Unfortunately, as some have said, it is a different railroad world out there now that management has stripped the operation of as many human assets as possible.
20th Century
Since last Monday Amtrak has had 2 - 4 equipment substitutions or delays of Acela equqipment including today.
Revised and update of west coast cancellations.
https://www.amtrak.com/alert/west-service-adjustments-due-to-weather.html
EDIT apppears link is same . note time has changed.
Cancellations north of LAX due to weather/ Actually north of Ventura. The reason has not been clarified yet.
blue streak 1Don't we just love the reliability of the Chicago maintenance department ? Are P-42s causing any of these problems or is it passenger cars? It would be interesting how many passengers left CHI on each of these trains?
Two Christmas's ago we had a cold spell in Chicago and the delays were primarily the locomotives failing I was told by Amtrak folks. They even had two P42's cold dead under the trainshed at CUS with their trains uncoupled and pulled away. Because of the higher than normal locomotive failure.......Amtraks solution was to power outbound trains with later arriving power from inbound trains (robbing Peter to pay Paul) in an attempt to buy time.
However we had two trains pull into Union Station to load that were not done being serviced yet and the loading was delayed while the crews on board rushed to complete the servicing of the trains. Primarily it was the distribution of bedding, towels, water in the sleeping cars. I am guessing this last part was caused by higher than normal absentee rate at the Chicago terminal.
CHI long distance departures for Feb 1 are all late except one.
3 = 11:58 late not showing on the tracker
5 = 4:45 late
7 = 3:27 late
21 = 10:21 late
30 = 2:02 late
48 = 6:28 late
59 = On time Got to homewood :44 late after having trouble getting switched to the air line
Don't we just love the reliability of the Chicago maintenance department ? Are P-42s causing any of these problems or is it passenger cars? It would be interesting how many passengers left CHI on each of these trains?
Not a train cancellation but maybe a loco cancelllation. Loco 505 burned in the SEA Amtrak yard. One rport is that Amtrak worker was trying to thaw toilet but Seattle does not have that many days of freezing temps.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/amtrak-train-catches-fire-at-sodo-rail-yard/913032327
aegrotatio What the heck happened to the "all-weather mode of transportation?" When did it all fall apart?
What the heck happened to the "all-weather mode of transportation?" When did it all fall apart?
1983 when Amtrak took over operations on the NEC.
I think this is probably the worst Amtrak has experienced in the Midwest in it's history. I don't see a comparable larger outbreak of severe temperatures on the Weather Channel website until way back in Feb 1899.
I am old enoiugh to remember the Amtrak commercials with the song by Julius LaRosa "see the country, travel Amtrak" especially the line "it's easy going through the rain and snow ". https://youtu.be/w0MIkduzGx4
blue streak 1 Now this is rediculous. According to an Amtrak bulletin all service to / from CHI is cancelled today!!! Amtrak AlertsVerified account @AmtrakAlerts 6h6 hours ago More Service Disruption: All Service Originations To and From Chicago Canceled on Wednesday, Jan. 30. https://www.amtrak.com/alert/service-disruption-all-service-originations-to-and-from-chicago-canceled1.html
Now this is rediculous. According to an Amtrak bulletin all service to / from CHI is cancelled today!!!
Service Disruption: All Service Originations To and From Chicago Canceled on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
https://www.amtrak.com/alert/service-disruption-all-service-originations-to-and-from-chicago-canceled1.html
"rediculous" [sic!!] What's is truly ridiculous is a guy from the Atlanta area complaining about Amtrak shutdowns in minus 23 degree weather. I lived in Atlanta seven years long ago and I recall that city shutting down and people abandoning their vehicles all over the perimeter and I-85 when a few inches of snow fell.
Amtrak bulletin about CN derailing onto its and METRA tracks.
https://www.amtrak.com/alert/chicago-service-temporary-track-closure-on-one-route.html
If the Grand crossing connections have been built would Amtrak been able to miss this derailment?
