Atlanta is not flatland. With snow and ice, any change in elevation, up or down, becomes a exciting proposition. Going up, you can't make the summit. Going down, you can't get stopped before you hit something at the bottom.
From a railroad perspective - there are NO SWITCH HEATERS to melt snow and railroad personnel must use the same highway system as everyone else to be able to respond to issues that prevent the movement of trains.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Just out of curiosity I checked the performance of Amtrak Nos 19 and 20, the Cresent, departing and arriving Atlanta at the height of their big weather fiasco.
On Tuesday evening, Jan. 28, when the highways were at a standstill, the northbound Crescent departed on schedule.
On Wednesday morning, when the highways were slooooooowly being cleared, the southbound Crescent was 2++ hours late arriving...but it did arrive.
There's a message there.
Dave Phelps
Aw c'mon man, -20 in Minnesota's a heat wave! Now for the rest of us...
But it is not just the equipment and track, it is also the toll on those who have to work in the cold...they slow down, make mistakes....and speaking of people, it is the customers, the riders, who may stay home or slow down and have accidents, too. Then there is standing in the cold waiting for a late train....how many stations are nothing more than school bus shelters? I am sure there is a lot of legalese being thrown around, too, like if something happens to somebody, somebody is going to sue somebody...etc.
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remember that in the fifties they said there were union members who were paid to do nothing. however when push came to shove both freight and their passenger equipment wenr to work 24/7/365. u did not tell the trainmaster some crybaby thumbsucking reason ur train could not run. if u did u would not be called up again.
Dakguy201 KCSfan And why not? I just read the Amtrak service alerts listing all the trains running to/from Chicago that are cancelled due to the weather. Not a single Superliner train is cancelled so it seems like this equipment is doing just fine in near record breaking absolute and wind chill temperatures. Mark There were no Superliner cancellations yesterday, but there were late starts that in all probability were weather related. The Builder was 48 minutes late out of Chicago, the Capitol 2:22 late and the Lake Shore (a non-Superliner) 2:38.
KCSfan And why not? I just read the Amtrak service alerts listing all the trains running to/from Chicago that are cancelled due to the weather. Not a single Superliner train is cancelled so it seems like this equipment is doing just fine in near record breaking absolute and wind chill temperatures. Mark
And why not? I just read the Amtrak service alerts listing all the trains running to/from Chicago that are cancelled due to the weather. Not a single Superliner train is cancelled so it seems like this equipment is doing just fine in near record breaking absolute and wind chill temperatures.
Mark
There were no Superliner cancellations yesterday, but there were late starts that in all probability were weather related. The Builder was 48 minutes late out of Chicago, the Capitol 2:22 late and the Lake Shore (a non-Superliner) 2:38.
Yes, most likely weather related but I doubt if they were due to any problems with the Superliner equipment itself. I think more probably due to conditions on the host freight railroads, locomotive issues or servicing delays in the extreme cold.
Let's not brag it up too much, the Northstar line was delayed an hour or two due to a stuck turnout, and I understand the Hiawatha line in Bloomington had similar delays due to the need to clear drifted snow from the tracks caused by the snow followed by 40+ MPH wind gusts over the weekend.
KCSfan schlimm CMStPnP Relatively new equipment and infrastructure makes all the difference. You might not have been born yet but Amtrak operated Superliners in similar weather back when they were new. Probably can't do the same today. Maybe. I can remember riding the CNW when they were still using very old heavyweight (and old aluminum) suburban cars along with the new bi-levels. Some were pulled by Gp-7's; some by class E 4-6-2's. Both did fine in cold weather. You can probably remember the same on the Milwaukee Road. In the 1950's I commuted daily in all kinds of weather on the IC and on the E-L from 1961-65 in the old rattan seat cars with old catenary and signal systems. Only once did the trains run late! That exception was due to ice on the E-L catenary and even then we were only 15 minutes late arriving in Hoboken. I think one difference between then and now is commitment. It seems that now cancellations are ordered just in anticipation of adverse weather.
schlimm CMStPnP Relatively new equipment and infrastructure makes all the difference. You might not have been born yet but Amtrak operated Superliners in similar weather back when they were new. Probably can't do the same today. Maybe. I can remember riding the CNW when they were still using very old heavyweight (and old aluminum) suburban cars along with the new bi-levels. Some were pulled by Gp-7's; some by class E 4-6-2's. Both did fine in cold weather. You can probably remember the same on the Milwaukee Road.
CMStPnP Relatively new equipment and infrastructure makes all the difference. You might not have been born yet but Amtrak operated Superliners in similar weather back when they were new. Probably can't do the same today.
Relatively new equipment and infrastructure makes all the difference. You might not have been born yet but Amtrak operated Superliners in similar weather back when they were new. Probably can't do the same today.
In the 1950's I commuted daily in all kinds of weather on the IC and on the E-L from 1961-65 in the old rattan seat cars with old catenary and signal systems. Only once did the trains run late! That exception was due to ice on the E-L catenary and even then we were only 15 minutes late arriving in Hoboken. I think one difference between then and now is commitment. It seems that now cancellations are ordered just in anticipation of adverse weather.
Another difference is a sharply reduced workforce. In the 1950's you had a full section crew every ten miles of a double-track main line. Today, with track maintenance mechanization, you probably have three crews for an entire division. It takes men to shovel snow and scrape ice off catenary.
Definitely an advantage to have 10 year old equipment instead of 50 year old commuter cars.
The only problem with buses, Northstar trains and light rail trains is the excessive noise of the heating systems. The ventilation systems are deafening when they turn on. It makes it almost uncomfortable to sit in the Northstar cars. Bring your headphones for noise reduction.
EXCUSE THE GRAYING COMPUTER GLITCH HOW TO GET RID OF IT?
There is a problem with old-style catenary, which modern constant-tension wieghted catenary solves in extreme cold weather. Then there is the problem of signal and power components that should have been replaced years ago, still in use beyond the useful lifespan.
In 1967-1970 I had opporunnitites to compare the harshness of winter between Chicago and Minneapollis. Chicago was harsher, even with higher temperatures, because of greater wind and humidity.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
it is many resons. one might be more expereince with sevear wether?
Kudos to Metrotransit here in Minneapolis/St.Paul. Trains and buses are running flawlessly at -20 with a wind chill of -40 F. The only accommodation that the light rail makes is that the doors have to be opened by pushing the door button at each station. That saves heat in the cars. Workers were out inspecting the crossovers at Hennepin Avenue this morning but everything works.
Send some of your folks here and find out how to run a railroad.
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