Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF southern transcon, Needles-Belen

I was on the Southwest Chief last week, #4 departing LA on Friday the 6th. On the 7th, we encountered heavy delays across Arizona, stuck behind 35-45 mph eastbound freights all the way, with over 20 westbounds passing us and preventing us from getting around the slow trains in front of us. 

After about eight hours at 35-45 instead of 80-90 mph, we wound up 5 hours late. Had to take a $200 Uber back to Michigan instead of the $40 connecting train I missed due to our late arrival into Chicago. 

Now, watching the status maps, it appears that 3 and 4 seem to have a 50/50 shot at getting across Arizona. Either they are on time, or hours late. Is there a MoW bottleneck or something somewhere, or is this just normal traffic?

 

#4 was about 3.5 hours late this morning across Northern AZ, as it had a BNSF 8362 as the leader. Looks like Amtrak power problems somewhere between Needles and Kingman.

Your delays were most likely attributed to the following.  Crazy individual was shooting up a neighborhood in Flagstaff.  Troopers called in helicopter support from Kingman and the helicopter crashed unfortunately killing the pilot and a trooper.  The crash happened near the tracks just west of town spreading debris on the tracks.  Railroad was closed for about 10 hours which caused massive backups on the busy transcon.  It probably took them a number of days jockeying crews and moving outlawed trains to clear out the mess which is most likely why your Amtrak train took heavy delays.

stevelv Wrote:
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> Your delays were most likely attributed to the
> following.  Crazy individual was shooting up a
> neighborhood in Flagstaff.  Troopers called in
> helicopter support from Kingman and the helicopter
> crashed unfortunately killing the pilot and a
> trooper.  The crash happened near the tracks just
> west of town spreading debris on the tracks. 
> Railroad was closed for about 10 hours which
> caused massive backups on the busy transcon.  It
> probably took them a number of days jockeying
> crews and moving outlawed trains to clear out the
> mess which is most likely why your Amtrak train
> took heavy delays.

The helicopter crash was ~22:16 on the 4th, the first train thru passed Flagstaff railcam at 07:03 on the 5th.  For awhile the trains were fleeted at slow speed thru the crash site, until 12:15.

mapboy

mapboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> stevelv Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Your delays were most likely attributed to the
> > following.  Crazy individual was shooting up a
> > neighborhood in Flagstaff.  Troopers called in
> > helicopter support from Kingman and the
> helicopter
> > crashed unfortunately killing the pilot and a
> > trooper.  The crash happened near the tracks
> just
> > west of town spreading debris on the tracks. 
> > Railroad was closed for about 10 hours which
> > caused massive backups on the busy transcon. 
> It
> > probably took them a number of days jockeying
> > crews and moving outlawed trains to clear out
> the
> > mess which is most likely why your Amtrak train
> > took heavy delays.
>
> The helicopter crash was ~22:16 on the 4th, the
> first train thru passed Flagstaff railcam at 07:03
> on the 5th.  For awhile the trains were fleeted
> at slow speed thru the crash site, until 12:15.
>
> mapboy

I guess that was probably it. I was aware of that event, but hadn't considered how long-lasting the effects might be. 

What's wild is that my dad rode the #3 that departed Chicago on 2/4. He passed through Flagstaff at 9pm on the 5th, and arrived in Los Angeles on time on the morning of the 6th. The fact he made it through without delay caused me to not think of the crash as a cause of the congestion. However, it must have taken a little time to propagate. After his arrival on the 6th, I joined him and we departed back east on the #4 that same evening. On Saturday the 7th, we took heavy delays.

It still seems a bit dicey for the Chief to get across Arizona on time. Today, #4 lost five hours between Needles and ABQ. 

At least up north BNSF does their best to not delay Amtrak... we will get in the hole sometimes hours for Amtrak.... but every now and then shit happens

Posted from Android

Tss515 Wrote:
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 Today, #4 lost five hours
> between Needles and ABQ.

I guess you didn't read my earlier reply, #4 lost all that time due to AMTRAK power issues. The BNSF freight unit can't run at passenger train speeds.

freight train interference is what atk called your train, when i looked

> The BNSF freight unit can't run at passenger train speeds.

It can run 70 mph? I bet that's enough to make
the schedule, if no other delays.

Very sad to hear that a pilot and police officer lost their lives due to some crazy guy.

timz Wrote:
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> > The BNSF freight unit can't run at passenger
> train speeds.
>
> It can run 70 mph? I bet that's enough to make
> the schedule, if no other delays.

Nope.  With a maximum speed of 79 and 90 MPH across the Southern Transcon, an Amtrak train with a freight unit with a max of 70 MPH will lose considerable time from the schedule.  It happens all too often unfortunately.

> an Amtrak train with a freight unit with a max of 70 MPH
> will lose considerable time from the schedule.

I'm too lazy to look at today's timetable,
but in the past the schedule wasn't demanding.
If they're not delayed, a 70 mph maximum
won't lose considerable time. Might well
make up a bit.