Flights cancelled, trains still running

[Nataraj]

On abc news, it was saying how some families took amtrak because their flights are cancelled due to blizzard conditions. I think it is the better way to travel, I don't fly unless I need to. This is a good boost for amtrak.

[Kevin C. Smith]

I was curious, when I heard that Denver International Airport had closed, how #'s 5 & 6 (the California Zephyr) were faring. Anyone know how their on time performance was the last day or two?

[tomytuna]

I posted simmilar remark on another post. Amtrak could not paid and received better PR.! One gentleman looked right into camera and stated" I knew the Trains would be running!". I wonder if the GM ordered Extra's to gain more passangers and $ while all the Airline passengers are still waiting to flights. Bet the rail crews earned their pay during this storm. think anyone in Washington DC were inpressed of even paid attention to this? (nah)...Tom

[Tharmeni]

Yesterday, both 5 & 6 were reported as running 30 minutes late through Denver.  However, both carried notices that they were sold out, so it doesn't look like extra equipment was available.

[jchnhtfd]

both CZs are running late, but not that much later than they usually do.  Ditto for the Chiefs.

I believe that all four are sold out.  Sadly, there just isn't any extra equipment.

(parenthetical comment, at the risk of revealing my age: anyone else remember Christmas 1944, when PRR was running almost anything with wheels on it, behind GG1s -- the heaviest traffic day ever at Penn Station).

I know what it's like to be out there in a blizzard, both on the ground and in the cab, and I have nothing but praise and admiration for the guys and gals of the railroads who keep this country moving.

[jeaton]

both CZs are running late, but not that much later than they usually do.  Ditto for the Chiefs.

I believe that all four are sold out.  Sadly, there just isn't any extra equipment.

(parenthetical comment, at the risk of revealing my age: anyone else remember Christmas 1944, when PRR was running almost anything with wheels on it, behind GG1s -- the heaviest traffic day ever at Penn Station).

I know what it's like to be out there in a blizzard, both on the ground and in the cab, and I have nothing but praise and admiration for the guys and gals of the railroads who keep this country moving.

On the age thing, you could do as I do and claim to be a big student of railroad history.

[oltmannd]

That it was even mentioned on the news, is certainly good for Amtrak. If the CZ ran on a large eastern RR, which shall remain nameless, (but whose initial are CSX) the train would have be cancelled for three days on the forcast of flurries. I think the biggest issues in this day and age for the RRs is employees being able to get to work.

[CSXrules4eva]

This stom in Denver is something else! Isn't it? It has effected travel all over the country. I heard on the news that trains from Colorado arrived at Chicago 12 hours or two days late. But, I really feel bad for all those people who are stranded at the airport.

I think Amtrak is taking advantage of the situation, many people are taking the train this year. Tomorrow, I fly out of Louisville, KY and head back to my home city Philadelphia, PA. I think due to the weather in Denver, and to the weather here (rain) the flight is going to be delayed. I personally rather take the train than fly, even though it takes 16 hours as opposed to 2. Unfortunitly, there is no passenger train service here in Kentucky, PERIOD! Amtrak doesn't run in KY anymore.

[Modelcar]

 

...Yes I understand how the traffic was at the peak times in WWII....{and as for the age matter...guess we can't change that....}, I remember Pennsy and others were using anything that had the ability to run over the rails....The idea people had to be moved and what was the alternative...Wasnt' any..!

Amtrak could really bennefit around the holiday season and especially when the weather turns bad that it's services are really needed more so....But sad fact there is no equipment that can be put to use.  I wonder how many passenger cars are really bad ordered and sitting in repair yards and have been for who knows how long....No budget funds to do anything about it....Wouldn't their available service at the several holidays and summer peak travel times pay a large % of the costs to repair them and have them in the pool for use....??  Or can't we spend any money to do useful things for the American people here in this country...Seems money is always being brought up to go someplace else and to someone else's benefit.

PS:  I don't know what changed my "screen name" from Modelcar to "qmong" but I didn't request it be done as such....My profile data has been eliminated as well...??  So as a matter of info this post has been written by "Modelcar".

[doghouse]

How much snow did Denver Get? One source says 2 feet and another says three. Up here where I live, two or three feet would not leave us gasping for air. Plow and go, baby! Then again, we don't have a major airport.

[PBenham]

 Let's put it like this, Denver got more snow than they were used to receiving at this time of year. The same thing happened up here in October, two feet of the wettest, heaviest snow we've seen here in a while.and then really! But Amtrak kept going, even if you couldn't get to the depot to catch the train.

