Will snow delay/stall trains?

[snljamie0518]

Here in Colorado [Denver area] we are predicted to get 6-12 inches of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday. However, I will believe it when I see it, but what happens to the train in a situation like this? Do they cancel trains or are they just going to be delayed? Do trains keep going in snow like this? Is there a chance a person might be on the train & it gets stalled somewhere? If that happens, what is done with the passengers? Do we get fed KFC or pizza or something? Has anyone here been through anything like this?

This question for the ladies so if you get squeamish don't say I didn't warn you.

Ladies, what happens if you are on the train & your monthly party decides to start. Are the restrooms in the coach area wide enough to change pants in case of an accident? Any tips on what I should bring or wear on the train besides pads?

 

[SarahZ]

Ladies, what happens if you are on the train & your monthly party decides to start. Are the restrooms in the coach area wide enough to change pants in case of an accident? Any tips on what I should bring or wear on the train besides pads?

If you are close to your cycle (or your cycle is unpredictable), I suggest wearing a liner or light pad every day just in case. That way, you don't have to worry about an accident. I would also recommend bringing extra supplies, just in case you are delayed. It's always better to have extra than to run out.

The restrooms are a tight squeeze. Pants can be changed, but there's a bit of shimmying and twisting involved. The Superliners have a larger dressing room at the end of the hall with the restrooms. Keep in mind this door does not lock, so you'll want to be quick about it.

I doubt 6-12 inches of snow will stop the train. We frequently get that amount in my area of the country, and our trains rarely have issues. When they do, it's usually a frozen switch or a water line freezing, but that's usually due to subzero temperatures.

 

[jiml]

Snow is less of problem for trains than other extreme weather, such as flooding, high temperatures or wind knocking trees down. What can slow things down is deeply drifted snow or obstructed level crossings due to road clearing. Once you're into thaw-freeze cycles or freezing rain, switches and signalling can be compromised. I'd still rather be on a train during and after a snowstorm than any other mode of transportation.

 

[Barb Stout]

What are the consequences of frozen switches, compromised signaling, and frozen water lines?

 

[Skyline]

Here in Colorado [Denver area] we are predicted to get 6-12 inches of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday. However, I will believe it when I see it, but what happens to the train in a situation like this? Do they cancel trains or are they just going to be delayed? Do trains keep going in snow like this? Is there a chance a person might be on the train & it gets stalled somewhere? If that happens, what is done with the passengers? Do we get fed KFC or pizza or something? Has anyone here been through anything like this?

This question for the ladies so if you get squeamish don't say I didn't warn you.

Ladies, what happens if you are on the train & your monthly party decides to start. Are the restrooms in the coach area wide enough to change pants in case of an accident? Any tips on what I should bring or wear on the train besides pads?

I'll leave the squeamish to others better qualified.

As for food, I doubt the train would be affected by 6-12" of snow, but if for any reason it gets blocked (freight derailment ahead, frozen switches, etc.) I doubt you'd starve. Such delays rarely exceed 12 hours but even if that happens there should be ample food stock on board to get by, and it's not unheard of to have food delivered to the train by a local vendor when necessary and logistically possible. It might not allow the same number of choices. It might even be the infamous Amtrak stew. LOL. But the train SHOULD have been stocked sufficiently at the last commissary to get by.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I live in snow country. When I travel, it is mostly in winter (Nov through Feb), and mostly by train. I have been on the eastbound Portland section of the Empire Builder, in an ice storm in eastern Washington, and the switches were frozen so the crew had to get out and break the ice at every. single. one. I have been on the westbound EB at Browning, MT, waiting out a blizzard that had snarled rail traffic all the way to Whitefish. I have been on the westbound Lake Shore Ltd, in an overnight snowstorm that filled the vestibules between cars with snow and froze the shower drain in my sleeper car. I have been on the Empire Builder traveling through North Dakota at forty below. In all circumstances, I was comfortable and fed. All the trains made it through eventually, though some as much as twelve hours late. In some cases we were fed Amstew, and in the most extreme, they phoned ahead for Kentucky Fried to be put on at Pasco (the vegans in my car were eating snack food they brought along -- if you have special needs, you must plan ahead for the worst).

