Passenger Trains > Cascades, Portland Empire Builder, Starlight stuck

Due to heavy rains and blocked drainage, water is over the tracks at Willbridge, OR, about four miles north of Portland
Union Station.  All rail traffic including Amtrak is suspended.

GenePoon Wrote:
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> Due to heavy rains and blocked drainage, water is
> over the tracks at Willbridge, OR, about four
> miles north of Portland
> Union Station.  All rail traffic including Amtrak
> is suspended.

Better reroute them through Albina!;)

Posted from Android

From the service alerts page...

Amtrak Service Disruption between Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA
Track closure due to severe weather related conditions north of Portland[/i]BNSF Railway Co. has temporarily closed railroad tracks to passenger trains between Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, Wash., due to high waters along tracks north of the Amtrak Portland Union Station. BNSF will continue to inspect and evaluate the tracks in order to resume service on Wednesday, Dec. 9. These tracks are used by Amtrak Cascades, Coast Starlight and Empire Builder trains.Alternate motor coach transportation is being provided between Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, Wash., for Amtrak Cascades passengers. Coast Starlight and Empire Builder trains will be rerouted through the area.Train service south of Portland is not affected. Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.Amtrak Services Disrupted between Seattle and Vancouver, BCAlternate transportation provided for Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains  BNSF Railway Co. has imposed a 48 hour moratorium on passenger trains between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, due to a landslide. These tracks are used by Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains and are expected to reopen on Thursday, December 10.Alternate transportation is being provided between Seattle and Vancouver, BC for Amtrak Cascades passengers and between Seattle and Everett, Wash., for Empire Builder passengers.Train service south of Seattle is not affected.

Time to call out 4449 to save the passenger trains--high water no problem--no traction motor issues--and she's built for speed, too!

portlander Wrote:
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> Better reroute them through Albina!;)
>

If you can believe the Oregonian, the EB and the Coast Starlight are doing just that! (Via Albina)

Posted from iPhone

coach Wrote:
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> Time to call out 4449 to save the passenger
> trains--high water no problem--no traction motor
> issues--and she's built for speed, too!

But what happens when some of the low-hanging 480VAC HEP stuff under the cars gets dunked?

No problem.  4449 has no HEP!  But the Cascades have their own HEP, right?  So they would probably have a problem. 

Marty Bernard

Realist Wrote:
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> coach Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Time to call out 4449 to save the passenger
> > trains--high water no problem--no traction
> motor
> > issues--and she's built for speed, too!
>
> But what happens when some of the low-hanging
> 480VAC HEP stuff under the cars gets dunked?

Steam heat, baby!

=14px"Coast Starlight and Empire Builder trains will be rerouted through the area." =14px-From an article on the Portland flooding in The Oregonian. So yes, apparently they are detouring via Albina! =14pxTor in Eugene

MartyBernard Wrote:
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> No problem.  4449 has no HEP!  But the Cascades
> have their own HEP, right?  So they would
> probably have a problem. 
>
> Marty Bernard

Does the 4449 still have it's steam heat connections?

Torisgod Wrote:
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> =14px"Coast Starlight and Empire Builder trains
> will be rerouted through the area." =14px-From an
> article on the Portland flooding in The Oregonian.
> So yes, apparently they are detouring via
> Albina! =14pxTor in Eugene

So what or where is the Albina re-route? Does that still allow these trains to stop at Vancouver, WA? And the Cascades don't make the re-route due to the time it would add to the running time? 

PHall Wrote:
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> Does the 4449 still have it's steam heat connections?


It sure does, and so does its stablemate SP&S 700.  Both steamers have supplied steam to heat the Holiday Express trains which have operated for many years on Dick Samuels' Oregon Pacific Railroad along the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland.

There is only one railroad bridge across the Columbia River but three across the Willamette River in the Portland Area 

Consider a passenger train coming from the south and heading to Seattle. It is coming up the east side of the Willamette from Salem.  Right before Portland Union Station it makes a zig and zag across the Willamette on the lower level of the Steel Bridge and immediately into the station on the west side of the river.  To head north it leaves the station and stays on the west side of the Willamette.  At a place called Willbridge it makes a hard right turn, crosses the Willamette, crosses a peninsula of land between the two rivers (north Portland), and crosses the Columbia River Bridge and is immediately at the Vancouver, WA Amtrak Station.

The Albina (the name of the UP Yard) detour requires the train to stay on the east side of the Willamette until it reaches the line that crosses the Columbia.  To use Portland Union Station the train crosses the Steel Bridge as before, does it's station work, then must recross the Steel Bridge to go through Albina to reach the Columbia River Bridge.  There is a full wye at the east end of the Steel Bridge.

It's not much of a detour -- 5 miles maybe.  But it is different.

Marty Bernard

Here's a modified Google Map showing the detour.  

Distances are about the same, but there's some 6 mph track to the north of the Steel Bridge.  

I wonder if UP would have allowed the detours if the new wye at the Graham Line would not have been complete?  The stretch of UP track in question through the Albina Yard was a bit busier until a week ago.  

Ted in OR

---

gobbl3gook Wrote:
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> Here's a modified Google Map showing the detour.
>  
>
> Distances are about the same, but there's some 6
> mph track to the north of the Steel Bridge.  
>
> I wonder if UP would have allowed the detours if
> the new wye at the Graham Line would not have been
> complete?  The stretch of UP track in question
> through the Albina Yard was a bit busier until a
> week ago.  
>
> Ted in OR

I've seen it happen before! I don't remember the reason for it, but it was within the last 10 years.

portlander Wrote:
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> I've seen it happen before! I don't remember the
> reason for it, but it was within the last 10
> years.

The BNSF was doing work on the Willamette river bridge.   I managed to ride #14/#11 both ways through Albina.

jb

Well, I was on 28 on the day mentioned.  We took a 45 minute delay leaving PDX when there was talk of waiting for pilots, back up moves, stop and starts, etc.  It was dark, but at 5:30 PM we moved forward out of station and with no stops and starts arrived at Vancouver, WA station.  Detour?   Not sure due to darkness and hard rain, but seemed like the normal operation.  By the way, heard on scanner 14 was following us.

Anyone know for sure what we actually did?

PS to my above message:  Arrival of 28 in Spokane was at 12:50 PM still around 45 minutes down.  However, am told we did not leave Spokane until 3:30 AM for reasons I do not know as I was asleep.  Then Browning to Shelby, there was a wind warning and we had to take a 20 mph speed restriction.

jdb Wrote:
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> portlander Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I've seen it happen before! I don't remember
> the
> > reason for it, but it was within the last 10
> > years.
>
> The BNSF was doing work on the Willamette river
> bridge.   I managed to ride #14/#11 both ways
> through Albina.
>
> jb

Cool! Good memory. I was working in the yard for both trains myself.