Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="VerMontanan"] With regard to Sam's question about the freight train at Granger:  Such anecdotal observations are meaningless and this is a prime example.  Since he posted this on 06/20, the day of the observation, this would have been train 21-19.  The Dixieland site posts these departure times for train 21-19:   <pre>* <a href="http://www.dixielandsoftware.com/cgi-bin/solari_relay.pl?SubmitButton=trainlist&data=FTW" target="_blank" title="Station Status Board for Fort Worth, TX (FTW)">FTW</a> 2 125P 2 210P 136P 210P Departed: on time. * <a href="http://www.dixielandsoftware.com/cgi-bin/solari_relay.pl?SubmitButton=trainlist&data=CBR" target="_blank" title="Station Status Board for Cleburne, TX (CBR)">CBR</a> * * 2 252P * 313P Departed: 21 minutes late. * <a href="http://www.dixielandsoftware.com/cgi-bin/solari_relay.pl?SubmitButton=trainlist&data=MCG" target="_blank" title="Station Status Board for McGregor, TX (MCG)">MCG</a> * * 2 400P * 429P Departed: 29 minutes late. * <a href="http://www.dixielandsoftware.com/cgi-bin/solari_relay.pl?SubmitButton=trainlist&data=TPL" target="_blank" title="Station Status Board for Temple, TX (TPL)">TPL</a> * * 2 443P * 509P Departed: 26 minutes late. * <a href="http://www.dixielandsoftware.com/cgi-bin/solari_relay.pl?SubmitButton=trainlist&data=TAY" target="_blank" title="Station Status Board for Taylor, TX (TAY)">TAY</a> * * 2 536P * 707P Departed: 1 hour and 31 minutes late.</pre> The train was late off BNSF at Temple being delivered to UP as it was, and then was delayed over an hour between Temple and Taylor.  So, was it Amtrak's fault that the freight train waited?  We don't know, but most likely, not. Since the freight took the siding at Granger at 430 PM, about the time 21 was leaving McGregor, this appears to not be a very good meet to start with.  But we don't know why the freight was put in the hole at Granger.  Do BNSF and UP have inadequate communication to convey that 21 was late and that the freight should have been advanced?  Or, were all the other places the freight train could have gone already occupied? Then there is the issue of the delay for train 21-19 itself south of Temple.  Was there Amtrak equipment failure between Temple and Taylor, or was it UP equipment failure or congestion that delayed Amtrak that correspondingly delayed the freight train? The bottom line is that if you're not sitting in the dispatcher's chair, you don't have standing to be able to accurately speculate. [/quote] Actually, I did not speculate why Amtrak 21 - not 19 - was late.  I was told, as per my original post, by the conductor on the freight train that it was placed on the siding at Granger to wait on Number 21.  I don't have any reason to believe that the conductor was not being truthful with me. When the Eagle carries through cars to LAX, it is Number 21/421. My primary question was how many gallons of fuel would the engines have burned whilst stopped for what turned out to be at least two hours or more.   Any speculation about the additional delay impacting Number 21 between Temple and Taylor is just that: pure speculation. That is why I did not speculate as to the reason for the delay of Number 21. It could have been freight train congestion or a slow order or a breakdown in a freight train or a breakdown in Number 21. Amtrak is the cause of delays on occasion, although its contribution is relatively low.  The biggest factors impacting the on-time performance of the Texas Eagle in FY13 were slow orders, freight train interference, and passenger train interference.  Passenger train interference would not have been a factor in this case. Amtrak's long distance trains are not the primary factor for the congestion on the nation's investor owned railroads. But they acerbate it!  This morning I rode Number 22/422 from San Antonio to Austin. Between San Marcos and Austin we passed three or four UP trains that were stopped on a siding.  Presumably, Number 22/422 was either the primary or secondary cause.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag