California Zephyr #5 20 hours late into EMY on 6/12, why?

[Mark P]

Been keeping an eye on the arrival times into EMY the past few weeks since I have a CHI-EMY ride coming up at the end of June. It hasn't been TOO bad, with average delays of about an hour or so. However, I just saw a huge outlier:

2015-06-12: Scheduled: Scheduled Arrival 4:10 pm Actual: 12:06 pm Delay: 1196 minutes

What could have caused this? Are there any kind of notes or published issues that Amtrak provides to explain what happened?

 

[Agent]

Derailment on BNSF near Hastings, Nebraska caused this train to be rerouted on the Union Pacific between Omaha and Denver. I heard it was later delayed more by rock slides in Colorado.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

yes, this is true, a genuine delay. I've read on other threads that around this time, there was a freight derailment in Hastings NE, right on the route of the California Zephyr, making both trains detour around the accident through Nebraska. #6 got delayed by about 6-10 hours (I don't remember exactly) into CHI, but #5 that day got delayed a lot, and when I checked track a train, it was 21 hours late, in eastern Utah (around Green River), mid-afternoon, with the #5, supposedly for the next day, behind it, about 6 hours late, west of Denver.

So I'm suspecting it's the freight derailment in Hastings NE that caused the delays.

Also, in a travel report, "Auntie C cuts through the middle", in which she goes on#6 SAC-CHI, she recalls passing a #5 in Grand Junction CO around noon, then another #5 in the same day in the Colorado Rockies. She was confused until she learned that the first #5 was 21 hours late.

So yes, it is a genuine delay, and it was caused by a freight derailment.

 

[Train2104]

What happens for food in cases like this? First any extra stock, then beef stew, then???

 

[Bob Dylan]

What happens for food in cases like this? First any extra stock, then beef stew, then???

KFC, Subway, Pizza Hut etc.I've seen them all plus Burgers and Fries on delayed LD Trains!

 

[rms492]

So lets say the train orders in 150 meals from KFC......how does Amtrak pay for it? Does the conductor give them a credit card? Does KFC go out to "meet" the train, or do Amtrak workers walk into town and carry the meals? I would like to know how the logistics during these types of situations are handled.

 

[OBS]

When outside food is ordered enroute, It is either delivered to the train, or is picked up by Ticket Agent/ regional Supervisor/ Freight RR management, etc. Food is usually either paid for by Ticket Agent or LSA in either Diner or Lounge. The Conductor has no company Credit cards and if in his right mind, would not pay out of his own pocket...LOL.