Delays on the Zephyr

[junebug]

Will this effect Westbound too? (Sheesh, who am I kidding, the Zephyr is always late). Any ideas here? I am looking at dates in the next week or two.

Eastbound California Zephyr Train 6: Temporary Schedule Change

Effective April 15 - 24 and April 30 - May 9, 2015On the dates shown below, eastbound Train 6 will operate according to a later schedule at all stations from Emeryville to Chicago, due to track work being performed by Union Pacific Railroad. The track work will affect the schedule for Train 6 during the following periods:

• April 15 - 24, 2015
  This schedule change will be effective with the departure of Train 6 at Emeryville on April 15, 2015, which arrives in Chicago on April 17, 2015. This schedule change will remain in effect through the departure of Train 6 on April 22, 2015, until its arrival in Chicago on April 24, 2015.
• April 30 - May 9, 2015
• This schedule change will be effective with the departure of Train 6 at Emeryville on April 30, 2015, which arrives in Chicago on May 2, 2015. This schedule change will remain in effect through the departure of Train 6 on May 7, 2015, until its arrival in Chicago on May 9, 2015.

 

[junebug]

Oh hells bells, look what I found.

 

[junebug]

So.... how long are the delays.... gotta find that. The worst one I can remember was arriving at 4 a.m. in Chicago.

 

[niemi24s]

Delay lengths can be found here: http://www.dixielandsoftware.net/Amtrak/status/StatusMaps/

 

[junebug]

Delay lengths can be found here: http://www.dixielandsoftware.net/Amtrak/status/StatusMaps/

Thanks! I can't figure that out though, Nieme It looks like I can get one day at a time? http://www.amtrakdelays.onlineschedulingsoftware.com/cgi-bin/train.cgi

 

[junebug]

However... I found one that was 46 minutes early. Whaaaaat? http://98.69.158.89/scripts/archivefinder.pl?seltrain=5&selmonth=04&selyear=2015&selday=16

So what I would love to see are results in a table or something I could compare. Are any of our Amtrak lovers geeky cool enough that they have done this?

 

[acelafan]

What stations are you traveling between?

Here is a link where you can put in your train number and station you are traveling to. It's arrival delays into Emeryville, CA.

Some stations only report departure delay, others arrival delay.

http://juckins.net/amtrak_status/archive/html/historychart.php?train_num=5&station=Emy&date_start=03%2F20%2F2015&date_end=04%2F19%2F2015&sort=d_ar&chartsize=2&smooth=0

 

[junebug]

That looks perfect, thanks. I am going from Chicago to Emeryville, then back. I might take the Coast Starlight to or from L.A. and the Southwest Chief to or from Chicago, not sure yet.

I wanted to try a new route, but I think this would be the easiest, I guess. Thought about going through Canada, but I think I'm probably just going to do the Zephyr both ways.

The thing is, I am going to San Jose, California. The Coast Starlight stops there. If I go on the California Zephyr, I have to take the Capital Corridor from Emeryville back to San Jose.

 

[acelafan]

Others can probably give you better advice, but I like to try different routes for a change of scenery. Sometimes money budget and time budget are tough, though.

Sounds like a fun trip for you!

 

[junebug]

So...

if this is correct, in the past month, Chicago to Emeryville, the worst has been only 3 hours 41 minutes late. That's not that bad!

And from Emeryville to Chicago, the worst has only been 2 hours 46 minutes. Not too bad either! ...

Uhhh, unless you include March 21, where it arrived in Chicago 8 hours and 46 minutes late.

 

[SarahZ]

Yeah, those delays aren't too bad. My train arrived in Chicago about 45-50 minutes early. (3/15)

We also arrived in Denver early enough to give everyone just over an hour to walk around. It was pretty nice.

 

[acelafan]

Not too bad for Amtrak! Haha

Could be a lot worse, like the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited fiasco last fall. Routinely 5-6 hours late, sometimes more.

 

[junebug]

Yeah, those delays aren't too bad. My train arrived in Chicago about 45-50 minutes early. (3/15)

We also arrived in Denver early enough to give everyone just over an hour to walk around. It was pretty nice.

That's awesome. I like to plan restaurant stops for long ones like Denver . I have a cousin there who could meet me there... but isn't Denver only an hour or something like that? If I remember right, it's only enough time to get something fast, to bring on the train.

