Passenger Trains > Departure Delays at CHI for train #5

Between Jan 19 and Feb 17 there were 28 departures of train #5 from Chicago Union Station. There were 13 departure delays (just under 50%). Of those delays 5 were more than one hour and 7 were more than 45 mins. Three of the delays were in excess of 3 hours. There were two days in which the train did not depart at all. 

No idea what the cause of the delays were. Obviously not illegal freight train dispatching interference. Weather maybe? 

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

I recall a trip out of CHI. We were in the yard all night and day. Just before backing to CUS a diner or lounge is bad ordered. Much delay moving inventory off the BO car and onto another plus switching. Late departure. But we sat in the yard all night and no car knocker even bothered to find a BO.

Posted from Android

"no car knocker even bothered........"   But you can be sure that they were all lined up to get paid at week's end.  ANd the manager probably is looking for a bonus.......

Sometimes, it is the delay of the arrival train.  For example, Saturday's #6 arrived almost 20 hours late, around 10:00 Sunday morning.  Doesn't give much time to clean and restock the train for a 2:00 pm departure.

Plenty of blame to go around these days in Chicago..  I don't want you to feel alone in the misery, cause over in Michigan we are getting killed by the Amtrak Vortex.  And the week isn't starting off good.  350(18) that looked like it departed Chicago on-time this morning really left over 90 minutes late account more mechanical problems.  Last week's eastbound Wolverines arrived Pontiac over more often late then on time...  MIDOT looks like it paid for a pig in a poke!

kbmiflyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sometimes, it is the delay of the arrival train. 
> For example, Saturday's #6 arrived almost 20 hours
> late, around 10:00 Sunday morning.  Doesn't give
> much time to clean and restock the train for a
> 2:00 pm departure.

You pretty much got it right on the head of the spike.  There is not enough operable superliner equipment to make up more than one spare trainset, even with shortened winter consists and half of the Sunset Limited operations cancelled for track work.  If two out of the three incoming transcons are significantly late into Chicago, that's all she wrote.  Crew availability is also an issue when multiple dog-catches take place.

Weather has not been as much of an issue over the last few days as has been breakdowns and car set-outs en-route.

Also the 10 year shortage of working locomotives continues even with the arrival of Illinois state Chargers, because of the shift of 25 more diesels to the northeast corridor. Rented freight engines have been added multiple times in the last few days as Amtrak does not have enough spares to post the required 3 units on Empire Builder.

The locomotive shortage should go away over the winter of 2021, as by then hopefully there will be some new long-distance Chargers on the property.
Have been told that they are not ideal candidates for long distance trains, but at least Siemens has shown an ability to build them on schedule.
Evidently nobody else qualified but Siemens in responding to the 2018 request for proposals, although all of that has been highly classified information so far, and it is doubtful that we will ever know.
 
A short term solution will be to convert the Capitol Limited to low level.
Long term the plan is to order new high level equipment for Auto Train, and eventually start replacing western equipment.
That assumes that a vendor can be found.
Nowhere in the world do suppliers exist for high level cars.
We already know what happened when Bombardier and Pullman both attempted to copy Budd designs 40 or so years ago.  It did not work out very well. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/19 13:20 by 79mph.

I always wondered why Budd and Pullman designs could not be updated and used. The originals have lasted more than fifty years. Clue me in....

The Southwest Chief ran with two diners the other day!  Not a cross country diner for a lounge, but a real dining car!

Why did Amtrak move 25 units out of Chicago and into the Northeast?  The extra train to Norfolk...back up engines for the regionals that go to Richmond/Norfolk/Roanoke?  It seems that Amtrak is not providing Chicago with the assets that it needs.  Does Amtrak even have anyone accountable in Chicago anymore, or is it being run out of DC?  What a mess!