Normally, in the northeast it only takes 4" of that white to shut everything down, Amtrak is usually among the first (third, if one wishes to split hairs) to pack it in among the electrified operations. Users of third rail electrified lines know all too well that just a little brings both the ex-NYC and LI third rail lines to a dead stop.

[Poppa_Zit]

PS:  I don't know what changed my "screen name" from Modelcar to "qmong" but I didn't request it be done as such....My profile data has been eliminated as well...??  So as a matter of info this post has been written by "Modelcar".

I had no trouble two minutes ago accessing your profile info, Modelcar, so you're still alive & well in the system.

Why not send an email to Bergie after the holiday and see if he can get inside the system and set things straight? I'll bet he can.

PZ

[Modelcar]

 

....Poppa:

 I have already done so...{note to Bergie}....Sure hope he can reset it..

[Poppa_Zit]

 

....Poppa:

 I have already done so...{note to Bergie}....Sure hope he can reset it..

Yeah, me too. You have over 5,000 posts.

Did you try logging out and logging back in -- making sure the name you log in under is correct? Maybe delete any cookies from Trains and try again after a restart?

[Modelcar]

 

...Poppa:

 I have done nothing different in my operation in posting  so it was a complete surprise to me.

We have made a change here {12-15-06}, by going from a dial up system to the hi speed cable connection now with the computer but made no attempt to change my "screen" Id here on Trains.com.

 

[greyhounds]

 

...Poppa:

 I have done nothing different in my operation in posting  so it was a complete surprise to me.

We have made a change here {12-15-06}, by going from a dial up system to the hi speed cable connection now with the computer but made no attempt to change my "screen" Id here on Trains.com.

 

I'm having trouble too. My posts are run together - I can't do paragraphs.

[Modelcar]

 

....This is test post.....I logged out and back in and entered my "old" dial up address {which will also run until months end}, and we'll see what screen name it applies to this post.  {This is Modelcar}.

[Modelcar]

 

....So it's bringing up my correct screen name {Modelcar}, by using my old dial up address.....Now....How do we get the "Modelcar" name applied to my post when I apply my new cable connection address we'll be using exclusively at months end...??   Help...!

[Anonymous]

 

....So it's bringing up my correct screen name {Modelcar}, by using my old dial up address.....Now....How do we get the "Modelcar" name applied to my post when I apply my new cable connection address we'll be using exclusively at months end...??   Help...!

 

COngrats on getting the broadband man. I know you will love it.

 

Thanks to Datafever, I can tell you how to update your e-mail addy

 

Go up to the top of the page and click on the big, main "Trains" heading (with the red back ground)

Then on the page that opens click on "customer service"

Then you will get a page with a listing reading "Access and manage your account" (in red letters)

 

Click on that, and from that point on it's pretty intuitive, you get a page with in the right side column reading "change your e-mail"

 

You might get thrown a page somewhere in there that requires you to "log in" too,  forget just where that is, but just do it and it sends you to the next step automatically 

[martin.knoepfel]

London Heathrow, one of the busiest airports in Europe, if not the busiest, has been closed because of dense fog IIRC for the second consecutive day. Thousands of passengers stranded. Certainly good days for the railroads in the UK.

[Modelcar]

 

.....Antigates:

 Thanks for the input....I'll sure see what we can do here regarding getting the correct screen name with the new address.....{Might be  in here off and on this evening between breaks in our Pacer and Atlanta Hawks game....Have to cheer them on...ha.....

Yes, we've been connected since the 15th and the increased speed is very welcome.  Totally agree.  But I must give the wife the credit.  She got so riled up about the speed of the dial up early in the morning as she was dealing with email that something had to be done.  But boy did it throw a monkey wrench in the computer operation all over the place....Frustrating.  Example:  Used to put computer on "sleep" position all day when not active with it and now can't do so....I install it on sleep and in 30 sec. it's back up ready to "work"...??  And that is just one of the many instances we had to fight...but we're getting it pretty well under control now and yes, it would be hard to go back to the dial up speed.

Anyway, thanks we'll be giving all that a try a bit later.....

[mudchicken]

How much snow did Denver Get? One source says 2 feet and another says three. Up here where I live, two or three feet would not leave us gasping for air. Plow and go, baby! Then again, we don't have a major airport.

Ans: 33 Inches at my house (after shovelling my driveway and two others, that's more than enough), 28 Inches at the office...the real problems are the wind blown drifts logging in at 4 to 18 feet. UPRR had a coal train at Pecos Street/ North Yard plowed into place while they were trying to keep enough air in the train to resume it's trip east.

