Passenger Trains > Trip report #5 Leaving Chicago 4-5-19

4-5-19 On Board Amtrak Train #5, California Zephyr 

1:44 PM Chicago Union Station. Boarding announcements being made. Car attendant, James, very personable and friendly. He has a trainee, Hugh, shadowing him. So we have two attendants, Cool. Crew seems very upbeat and enthusiastic. Big welcome change from #29.  

Told my friends in the Bay Area good chance of the train being late. Maybe very late, account flood situation.  I sure hope it isn’t in the wee hours.  This is second #5 to go thru to Denver and beyond after the Big Flood. We are skipping Omaha since, they say, the tracks are still out of service. Should interesting to see what the effect is our timekeeping. Looks like maybe #3 pulling out next to me. Very chilly here in Chicago today, but, according to weather underground.com it’s gonna warm up as we go west. 

Left Chicago on the advertised. 

Left Naperville OT. Rolling thru Illinois farmland. Looks like recent rain. Lots of mud puddles and standing water. Very light load. Walked the train. 3 coaches. But only half full by my generous estimation. I’m guessing the patronage has fallen away due to the flooding.  Sat with a coffee (that the lounge attendant wouldn’t take my money for) and watched an Amish lady struggling to stay wake reading “The Budget” (an Amish newspaper I think. It seemed to have no pictures or artwork of any kind.) Passengers wandered in wide eyed for the first time. As usual maybe half of the coach people seeking snacks missed the stairs and blundered into the diner only to be politely turned around and told where the stairs were. 

As we rolled thru Mendota I saw an Amtrak P40 coupled, nose first, to a short string of boxcars on a spur looking for all the world like it was switcher shoving cars around. My guess is tho that it was a bad order unit set out and awaiting BNSF to haul it into Chicago for repairs (this was confirmed as I read a TO post from the previous day saying this unit had caught fired and was being returned to Chicago) Female conductor, (or whoever is making the announcements) has a bewitching Eastern European accent with heavily rolling “r”s. Sounds like Natasha from “Rocky and Bullwinkle”.

Left Princeton 3:48 PM. 4 mins late. 

Left Galesburg 4:46 PM. 8 mins late. Lots of folks getting off. Fewer getting on. 45 minutes to Burlington, Iowa across the Mississippi. I am curious to see what the Big Muddy looks like after al the flooding. Unbroken grey sky since Chicago, but no rain. 

Suddenly BNSF coal trains are showing up. One after the other. Only saw one or two east of Galesburg. Now, an unending parade of them.

Left Burlington  5:34 PM. 9 mins late. 10 mins approximately after Burlington #5 came to a very quick stop. Not quiet a big hole, but about as fast as possible without being an emergency stop. Sat for a minute and then departed as fast (79mph) as before. Conductor going off duty informed me that the quick stop we made was to “protect a crossing” with (presumably) faulty signals. Not sure how that works. 

Sun is finally poking out at the tail end of the day as I am enjoying my daily beer. Civilized way to travel. Left Ottumwa 7:02 PM 9 mins late. Crew change point. Said good by to Natasha.  Hometown of Radar O’Reilly, one of my lounge car colleagues informed me.   Very soggy ground out there. Mud everywhere. BNSF is doing a god job - so far - of keeping the endless coal trains out of our way. 

Had the salmon for dinner. Nice to have dinner in a real diner not Anderson’s microwave airline meal. Of the 4 at our tables it was a classic scene. There were 3 of us older guys and then they seated a vivacious young (altho I think she was older than she looked) lady who quickly became the center of conversation. She was what you call a “looker”. Reminded me of a young Diane Keaton or Fay Dunaway, Wispy blonde. I left her to the two older guys. I don’t think any of us had a chance with her and I’m beyond even trying.  

