Sadly it's becoming more and more common. The second to last time I was on 383, we had to make an unscheduled stop in Augusta to let the volunteer fire department resupply the engine with water due to a broken hose. Last winter, returning from Florida we lost engines on two consecutive trains.
I'm having a hard time interpreting the OP. Are sure you took 383 to Chicago. 380 leaves Quincy early in the morning; and 383 departs CHI at 5:55PM.
I'm also confused in that the you refer to a train leaving today in a post dated 01:57 PM yesterday (May 31). According to Amtrak's train status 380 arrived in Chi. 3 minutes early; and 383 arrived in QCY 11 minutes early. All four of the QCY trains departed Plano almost on time.
I don't see how any of them could have had engine failures. Even if the decision making and shuffling had occurred overnight and 380 left Quincy on time, it would have been difficult not to notice the BNSF engine when you boarded (now if you actually departed 383 in CHI, that's a different story). Moreover, the freight engine would not have been able to keep up with the schedule. It's 79 MPH all the way with less slow running than just about any other Amtrak line, including the NEC.