Empire Builder Summer Blues Started Early this year

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
NW cannonball said:
Swadian Hardcore said:
What freight are those BNSF trains pulling? Oil? Grain?
Click to expand...
OIl, yes, grain, yes, transcon containers from China via port of Seattle and Chicago to east coast yes. And coal on part of the route. And a few mixed manifest trains with this and that. Oh, lumber products too. And potash from Saskatchewan.

Lots of profitable traffic on the Hi-Line. Warren B was no dummy to buy the line and improve it. The few billion dollars of improvements has been slowing the "Empire Builder" and the BNSF freight on the line -- but - long term - like ten years out. Hey moneymaker cool fast freight tracks - the EB looks good for a decade or two.

Edit - oh, and agricultural inputs going west -- phosphoric acid and anhydrous ammonia. - and I see a unit train of sulfur at least weekly, and another unit train of sodium chlorate for paper bleaching (glad to see that replace the chlorine tankers)

Hey Montana Mike -- you know what freight traffic on that line..

J J Hill and Warren Buffet no fools. That hi-line is a freight winner,

So the "EB" - with more or less delay - will have busy rails to run on for the near future,
Click to expand...
Why don't the container ships go to San Francisco or Los Angeles? It's a bit farther sailing but seems to be better locations. I've seen lots of containers moored in San Pedro.
 
8(20) left MAL 22 min late, arrived into GGW 1 hour 57 min late, left 1 hour 44 min late, arrived in WPT 1 hour 50 min late, left 1 hour 51 min late.
 
NW cannonball said:
Swadian Hardcore said:
What freight are those BNSF trains pulling? Oil? Grain?
Click to expand...
OIl, yes, grain, yes, transcon containers from China via port of Seattle and Chicago to east coast yes. And coal on part of the route. And a few mixed manifest trains with this and that. Oh, lumber products too. And potash from Saskatchewan.

Lots of profitable traffic on the Hi-Line. Warren B was no dummy to buy the line and improve it. The few billion dollars of improvements has been slowing the "Empire Builder" and the BNSF freight on the line -- but - long term - like ten years out. Hey moneymaker cool fast freight tracks - the EB looks good for a decade or two.

Edit - oh, and agricultural inputs going west -- phosphoric acid and anhydrous ammonia. - and I see a unit train of sulfur at least weekly, and another unit train of sodium chlorate for paper bleaching (glad to see that replace the chlorine tankers)

Hey Montana Mike -- you know what freight traffic on that line..

J J Hill and Warren Buffet no fools. That hi-line is a freight winner,

So the "EB" - with more or less delay - will have busy rails to run on for the near future,
Click to expand...
My BNSf contacts say an increase in Inter Modal trains, energy trains and seasonal increases in Agriculture (grain), plus exports of vehicles
 
8(20) left WPT 1 hour 51 min late, arrived into WTN 1 hour 58 min late, left 2 hours 7 min late.
 
Taking the EB to Chicago on Saturday, with a connection to DER via the Wolverine service. With a 2-hour connection in Chicago, the question isn't whether a bus will be involved, but rather which leg it will be used on. I've been making this trip once or twice a year for 25+ years, and never had a bus until about 4 years ago. Since then, every trip has involved a bus. Amtrak, please fix this.

At least I'll get to ride the upgraded 110 MPH segment between Kalamazoo, MI and Porter, IN. When the mileposts fly by every 35 seconds, you know you're moving!
 
8(20) arrived into STN 2 hours 7 min late, left at 2 hours 9 min late, left MOT 2 hours 57 min late, arrived in RUG 2 hours 56 min late, left at 2 hours 58 min late, arrived in DVL 3 hours 10 min late, left at 14 min late, arrived in GFK 3 hours 9 min late, left at 3 hours 13 min late, arrived in FAR at 4 hours 3 min late, left at 4 hour 8 min late, arrived DLK 4 hours 6 min late, left at 4 hours 10 min late, arrived in SPL at 4 hours 20 min late, left at 4 hours 28 min late, arrived in SCD 4 hours 20 min late, left at 4 hours 25 min late.
 
Westbound 7 is running about 4 hours late into SEA. What are the chances that 8 will depart on time this evening? I will be riding it from MSP to CHI on Saturday, but given the problems in ND, my 2-hour connection to Wolverine 354 is probably toast anyway. I'm just curious if I should expect a bustitution between MSP-CHI or CHI-DER.
 
Joe F - Last week, on Wed., Oct. 16, I was on Train 8 which arrived Chicago over six hours late a few minutes after 10 pm. I was going to the Gathering, so it was not a problem for us, although an earlier arrival would have been better. After leaving Milwaukee, it was announced that two connections were being made: Train 48, which was on the adjacenet track when our train arrived and left at 10:24pm, and that a bus was being provided for passengers on Train 354 to Pontiac, which I see is scheduled to leave at 6pm. All other connections were to involve an overnight in Chicago. Whether this will be done for you I can't say, but this is how the matter was handled last week.
 
greatcats said:
Joe F - Last week, on Wed., Oct. 16, I was on Train 8 which arrived Chicago over six hours late a few minutes after 10 pm. I was going to the Gathering, so it was not a problem for us, although an earlier arrival would have been better. After leaving Milwaukee, it was announced that two connections were being made: Train 48, which was on the adjacenet track when our train arrived and left at 10:24pm, and that a bus was being provided for passengers on Train 354 to Pontiac, which I see is scheduled to leave at 6pm. All other connections were to involve an overnight in Chicago. Whether this will be done for you I can't say, but this is how the matter was handled last week.
Click to expand...
The last few times I've made this trip, they have usually run a bus as a substitute for 354. However, if 8/28 is running very late (say 6-8 hours down in Montana), they will sometimes run a bus from MSP to CHI, arriving in time to make the connection to 354. That happened to me about 5 years ago (and we were further delayed an hour when the bus broke down a half mile out of MSP Midway station!).
 