Went to my room and bedded down, Just wanted to hear the “steel wheels rolling beneath the floor”. Conductor just announced that we would be holding about 30 minutes for a coal train to meet us. He was very apologetic. We’re 30 minutes down so that will make us an hour late, give or take. Left Osceola 8:40 PM. 31 mins late. Had a few miles of slow order. Rolling along nicely now but soon we’ll be sitting. Yes, an illegal delay of an Amtrak train for freight, even tho they were apologetic. At least they informed us.

9:05 PM Stopped. Now it’s 2 coal trains coming from Creston. The fault is BNSF’s failure to have enough sidings to accommodate the traffic. Or, BNSF could be honest and acknowledge that, if it can’t accommodate a scheduled passenger train, then turn the excess freight traffic away. That’s right. Anathema to some, it’s the only honest way to run a railroad. 

April 6, 6:36 AM (CT) Somewhere in western Nebraska or eastern Colorado. Woke up. The ambien did what it was supposed to do. Still dark out there. Climbing the imperceptibly gentle slope of the western side of the great Mississippi Valley, Got my coffee. Power outlets not working in the lounge car (38009) I will talk to the attendant. Maybe it’s just a switch.  Waitress in diner said we hadn’t gotten to Ft. Morgan yet, first Colorado stop and time change. Getting light outside. I can just barely make out a faint horizon now. Not sure of our timekeeping. Presumably we skipped Omaha as was announced at beginning of trip. Not going to Omaha may have helped with the More Important Then Passengers Trains coal trains we were put in a siding for before I went to sleep. 

7:23 (CT) McCook, left aprox. 2.5 hrs late. Should be entering Colorado anytime now if we aren’t there already. Endless stretches of wheat fields interspersed with cattle grazing on the stubble. Cute little calves sticking close to mommies.

9:02AM (MT) Coming up on Ft. Morgan. Things looking more developed. Junkyards - the graveyards of the rusted automobiles- bigger little towns.  Power outlets still not working in lounge car, even after being reported to crew.  Moving along more quickly now (70 mph as opposed to maybe 50 since I woke up). Haven’t had to go in hole for anymore coal trains. Saw plenty of them waiting for us. Lots of slow orders, slow running and soft squishy areas back there. Not sure how we lost 3.5 hours. At least one hour waiting on two coal trains east of Creston. I know that much for sure. Was asleep for the rest. BNSF gets a D grade from me this trip.   

I know some think I’m being too hard on Bean Sniff. I’m not. The American railroad industry needs to relearn what it once knew: passengers train first. Period. In planning operations that needs to chiseled in stone. Plan the operation of Amtrak then fit the freight trains in, not the other way around. If a given line of railroad cannot accommodate Amtrak on time and if the anticipated freight trains exceed the capacity of the line to the point that it interferes with he ability to run Amtrak on time then do not run freight trains in excess of that capacity. I know freight railroads are incapable of thinking like that, but they must. And it they don’t then legislative remedies must be enacted. 

There are supposed remedies in place already: incentive payments and Federal statues requiring priority be given to Amtrak. The history of the past 30 years shows that neither is effective at solving the problem.  Regarding incentive payments: freight railroads make a routine daily business calculation: will we make more money from our shippers running freight trains ahead of Amtrak or will we make more money from Amtrak incentive payments by running Amtrak on time? The answer has been obvious. 

Regarding the Federal law requiring priority to Amtrak trains over freight: it is a good idea in principal but in the real world of operations it is ineffective. It is in all practical terms unenforceable. To enforce the law it requires the US Justice Department to intervene in court on Amtrak’s behalf and sue the offending freight railroad. This has occurred exactly once in the 40 years of the law’s existence. Meanwhile, from my personal observations the freight railroads are violating the law hourly. 

There is also a problem with freight railroad corporate culture. Back in the Glory Days dispatchers knew they could gain promotion and climb the corporate ladder by keeping the company’s crack passenger trains on time. By doing so they could anticipate a career by moving up thru ranks of Chief Dispatcher, General Manager and Vice President of Operations. No more. To make that same progression these days Dispatchers know they must keep money making freight trains operating without delay from end point to end point. To mangle a term form J.P. Morgan: “passenger trains be damned”.  

