Beginning October 14th and lasting through the second or third week of November, the Texas Eagle will be rerouted from Taylor, TX to Longview, TX due to UP track work.
I attempted to book on-line the Texas Eagle (#22) from Taylor, TX to Dallas for October 15th. I was surprised to learn that a Thruway bus is being substituted for Number 22. The return booking for October 18th showed Number 21 is available from Dallas to Taylor. I called Amtrak to see what is up. The agent told me that #s 21 and 22 will be rerouted as per the dates mentioned above, although the website still shows the southbound train (#21) as operating via Dallas and Fort Worth.
Temple, McGregor, Cleburne, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Mineola will get buses in lieu of the train. Which leaves a question as to how the train will be routed between Taylor and Longview. My guess is it will follow the route of the Missouri Pacific's Texas Eagle, which ran from Taylor to Longview via Hearne, Palestine, Jacksonville, and Kilgore and vice versa as late as 1967.
The rerouting raises some interesting questions. Normally the engineer runs from Austin to Fort Worth. The conductor and trainman run from San Antonio to Fort Worth. At Fort Worth these crew persons are changed and another crew takes the train to Marshall, TX, I wonder how they will make the change if the trains run as per above? Moreover, since the Amtrak engineers don't run over the UP line via Hearne, Palestine, etc., presumably the UP will need to supply an engineer to oversee the run over the reroute.
Now I have a reason to take the train to Longview.
Amtrak sent me an update regarding the re-routing of the Texas Eagle in Texas beginning next week. Only #22 will be re-routed from Taylor to Longview, bypassing Temple, McGregor, Cleburne, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Mineola. Number 21 will follow its normal route.
I observed #22 this morning in Taylor. As noted it is being re-routed through Hearne, Palestine, and Jacksonville to Temple because of UP track work on the line between Dallas and Longview.
The re-routing of #22 won't do its financial picture any favor. At Taylor a UP pilot engineer and a UP conductor board the train. They go as far as Hearne, which is approximately 50 miles from Taylor. According to the UP engineer with whom I visited while in Taylor, the Amtrak operating crew, as well as the UP pilot crew get off the train, and they are replaced by a new crew that takes the train to Longview.
Normally the San Antonio crew (Austin engineer) gets off the train in Fort Worth, and a new crew (engineer, conductor, and trainman) takes the train to Marshal, which is 24 rail miles east of Longview. Because of the re-routing, Amtrak has had to contract with a van service to drive the crews to and from Hearne to make the required crew changes.
In addition to picking-up the addition costs for the UP pilot engineer and conductor, as well as the van service to make the crew changes normally made in Fort Worth, Amtrak has had to hire buses to carry passengers between Austin, Temple, McGregor, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mineola, and Longview.
Noticed today on the Amtrak train tracker that #22 went East from San Antonio toward Houston. At Flatonia it turned North toward Giddings. Currently it is about halfway between Giddings and Caldwell. I assuming it will continue north to Hearne. This would mean anyone in Austin waiting on #22 had to be bused somewhere or delay.
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