How does the Texas Eagle travel from FTW to Dallas?

[hf1001]

I've only ridden the Eagle from FTW to San Antonio, which right of way does it go on to get to Dallas? I figured that it would take the TRE tracks, but train 21 had to back in from the south to Fort Worth when it arrived.

[Anonymous]

Unless there has been a recent change, the Texas Eagle (21 & 22) uses the UP from Fort Worth to Dallas.  It runs through Arlington, Grand Prairie, and west Dallas.  The distance is approximately 30 miles.

Routing the train over the UP requires an awkward backing movement at Fort Worth.  Number 21 goes through the turn at Tower 55 onto the BNSF.  It backs into the station and then pulls out on its run to Austin and San Antonio.  Number 22 pulls into the station and then backs out before running to Dallas.

On more than one occasion I have observed Number 22 back clear of the station only to be held for more than 30 to 45 minutes while freight trains (UP and BNSF) are cleared through the Tower 55 junction.  I think the Tower is inoperative, but everyone I know still refers to the junction as Tower 55.

I wrote a letter to Alex Kummant about 18 months ago suggesting that Amtrak route the Eagle over the Trinity Railway Express (TRE).  This would eliminate the backing movement in Fort Worth.  It would also eliminate the need to stop the train just short of the Dallas station to manually throw a switch.  This adds a couple of minutes to the running time between Fort Worth and Dallas.

Shortly thereafter, while I was at Dallas Union Station observing the action, I noticed an Amtrak locomotive and one Superliner Coach parked just south of the station platform.  It was the reserve locomotive and coach that Amtrak keeps in Fort Worth.  I asked the crew what was going on.  They told me that they were testing the feasibility of running the Eagle over the TRE.  Wow, I thought, someone read my letter.  I suspect that it had little to do with the idea of running the Eagle over the TRE; management probably had been considering it for some time.

I have head that Amtrak plans to route the Eagle over the TRE when it finishes double tracking several sections of the right of way between Fort Worth and Dallas, but congestion may be an issue.  The TRE is operating approximately 50 trains a day.  In addition, it hoists BNSF trains coming off the old Frisco Line at west Irving Enroute to Dallas and points south.  And it also hoists a few BNSF trains between Fort Worth and points south.  So even with the completion of the double tracking, there may be too much congestion on the TRE to handle the Eagle, especially given its erratic schedule performance.   In any case, I will believe it when I see it.

[hf1001]

You know, I think that Fort Worth is just in an awkward location. On Amtrak 821 & 822 "Heartland Flyer," it uses BNSF ROW into Fort Worth ITC, but it to has to pull off the main and then back in to reach the north end of platform. Back when Amtrak used the old depot, the Flyer would just pull off the main and continue on moving forward. But in the Flyer's case, there is no other solution unlike the Texas Eagle.