Passenger Trains > Empire Builder Cancellations continue

8 of Thursday and Friday cancelled
7 of Thursday and Friday cancelled 

Come on stub trains...... that one full set that arrived Sunday is downtown, but the three engines were stolen for trains 3 and 5 of Tuesday. There's 7 cars including two engines for the ski train but they can't come up with a snack coach and coach or lounge and two coaches for St Paul. Where do their priorities lie? 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/22 12:41 by sethamtrak.

It would be interest to see how many trains are canceled in other countries that have severe Winters and mountain passes which need clearing.  Finland, Sweden,Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine come to mind.   

One of many Stephen Gardner stealth attacks on the national network. 

If the weatherman is correct, #8 would be sitting in the bushes up in proximity to Marias Pass.  Wind warnings for Glacier County, MT have projected wind speeds at 75 to 90 mph today (Wed) until 5 p.m.  The BNSF high line cuts right through the middle of that county.   

sethamtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 8 of Thursday and Friday cancelled
> 7 of Thursday and Friday cancelled 
>
> Come on stub trains...... that one full set that
> arrived Sunday is downtown, but the three engines
> were stolen for trains 3 and 5 of Tuesday. There's
> 7 cars including two engines for the ski train but
> they can't come up with a snack coach and coach or
> lounge and two coaches for St Paul. Where do their
> priories lie? 

Amtrak doesn't care anymore... so glad I didn't wait on them to get me home.

Posted from Android

Speaking of wind warnings. Heard DS 68 ask #11, the southward Starlight a couple of nights ago, what their blow over speed was. THe crew did not know one existed for psgr trains. They were out of radio range if they ever found out. So, is there a blow over wind speed for Superliner equipment like for stacks and auto racks? Even though these cars have a high profile, thought they would be heavy enough not to be of concern. Does anyone know if one does exist?

Steve



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/22 12:48 by ln844south.

ln844south Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Speaking of wind warnings. Heard DS 68 ask #11,
> the southward Starlight a couple of days ago, what
> their blow over speed was. THe crew did not know
> one existed for psgr trains. They were out of
> radio range if they ever found out. So, is there a
> blow over wind speed for Superliner equipment like
> for stacks and auto racks? Even though these cars
> have a high profile, thought they would be heavy
> enough not to be of concern.
>
> Steve

Is there a record of that happening?

Bob

sethamtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 8 of Thursday and Friday cancelled
> 7 of Thursday and Friday cancelled 
>
> Come on stub trains...... that one full set that
> arrived Sunday is downtown, but the three engines
> were stolen for trains 3 and 5 of Tuesday. There's
> 7 cars including two engines for the ski train but
> they can't come up with a snack coach and coach or
> lounge and two coaches for St Paul. Where do their
> priorities lie? 

In the current Ammanagment mindset, "What, we actually got cars available? That's hogwash!"

So now they are looking at a Saturday re-start? This is getting a little ridiculous. Amtrak could be operating a stub train operation on portions of the route. Weather seems to be a little warmer coming over Marias Pass this coming weekend. I don't have notifications of wind gusts though. Guess they are trying to kill the Empire Buidler too? 

Train29 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It would be interest to see how many trains are
> canceled in other countries that have severe
> Winters and mountain passes which need clearing. 
> Finland, Sweden,Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine come
> to mind.   

If u watch any of the shows or videos of RR'ing in europe and escply the Alps, European countries dont mind hiring as many employees as are needed to keep things running.   Many years ago, the Class 1's decided that employees were a liability, and its been a contest to see who can run something that generally resenbles a RR with no employees.....I mean other than the Ivory tower crowd.

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Weather seems to be a little warmer
> coming over Marias Pass this coming weekend. I
> don't have notifications of wind gusts though.
> Guess they are trying to kill the Empire Bu idler
> too? 

Highs in the 30's and lows in the 20's thru next week for the Marias Pass area.  Usually an indicator that the winds will be more subdued.  NWS isn't indicating any strong winds.  No big winter storms are predicted.  Given a "lost contact with the rails" event weather won't be able to be the excuse to cancel Builder service thru Montana into next week.  But it appears that Omicron may step up to the plate.  Fun times. (not)   

I know there was a major avalanche 8 miles east of Essex that shut down the line totally for about a day. I’m sure they’re trying to get equipment and crews where they belong. This has been a major weather season in the west, I have family in Tahoe that say they can’t believe the amount of snow they’re getting.Of course they are happy with that because maybe they won’t have to move out this summer because of fires like last summer.

Posted from iPhone

Let me just say this, of all the Western Long Hauls, Amtrak's Empire Builder trains seemed to be the best and most amply staffed. - onboard and T&E. Could the extra board use more people, yes, but ALL of Amtrak's extra boards need more people as Amtrak has systematically being cutting them over them over the years. Baffled as to why this train continues to be cancelled. Even when it was operating 12+ hours late from Minot to Chicago, Amtrak did do a good job at dog-catching the crews when their hours of service expired. Except for a couple of days at Minot after Christmas and when the weather at Stevens Pass stopped westbounds, the crews kept the trains moving. Some COVID spikes in Montana and North Dakota? Yes, but still not as severe as West Coast or East Coast. Most crew members vaccinated so they should have milder symptoms? To each their own in this reaction.   

HoosierVirg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know there was a major avalanche 8 miles east of
> Essex that shut down the line totally for about a
> day. I’m sure they’re trying to get equipment
> and crews where they belong. This has been a major
> weather season in the west, I have family in Tahoe
> that say they can’t believe the amount of snow
> they’re getting.Of course they are happy with
> that because maybe they won’t have to move out
> this summer because of fires like last summer.
>
> Posted from iPhone

Don't count on it, even a good winter, fires are still a threat come spring!

The original posting was regarding why not a stub train Chicago - Minneapolis to  protect the corridor.

What does Minot and the passes have to do with the stub train.?

I guess at 89 and started railroading in 1952, my mind will never understand.
Course qualified humans did the thinking not some computer back then.

mundo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The original posting was regarding why not a stub
> train Chicago - Minneapolis to  protect the
> corridor.
>
> What does Minot and the passes have to do with the
> stub train.?
>
> I guess at 89 and started railroading in 1952, my
> mind will never understand.
> Course qualified humans did the thinking not some
> computer back then.

The titles was about Empire Builder Cancellations Continu[ing]. I would say there's a bit of latititude as long as the posts are discussing the Empire Builder and cancellations of this train, or trains that may correlate with its cancellation.