If the track is totally impassable (snow slide, land slide), Amtrak has been known to cancel trains (and refund the full ticket price, no restrictions). My train has never been cancelled once I was on the train. Once your train has begun its journey, they will get you there. If unforeseen circumstances develop, they may put you on a bus but they will still feed you (I've been given my tray dinner between PDX and SPK when bustituted, and the coach passengers were given sandwiches).

As a matter of perspective, I have had more and worse delays for equipment failures and freight traffic than I have had for the weather.

 

[RichieRich]

Snow is less of problem for trains than other extreme weather, such as flooding, high temperatures or wind knocking trees down..

All the above has canceled a number of my AT trips in FLORIDA!!! Add iced up switches in SC cancels it to.

 

[Dakota 400]

What are the consequences of frozen switches, compromised signaling, and frozen water lines?

My one experience of adverse weather affecting my train travel was on the Cardinal between Cincinnati and Chicago. Freezing rain when the train departed that continued into Indiana, turning into light/moderate snow. The icing knocked out signals in some locations. Where tracks crossed, the Conductor had to leave my train and walk ahead to the crossing in order to flag down an approaching train on those tracks so that the Cardinal could safely cross. Approaching Chicago, there was another delay with a frozen switch; not sure how that situation was resolved. Within sight of Union Station, there was another delay because, somehow, a car had gotten caught on the tracks, had to be removed, and the rails checked to be sure it was safe for the train to proceed and enter the Station. We were significantly late, but not late enough for me to miss my CZ connection, thankfully.

 

[Siegmund]

As others have said - Builder and CZ usually make it through if the only thing going on is snow. Builder in particular, BNSF is prepared for blowing snow on the east side of the mountains, has snow fence up, has plows going (and maybe most important of all, has enough traffic that there is a train or two per hour over the track to keep it clear.)

Avalanches the day after a big storm occasionally close the track for a day - but it has only happened once in the past 3 winters. Extreme cold can at some point play havoc with the water supply on the train, but I've never had it happen to me.

Worry a LOT more about summer floods than winter snow.

 

[chakk]

One of my westbound trips on the CZ many years ago was annulled in Reno due to a snowslide blocking the tracks in the Calif Sierras. Amtrak put all passengers up at their expense at a hotel near the Reno station and provided dinner vouchers. We were then ticketed on the next day's westbound CZ. The annulled consist left Reno as the eastbound CZ, since the regular eastbound CZ was west of the slide and was sent back to its starting point. Its passengers were bussed to Reno to catch the eastbound train, which was held until the bussed passengers arrived, only slightly delayed.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Is there a chance a person might be on the train & it gets stalled somewhere? If that happens, what is done with the passengers? Do we get fed KFC or pizza or something? Has anyone here been through anything like this?

I was on a Silver, that was stopped for 24+ hours.

Sleeper passengers were still fed in the dining car, though as time went on, the selections dwindled down.

Coach was a mess. They only had what ever food they brought with them, and the coach common bathrooms became a mess (passenger's own fault).

Amtrak management made a billion really stupid decisions during this entire event. If I was in charge, I would have, at least, held the Silver trains at their last obtainable station, and not sent them on to the sidings in the middle of swamps.

 

[west point]

snow itself can cause problems with the Amtrak locos. The P-42s and most other locos are DC traction motors. When the snow is fine it can get into the motors and short them out. AC traction motors for the most part do not have that problem. It appears the BNSF seems to be proactive and often you will find their AC locos leading the CS and EB in snow conditions.

 

[ehbowen]

Please note that if you are in Coach (I believe that you said you're traveling lower level Coach) there will be a handicapped restroom near the lower level seating area which can accommodate even a person of (great) size who needs to change undergarments.

 

[snljamie0518]

Happy Thanksgiving to all you train travelers out there!!!