Here is a useful exchange I had worth a dispatcher on trainorders.com (TO): in replying to one of my  many rants at passenger train delays that I had posted on TO, Casey Jones (for lack of a better name) said, to paraphrase, “Yes, I would delay Amtrak if it was running behind one or two freights that were near the point of being dead on the law. If I put those freights in the hole to let Amtrak get by instead of sending them into their terminals I would catch all sorts of hell from my bosses”. In my response I told Casey Jones that yes, indeed, he should have put the freights in the sidings and allow Amtrak to get by and stay on time. And, yes, the freights would be dead on the law and cause a big inconvenience to his company. Of course his corporate culture denied him the confidence to do the right thing and follow the law. In order to respect the hours of service law he decided to break the Amtrak priority law.  

So what is needed is effective enforcement to change freight railroad corporate culture. Corporations don’t change their practices because they want to do the morally correct thing. They only respect one thing: money. My solution would be a system of hefty fines based on a percentage of the given freight railroad’s publicly stated most recent annual earnings. If the freight railroads had to acknowledge their stockholders that they lost say, 1% of last year’s earnings to fines because they didn’t run Amtrak on time, I would bet things would change quick. 

Left Fort Morgan 9:19 (MT all time Mountain Time from here) 4 hrs, 14 mins late. Tearful woman on platform looking after train. A common sight. 

Pullling into Denver. Doing the Denver Shuffle. Lots of light rail around, including one under construction. Almost seems like we are under the wires. Do we share trackage? No shared trackage but we do share a diamond crossing just outside station. Almost seems like it. I see catenary over the lounge car skylights. Arrived Denver Union Station 10:47 AM, 3 hrs, 32 mins late. Lots of folks getting on. Only had a few minutes to see Denver Union Station. Wanted to get a newspaper (remember them?) had to do a little hunting. But I did find two.  Station was quiet a busy scene. Not like the old days at all. 

Left Denver Union Station 11:34 AM, 3 hrs, 29 mins late. Conductor made departure announcement. Apologized for late operation saying it was caused by BNSF freight trains. Stopped half mile outside station for 2 minutes. Now off to the Rockies! Perfect weather. Watching the light rail line next to us. I see the road crossing flaggers are still being used. I wonder what the problem is that they can’t get it to work right and have to rely on human backup? I kinda like the human touch tho. Took a walk thru the coaches. Three of them and only aprox 75% full. Everyone crowded into the lounge car and began taking pictures of the spectacular Front Range with Denver in the far away valley floor. After a while things in the lounge car became zoo-like with crying kids and people leaning over me picture taking. The perils of the Sightseeing Lounge Car Art the height of it’s popularity. 

12:15PM Stopped illegally to give a freight the right of way. We almost made to end of siding before tail of freight cleared, but not quite.  12:17 PM Started again.  

1:30 PM Had the chilaquiles for lunch topped off with cheesecake. Outstanding dining car crew. Full length of the car being used. 4 or 5 waiters. Big lunch made me take a nap. Woke up just as we entered Glenwood Canyon.   

Somewhere around 3:00 PM we met #6 at a picturesque short siding in high mountain valley. There was a lucky railfan there who filmed both Zephyrs meeting. Hope to see that on Trainorders.com   

5:44 Left Glenwood Springs,  3:53 minutes late. Lost more time (aprox 20 mins since Denver). Perhaps following a UP freight. Just outside of Glenwood Springs I saw a red block that only turned green just as we slowed to a stop. Leaving now at a good clip. Car attendant was being very emphatic with his trainee over some sort of door opening procedure that he felt hadn’t been done correctly. Not sure what it was. Good to see that he cares. Before Glenwood Springs I enjoyed the spectacular red canyon walls and dramatic rock formations. Tried mightily to get a decent picture from the lounge car, but didn’t get one to do Mother Nature the justice she deserved. A few drops of rain while I was on the platform. 

