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Passenger Trains > There's a reason it's called the "Starlate"!Date: 04/14/24 16:52 There's a reason it's called the "Starlate"! Author: dwatry The SB Coast Starlight #11(13) that originated in Seattle on 4/13/24 apparently sat for 4 hours and 19 minutes in Portland yesterday afternoon. I caught it today in Oakland Jack London Square arriving Oakland JLS station at about 2:18pm, or 5 hours 24 minutes late. Then it apparently sat in Oakland for another 57 minutes, leaving Oakland 6 hours 21 minutes late, and it's expected into LA tomorrow morning at 1:22am, which is about 4 hours late. Starlate indeed!
1) 11(13) coming through Jack London Square in Oakland CA in the street-running segment along the Embarcadero 2) Back of train for those who like a full consist - entering Oakland JLS station Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/24 21:50 by dwatry.   Date: 04/14/24 18:19 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: atsf121 Always fun to see street running in Jack London Square.
Date: 04/14/24 19:39 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: westcoastrails The delay was due to replacing the original lead Charger #304 after it hit an unsecured container door on the Seattle sub. A UP engine lead the way to Oakland.
 Date: 04/14/24 21:52 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: dwatry westcoastrails - they must have replaced the UP engine with a Charger somewhere north of Oakland - perhaps Portland. I saw it between Emeryville and Oakland - see photos above - and there was no UP unit on the train into Oakland. It already had 2 Chargers before it ever got to Oakland.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/24 22:27 by dwatry. Date: 04/14/24 23:46 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: mp51w Now, I've heard of everything! That would be a dramatic video from the front cam!
Date: 04/15/24 10:40 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: westcoastrails dwatry Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > westcoastrails - they must have replaced the UP > engine with a Charger somewhere north of Oakland - > perhaps Portland. I saw it between Emeryville > and Oakland - see photos above - and there was no > UP unit on the train into Oakland. It already > had 2 Chargers before it ever got to Oakland. Per an employee and the 1 1/2 hour delay it took in Oakland, the train went into the yard where the UP engine was removed and the 307 was added to replace it. Where would there be some random Charger waiting to be put on a train north of Oakland? Date: 04/15/24 12:34 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: dwatry Hmm that's very confusing, because it did not arrive into Oakland from Emeryville with a UP unit on the front - it came into Oakland from Emeryville with the 2 Amtrak units in the photo. I was tracking it all the way in from Martinez on the mapping app, and it did not stop at the yard to change locos. It took about 12 minutes from the time it left Emeryville to arrive in Oakland - that's pretty normal. However, they sat in Sacarmento for almost 40 minutes - my guess is perhaps they swapped the UP unit for an Amtrak unit there - cannibalized a Capitol Corridor or San Joaquin trainset.
Date: 04/15/24 13:11 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: westcoastrails dwatry Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > Hmm that's very confusing, because it did not > arrive into Oakland from Emeryville with a UP unit > on the front - it came into Oakland from > Emeryville with the 2 Amtrak units in the > photo. I was tracking it all the way in from > Martinez on the mapping app, and it did not stop > at the yard to change locos. It took about 12 > minutes from the time it left Emeryville to arrive > in Oakland - that's pretty normal. > However, they sat in Sacarmento for almost 40 > minutes - my guess is perhaps they swapped the UP > unit for an Amtrak unit there - cannibalized a > Capitol Corridor or San Joaquin trainset. I have no idea what happened then because they sat in Oakland for nearly an hour and a half. According to Amtrak status and what I was told from an employee, 11 arrived Oakland at 2:18pm, 5 hours and 24 minutes late and departed at 3:30pm, 6 hours and 21 minutes late. That's a station stop that often takes no more than 10 minutes. Date: 04/15/24 13:21 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: dwatry Agree that's exactly what happened. But the engine swap from UP to Amtrak noted earlier happened somewhere north of Oakland - as the photo evidence shows. The train arrived Oakland behind Amtrak #307 and 304 - there was no UP unit present.
But where did the swap happen? I have no info either way, but my guess is either Portland - where the train sat for 4 hours, or Sacramento, where they sat for almost 50 minutes. The length of the Oakland stop may have been because either 307 or 304 was a bum unit, and they needed to swap out again to replace one of those units. Attaching the log of yesterday's train so you can see it only took them 10 minutes to go from Emeryville to Oakland - not enough time to stop and swap units.  Date: 04/15/24 14:14 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: westcoastrails Well they got the UP engine at Portland, hence the nearly 4 hour delay there. The 304 would be the bum unit you speak of as this is the one that hit the container door and shattered the fireman's side window, as evident in the photo I posted further up. So the UP engine definitely lead the train south to at least Sacramento where the replacement motor, the 307 was put on to replace the 304. That could explain the 50 minute stop at Sacramento. Although, I do believe this is a fuel stop as well. And watering in the diner and whatever else is needed. Usually when on time, the Starlight will sit there for about this long. As far as the hour and a half stop in Oakland, who knows about that one. I was told and under the impression this is where the UP engine was pulled off and the 307 was added but I guess that's not the case. The shot of the 307 leading the train through Jack London would still be possible if the train did go into the yard as the yard is behind the train in the photo. Based on the information I had and this photo, I had assumed that's what happened. Either way, the train hitting an unsecured container door on a passing BNSF stack train is the cause of all of this. Certainly not something that you see happening everyday.
Date: 04/15/24 14:45 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: DNRY122 If you think that's bad, one of my buddies went to Texas to see the solar eclipse. Coming back on the Eagle/Sunset, he got into LA 12 hours late.
Date: 04/15/24 15:39 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: jp1822 What's also bad is the size of the Coast Starlight's Consist. Good grief!
This train was the premium Western LD - even into 2016 - with 3 to 4 regular Superliner Sleepers, a Trans-Dorm Sleeper, the Pacific Parlor Car (first class lounge and dining area to take pressure off the main diner due to the train's overall capacity), Superliner Diner, Superliner Sightseer Lounge, and then at least four coaches post-expansion of Pacific Surfliner corridor trains/frequencies up to San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara. Even that would often lead to ticketed passengers being overbooked and looking for space in the Superliner Sightseer Lounge between northern California points and the Pacific Northwest. Just can't imagine this is where this train is at right now. And that was the typical consist year round; absent the fourth Superliner Sleeper, which which was reserved largely for May to September travel. Date: 04/15/24 16:57 Re: There's a reason its called the "Starlate"! Author: longliveSP jp1822 Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------- > What's also bad is the size of the Coast > Starlight's Consist. Good grief! <BROKEN RECORD THREAD HIJACK ALERT!> |