Jointed Rail on the Empire Builder?

[Dennis]

I'll be taking my first cross-country trip this summer on the Empire Builder. Are there any sections of jointed rail from Seattle to Chicago?

 

[Acela150]

Yes. The whole route. How else are the rails kept together? :lol:

 

[CHamilton]

Yes. The whole route. How else are the rails kept together? :lol:

Actually, only in Washington state, where marijuana is legal

Seriously, Dennis, I don't think so. The entire route has had a lot of upgrades in recent years, and the quality of the ride is very good throughout. But the experts will chime in if I'm wrong.

 

[NorthCoastHiawatha]

Yes. The whole route. How else are the rails kept together? :lol:

Actually, only in Washington state, where marijuana is legal

Seriously, Dennis, I don't think so. The entire route has had a lot of upgrades in recent years, and the quality of the ride is very good throughout. But the experts will chime in if I'm wrong.

There is still a bit of jointed in North Dakota.

 

[TraneMan]

I agree, parts of ND can be rough, I don't recall what area it was, but boy did the car bounce!

 

[yarrow]

if it's jointed rail you want(and operating semaphore signaling) take the swc west from abq over raton pass

 

[PaulM]

if it's jointed rail you want(and operating semaphore signaling) take the swc west from abq over raton pass

Jeez, I'm becoming the official geography scold! Raton Pass is east of ABQ

 

[xyzzy]

The route of the Silver Star is mostly jointed rail between Cary, NC and Fairfax, SC. And the route of Palmetto, Silver Meteor, and Auto Train has significant amounts of jointed rail in the Carolinas on #1 track; CSX tries to keep passenger trains on the all-welded #2 track.

 

[yarrow]

if it's jointed rail you want(and operating semaphore signaling) take the swc west from abq over raton pass

Jeez, I'm becoming the official geography scold! Raton Pass is east of ABQ

ok paul, you gotta realize i'm getting senile. just continue to correct me with your gentle hand

 

[PRR 60]

I believe there is jointed rail is between Grand Forks and Fargo ND.

 

[zephyr17]

I think that there is also some on the Devil's Lake sub between Minot and Grand Forks.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

All in all, the EB is very smooth. Then again, I have slept through everything, welded or not, but never had any problems on the EB

 

[EB_OBS]

I believe that the long stretch of jointed rail in North Dakota is due to be replaced soon, if it wasn't already last summer.

I haven't been East of Minot for a couple years now. That's the only section of the EB route I know of that has/had jointed rail of any significant distance.

 

[user 1215]

if it's jointed rail you want(and operating semaphore signaling) take the swc east from abq over raton pass

Which, by the way, is pretty smooth at 79 MPH (the portion around ABQ).

 

[Phil S]

Just got off EB in Portland and was impressed with the work around Devil's Lake. Very smooth ride overall. Especially compared to the Cardinal a few days ago.

 

[TCRT]

Especially compared to the Cardinal a few days ago.

The Buckingham Branch is definitely the roughest piece of track I have ever ridden over on Amtrak. In my experience nothing else even comes close.

 

[TinCan782]

The Grand Canyon Railway is all jointed rail. Enjoyed the sound while standing out on the open platform.

 

[NW cannonball]

June 2 - the stretches of jointed rail between Minot - Grand Forks - Fargo on the EB -- was the only place the EB departed SEA 06/01 lost any time -- after the spring floods in eastern NODAK -- was by far the roughest and slowest and most delayed stretch on the EB riding SEA-MSP. Those stretches may be poorly maintained also account of funding for welding the works this summer.

 

[PaulM]

if it's jointed rail you want(and operating semaphore signaling) take the swc west from abq over raton pass

Jeez, I'm becoming the official geography scold! Raton Pass is east of ABQ

ok paul, you gotta realize i'm getting senile. just continue to correct me with your gentle hand

Looks like I'll have to turn the job over to Agent. He nailed me for not knowing where Chillicothe, IA was. (Post #18)

 

[DET63]

PaulM, you can say that again.

Is BNSF upgrading the line used by the EB east of Minot, or would they like to downgrade if not abandon it altogether, since the primary route used for freight trains is diagonally between Minot and Fargo?

Wasn't there some welded rail in Portland, Oregon, leaving the Brooklyn Yard on the SP? Maybe that's been upgraded to welded rail in the 20+ years since I was there last.

 

[jis]

Amtrak's own Port Road east of ALB which is used by the Boston Section of the LSL is about as bone jarring a piece track as I have been on anywhere in quite a while.

 

[Ispolkom]

Is BNSF upgrading the line used by the EB east of Minot, or would they like to downgrade if not abandon it altogether, since the primary route used for freight trains is diagonally between Minot and Fargo?

BNSF wanted to abandon the Devil's Lake sub as long as they had to pay the full cost of raising the railroad near Church's Ferry, or at least that's what they claimed for the sake of negotiations. As soon as an agreement was signed making Amtrak and North Dakota each liable for a third of the cost of the project, BNSF found much to like about the route. Especially now, with the main line clogged with trains going to and from the Bakken oil field.

On my last trip on the Empire Builder (last Thursday), the track on the Hillsboro sub felt better than usual. Perhaps that was due to the reduced speed -- we lost two hours between Minot and Fargo. Next November I'll be traveling from Minot to Boston. I'll have to compare the Hillsboro subdivision to the Port Road for relative roughness.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Amtrak's own Port Road east of ALB which is used by the Boston Section of the LSL is about as bone jarring a piece track as I have been on anywhere in quite a while.

I'll stick with the BNSF SWC Route in Western Kansas as being the Roughest even though the Speeds have been Reduced for the SWC on this Section of the Route! It's the Only place in the US where I was Thrown Out of my Bed (Roomette) while Asleep on a LD Train!

 

[Dennis Shore]

Hi guys. This is Dennis. Hats off to EB_OBS, ZEPHYR17, PRR60, and NORTHCOASTHIAWATHA. They hit the nail on the head by suggesting there were stretches of jointed rail in North Dakota. For whatever reason I awoke at 3 AM while sleeping in the lower bunk in my Roomette on the eastbound Empire Builder. Then all of a sudden I started hearing "clickety-clack". I opened the end door and hung a recording device from a grab iron and recorded that great sound till it back to welded rail; about 10 minutes. I checked the schedule to see where we were. The train was about 4 hours late so that placed us between Minot, Rugby, Devil's Lake and Grand Forks, North Dakota. I want to thank all of you for your great input regarding jointed rail on the route of the eastbound Empire Builder. Dennis

 

[montana mike]

Yes, there are areas between Minot and Fargo that are jointed rail and the EB does travel slower in this area as well. Plan on losing approximately 3 hours of time when passing thru ND and eastern MT due to track conditions and maintenance.