ALL:
Amtrak 8 arriving St. Paul was about 10 hours late and had Amtrak Cascades locomotive 345 on the head end, with two regular Amtrak locos following.
Today, the 3rd #8 was about 11 hours late and had two Amtrak locos on the headend.
Delays on both trains show problems on the former GN from Whitefish to Fargo with #8 loosing about two hours between Minot and Fargo via Grand Forks.
It is bitterly cold in this area today. My hats are off to the many section crews and others that work in this weather.
Ed Burns
Retired NP-BN-BNSF from Northtown
VIA not doing any better on #2. Last report over 11;40 hours late near Toronto same time late as #8.
A thought VIA has a much larger stable of spare cars. Much as hate to admit but Amtrak doing well with its limited stable of cars.
EDIT #8 just approaching St Paul.
anyone know if they are going to turn # 8 again ?
NP EddieAmtrak 8 arriving St. Paul was about 10 hours late and had Amtrak Cascades locomotive 345 on the head end, with two regular Amtrak locos following.
Curious what this was. Amtrak 345 has been an E8A and an F40PH but never a Cascades locomotive. Was it an F59PHI? Wonder why it is being sent east at this point since the Chargers are (sadly) only about two months off if scheduling is accurate. Was it under power?
This morning #8 is 3 plus hours late nearing the Minnesota border. I think that is acceptable given that temperatures are considerably below zero across the northern tier of states.
I guess people who use LD trains don't care about time.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
schlimm I guess people who use LD trains don't care about time.
That's not what I heard in the packed vestibule of the Texas Eagle when I rode it into Chiago over a year ago and it was something like 3 hours late after detouring through eastern Illinois due to track work on the regular route. People had all sorts of comments about missed connections. I counted it a blessing that I still made my connection to the Capitol Limited.
In general I've also learned to not count on planes being on time and if it's really, really important to be there at a particular time, maybe I need to travel in the day before.
I was mistaken about the "Cascades" locomotive number. Anyone know the "Cascades" numbers and their builder?
CJtrainguyIn general I've also learned to not count on planes being on time and if it's really, really important to be there at a particular time, maybe I need to travel in the day before.
It seems to me if you have ~24-50 hours to travel, a few hours late should not matter much since those people obviously have time to burn. At least with planes, there are usually mutiple flights per day, i.e., a transportation service. LD trains are not a service. Corridors are.
depends on how you define "service."
NP EddieALL: I was mistaken about the "Cascades" locomotive number. Anyone know the "Cascades" numbers and their builder? Ed Burns
No problem. The EMD units are AMTK 465-470.
I think it would be more accurate to say that people who use LD trains can't care about time.
Also, the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited sure seem like a service to me and others here in the train-starved states.
Even so, when the weather gets bad, all bets are off regarding on-time travel these days. Eighty years of airplane travel, one hundred and fifty of train travel, as well as a hundred by automobile, and one still can't count on being anywhere exactly on time in bad weather.
Caveat emptor: Plan accordingly for bad weather months. Or later wish you had.
NKP guy schlimm I guess people who use LD trains don't care about time. I think it would be accurate to say that people who use LD trains can't care about time. When the weather gets bad, all bets are off regarding on-time travel these days. Eighty years of airplane travel, one hundred and fifty of train travel, as well as a hundred by automobile, and one still can't count on being anywhere exactly on time in bad weather. Caveat emptor: Plan accordingly for bad weather months. Or later wish you had.
I think it would be accurate to say that people who use LD trains can't care about time.
When the weather gets bad, all bets are off regarding on-time travel these days. Eighty years of airplane travel, one hundred and fifty of train travel, as well as a hundred by automobile, and one still can't count on being anywhere exactly on time in bad weather.
Don't overlook the maritime industry and bad weather's effect on the vessels - Titanic, El Farro and Edmund Fitzgerald all spring to mind.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
NKP guy I think it would be more accurate to say that people who use LD trains can't care about time. Even so, when the weather gets bad, all bets are off regarding on-time travel these days. Eighty years of airplane travel, one hundred and fifty of train travel, as well as a hundred by automobile, and one still can't count on being anywhere exactly on time in bad weather. Caveat emptor: Plan accordingly for bad weather months. Or later wish you had.
