Auto train delayed again (both?) - what's their excuse/reason this time?

[BLNT]

The food service cars in the center of the train work as a sort of buffer, with signs posted "sleeping car passengers only beyond this point"... Dining car personnel may ask if you are in a sleeper...

Thanks

 

[Thirdrail7]

53(8) is having a tough go of it. It is -7'15" approaching YEM. It has lost 1'15" otr. 52(8) is still holding -1' and its past RVR. 53(9) should be on time.

 

[RichieRich]

I'm on 53 right now (2:00pm Sun)...pulling in to SFA (3:32pm) 6hr 34 min late. They announced they hit a tree Southbound 2 days ago around Savannah, which started this whole thing.

 

[BLNT]

I'm on 53 right now (2:00pm Sun)...pulling in to SFA (3:32pm) 6hr 34 min late. They announced they hit a tree Southbound 2 days ago around Savannah, which started this whole thing.

Thanks for the real time update!

 

[Barb Stout]

For those who do not live in Virginia and south. The main forest product both urban and in the boonies are pine trees. The trees have been selected to grow straight up and shed lower limbs. They make good power poles, lumber, and peeler logs (plywood ). However they have a nasty habit of growing toward any vacant spot especially toward the sun.

Therefore they tend to lean over houses, highways and RR ROWs. A medium wind or ice and snow causes them to lean over and break about 15 - 20 feet. So you have trees on houses, roads, breaking power and telephone line and falling all over RR tracks.

With the present PSR you have CSX and NS not spending the money to trim back these trees. It is not inexpensive. The Ga DOT has been clearing back pines from our local interstate and has cleared back just about 6 miles since November. That is with a crew of about 20 - 25 persons.

What does PSR stand for?

 

[neroden]

What does PSR stand for?

Imprecision Unscheduled Railroading.

OK, it's actually supposed to stand for "Precision Scheduled Railroading", but it's an Orwellian name -- in practice it's the opposite of its name. It involves lack of schedules, lack of precision, and chasing away freight customers in a single-minded pursuit of very long trains. Also it's been used as an excuse for simply not spending money on maintenance.

(Don't get me wrong -- railroading is an economies of scale business, so running long trains *is* important. But "PSR" is taking it way too far, to the point where it drives away customers and destroys service quality.)

(...the one upside is that it is so commercially self-destructive to the mismanaged private railroads that, combined with the death of the coal business, it may provide an opportunity for state governments to buy the tracks out from the private railroads. Their own poor business practices will leave them desparate to get cash from selling tracks.)