Passenger Trains > ATK #3-10 power problems at Raton NM

Got a call from my Daughter about an hour ago saying the locomotive(s) broke down. Passengers were allowed off the train, and told to be back at the station in 2 hours. They were also told a "spare" locomotive would be coming from Albuquerque. I think they will have a longer stay than that in beautiful downtown Raton, even if they can snag a unit of of #4 which is shown 4 hours down out of Lamy.

Luke

Thankyou VERY much for this update on why Train 3 has service disruption at Raton NM.
My thoughts are with the train crew and passengers. I hpe this gets repaired relitively quickly.
Somehow my gut tells me we are looking at a minimum 6 hours delay for train 3 of 10th--your train. (just a wag guess)
By the way that poor train 4 of 10 departed LAX 1 hour late out of the gate.
Looks like two greatly delayed trains will be created from this breakdown fubar.
---Daniel

Like what kind of a Locomotive are putting on the Chief? Idk just curious.

Thanks
Jonathan

Posted from Android

jonathanstrains Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Like what kind of a Locomotive are putting on the
> Chief? Idk just curious.
>
> Thanks
> Jonathan
>
> Posted from Android

ES44

So Amtrak is going to pay for dinner at the restaurant (or more likely bar) of their choice in Raton? (there are some restaurants out by the Interstate but its a bit of a walk). Or perhaps a guided tour which should take about 10 minutes. This is really getting to be an epidemic every day. I WAS thinking of taking my Ukrainian girl friend on the Chief when she comes here this Fall. But now we will fly. She would be shocked at the poor condition of the equipment and track compared with her former Soviet country. Track there is smooth and we have never experienced an equipment failure other than some poor AC in excessive heat. The toilets even work (they still dump on the track...oh the humanity). Not saying in any way the Soviet system was good but they did build and operate decent passenger trains which continue in service to this day.

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> So Amtrak is going to pay for dinner at the
> restaurant (or more likely bar) of their choice in
> Raton? (there are some restaurants out by the
> Interstate but its a bit of a walk). Or perhaps a
> guided tour which should take about 10 minutes

Why would Amtrak pay for dinner? The dining car is still there.

Dave

geez to many engine issue lately...Hope Wick will get to the bottom of this

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So Amtrak is going to pay for dinner at the
> restaurant (or more likely bar) of their choice in
> Raton?

Why?

> Or perhaps a
> guided tour which should take about 10 minutes.

Oh I can't wait to hear your reasoning behind this.

> This is really getting to be an epidemic every
> day.

And what exactly are you doing about it? Are you pressing your congress person to fully fund Amtrak, and getting others to do the same?

> I WAS thinking of taking my Ukrainian girl
> friend on the Chief when she comes here this Fall.
> But now we will fly. She would be shocked at the
> poor condition of the equipment and track compared
> with her former Soviet country.

As shocked as she will be or already is about the rampant oppression and corruption of the remainder of her former Soviet country once she sees how things are in the United States?

> Track there is
> smooth and we have never experienced an equipment
> failure other than some poor AC in excessive heat.

Because the rail infrastructure is maintained by the government so that it is readily available for all military movements.

> The toilets even work (they still dump on the
> track...oh the humanity).

Oh yes the humanity of it. Or would you volunter to walk a track where such trains always dump onto the tracks? Plus, no such thing there as lawyers protecting a persons rights.

> Not saying in any way
> the Soviet system was good but they did build and
> operate decent passenger trains which continue in
> service to this day.

No, you pretty clearly stated that you believe their system is good.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/17 18:10 by jst3751.

If Anderson flys, maybe that will save another "BS" posting on TO.

UPDATE,

"Spare" loco arrived from Trinidad. Supposedly they are having trouble "hooking it up". Everyone has been back on board for 3 hours. A/C and toilets work (for now).
I'm thinking the crew should be reaching their HOS limit.

Luke

ETA for relief crew is 9p, MDT.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/17 19:36 by SandHouseTalk.

bluesboyst Wrote:
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> geez to many engine issue lately...Hope Wick will
> get to the bottom of this

No kidding! The locomotive failures on the Chief seem to be rampant this summer. I'd seriously guess at least one in six trips is ending up with loco failures. And since a good portion of the route is 80 to 90 mph subbing a 70 mph freight unit kills the schedule. Totally unacceptable. The costs Amtrak is incurring in crew overtime and flunked connections is enormous. Not to mention never again passengers. Why is money being pissed away remodeling stations and lounges like Chicago, when the locomotives are no good? For the moment it seems the Chief needs 3 units each trip to ensure that at least 2 can make the whole run in operable condition. I'm tired of hearing Amtrak beg for money too. With the fares they charge they should be able to maintain the equipment. I would think locomotive failures on more than one or two Chiefs per month is excessive. At present I bet it's 10 or more.

I just Know those Soviet trains had small ICBM launchers in each car ...Nyuck Nyuck Nyuck

sandersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So Amtrak is going to pay for dinner at the
> restaurant (or more likely bar) of their choice in
> Raton? (there are some restaurants out by the
> Interstate but its a bit of a walk). Or perhaps a
> guided tour which should take about 10 minutes.
> This is really getting to be an epidemic every
> day. I WAS thinking of taking my Ukrainian girl
> friend on the Chief when she comes here this Fall.
> But now we will fly. She would be shocked at the
> poor condition of the equipment and track compared
> with her former Soviet country. Track there is
> smooth and we have never experienced an equipment
> failure other than some poor AC in excessive heat.
> The toilets even work (they still dump on the
> track...oh the humanity). Not saying in any way
> the Soviet system was good but they did build and
> operate decent passenger trains which continue in
> service to this day.

G-ood
E-enough

Thank the lazy ass idiots in Chicago on not doing what they're supposed to do on getting the train 100% ready to go!

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/17 23:11 by ProAmtrak.

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank the lazy ass idiots in Chicago on not doing
> what they're supposed to do on getting the train
> 100% ready to go!
>
> Posted from Android


Wow

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank the lazy ass idiots in Chicago on not doing
> what they're supposed to do on getting the train
> 100% ready to go!
>
> Posted from Android

Another thoughtless post.

jst3751 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ProAmtrak Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Thank the lazy ass idiots in Chicago on not
> doing
> > what they're supposed to do on getting the
> train
> > 100% ready to go!
> >
> > Posted from Android
>
> Another thoughtless post

Agreed. Poor Chicago gets blamed for everything. Now the train is over 12 hours late and no doubt will get later with a 70mph freight unit leading! I'd wager the locos are worn out and in dire need of major overhauls. They also to this day have never managed to implement a scientifically programmed maintenance and overhaul schedule as they did on the Acela trains, even though they started to do so a decade or more ago. It's really a gross failure of management and it's a disgrace to subject passengers to these frequent massive delays. It seems like at headquarters they just keep their heads in the sand and ignore what's going on. Why is a protection locomotive not being kept at Albuquerque with these frequent en route failures? Imagine if an airline operated this way and sent planes out that lost engines en route frequently!

Posted from iPhone



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/17 04:16 by alan2955.

I'm sure glad Amtrak doesn't fly airplanes.

PC1974 Wrote:
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> I'm sure glad Amtrak doesn't fly airplanes.

Pretty uneducated thought process to compare national passanger rail to airlines.

Airlines are for profit corporations using publicly subsidized airports and traffic control system.

Amtrak is a quasi government entity relying upon yearly congressional monetary allocations and using track owned by for profict corporations.