Passenger Trains > New River Train (updated with photos in Huntington)

This message comes from eastbound Cardinal #50 at about 10:30 eastern time on Thursday evening. We were two hours late leaving Chicago this evening. While there was no explanation at the time for our delay, when I asked the attendant in what passes for the dining car if there was a reason for the delay (not too surprisingly, no explanation was ever offered on the public address system), she told me that our departure from Chicago had been delayed in order to attach the equipment for the foliage excursion special running out of Huntington (the "New River Train") which will be dropped off in Huntington tomorrow morning (sometime after 7:00 a.m. depending how much time-- if any-- we make up over night). See: http://www.newrivertrain.com/

It was completely dark when she told me this so I actually can't confirm what equipment we're pulling that is going to be dropped off in Huntington, but I hope to get some pictures once daybreak happens and, if this report is accurate, get some photos when they break up our train in Huntington tomorrow morning.

and the new river train happens every year at the same time and you would think they couldve prepared for the equipment a lil better.

some things just never change

Amfleet and Horizon usually. Plus some PVs. Lousy to keep the public in the dark on this. 2 hours to add cars!!!!

The late departure may also have been due to No. 51's more than 2-hour late arrival earlier that day.

Here are a couple of pictures of the New River Train after we arrived in Huntington.

We are now running more than three hours late out of Huntington.

BTW, according to the Amtrak web site, 51 arrived into Chicago at 12:53 p.m. yesterday: over two hours late but hardly late enough to explain the delay in our departure. Moreover, most of the delay occurred after we boarded the train in the station. The power went off for a good fifteen minutes well into this delay, presumably when they were swapping the engine out.

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More fodder for Jay Leno--gee, maybe he has a point! Such is railroading in God's Country, circa 2009. Kurt.

What the Amtrak dining car staff said about the train being late due the the PV's is not true. The train sat made up in the yard in advance for several hours before it was even to be moved to the station in Chicago. The train was late to do a locomotive issue.

Yup. A late decision to add a second one, I hear.

Did anyone compile a consist of this year's New River Train?