One trip I took, I had a rail pass, and stopped for a day to see the cousin... saw some nice stuff, although I think if I did it over, I would stop and see the other cousin in Winter Park instead.

Now I just thought of something... call ahead and order it so the food is waiting there for me. Ahh, to sit down in a restaurant

Not that Amtrak's food is bad..... but it's kind of microwave/cafeteria-ish.

 

[junebug]

Now that I think of it.... one of the most fun parts of the trip is finding cool restaurants that are walking distance from the stations where there are long stops. Open for suggestions here, if you know of any good ones!

 

[Steve4031]

I wouldn't do that. It's a good way to delay your trip 24 hours. Don't stray to far from the train.

 

[chakk]

Just be aware that canyons in Colorado are prone to rock slides in April and May. So, even with the best-laid plans, you could encounter an unexpectedly long delay.

 

[junebug]

You wouldn't do what, Steve? Go to restaurants? Waaah, you are spoiling my trip! I do that every time I go on a long distance train ride. I just pay attention to the schedule.

 

[junebug]

Just be aware that canyons in Colorado are prone to rock slides in April and May. So, even with the best-laid plans, you could encounter an unexpectedly long delay.

Aha. That's good to know. Thanks for telling me. So April and May are probably not a good time to take the Zephyr through the rockies then, it sounds like. When do you think the best time to do it is?

 

[KmH]

As far as scenery goes, I think early spring - April/May are about the best times to cross the Rockies.

As positive as my attitude is, I think I can prevent any rock slides just by assuming none will happen on the day the CZ I am riding goes through the canyons on the west side of the Continental Divide.

If not, having to stop the train to clear the tracks would just be a nice surprise, added bonus to my trip.

"Oh my gosh! Then we had to stop in Gore Canyon so they could clear a rock slide from the tracks. It was so cool watching the spring snow melt water rushing down the rapids of the swollen Colorado River".

 

[junebug]

As far as scenery goes, I think early spring - April/May are about the best times to cross the Rockies.

As positive as my attitude is, I think I can prevent any rock slides just by assuming none will happen on the day the CZ I am riding goes through the canyons on the west side of the Continental Divide.

If not, having to stop the train to clear the tracks would just be a nice surprise, added bonus to my trip.

"Oh my gosh! Then we had to stop in Gore Canyon so they could clear a rock slide from the tracks. It was so cool watching the spring snow melt water rushing down the rapids of the swollen Colorado River".

HAHAHA I love it. I do like watching the river rafters though... they probably are there later in the summer and early fall, can't remember though.

 

[junebug]

One of the benefits to Amtrak... the surprises

I can't remember where I was going, but everything was flooded for two states. Seeing the dams the beavers built on those flooded lands was amazing.

 

[andersone]

To me the Rockies are best with six feet of snow.

 

[KmH]

I like some snow at medium high and high elevations, some freshly bloomed spring flowers, and all the rivers and streams robust with spring rains or icy cold snow melt.

The icy cold part would likely discourage many early spring white water rafters on the upper Colorado River.

But often it's - once a die hard, always a die hard.

We had to re-route around Omaha (going and coming) because of flooding in IA and NB the only time I've ridden the Zephyr (Sept. '10).

Because of the re-route and flooding both passenger and freight trains were delayed and the #5 was 3 hours late to my departure point - OSC (Osceola, IA).

But I got to see a few sights not regularly seem on a CZ trip.

Ultimately, conditions and circumstances on the dates you travel will determine if your train is on time, or not.

A freight train derailment, a grade crossing incident, a mechanical failure, a rock slide, yada, yada, yada could cause your train to be delayed.

Back in the day when I rock/ice climbed I learned this:

Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and most importantly - stay in the moment.

 

[tomfuller]

On St. Patrick's day the CZ was mooned by a rafter a few miles east of Glenwood Springs. I got off in GBB with my lunch "to go" at noon on 3/18. I left my bags at the Enterprise 100 yards from the GBB station and wandered around until my car was ready at 1PM.

 

[chakk]

Colo R rafters are out in June, July, August. Water is often too high in June for safe rafting. Fall colors are best 2nd and 3rd weeks of Sept