On Sundays WB #7/#27 we ran on time to MSP and by Fargo were 3hours down until we Glacier Atea! By the time we reached PDX

We were only 30 mins down! The Easy Bound #8/#28 seem to be the real problem trains! Ymmv!
 
I see three of the four EBs today are verrrrry late--Are the delays just the continuing construction and freight traffic issues or are other factors in play here? I am going to be on #7 out of CHI today, so hopefully I can avoid some of these delays.
 
My partner is in CHI now. He was suppose to catch #8 today from WIN to CHI.

I got an email from Amtrak about the delay, and Alt Transportation is offered. He was debating back and forth on taking the bus or wait for the train.

Saw it was even more late, I called Amtrak and told them that Eric wanted to take the bus. He had a party to go this evening in CHI, and didn't want to be late for that. He said he arrived in CHI an hour late on the bus.

I didn't get a chance to talk to him to see how the bus ride was.
 
montana mike said:
I see three of the four EBs today are verrrrry late--Are the delays just the continuing construction and freight traffic issues or are other factors in play here? I am going to be on #7 out of CHI today, so hopefully I can avoid some of these delays.
Click to expand...
From the Amtrak site:

"

Empire Builder Trains 7/27 and 8/28: Temporary Service Delays

Please be advised the Empire Builder has been experiencing delays of two hours or more while operating in North Dakota and Montana.

This is primarily due to temporary speed restrictions imposed by BNSF Railway Co. while it carries out track improvement work. We expect these issues to continue through the construction season this November.

Largely unaffected are Empire Builder trains westbound from Chicago to Fargo, ND, via St. Paul, and Empire Builder trains eastbound from Seattle and Portland to Shelby, MT, via Spokane.

As with all transportation modes, passengers should check for delays before heading to their boarding locations. The most up-to-date Amtrak arrival and departure times are available on Amtrak.com, our free mobile apps and at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak. We appreciate your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience.

Join us on facebook.com/Amtrak, and follow us on twitter.com/Amtrak."
 
I continue on the westbound #7 in ND this AM--about 1 hour down on the schedule. No maintenance going on, just some freight traffic and interestingly, still slow orders thru Devils Lake (20-25 mph) area, even though it would appear the track work in that area has been completed for this year. Hopefully we can make up some time along the route.

I see for the second day in a row #8 in MN is also 5+ hours late, having lost 4 of those hours in its trek thru MT and ND--ouch.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
And now #8 that departed SEA tonight left there 2 1/2 hours late--that one will be very late arriving in CHI as well. Looks like #8 now in WI will arrive CHI some time around 1 AM on 10-31, about 9 hours late.

Bummer……
 
montana mike said:
Now 9 hours late--what a mess for this trip-ouch!!!! Perhaps an engine failure with slower BNSF "helper" for much of the trip?
Click to expand...
Mrs. Ispolkom works near St. Paul Union Depot. When I picked her up after work yesterday a little before 5 p.m., she pointed out the much-delayed #8 going by. Ouch, indeed, especially since we'll using it to connect to #448 next month.
 
The trip from MSP to CHI last Saturday, 10/26, was a bustitution, due to 8/28 being 4 hours behind schedule. They ran one bus direct to Chicago for those of us making connections there, and another bus for everyone else. We arrived in CHI with plenty of time for my connection to Wolverine #354.

Return trip 10/30 on 7/27 was right on schedule, arriving MSP 10 minutes early. That train got through ND OK, and is currently only 1 minute late out of Wenatchee.
 
Glad Amtrak had a "Plan B" for you!!

Today's east bound #8, just entering MN is also waaaaaaaaay behind, now 7 1/2 hours late. Yesterday's #8 arrival was about 2 1/2 hours behind, the day before 8 hours 42 minutes late, and the day before that 3 hours 24 minutes late. My BNSF contact here in MT just said one word: Freight.

On my round trip on the EB over the past two weeks the freight traffic was by far the main contributor to the delays. I actually saw almost no active construction, but we waited for numerous freights both east and west bound.
 
montana mike said:
Glad Amtrak had a "Plan B" for you!!

Today's east bound #8, just entering MN is also waaaaaaaaay behind, now 7 1/2 hours late. Yesterday's #8 arrival was about 2 1/2 hours behind, the day before 8 hours 42 minutes late, and the day before that 3 hours 24 minutes late. My BNSF contact here in MT just said one word: Freight.

On my round trip on the EB over the past two weeks the freight traffic was by far the main contributor to the delays. I actually saw almost no active construction, but we waited for numerous freights both east and west bound.
Click to expand...
So much for notion that Warren Buffett is "Amtrak Friendly." Maybe Amtrak Joe needs to stop by the White House and have a word with him the next time WB is in town visiting.
 
Warren B is coining $$$ on the hi-line. Between increasing Intermodal traffic, seasonal agricultural trains and increased energy movement this line is booming. I am reminded by my BNSF friends that the track upgrades for this entire region are part of a multi-year process and the fruits of their labors will not be fully appreciated until all of the work is completed. BNSF is actually being inhibited from increasing their own movements as much as they would like due to these efforts. Meanwhile we will just have to deal with sometimes excessive delays (i.e. 6-9 hours delays) into CHI on the eastbound trains, especially during the summer construction months, although the realized delays over the past couple weeks do not appear to be much different than the worst days of the summer, so I am beginning to think this may be more of a year around "experience" .

:-(
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top