Did I find a timetable error?

[denmarks]

I was playing around with the timetable for a future trip on the CZ. A timetable search showed the following.
Route 6
9:00a | 9:09a - Ottumwa, IA (OTM)
Route 5
6:53p | 6:53p - Ottumwa, IA (OTM)
Why would there be 9 minutes for a stop only in route 6? I think 9:00a should be 9:09a. What do you think? I did write to Amtrak to check with them.

 

[mlanoue]

Ottumwa is kind of like that, in my experience. It seems like a pretty quick stop going west, but coming back on #6, I've gotten off and taken pictures many times.
If anything, I think the timing for #5 might be off, because sometimes a lot of people get on and it takes a few minutes.

 

[bratkinson]

Schedule padding. Compare the difference travel times between Chicago and Galesburg for the same train.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Timetables? What timetables? I thought Amtrak outlawed them because milennials don't like them.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Crew change?

 

[MARC Rider]

I vote for schedule padding.

 

[jis]

Crew change?

In Ottumwa?I doubt it.

 

[zephyr17]

In Ottumwa?I doubt it.

According to the crew district map Trains published several years ago it is an Engineer only crew change. The Engineer districts run Chicago-Ottumwa and Ottumwa-Lincoln. Conductors run Chicago-Omaha.

 

[PVD]

Always like when they announce the stop as "home of Radar O'Reilly"

 

[denmarks]

According to the crew district map Trains published several years ago it is an Engineer only crew change. The Engineer districts run Chicago-Ottumwa and Ottumwa-Lincoln. Conductors run Chicago-Omaha.

It must be relatively recent since the last printed timetable does not have the 9 minute stop.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Freight traffic scheduling? Or maybe time to make a fast break for the waffle house??? Or perhaps a sightseeing tour... all you would need is 9 minutes...

 

[zephyr17]

It must be relatively recent since the last printed timetable does not have the 9 minute stop.

The Trains chart is years old. The printed timetables generally did not show dwell times except for the longest dwells at major stops. One of the few things I like about the new electronic schedules is they show all scheduled dwell times.

 

[SubwayNut]

Ottumwa has been a crew change stop for a long time, I've always gotten on and off for fresh air on my California Zephyr trips. It just has never appeared in the timetables with a seperate arrival and departure time.

 

[TinCan782]

Look at trains 3 and 4 between LAX and Fullerton.
#4 eastbound is 35 minutes
#3 westbound is 66 minutes
Padding to make the arrival of #3 look better!

 

[Cal]

Fourth vote for padding.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

@RebelRider, what’s your take on the discrepancy?