph isn't telling us anything at all Paul.

I ask again what it implicates. I see one big drop and one big increase relative to what looks like white noise, not counting that something about 40 years ago.

But at a more basic level, I would like to know what each dot and line represent. The legend says number of tornadoes in a twelve month period; but the dots are so close together relative to the time line that they can't represent 12 months. Beside connecting dots with a line is always fishy. If you posted a graph, you should be willing to say what it represents.

If you were merely trying so say that you come down on the pro global warming/climate change side of the argument, fair enough. But throwing out a mystery chart certainly wouldn't convince anyone sitting on the fence.

 

[sitzplatz17]

If anyone is sitting on the fence about climate change then i don't think any amount of graphs and evidence will change their mind...

The climate is changing, that is an irrefutable fact.

The debate needs to be centered on how much it's going to change and if there's anything we can do about it.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Keep in mind the Huffington Post is a bastion of liberalism and the reason Inhofe and Coburn voted against the Sandy Bill is that it was loaded with wasteful spending not at all related to Hurricane relief. That is what they were opposed to.

So you're saying that Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn will direct their offices to personally scrutinize any aid and relief offered or requested the exact same way they do for coastal states? Should we expect Oklahoma to refuse or refund many millions in federal waste before this is over? Or are you saying that Oklahomans are uniquely incapable of wasting federal money by virtue of where they live? Personally I think Oklahoma should be offered the same assistance they offer everyone else. If that means voting down every last penny in order to save some small amount of waste then so be it. What goes around comes around, even in Hypocrite Alley.

I ask again what it implicates. I see one big drop and one big increase relative to what looks like white noise, not counting that something about 40 years ago. But at a more basic level, I would like to know what each dot and line represent. The legend says number of tornadoes in a twelve month period; but the dots are so close together relative to the time line that they can't represent 12 months. Beside connecting dots with a line is always fishy. If you posted a graph, you should be willing to say what it represents. If you were merely trying so say that you come down on the pro global warming/climate change side of the argument, fair enough. But throwing out a mystery chart certainly wouldn't convince anyone sitting on the fence.

Paul, you're reading too much into this. Anyone on this forum can tell you that I am not the sort of person who is vague or subtle about my thoughts. If I had a more serious conclusion to draw from that graph I would have included it. The graph is interesting to me, but it does not include nearly enough information to say more than I have already. We appear to be entering a period of volatility with years that are unnaturally active followed by years which are unnaturally inactive and so on. That's all we know right now.

 

[the_traveler]

If anyone is sitting on the fence about climate change then i don't think any amount of graphs and evidence will change their mind...
The climate is changing, that is an irrefutable fact.

The debate needs to be centered on how much it's going to change and if there's anything we can do about it.

I agree the climate is changing. But what most people don't (or do not want to) understand is that the earth goes thru cycles of "global warming" and "global cooling" every 100,000 years or so. The last period of "global warming" was about 100,000 years ago. So the current cycle is completely normal.

 

[Ryan]

Remind me again what any of this has to do with the Heartland Flyer?

 

[sitzplatz17]

Remind me again what any of this has to do with the Heartland Flyer?

More or more severe tornados could mean more service disruptions? especially for those routes in tornado alley.

What's the policy for Amtrak/railroads anyway regarding a tornado sighting? A train doesn't really have the option to try and drive somewhere else...