Passenger Trains > 29& 49: 3 hrs. to Go 47 Miles Today

#29 and # 49 took about 3 hrs., 10 mins. each to go 47 miles from Sandusky-Toledo this morning . Is bad weather the cause 
or is it some other issue ? TIA

Delta Dick Master Plan. Working perfectly. 2 trains full of "never againers".

   IMHO-Ross Rowland

What he said ^^^

I live in Port Clinton, and Id hazard a guess it was freight congestion.  That time in the morning it gets really busy, 

 

Michael Fair
Royal Oak, MI

Well why then do they even run trains at “that time in the morning?” Change the schedule to a low traffic time = Problem solved!!

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If you look seriously at this delay (and so many like it)  you will see this deadly patter::

. The only people "paying a price" are the "never again" customers sitting in these delayed trains
. The NS  receives no push-back from Anderson  - no criticism, no penalties, no formal complaints
. Therefore, Anderson's inaction is just as effective in killing ridership as his actions to drop a lounge car or downgrade dining cars.

Oh, I forgot.  Anderson did issue the NS an "F" for OT performance.  This is a great accomplishment, I presume.
.

There are two moveable bridges just west of Sandusky and one at Toledo.  Are there lots of opens that delay either Amtrak or the trains they are following?
Andy

bath_wildcat Wrote:
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> I live in Port Clinton, and Id hazard a guess it
> was freight congestion.  That time in the morning
> it gets really busy, 
>
>  

Then there are the people who are just returned from a 9700 mile western drive, to where the unwritten merging and other road rules change every state, the truck numbers have doubled since last year, the wife and GPS lady got into fights every day, and the highways are in need of maintenance.  But it was fun to see Monarch Pass and a bunch of areas Amtrak doesn’t cover.

We have Amtrak tickets to LAX for the Rose Bowl, with one day stopovers at every change from Pittsburgh, since we are experienced.

GO BUCKS

David

A possible explanation is NS and Amtrak trains lined up waiting to get into Toledo for the crew change, each of which takes time.  How about another track or two or move the crew change point?

Autorouter?

mp109 Wrote:
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> Autorouter?

"Just follow the train in front of you."

On a recent evening I came out of Chicago on #30.  By Toledo we had passed 27 westbound freights.  It was stunning the amount of freight traffic.   So if there is a breakdown with any freight, or a signal failure, etc. the whole railroad grinds to a halt. 

More than once I have been on 29 when it was stopped and 49 caught up with us, probably to "fleet" us to Chicago.  

Yes, there a lot of freights out there.  But NS used to be able to get the passenger trains around the freights, at least better than now.

Jimbo Wrote:
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>
> Yes, there a lot of freights out there.  But NS
> used to be able to get the passenger trains around
> the freights, at least better than now.

Having been on several Capitol Limited trips between Chicago and Pittsburgh over the years, I can vouch for this.  The NS dispatchers did an impressive job of weaving #30 around the many freight trains on this line.

Is the current situation  worse than when Penn Central handled trains ?        I hope not.       

twropr Wrote:
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> There are two moveable bridges just west of
> Sandusky and one at Toledo.  Are there lots of
> opens that delay either Amtrak or the trains they
> are following?
> Andy

The two bridges you reference are on the Sandusky Bay and yes at my location-CD 256.

I'm not sure what's going on, but there is a 20 mph speed restriction both tracks at 255.9. It's been like that for a few months now.

Michael Fair
Royal Oak, MI

That can always bunch things up!

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