Passenger Trains > Next group of Tehachapi Starlight detours set

The next batch of Tehachapi detours will take place on November 8, 10, 12, 14.
There is a remote chance of November 16 as well.

These detours will be the same route between Sacramento and Los Angeles. There was some talk of running over Altamont Pass that would allow servicing stations between Sacramento and Oakland, but Union Pacific denied the request.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Will any private cars be running with them?

Willyboy Wrote:
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> Will any private cars be running with them?


Only if they want to go to Seattle.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Wow 5 more sets of detours.UP must reaily be tearing up the coast route.What are they doing up there?It sound like a whole lot of work.

If UP is forcing the detour, How can they deny the request to operate via Oakland?

Oops, I forgot, this is the omnipotent UP.

Maybe dumb question, but here goes: Friday Nov 14th, does this mean SB 11 out of Sacramento on that date? (Or does it mean #11 originating in Seattle on that date...)

Thanks.

norm1153 Wrote:
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> Maybe dumb question, but here goes: Friday Nov
> 14th, does this mean SB 11 out of Sacramento on
> that date? (Or does it mean #11 originating in
> Seattle on that date...)
>
> Thanks.


#11 out of Sacramento on that date 11/14, originating out of Seattle on 11/13.

Will they be taking BNSF's Stockten and Bakersfeild sub's through the valley once more? Or UP's?

Thanks,

Alex

Bummer no Altamont.

msdgbar Wrote:
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> Wow 5 more sets of detours.UP must reaily be
> tearing up the coast route.What are they doing up
> there?It sound like a whole lot of work.


When I traveled down the coast route on the 25th, the tunnels in the San Luis Obispo area were definitely torn up. We hit a 3-hour delay because they didn't have the snap track ready. The first and very short tunnel next to Chorro Siding at Cuesta Pass took us approx. 40-minutes to get through. It normally takes seconds for the train to pass through at speed, but since the roadbed had been torn up, we traveled through the tunnel on snap track at tip-toeing speed.

A foreman walked us through the tunnel, the cars made what seemed like a half-foot drop from the normal rail to the snap track. I have a photo of the difference in height between two Superliner cars as one dropped to the snap while the other was still on the main rail, if nobody was watching their step they could trip. Tunnel work on Cuesta Pass was long overdue.

msdgbar Wrote:
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> Wow 5 more sets of detours.UP must reaily be
> tearing up the coast route.What are they doing up
> there?It sound like a whole lot of work.

On Sunday, people in the Lounge Car and some of the Amtrak staff (a conductor, and a well-dressed gentleman) had coversations about how rough the tracks were near Salinas. Besides the work on Cuesta Grade, I'm hoping UP will address this issue while the whole Coast Route is down.

UP is replacing the tracks and ties on the Cuesta Grade (near MP 237 Coast Sub). A work train, an undercutter, ballast hoppers and a track gang are on scene.

The entire Coast line isn't shut down. Amtrak still operates to and from SLO to LA.

Shut it down, get rid of it, etc., and build us a new 120-200 mph high-speed line!

Hope Prop. 1A passes.

cchan006 Wrote:
> I'm hoping UP will address this
> issue while the whole Coast Route is down.


That'd be great, but one also needs to consider if the supplies are readily available, working machinery and number of crew. Most of the time it's better to do them in increments instead of a total shut-down that would have a greater impact on the business for little benefit in return.

Paving on the Interstate: Would it be better to pave I-5 at nights, maintaining one-thru lane for the light traffic, five miles of road per week... Or is it better to shut down I-5 from metropolitan center-to-metropolitan center, forcing all commute and freight to use back roads and neighborhood streets, pay overtime and increased costs for materials and additional machinery rentals, all for the sake of getting the whole thing paved in two weeks?

From my experience riding Salinas Valley last weekend, it wasn't that rough at all... Maybe the car I was on happened to have real good trucks and springs. The tunnels at Cuesta Pass were deteriorating to where the Superliners were bouncing real high, one would wonder if it would scrape the top of the tunnel!


RMS492 -- Prop 1 is great and all, but it wouldn't serve the coast route, it'd instead shut down the San Joaquin trains. What would happen to the Coast Starlight, who knows. It might still run, it might not. The Surfliners and Capitol Corridor might expand the routes that way too.

I know, was just kidding.....of course I voted yes for prop 1A and measure R (L.A. County only)

I'll ask once more, I am guessing they will run down BNSF line now, seeing that Amtrak wants to serve Bakersfeild on these trips?

-Alex

SF3751 Wrote:
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> I'll ask once more, I am guessing they will run
> down BNSF line now, seeing that Amtrak wants to
> serve Bakersfeild on these trips?

Well, in looking at the original post, it says:

"These detours will be the same route between Sacramento and Los Angeles."

The same route means the UP line, not the BNSF line. At least that's how I read it.

Also, I didn't see anywhere that Amtrak said it would serve Bakersfield.

I believe that the June 22, 2008 Tehachapi Starlight Detours were
the LAST LAST LAST ones to use the ATSF--BNSF Valley Line due to
BNSF capacity concerns.

As I understand it, from NOW ON the policy is for
any Tehachapi Starlights to use the SP--UP Valley Line.
This NEW valley detour routing policy was used of course
starting with the just completed October 2008 Tehachapi Starlight Detours.

That should be the way things stand now with this issue in the San Joaquin Valley.
--Daniel


SF3751 Wrote:
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> I'll ask once more, I am guessing they will run
> down BNSF line now, seeing that Amtrak wants to
> serve Bakersfeild on these trips?
>
> -Alex

Thank you for the information. This is a good thing to know! I thought I had heard a rumor that BNSF would once more be putting them down there line, but again, it was only a rumour.

-Alex

rms492 Wrote:
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> Shut it down, get rid of it, etc., and build us a
> new 120-200 mph high-speed line!
>
> Hope Prop. 1A passes.

Currently up 56-44. It's a winner in CA.