 

[neroden]

Here in Colorado [Denver area] we are predicted to get 6-12 inches of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday. However, I will believe it when I see it, but what happens to the train in a situation like this?

Six to twelve inches, they just keep going, usually there are no delays.

SERIOUS snow, blizzards which drop multiple feet of snow, is another matter, and can cause serious delays.

So is substantial amounts of freezing rain, which can ice up the switches. (They have to be melted out with blowtorches, causing delays.)

But plain old snow, a mere foot, they keep going.

Do they cancel trains or are they just going to be delayed? Do trains keep going in snow like this?

They're just delayed -- and freight train interference (bad dispatching) causes far more delays than snow does. Actual cancellations are usually for flooding. (I've also seen cancellations for avalanches, and preemptively for hurricanes and tornadoes, fairly often.)

Is there a chance a person might be on the train & it gets stalled somewhere? If that happens, what is done with the passengers? Do we get fed KFC or pizza or something?

BRING YOUR OWN EMERGENCY FOOD. I can't say that often enough. I bring nuts, my girlfriend brings chocolate bars. Amtrak will try to feed you but I wouldn't rely on it.

Has anyone here been through anything like this?

This question for the ladies so if you get squeamish don't say I didn't warn you.

Ladies, what happens if you are on the train & your monthly party decides to start. Are the restrooms in the coach area wide enough to change pants in case of an accident?

Yes, use the handicapped restroom in coach. Sleepers don't have one of those big restrooms, so changing in sleeper can be tight, as Sarah said.

Any tips on what I should bring or wear on the train besides pads?

Take Sarah's advice. That's what several of the women I know do.

 

[flitcraft]

OK gents, you can look away if you are squeamish. This is for ladies of a certain age. Just because you think you have gone through the 'pause' and don't need to worry about these things, if it's been less than a year since Auntie Flo last visited, prepare anyway. I was eight months into the 'pause' and on a visit to Colorado when I had a surprise reprise visit from the past. Unfortunately, we were on an extended backpacking trip and I had to make do with folded up toilet tissue. Yeah, not fun...you've been warned!

 

[Qapla]

Since I have a wife and four daughters ... I can fully understand these concerns and not be "squeamish"

 

[Sivert]

(Bumping this thread) to see what you guys think about the coming Colorado snowstorm.

 

[Qapla]

I doubt it will have much impact at my house ...

 

[oregon pioneer]

(Bumping this thread) to see what you guys think about the coming Colorado snowstorm.

We'll see, but if turns out like they predict, it could be an extreme situation where it happens so fast they can't plan which trains might make it through. I would not be surprised to see some cancellations on the CZ/SWC with no alternative service offered. In that case, they'd offer full refunds like I mentioned above, or possibly routing on the TE or EB if a passenger was going to or from California. I don't know the timing of the storm, so I can't say how they'd handle trains already en route. I'll be interested to hear what anyone actually on the trains has to report.

 

[Willbridge]

As veteran Denver-Boulder bus driver Bob Brewster said - "Let's get ready for our annual hundred year storm." The problem with a big snow in the Front Range is that it comes down faster than it can be removed. Getting to and from the station for passengers and crews is harder than moving the trains.

As I've written before, I spent New Year's Eve in ABQ due to snow. Trains were rerouted via Texas because BNSF needed to clear that line first for freight traffic. Four of us bound for Raton line points were lodged in a motel that was undergoing renovation. Two Russian women to Trinidad, one woman CU Colorado Springs administrator and me to Denver. One of the women only spoke Russian and she kept commenting that in Moscow they would have had this snow cleared from the streets already. I dredged up what Russian I could recall to explain that Albuquerque was not used to the white stuff. The four of us went out for a midnight drink at the Doubletree which was one of the few places open. The bartender did not know how to make an Irish Coffee, so we ordered White Russians in honor of our fellow travelers.

Years ago an Albertan friend of mine boarded the Canadian on a business trip from Swift Current to Edmonton. It was snowing. The roomette was cozy and the gentle rocking of the train lulled him to sleep. In the morning he looked out expecting to be at about Medicine Hat and discovered they were still held at Swift Current. The gentle rocking was a blizzard wind!