Yes plan accordingly. Unfortunately all persons loose their institutional knowledge of what bad weather does very fast.
We see that every first ice storm or snow of a season by automobile drivers and even truckers.
In my airline business when an airport went 2 years without a big snowstorm the ability to remove the snow was almost completely lost. The turn over of experienced snow removal personell is high and what are left have lost the edge and have to renew by on the job renewal and training of others.
This poster's normal cycle would have return home within 48 hours but once when the weather intervened then 9 days out. Another time ending up in Montreal winter without even a coat.
RRs seem to have in the past the section men who could keep the switches clear. Now frozen switches often gum up the works because no one is near to clear a switch that does not have a switch heater. Or the switch heater that was not needed for a couple years and breaks down after a few uses.
Then we have the present persons who quickly forget what weather will do to any travel plans from a walk around the corner to flight around half the world.
Once again ----------
daveklepper depends on how you define "service."
One train daily (or 3X per week) is not a passenger transportation service. Long distance trains are like transatlantic liners, a nostalgic relic of a bygone era. Why? Jet airliners.
schlimm CJtrainguy In general I've also learned to not count on planes being on time and if it's really, really important to be there at a particular time, maybe I need to travel in the day before.
CJtrainguy In general I've also learned to not count on planes being on time and if it's really, really important to be there at a particular time, maybe I need to travel in the day before.
Schlimm, I know you like corridors. I do too. Really do. Would like to see a lot more of them as there are plenty of city pairs that should have trains connecting them.
As for on-time performance when traveling, it's not necessarily the length of the trip in hours that decides on how sensitive one is to when one arrives. A year ago I had to travel from Little Rock, AR, to Washington, DC for an important appointment that had been scheduled for months and that I couldn't be even a little late for. The appointment was early afternoon.
I could fly Little Rock to Washington in the morning, presumably getting there before lunch. Or not. Airlines don't always keep their schedules.
I could take the train and get there right around lunch, but same thing: What if the train was late?
I could drive (oh, joy for all the hours of staring at the Interstate), and there too it's hard to predict how much time to allow for issues along the road.
In any of the above cases, I quickly decided I needed to get in the day before to be sure I'd be at the appointment on time.
So from experience with different modes of transportation, I've learned to leave plenty of time between the planned arrival time and the time I absolutely positively have to be there. And I did end up taking the train from Little Rock to Washington. Best decision ever (I've driven and flown there enough, thank you.)
CJtrainguy schlimm CJtrainguy In general I've also learned to not count on planes being on time and if it's really, really important to be there at a particular time, maybe I need to travel in the day before. Schlimm, I know you like corridors. I do too. Really do. Would like to see a lot more of them as there are plenty of city pairs that should have trains connecting them. As for on-time performance when traveling, it's not necessarily the length of the trip in hours that decides on how sensitive one is to when one arrives. A year ago I had to travel from Little Rock, AR, to Washington, DC for an important appointment that had been scheduled for months and that I couldn't be even a little late for. The appointment was early afternoon. I could fly Little Rock to Washington in the morning, presumably getting there before lunch. Or not. Airlines don't always keep their schedules. I could take the train and get there right around lunch, but same thing: What if the train was late? I could drive (oh, joy for all the hours of staring at the Interstate), and there too it's hard to predict how much time to allow for issues along the road. In any of the above cases, I quickly decided I needed to get in the day before to be sure I'd be at the appointment on time. So from experience with different modes of transportation, I've learned to leave plenty of time between the planned arrival time and the time I absolutely positively have to be there. And I did end up taking the train from Little Rock to Washington. Best decision ever (I've driven and flown there enough, thank you.)
Smartest comment yet. If you've GOT to be there, like CJ, yet want to travel by train, by all means leave that slack in the schedule. If you don't have the extra money or time for a hotel room, or the interest in exploring a new city, there are other transportation options.
OS Anoka. OS-#8 Engine BNSF 9124 (with two Amtk locos) by at 1250 (6'51" late) eastbound on track 1-two MT CTC.
Anoka is on the Staples Sub between St. Cloud and Northtown.
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