Comet on Train 715(23)?

[roadman3313]

Very interesting consist and crowd on train 715(23). I was waiting for a relative riding on board and she stated that the train left Bakersfield about an hour and a half late because the regular train set was in an accident the night before so sets were being moved around and the train set was facing the "wrong way" at Bakersfield so they had to turn it around.

I assume this means they had to either "wye" the train set or locomotive as there did not appear to be an NPCU on the train set (maybe damaged in the accident the night before?). Also it was an interesting crowd trying to board/alight the Comet cars as train 715 is generally a very busy run and those who ride it were not used to the Comet train set as it generally runs on 711, 712, 717, and/or 718. The passenger flow appeared to be a bit slower than normal for the Comet as people familiarized themselves with it.

All and all Amtrak did deliver on a train set instead of transferring the passengers to the next train. Can't say my relative was thrilled with the trip, however it was nice to experience the Comet train set for her and to see it getting a bit more exposure.

 

[rickycourtney]

718 was involved in a pretty bad accident last night. The NPCU slammed into a big rig trailer that was stopped on the tracks (sending it's load of potato chips flying). The engineer and a passenger in the truck's sleeper were taken to the hospital with minor injures.

Here's the coverage by my old station: http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=9477192

The last I heard was that the NPCU was damaged badly enough that they didn't want it to be on the point for the rest of the run to Bakersfield.

My educated guess was that the trainset arrived very late in Bakersfield and Amtrak sent a bi-level trainset out on 711. So call this accidental exposure for the comet cars on 715.

It's just good that Caltrans decided to use the NPCU's on the San Joaquin. Just a guess... but I don't think a Comet IB cab car wouldn't do well against a semi.

During my days working in Fresno we covered a LOT of train vs. vehicle stories. I was even unfortunate enough to be on a San Joaquin that hit a semi truck. It's a bad section of track for accidents.

 

[roadman3313]

I saw photos of the scene. Looked pretty dramatic with all the chips scattered about. And if the NPCU took heavy damage I'm not sure any cab car would have made the trek. 715 was the only delayed trip so they must have played around with the morning rotation as the first three trains all went out somewhat on time given those depart before any inbounds arrived. I assume from what I saw that 715(23) ended its run in Emeryville with passengers being transfered cross-platform (per say) to a Capitol Corridor train that was shortly behind. No use for 715 to go to OKJ with no cab controls to back into the yard. That would have made for a much slower move back to the yard!

 

[Agent]

I'd thought I'd update this with the video I took of the damaged NPCU, AMTK (unless it's CDTX) 90225 Sacramento, on its way to Beech Grove for repairs.