Approaching Grand Junction. Don’t know what the name is of this area where Glenwood Canyon (?) opens out into a wider valley (I miss the Amtrak Route Guides) with the Colorado River in the middle. Saw a double rainbow spanning the river. Wow!  Other than the one minor delay climbing the Front Range out of Denver and the slow down out of Glenwood Springs haven’t had any freight train interference at all. Still we did lose another 20 minutes. 

Just saw an eagle swoop down into the river and come up with a fish in it’s talons. That and a double rainbow. Both rare sights for this city boy especially from a train. My lucky day!  

Left Grand Junction 7:38 PM, 3 hrs, 28 mins late. Gained about 20 mins. The old station appears to have someone wanting to make restoration work. New roof tiles are stacked up on the platform and contractor’s equipment is also present. Looks like much needed roof job in the works. Crew change and station work was handled with speed and efficiency. 

Sunday April 7, 2019 5:30 AM: Slept well. Took my favorite seat in the Lounge Car which was deserted by the time I wandered in  with my coffee in hand. 

6:05 AM Left Elko, Nevada. 3 hrs, 57 mins late. Not sure why we got later/failed to make up time. I suspect the usual suspect.  Oh well, at least I get to see this, my favorite part of Nevada at my favorite time of day. Elko looks a lot bigger than I remember it from my visit in the early 70’s. Pretty sure that is the Humboldt River to the south of us and in between the mainlines here. Don’t recall which main was westbound. Now that I stretch my mind I think we, being westbound, are on the SP and on the other the WP (?). Judging by our lazy pace it seems like we are following a freight.  

Later: Well, maybe not following a freight. Had a chance to see a green board ahead of us and we rolled thru it at our same lackluster pace. Maybe it’s just the track speed here. I will know more after our Winnemucca stop. 6:40 AM: Rolled thru Carlin. Battle Mountain and snow covered Santa Rosa Mountains to our north. Finally running at a decent speed (69mph?). 

Left Winnemucca 8:47 AM, 3 hrs, 6 mins late. Good. Made up some time. Stepped outside for a minute. Chilly but sunny with scattered clouds. 

!0:00 AM: Conductor just announced for the benefit of coach passengers that 150 people would be joining the train at Reno. “Yes”, he said, “one hundred and fifty. One-Five-O. Make sure that coach seat next to you is available”  Maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe it will work out. We shall see. Conductor will be a busy man. 10:40 AM Stopped just west of Darwin. Just met a freight waiting for us in siding. No idea why we stopped. No tracks on either side of us. Just as I was thinking kind thoughts for UP doing a good job of dispatching this morning. Other passengers told me that while I was sleeping we had stopped for freight trains.

But this morning since I have been watching and the UP dispatcher has been a good boy (or girl?). 10:44 AM, Moving. Back up to full speed.  Another freight in hole for us. Good dog. Passed the old school restored handsome looking Fernly SP depot. Truckee River. Was looking for the old Mustang Ranch. Gone. Replaced by one of those ubiquitous ugly concrete under construction pre-fab boxes with a sign pointing to it: “Mustang Industrial Center”. Times they do change. 

Left Reno 11:43 AM 3 hrs, 7 mins late. Looks like everyone found seats. No mob of seat hunters storming the lounge car as I feared. Still nice weather. Conductor made usual announcements. Before Reno there was some talk of “Greyhound passengers” having to get off the train. No idea what that was all about.  Seems like everyone has a seat. No grumbling or howls of outrage. Making steady progress up the Truckee River. Conductor is going thru lounge car looking for people willing to sit in lounge car rest of trip thus freeing up coach seats for people getting on in Truckee. He announced that this train is sold out. Could have used the extra coach in Sparks, Amtrak.  

Left Truckee 12:52 PM, 3 hrs, 15 mins late. Jam packed train. Snow is getting deeper, but it’s old. For the first time this trip they are keeping a list to get into the diner and calling out names in the lounge car. Good to be doing this trip and renewing all the landmarks I had forgotten. I used to make this trip on a regular basis. Amazing how much I have forgotten. Finished my Allen Furst spy novel. So, now I am out of reading material. Still have a newspaper I haven’t read from Denver yesterday. But, I will content myself with gazing out the train window. 

