Passenger Trains > 49 and 48 of 1/21

# 49 is rather late this morning(3 hrs., 46 mins at Bryan)
The train left NYP OT and was 56 mins. late at Buffalo.
But it certainly took a long time to go from Buffalo to
Cleveland:5 Hrs., 41 mins. It was 3 hrs late at Cleveland.
Normally the run from Depew-Cleveland can be done 3 hrs.,, 15 mins.

#48 left Chicago 26 mins late yesterday.
It only took 3hrs., 23 mins. to go from Cleveland-Depew.
Train was 1 hr., ,45 mins. late at Buffalo

Cold weather the problem perhaps ?

mp16 Wrote:
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> # 49 is rather late this morning(3 hrs., 46 mins
> at Bryan)
> The train left NYP OT and was 56 mins. late at
> Buffalo.
> But it certainly took a long time to go from
> Buffalo to
> Cleveland:5 Hrs., 41 mins. It was 3 hrs late at
> Cleveland.
> Normally the run from Depew-Cleveland can be done
> 3 hrs.,, 15 mins.
>
> #48 left Chicago 26 mins late yesterday.
> It only took 3hrs., 23 mins. to go from
> Cleveland-Depew.
> Train was 1 hr., ,45 mins. late at Buffalo
>
> Cold weather the problem perhaps ?

Significant lake-effect snow east of Cleveland.

# 49 arrived Chicago 1:23 pm (3 hrs., 38 mins. late)
Will the Eagle be held if passengers are booked on it ?
It appears passengers will make connection to the Builder

# 48 was at Rochester 12:43 pm (2 hrs., 35 mins. late)

Hi all,

I was on 49 and we got to Chicago at 1:23 pm. I am now sitting on the Eagle, and we are late (5 minutes so far). It was touch and go. Just a walk from track 28 to track 18 today. It was too cold to walk around between trains anyhow. :-)

As for the delay, yes it was snowing heavily, but we were stopped for an extended period. I slept through most of it, and I suspect there may have been a disabled freight. I know NS had issues around Toledo that cost us some time. One was definitely a disabled freight.

But we made it...

The eastbound NS "mail trains" are late today, too. #24M, usually through Toledo around 11:30a, was heading east out of town at 2p, and #20E, usually fairly close behind #24M, was in that position.

Could be a daylight appearance on at least part of the Port Road tomorrow morning for #24M.

Julie (via the Amtrak iPhone app) puts 48 into ALB about five hours late today. Julie is usually hopped up on something, I think, so her timing may be a bit optimistic. Whatever is going on in Upstate is hitting 48 harder than it hit 49.

goxmit Wrote:
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> Julie (via the Amtrak iPhone app) puts 48 into ALB
> about five hours late today. Julie is usually
> hopped up on something, I think, so her timing may
> be a bit optimistic. Whatever is going on in
> Upstate is hitting 48 harder than it hit 49.


CSX is doing some work on the right of way west of Albany, east of Amsterdam. Some single track operations earlier today.

That may be adding to problems. And, it's very cold in the Albany area.

Here's some estimated arrivals

Left Syracuse 5:58 pm instead of scheduled 11:38 am
ETA Albany 9:18 pm (6 hrs., 28 mins late)
New York 12:00 midnight (5 hrs. 25 mins late)

Lv. Albany 9:38 pm# 448
Arr. Springfield 11:47 pm (6 hrs late)
Arr. Boston-South Sta. 1:49 am(4 hrs.,39 mins, late
MBTA is shut down for the night at that hour)


Interesting that the train is supposed to go from Albany
to Boston in 4 hrs., 10 mins. About a 50mph average and
about 90 mins faster than the normal schedule. It will be
interesting to see what develops since that seems awfully
fast for an Albany-Boston run. Maybe freights will be
deliberately sidetracked to let 448 go thru. This equipment
turns around and leaves Boston at 11:55 am

There was a story from many years ago, early Amtrak, about a veteran engineer that made Albany to South Station in something well under four hours, I think.

The train arrived on time and he was fired on the spot.

David

The big loser in Upstate NY this evening was #48, which left ROC at 12:43 pm (2'35" LT) and left SYR at 5:58 pm (6'20" LT). #64 left SYR at 6:10 pm (1'59" LT), apparently having been delayed following #48. On the Mohawk radio stream I heard the engine crew on #48 tell #49's crew that there were whiteout conditions between Little Falls and CP 248. Wonder what happened west of SYR!

Andy

mp16 Wrote:
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> Maybe freights will be
> deliberately sidetracked to let 448 go thru.

Whatever he's smoking, I want some. ;)

It seems that #48 ALWAYS has more problems eastbound in upstate NY.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I don't remember these problems being so bad when the Lake Shore had an earlier departure from Chicago. Course I guess one could say that you were sleeping as the train crossed much (and on some schedules most) of upstate NY. And I am going back to the Lake Shore of the 1990s in said analysis/experience.