Another METRA article.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ct-met-transportation-cold-weather-20190131-story.html
METRA electric trains cancelled for Friday. A CN freight derailed on the parallel tracks and took out at least 2 overhead gantries and for some reason damaged 2 substations. For those who can access METRA tweets you can see the damage as this poster unable to copy just the single tweet. Wonder if this will affect the CN Amtrak trains
N!
https://twitter.com/metramed?lang=en
An interesting point made on some other sites is that some light rail systems ( MSP and MKE ) are not having wire problems that are occurring on South shore and METRA electric . One item stated was that the CAT in CHI was not engineered to these very cold temps?
Cannot remember but is the METRA electric variable tension? Does it not have any swinging back and forth that we see on other newer systems? Or is it due to the CAT metal material installed has too much coefficient of expansion as compared to the above mentioned light rails?
Even our Canadian neighbors are having problems. The Canadian VIA$1 TOR - Vancouver, BC 29 Jan was cancelled according to othr site?
EDIT report is due to a derailment apparently a CN freight blocking a VIA Canadian that was originally reported as a VIA derailment.
CHI SD trains cancelled thursday. Most LD trains will operate except LSL aand Cardinal.
https://www.amtrak.com/alert/chicago-service-restoration-plan-for-thursday--january-31--and-f.html
29 stalled just east of Chesterton and 49 appears to be waiting behind 29.
Note the delay notice of Amtrak has the opposite end trains from CHI are cancelled as well Example 7/30 cancelled from CHI and 8/30 from SEA cancelled!
blue streak 1 Now this is rediculous. According to an Amtrak bulletin all service to / from CHI is cancelled today!!!
This appears to answer the question I raised on Texas Eagle Very Late regarding the reason for the cancellation of the train. Makes me wonder why they could not have run No. 22 at least to Dallas or maybe Little Rock.
The temperature as of noon in central Texas is around 50 degrees.
There is no bulletin from Amtrak. however reservations show both originating Builders 7 & 8 of today Jan 29th cancelled. Speculation but This probably due to the extreme cold predicted along the route?. Temperatures are getting close to diesel fuel gelling? Makes one wonder if any locos have fuel tank heaters?
Deggesty matthewsaggie MofW breakdown for Amtrak is the needed info now. Perhaps 243129 can post this information?
matthewsaggie MofW breakdown for Amtrak is the needed info now.
MofW breakdown for Amtrak is the needed info now.
Perhaps 243129 can post this information?
Johnny and friends, all I can offer are real time situations.
charlie hebdo matthewsaggie MofW breakdown for Amtrak is the needed info now. Good luck with that!! The numbers posted do raise questions as to why Amtrak has not been able to make cuts more like the freight railroads have, at least somewhat similar to a 65% trim. .
Good luck with that!!
The numbers posted do raise questions as to why Amtrak has not been able to make cuts more like the freight railroads have, at least somewhat similar to a 65% trim. .
In the dealings I personnaly had with Amtrak it sounded like CNOC was overstaffed with suits and understaffed with indians, however I have no audited numbers to back up that assertion. I do know that Amtrak Crew Management had no idea of the HOS situation of their crews until notified by the freight carriers of a impending HOS situation.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Johnny
I was finally able to obtain some accurate figures on number of employees on Amtrak and the Class Ones. (source BTS)
Year Amtrak Class Ones
1980 21,416 458,994
1994 25,049 189,962
2004 20,938 157,699
So it is pretty clear that Amtrak's workforce has remained pretty stable (their recent report lists 20,000 employees) while the Class Ones have drastically cut their's by 300K from 1980 to 2004.
BaltACD aegrotatio What the heck happened to the "all-weather mode of transportation?" When did it all fall apart? When there were no long 'boots on the ground' as the railroads put their MofW funds into high production Tie & Surfacing units, Rail replacement units etc. No longer are ther 8-10 man section gangs stationed every 8-10 miles along the right of way, no longer is there a signal maintainer stationed at every control point with power operated switches. When the track workers and signal personnel had to use the highway system to access their points of responsibility, rather than living at those locations.
When there were no long 'boots on the ground' as the railroads put their MofW funds into high production Tie & Surfacing units, Rail replacement units etc. No longer are ther 8-10 man section gangs stationed every 8-10 miles along the right of way, no longer is there a signal maintainer stationed at every control point with power operated switches. When the track workers and signal personnel had to use the highway system to access their points of responsibility, rather than living at those locations.
Are you speaking of Amtrak specifically or are you making a general statement?
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