Left Colfax 3:05 PM 3 hrs, 17 mins late. Dining car  crew is saying a 6:30-7:00 PM arrival in Emeryville. California looks very green and lush compared to states to the east I am realizing. Also warmer. Golden poppies are out in profusion.  

These Superliner cars are showing their age and more. My sleeper (32062) altho I can tell has received adequate routine between trips cleaning, is in serious need of an e-cleaning. Diner also has issues. Lounge car too. Power outlets never worked in it for the entire trip. 

4:54 PM Left Sacramento,  2 hrs, 43 mins late. Last call in the snack bar. Lots of Capitol Corridor trains in station.

Homeless problem in California is really evident here. I’m sure other states have it, but it’s very obvious from the train in California. Housing crisis. Ridiculous prices and rents that push the lowest income earners out onto the streets.  5:04 PM Just passed (not met) by a Capitol Corridor train. We are on the eastbound mainline, it was on the westbound main. Both of us going same direction. Both supposed to stop in Davis. We will have to wait even tho we were first to leave Sacramento. 5:13 PM Left Davis 2 hrs, 30 mins late.

 6:09 PM Left Martinez 2 hrs, 44 mins late. 

Arrived Emeryville : 2 hrs, 42 mins late. Better than previous day’s #5 which was 10+ hours late. Very glad my friends didn’t have to come get me at 2 AM. 

John Webb
Trinidad, CA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/19 15:04 by Winnemucca.

When you keep kicking your host in public it makes me wonder why the party isn’t over.   Novelty transportation.

John Bromley


 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/19 19:49 by Copy19.

The "set-out" coach at Spark, NV is sorely missed at times!!!

Seems Amtrak could always use a second "Sightseer Lounge" between Denver and Salt Lake City. It's always a busy segment of the train. Some sort of premium service (including viewing/sightseeing) for passengers travelling between Denver and Salt Lake I'm sure would be a hit. Remove and attach car in Salt Lake and Denver for extra revenue. Would be just like How VIA operates the Panorama car over the Rockies on the Canadian, or CN would attach a full length dome at Winnipeg for travel over the Rockies via Edmonton and Jasper. 
                                             

Hey John, that part where you argued with Casey about 2 freights about to go dead and Amtrak showing up, it depends on how much time the trains had, you need to look at the detaails on how DSs work and not assume, I do remember when I rode 14 to Seattlle and being stopped because of a southbound UP Intermodal in the Cascades, that was like a 5 minute delay, plus it also depends on the layout of the trackage anyway, didn't like the delay no. 4 took in Missouri because of the big gap between crossovers and a freight waiting for 2 westbounds, and then 4 to run around, things happen, I just look at it and go with the flow!

Copy19 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When you keep kicking your host in the nuts in
> public it makes me wonder why the party isn’t
> over.   Novelty transportation.

Novelty transportation-----indeed, that's all it is.....
 

Note regarding Greyhound passengers.

Greyhound was handling very few passengers between Salt Lake and Reno,  so they made a deal with Amtrak to handle their passengers.
At Reno they reboard Greyhound to continue west.

Thnis was a win win, as SLK-RNO is very light ridership, with many getting off At Salt Lake and as you saw Reno boardings can be heavy depending upon the day of the week.

Tell the people in small towns without bus service that long distance trains are a "novelty". Tell the folks who, for medical reasons, who have no other choice than trains to reach far away medical clinics that it's a "novelty". Tell the Amish who travel in great numbers on Amtrak that it's a "novelty". Tell those who can't afford to fly or don't have an airport near them that it's a "novelty". Tell lower income folks who can't afford the cost of owning an automobile that it's a "novelty". Tell the elderly lady, too old to drive, traveling to her grandson's wedding that it's a "novelty".