The best was when this train would make a late morning arrival into Albany and then reach NYC be EARLY afternoon, be it between 1 and 3 p.m. The later time could be done as late as 2006 or so (before the Three Rivers was axed as the clean-up train out of Chicago).

It's also amazing that when this train - and the Capitol Limited - is "determined" it can make an eastbound run from Toledo (to the East Coast) from around lunch time to around 11 p.m. I was on such a train. Course I was on the Capitol and we ran into more delays between Harper's Ferry and Washington DC or I think we could have arrived around 10 p.m. The Lake Shore Limited, which was coupled up behind us leaving Chicago eastbound actually made it to NYC before 11 p.m., and they ran into some delays around Albany.....despite running behind us (on the Capitol Limited) in leaving Toledo.

On the trip described above, we had been detoured out of Chicago via Porter and onto the Michigan line before making a short trip down to Toledo. I've often wondered if 48/49 could make the trip faster via the Michigan line despite the fact that it is not as direct. But considering all the freight interference and fact that the train could get better speed on the Michigan line........makes one wonder. Perhaps if the Three Rivers is ever re-launched it could try out the Michigan line.........I can also remember on the trip mentioned above that we were severely delayed in leaving Chicago and then crawled to get from Chicago to Porter, or where the Amtrak owned line picks up. And of course we had to travel a slightly decreased speeds due to the Lake Shore tacked on the back of our consist, the Capitol Limited. We also had the crew go "dead" in an unexpected area. Then there was some issue in getting onto the line down to Toledo. We didn't change directions but we had to make some sort of equipment maneuver that was weird and made extra complicated due to the weather - snow and freezing conditions. It was a fun trip though! Glad to be on train than bus-bridged, annulled, or something worse.

95 minutes has been added to 48's schedule since 2006, and all of it is east if Erie. I'd say 30 minutes is to force arrival at NYPS at 6:30, but the rest is due to CSX and longer station dwell times:

Chicago-Waterloo: 1hr 35min later (it was 7:55pm, now 930pm)
Bryan: 1hr 40min
Toledo 1hr 50 min
Cleveland Ar 1hr 33min, Lv 1 hr 40 min later
Erie 1hr 33min
Buffalo Ar 1hr 53min, Lv 1hr 58 min later
Rochester 2 hours
Syracuse 2 hr, 12 min
Utica- Albany Ar 2 hr 20 min later
Albany Lv 2 hr 50min later
New York Ar 3hr 10 min later (it was 3:25pm, now 635pm)

# 48 arr. NYP 12:30 am (5 hrs., 55 mins. late)

# 448 arr. Boston 2:41 am (5 hrs., 31 mins. late. Running time
Albany-Boston was 4 hrs., 46 mins. )

# 64 arr. NYP 12:49 am ( 3 hrs., 04 mins. late)

# 48 was only 32 mins. late this morning at Erie

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> 95 minutes has been added to 48's schedule since
> 2006, and all of it is east if Erie. I'd say 30
> minutes is to force arrival at NYPS at 6:30, but
> the rest is due to CSX and longer station dwell
> times:
>
> Chicago-Waterloo: 1hr 35min later (it was
> 7:55pm, now 930pm)
> Bryan: 1hr 40min
> Toledo 1hr 50 min
> Cleveland Ar 1hr 33min, Lv 1 hr 40 min
> later
> Erie 1hr 33min
> Buffalo Ar 1hr 53min, Lv 1hr 58 min
> later
> Rochester 2 hours
> Syracuse 2 hr, 12 min
> Utica- Albany Ar 2 hr 20 min later
> Albany Lv 2 hr 50min later
> New York Ar 3hr 10 min later (it was
> 3:25pm, now 635pm)


And the old schedule was full of padding with a 7:55 p.m. departure from Chicago and 3:25 p.m. arrival into NYP. The ride across upstate NY and dwell at Albany was (or Schenctady) was overrated.

The Lake Shore has seen better times, and deserves better especially with all the "work" that is supposed to be going on to speed things up on this line. It often arrives into NYP early. And then SITS in the staion despite the fact that most would like it OUT of NYP for the evening rush hour. But it is squeezed into the operating plan......I've seen this happen MANY times.

I rode 449 departing Boston on 1/20. Whenever I track this train in the week or so before I ride it, the general pattern is for it to Albany on time, or close to on time, and then lose about an hour between Albany and Buffalo. In my experiences, it often runs on the left hand track for most of the way to Buffalo. The cause of the delays are usually long dwell times at Utica, Syracuse and Rochester. And then sometimes getting stuck behind freight. There is padding in to Cleveland, and it usually runs on time most of the way to Chicago. If it is on time through Elkhart and South Bend, then it usually makes it to Chicago on time. My ride departing Boston on 1/20 pretty much reflected this with a 5 minute early arrival into Chicago. They day before, it was about 90 minutes late, and then of course the lake effect snow that possible nailed this train. For the record, the crew was top notch. And the food was excellent even though I missed riding in 8400 once again.