What detour route will the Texas Eagle use in October between Chicago and St. Louis? I'm on a trip to Austin, TX, during the detour and curious to know the route.
The Eagle will run on the old C&EI line to St. Louis and won't make any station stops between Union Station and StL. This is the line which the Missouri Pacific purchased from the C&EI in order to gain access to Chicago. It's UP today and goes through Dolton, Chicago Heights, Momence, Villa Grove, Findlay and Pana.
My wife and I just made a round trip between Longview, TX and Chicago on the Eagle. Going north last Thursday the train went via the detour route but returning this Monday it ran on its normal route through Joliet, Bloomington and Springfield.
Mark
KCSfan The Eagle will run on the old C&EI line to St. Louis and won't make any station stops between Union Station and StL. This is the line which the Missouri Pacific purchased from the C&EI in order to gain access to Chicago. It's UP today and goes through Dolton, Chicago Heights, Momence, Villa Grove, Findlay and Pana. My wife and I just made a round trip between Longview, TX and Chicago on the Eagle. Going north last Thursday the train went via the detour route but returning this Monday it ran on its normal route through Joliet, Bloomington and Springfield. Mark
What is the top speed on the C&EI line vs. that on the normal route? What impact, if any, did the re-route have on the on-time performance of the train south of St. Louis?
I rode the Eagle from Dallas to Temple on Sunday. The train was four hours late. One of the crew members said that it was due to mechanical problems in Chicago.
Two calls to Amtrak (1-800-USA-RAIL) and the two agents had no idea what question I was asking. Thank you.
Sam1 What is the top speed on the C&EI line vs. that on the normal route? What impact, if any, did the re-route have on the on-time performance of the train south of St. Louis?
Sam, I believe it is 79mph just like the normal route since it's CTC and signalled all the way. We left Longview about 1hr-15 min late and arrived in Chicago just 30 min late. I don't recall how late we were leaving StL so I don't know if any of that time was made up between StL and Chi. Returning we were right on time all the way and often even a bit early so some of the station stops were a bit longer than usual.
We made our reservations on rather short notice and the sleepers were all sold out so we had to settle for coach. My wife is able to sleep soundly in a superliner seat but unfortunately I have trouble getting comfortable so I'm awake a lot of the night. If I didn't have a couple of cocktails before dinner I probably wouldn't be able to sleep at all. We thought the meals in the Cross Country Café were quite good and our servers were friendly and efficient. I had the half herb roasted chicken going north and it was tasty and well prepared. Returning I had the Marketplace Special which was pieces of beef about three times the size of normal beef tips. The meat was so tender I could cut it with my fork and in all honesty was some of the tastiest beef I've ever eaten. Breakfasts were pancakes and sausage which is hard to beat. Incidentally, based on my walk throughs, I'd estimate the three coaches were 70% occupied going north and 75-80% filled going south. Since we couldn't get any space in them, I guess the two sleepers were completely occupied.
Just rode the Eagle north bound. a track check had myself spying 3 giant cranes at different bridges of the route. Also noted new bridge girders for the same replacements Note: all 3 bridges appear to have supports upgraded for not only the single track but the abandoned second track as well. Probably for the HrSR work in the future ? ? ?.
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