Passenger Trains > The Sad Story of Cardinal 50(29)

I have just received almost four weeks of FOIA data (basically going back to August 1st) and I am slowly looking through them starting with August 31st and working backwards. I noticed two standouts. 21 and 50 of the 29th. Both with bad engines. I am currently out of town for two months for a new job and new type rating. I am unable to dedicate the time I once had to do the large sized reports. If there are any standout or super late trains from the last few weeks that anyone would like to hear the full story about, comment below and I can find it. The following information was obtained through the freedom of information act and has been made public. I do not work for Amtrak. 

21(3) with engines 57, 150 and 9 cars was delayed out of Chicago due to air issues on engine 57. Mechanical responded and replaced a 20 CP valve. At 4pm, engine 57 was bad ordered. Engine 55 was worked up and train 21 was made up at 5:35pm. Train 21 boarded its 221 passengers in Chicago Union Station at 5:35pm and departed at 6:10pm running 4 hours late.

50(29) was delayed out of Chicago due to a late turn off inbound 51(28) and waiting on the replacement for two bad ordered engines. 51(28) arrived into Chicago at 3:04pm running 4 hours and 39 minutes late. Engine 314 was bad ordered for a missing speedometer and engine 139 bad ordered for a bad traction motor. Engine 196 was identified as a replacement for the two bad engines on inbound 51(28). It was released and tied onto 50(29)at 6:56pm. 50 was released by mechanical and arrived into the station at 7:33 for boarding. The train departed at 8:06pm running 2 hours and 11 mins late with 133 passengers onboard. At 9:42pm CT train 50(29) with engine 196 and five cars was delayed at Dyer station due to main res issues with engine 196. The road foreman onboard the train assisted the crew and they were able to proceed to Rensselaer station where they experienced main res issues a 2nd time. The engine room was reported as hot and the engine was slow to build air. The crew called in to troubleshoot issues but were unable to resolve the issues with engine 196. Chicago mechanical was dispatched to the train at Rensselaer and they arrived at 1am to begin repairs. During repairs, HEP was intermittent. Chicago mechanical on scene discovered that the radiators were improperly wired and corrected the issue. 50 departed Rensselaer at 2:02am and experienced air issues 3 minutes later at 2:05am. 50(29) terminated on the spot at Rensselaer station.3 buses were sourced to accommodate the 120 passengers to either Chicago, Lafayette, Crawfordsville, Indianapolis or Cincinnati. The buses departed Rensselaer at 7:15am running 10 hours and 25 mins late. 43 customers scheduled to board at points east of Rensselaer were notified and told to rebook on a later date. 

It was necessary to operate the equipment from 50(29) in non-revenue service to Indianapolis using CSX engine 431 due to scheduled track work on the BRC and CSX needed engine 431 returned to Avon yard. 51(30) was delayed in Huntington, WV due to having to van a crew from Indianapolis. The crew signed up at 11pm, 29 minutes after the scheduled departure time. 50(29) equipment was to be added to the reproof 51(30) minus engine 196 which will be left behind to be repaired by beech Grove mechanical. The horsepower to tonnage prevented the crew from adding engine 196 to the double consist due to private car DOTX 221 already being on 51(30). Amtrak RFE and mechanical will be on scene to assist in combining the trains. 51(02) was cancelled entirely with no alternate transpiration provided due to equipment rebalancing. 235 customers in total have been notified of the cancellation and advised to rebook for a later date.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/26 18:16 by sethamtrak.

Thank you Seth !   Best wishes....

So here is my story of stupidity. Got on board n/b locomotive (Aem7) of Amtrak regional at DC. Outbound loco added to train from shop. Engineer got on and went through his normal routine found the bell knob missing. Called it in sent a mechanic and then he tried to find a knob. While we waited we wondered how long it would be before they used the knob from the other end of the locomotive. Engineer finally suggested the knob and “they” decided it was a good idea. even with this issue the train left on time. Makes you wonder how long the train would have been delayed if the engineer had not made the suggestion.
CR

Posted from iPhone

Just fly away and leave us!   what plane you getting checked out on?

dan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just fly away and leave us!   what plane you
> getting checked out on?

The mighty Boeing 767!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/26 18:16 by sethamtrak.

wow that is a little larger than i was suspecting!

Best of luck in your new position. Your posts are always helpful and informative. Since I live in Cincinnati, the city with the most beautiful train station that most never get to see, I've been riding the Cardinal for several years. I've watched it deteriorate to a point that I can no longer trust it to get to my destination in a reasonable time without some major discomfort. It previousley had two sleepers and business class that were always full. It seemed to be most reliable when DC was its termination/ origin point. I don't know why it was extended to NYC when people could easily transferr to/fom a corridor train. I have gotten to know many of the onboard staff and wathed there morale decline as they realize that Amtrak doesn't care about this train or passengers. It's a real shame since this could become a successful LD train with daily service, two sleepers, four coaches and viewliner diner. Instead, it gets the engines and cars that don't work. 

I often travel beyond DC and appreciate having my roommette all the way to NYC- especially if running late. There are rarely problems on the NEC, so not sure why folks keep suggesting terminating the train in DC. The Superliners are not coming back

Posted from Android

"Engine 314 was bad ordered for a missing speedometer and engine 139 bad ordered for a bad traction motor."

This is interesting because in theory 314 should have been able to operate in trail and 139 could have operated as essentially a cab car generating only HEP with the traction motors cut out, but I am not going to criticize a decision to get two units fully operational as opposed to sending them on a 1000 mile trip back to DC.

I guess my question woudl be, "Why were either of these locomtives released to service?"  A speedometer malfunction should have been caught immediately.  The traction motor issue could be harder to discern early, but even that strikes me as complete negligence.  

When I was in the biz, not once did we get equipment for our day that had not been fully vetted.  We never had a failure on the road.  With an old GP-9.  So I dunno, Amtrak.  Figure it out.

In Amtrak's defense, a GP-9 is a much simpler locomotive than anything Amtrak puts on the road.

Chessie1963 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I guess my question woudl be, "Why were either of
> these locomtives released to service?"  A
> speedometer malfunction should have been caught
> immediately.  The traction motor issue could be
> harder to discern early, but even that strikes me
> as complete negligence.  
>
> When I was in the biz, not once did we get
> equipment for our day that had not been fully
> vetted.  We never had a failure on the road.
>  With an old GP-9.  So I dunno, Amtrak.  Figure
> it out.
>
> In Amtrak's defense, a GP-9 is a much simpler
> locomotive than anything Amtrak puts on the road.

I'd guess that Ivy City had 1 unit with a good cab and 1 unit with good traction and together they could power train 51 to Chicago and then be serviced at the more capable(?) facilities there.