Oh, and in January 1972 I missed my wedding rehearsal due to the Super Continental being held in Vancouver due to slides. We had dinner in the diner in the Vancouver station. We passed the westbound Train 1 three times between Vancouver and Edmonton. In that same storm the CP Canadian was held in Golden, BC with slides ahead and behind and the passengers drank all the liquor in town. It was a sell-out train of anxiety-ridden air travelers due to an air traffic control strike. Angry townspeople were left with whatever dregs they could turn up, as delivery trucks could not get through.

As others have noted however, it's usually better to be a rail passenger in a snowstorm than on any other mode.

 

[Cal]

As veteran Denver-Boulder bus driver Bob Brewster said - "Let's get ready for our annual hundred year storm." The problem with a big snow in the Front Range is that it comes down faster than it can be removed. Getting to and from the station for passengers and crews is harder than moving the trains.

As I've written before, I spent New Year's Eve in ABQ due to snow. Trains were rerouted via Texas because BNSF needed to clear that line first for freight traffic. Four of us bound for Raton line points were lodged in a motel that was undergoing renovation. Two Russian women to Trinidad, one woman CU Colorado Springs administrator and me to Denver. One of the women only spoke Russian and she kept commenting that in Moscow they would have had this snow cleared from the streets already. I dredged up what Russian I could recall to explain that Albuquerque was not used to the white stuff. The four of us went out for a midnight drink at the Doubletree which was one of the few places open. The bartender did not know how to make an Irish Coffee, so we ordered White Russians in honor of our fellow travelers.

Years ago an Albertan friend of mine boarded the Canadian on a business trip from Swift Current to Edmonton. It was snowing. The roomette was cozy and the gentle rocking of the train lulled him to sleep. In the morning he looked out expecting to be at about Medicine Hat and discovered they were still held at Swift Current. The gentle rocking was a blizzard wind!

Oh, and in January 1972 I missed my wedding rehearsal due to the Super Continental being held in Vancouver due to slides. We had dinner in the diner in the Vancouver station. We passed the westbound Train 1 three times between Vancouver and Edmonton. In that same storm the CP Canadian was held in Golden, BC with slides ahead and behind and the passengers drank all the liquor in town. It was a sell-out train of anxiety-ridden air travelers due to an air traffic control strike. Angry townspeople were left with whatever dregs they could turn up, as delivery trucks could not get through.

As others have noted however, it's usually better to be a rail passenger in a snowstorm than on any other mode.

Wow! You have quite the experience. Also, I see your 50th wedding anniversary will be next year, that's great!

I've never been on the train when it's snowing, only seen snow on the ground on the EB last October. I would not mind experiencing my first blizzard on the train!

 

[Sivert]

Well, my son and I board the CZ Saturday evening. Hoping to get out to Yosemite! I'll keep you posted.

 

[Willbridge]

Wow! You have quite the experience. Also, I see your 50th wedding anniversary will be next year, that's great!

I've never been on the train when it's snowing, only seen snow on the ground on the EB last October. I would not mind experiencing my first blizzard on the train!

I've been divorced since 2003 but it was nice of you to think of the time that has passed. I met my wife on the Super Continental Montreal section in 1967. CN was running three transcontinental trains that summer and she was returning with her girlfriend from the World's Fair. I was returning from St. Louis to Portland on an optional routing via Winnipeg. We were in coach and coincidentally seated by the new computer (Air Canada's reservation system) across from each other.

 

[Cal]

I've been divorced since 2003 but it was nice of you to think of the time that has passed. I met my wife on the Super Continental Montreal section in 1967. CN was running three transcontinental trains that summer and she was returning with her girlfriend from the World's Fair. I was returning from St. Louis to Portland on an optional routing via Winnipeg. We were in coach and coincidentally seated by the new computer (Air Canada's reservation system) across from each other.

I'm sorry to hear. That is one great way to meet though.