Passenger Trains > Empire Builder and the Borealis trains

What is the current sture of Empire Builder and Borealis trains?  Frozen toilets or bad locomotives or bad cars?

Ed Burns
NP BN BNSF from Mpls MN

All of the above.

1333 out of Chicago 5 hours late with a Superliner coach trio. 168 leads west and 361 trails and faces east. 

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Well that's odd! The BRAND NEW passenger VENTURE cars that had to have been built for cold weather couldn't have substituted? Maybe they need to bring some Amfleets west for the Borealis service or cancel the Denver Ski Train to get more operable and backup cars? ABSOLUTELY crazy! 

jp1822 Wrote:
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> Well that's odd! The BRAND NEW passenger VENTURE
> cars that had to have been built for cold weather
> couldn't have substituted? Maybe they need to
> bring some Amfleets west for the Borealis service
> or cancel the Denver Ski Train to get more
> operable and backup cars? ABSOLUTELY crazy! 

 Venture coaches aren't owned by Amtrak. They are owned by MI/IL//WI/MO. You can't use them on the Borealis as MN hasn't bought into them. Must be regular Amtrak equipment. 

sethamtrak Wrote:
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> jp1822 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well that's odd! The BRAND NEW passenger
> VENTURE
> > cars that had to have been built for cold
> weather
> > couldn't have substituted? Maybe they need to
> > bring some Amfleets west for the Borealis
> service
> > or cancel the Denver Ski Train to get more
> > operable and backup cars? ABSOLUTELY crazy! 
>
>  Venture coaches aren't owned by Amtrak. They are
> owned by MI/IL//WI/MO. You can't use them on the
> Borealis as MN hasn't bought into them. Must be
> regular Amtrak equipment. 

I realize they aren't owned by Amtrak, but when the states aren't looking.........Amtrak has no mind grabbing passenger cars that should be on other routes. I would bet the farm that if the Superliner, Horizon, and Amfleet toilets were frozen, and the Venture passenger cars toilets didn't have a problem (which I hear they do as well with freezing), Amtrak would be negotiating to sub those cars right on in. Amtrak likes to break rules. 

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sethamtrak Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > jp1822 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Well that's odd! The BRAND NEW passenger
> > VENTURE
> > > cars that had to have been built for cold
> > weather
> > > couldn't have substituted? Maybe they need to
> > > bring some Amfleets west for the Borealis
> > service
> > > or cancel the Denver Ski Train to get more
> > > operable and backup cars? ABSOLUTELY crazy! 
> >
> >  Venture coaches aren't owned by Amtrak. They
> are
> > owned by MI/IL//WI/MO. You can't use them on
> the
> > Borealis as MN hasn't bought into them. Must be
> > regular Amtrak equipment. 
>
> I realize they aren't owned by Amtrak, but when
> the states aren't looking.........Amtrak has no
> mind grabbing passenger cars that should be on
> other routes. I would bet the farm that if the
> Superliner, Horizon, and Amfleet toilets were
> frozen, and the Venture passenger cars toilets
> didn't have a problem (which I hear they do as
> well with freezing), Amtrak would be negotiating
> to sub those cars right on in. Amtrak likes to
> break rules. 

With the quality of service Amtrak is proving to Amtrak Midwest, I doubt there are very many moments when "the states aren't looking."

Yesterday (Saturday) as i was walking thru Union Station, Amtrak announced that the Borealis would be delayed by at least two hours because of "equipment issues".  It would b e nice if the Feds ponied up some money to build an indoor facility for servicing the equipment.  Not that it would make a difference.  The maintenance staff in Chicago doesn't do anything as is, but at least the toilets wouldn't freeze.

The bathrooms have heat. So the smartest thing to do would be to 1) make sure the heat in the bathrooms are working and 2) make sure the train is hooked up to HEP (hotel power even) when it is sitting in the yard. Otherwise, yes, there will be a potty problem. I don't understand why this is such a hard concept. If you leave a consist out in any yard and disconnect the HEP - there's going to be trouble in winter time. Even in the summer time!