For those who think long distance trains are a "novelty" try actually riding one and meet the people who need these trains.

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

ghemr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Copy19 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > When you keep kicking your host in the nuts in
> > public it makes me wonder why the party isn’t
> > over.   Novelty transportation.
>
> Novelty transportation-----indeed, that's all it
> is.....

You guys are completely clueless and obviously don't ride the national network with any meaningful frequency. That much is obvious. Perhaps you'll smarten up some day.

 Without those profitable freight trains there wouldn’t be many rail lines for those those taxpayer supported Amtrak trains to run on.

JB - Omaha

Copy19 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  Without those profitable freight trains there
> wouldn’t be many rail lines for those those
> taxpayer supported Amtrak trains to run on.
>
> JB - Omaha

Amtrak needs the freight railroads more than the freight railroads need Amtrak. An unfortunate truth for many here.

Posted from iPhone

Considering the extreme damage from flooding it seems to me that BNSF did a superb job moving No. 5 westward through the Omaha area.

Posted from Android

Thanks for the informative trip report.  I very much enjoyed it.
Rich S

mundo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Note regarding Greyhound passengers.
>
> Greyhound was handling very few passengers between
> Salt Lake and Reno,  so they made a deal with
> Amtrak to handle their passengers.
> At Reno they reboard Greyhound to continue west.
>
> Thnis was a win win, as SLK-RNO is very light
> ridership, with many getting off At Salt Lake and
> as you saw Reno boardings can be heavy depending
> upon the day of the week.

What time of day did Greyhound run between Salt Lake and Reno ? 
 

The argument that passenger trains are vital for people in rural areas who are too poor to own automobiles or unable to drive is an old one.  I attended an Interstate Commerce Commission hearing in Reno, Nev. many years ago when Southern Pacific was trying to discontinue the City of San Francisco.  There were a number of witnesses there to oppose it, citing how vital the train was.  The SP attorney asked them when the last time they rode the train.  Most of them fell silent except for one man who answered “during the war’ (World War II).

My daughter was a cab driver here in Omaha for a time and one of her frequent trips was to deliver medicines to elderly care facilities scattered over a wide rural area of eastern Nebraska.  She told me she also occasionally stopped by the Amtrak station here in Omaha in hopes of catching a fare.  She said it was usually very quiet but once in awhile she would take a fare to a hotel or the airport.  She and the Amtrak agent became friendly and he would call her if somebody needed to be picked up.

BTW I haven’t seen a single reference in the local news media about the absence or rerouting of Amtrak’s 5 & 6 during the recent flooding here in the Midwest.  

JB - Omaha



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/19 16:05 by Copy19.

No mention  that private money repaired the railroads....not  tax money for the highways/bridges.

Media must not bring that up!.

Copy19 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The argument that passenger trains are vital for
> people in rural areas who are too poor to own
> automobiles or unable to drive is an old one.  I
> attended an Interstate Commerce Commission hearing
> in Reno, Nev. many years ago when Southern Pacific
> was trying to discontinue the City of San
> Francisco.  There were a number of witnesses
> there to oppose it, citing how vital the train
> was.  The SP attorney asked them when the last
> time they rode the train.  Most of them fell
> silent except for one man who answered “during
> the war’ (World War II).
>
> My daughter was a cab driver here in Omaha for a
> time and one of her frequent trips was to deliver
> medicines to elderly care facilities scattered
> over a wide rural area of eastern Nebraska.  She
> told me she also occasionally stopped by the
> Amtrak station here in Omaha in hopes of catching
> a fare.  She said it was usually very quiet but
> once in awhile she would take a fare to a hotel or
> the airport.  She and the Amtrak agent became
> friendly and he would call her if somebody needed
> to be picked up.
>
> BTW I haven’t seen a single reference in the
> local news media about the absence or rerouting of
> Amtrak’s 5 & 6 during the recent flooding here
> in the Midwest.  
>
> JB - Omaha

You should know for years that's always been the case unless a train ends up in a mjaor mishap, come on Copy!