* The airport is out on the eastern prairie/ no trees. Until the winds (25-45 MPH with gusts to 50) quit, it was futile to plow and treat the runways as they immediately filled back in. The roads jammed up with disabled cars which in turn stalled the plows. Denver, which has grown leaps & bounds lately, has far too many motorists running around who are ignorant about basic things like snow tires, vertical clearance, weight distribution, inertia, keeping wheels straight and braking distances in snow conditions. Plenty of drivers need remedial eduction or have their BMW's, Mercedes, Mustangs, riceburners, trucks and SUV's taken away from them. (Mini's, Cayennes, Mercedes M-Class and BMW M=5's et. al. were an absolute joke in this storm. The stupidly wealthy proved to be just plain stupid) 

Little, lightly sprung cars are still getting stuck or out of control all over the place...

 

[Modelcar]

 

.....AntiGates:

Went over to the Cusomer service page, etc. that you describe.....and found that is the exact location I applied my new address and when my screen name changed to qmong....

I went back again earlier and input the "old" dial up address back in and recovered my "Modelcar" screen name again.

Looks like Erik will have to try to help from his "power" end of the situation...Hopefully when he does see my note to him he will take care of the situation.  But thanks for the effort of help.

[Modelcar]

 

Mudchicken:

I'm surprised the folks living in the Denver area take the winter time so lightly and pay little attention {as you describe}, to prepare for winter conditions.....Regardless of economic status.  One would think living at an elevation of 5000'  would be a natural when winter rolls around....{To get prepared}.

I understand when a massive winter storm does occurr not much beyond the normal prep for it can be done until it "plays out".....And from what I've seen on the news it sure was massive once again.

I've been to your fair city but thankfully in late summer when all the above wasn't happening.  Stayed there to do some automotive testing up in the higher elevations of your mountain ranges....

Being a native of western Pennsylvania I have seen snow and drifts and cold and clogged highways and so on and it can and does happen and everyone must work together during these times to even accomplish the routine daily happenings, etc....

Hope they can get that airport open today {and keep it open...}, I realize some planes were flying out yesterday so I suppose many of the stranded will get out...Hopefully for the holiday.

[Anonymous]

 

.....AntiGates:

Went over to the Cusomer service page, etc. that you describe.....and found that is the exact location I applied my new address and when my screen name changed to qmong....

I went back again earlier and input the "old" dial up address back in and recovered my "Modelcar" screen name again.

Looks like Erik will have to try to help from his "power" end of the situation...Hopefully when he does see my note to him he will take care of the situation.  But thanks for the effort of help.

 

I WOUNDER IF THE PERSON THAT HAD YOUR NEW IP ADDRESS WAS A MEMBER HERE AND THE SURVER JUST CHANGED IT TO THAT SCREAN NAME.

I JOIND A HOCKEY BOARD AND THE PERSON THAT HAD MY NEW IP ADDRESS WAS BANED AT THAT BOARD . EVERY TIME I TRYED TO POST IT TOLD ME I WAS BANNED SO I HAD TO EMAIL THE MOD AND EXPLAIN THAT I WAS NEW THERE AND NOT THE BANNED PRISON SO THAT I COULD POST. LOL

[Modelcar]

 

.....EMT49:

No....doubt if any one has used either screen name I have here....I've never seen any other applicatation of these names here.

I'm pretty certain it evolves simply that I now applied a new email address to the system here on Trains.com and somehow the sysem "told" the process to use a different name for me.  I sure didn't try to change it.

Of course I desire to keep my original "name" as its been for nearly 5 years now.

[spokyone]

Modelcar

I had no trouble here when I moved to high speed, but I had big trouble with my bank. I paid a visit to the home office before problem was fixed.

 

[Modelcar]

 

....Spokyone:

 Yes, it really seems unusual that we got into so much confusion and frustration simply by changing from dial up to Cable connection....Not so much on here but other areas of operation with the computer including email and other pesky stuff that we had to work through.  Most of it has been solved but a few sticky things remain...as I mentioned in an above post...computer won't stay on "sleep' mood now when I attempt to do so....It did perfectly on dial up....Don't understand what the means of outside connection to the internet had to do with that....

Hopefully we simply can get the Modelcar name to be compatable  with the new cable address on this forum....via Bergie probably.

[mudchicken]

Post Script:  BNSF put a coal train on the ground late yesterday right near the beginning of the Pikes Peak(BNSF)/ Colorado Springs (UP)Subs almost cutting Colorado (railroadwise) in half. Snow and ice from nearby road clearing efforts piled up in the track and froze solid causing wheel lift in a curve. Five coal loads on their sides.

Quentin: Most folks in this town are from somewhere else and too many brought their bad driving habits with them. Too many do not have the common sense to stay put when conditions are not suitable for the cars/trucks they drive. Regular highway tread on tires is a liability right now along with cars with no ground clearance.

[Modelcar]

 

..............Understand.