Help Me!

[riding the rails]

Help me understand what is going wrong with number 5, the Zephyr going west.

We're scheduled to ride it tomorrow, Saturday, from Denver to Sacramento.

I see, though it was 6 hours late into Denver today! And already it's an hour and a half late out of Chicago, the train we're supposed to get on tomorrow.

Today's train is going to end up traveling most of the scenic area in Colorado in the dark!

We're scared that it seems the same thing will happen tomorrow?

Is there something going on between Denver and Chicago that is messing up the train? And our hopes???

 

[PRR 60]

Yesterday's Zephyr (leaving Chicago 11/4) had to take a slower, detour route due to a bridge project on the regular route. That is why it was 6 hours late into Omaha and into Denver. Today's train is on the regular route. As of this writing, it is about 90 minutes late which could be due to delays at the construction site. The normal schedule has some recovery time built in at Omaha and again at Denver. My guess is that it will not lose any more time, and may make some time up.

The most scenic part of the trip is between Denver and Glenwood Springs. With arrival at Glenwood Springs scheduled for just before 2pm, you should have daylight for the most scenic portion of the line through the Rockies even of the train leaves Denver an hour or two late.

 

[sunchaser]

Currently, even though your train is 92 minutes late, it could easily make that time up tonight. Don't worry, you should still be able to see the Rockies during the daylight hours. Enjoy your trip!

 

[railiner]

Yesterday's Zephyr (leaving Chicago 11/4) had to take a slower, detour route due to a bridge project on the regular route. That is why it was 6 hours late into Omaha and into Denver. Today's train is on the regular route. As of this writing, it is about 90 minutes late which could be due to delays at the construction site. The normal schedule has some recovery time built in at Omaha and again at Denver. My guess is that it will not lose any more time, and may make some time up.

The most scenic part of the trip is between Denver and Glenwood Springs. With arrival at Glenwood Springs scheduled for just before 2pm, you should have daylight for the most scenic portion of the line through the Rockies even of the train leaves Denver an hour or two late.

Curious as to where No.5 detoured, can you elaborate?

 

[PRR 60]

Curious as to where No.5 detoured, can you elaborate?

Both the eastbound and westbound Zephyrs detoured on the Union Pacific (former CNW) between Chicago and Omaha. The project involves work on the BNSF (former Burlington) bridge over the Mississippi.

The BNSF press release is HERE.

 

[Superliner]

Whenever something occurs on the Southern Iowa portion of the Zephyr's route, it's often rerouted through Central Iowa on the Union Pacific (usually from Galesburg, IL to Omaha, NE). This happened many times over the Summer because of washouts on the BNSF line from extensive amounts of rain. There is one known reroute (the train I was on) where the Zephyr went through Northern Missouri on August 11th from Galesburg, IL to Lincoln, NE via Kansas City. Skipping all regular stops in Iowa and Omaha, NE. Passengers were bussed to those locations.

 

[PRR 60]

Whenever something occurs on the Southern Iowa portion of the Zephyr's route, it's often rerouted through Central Iowa on the Union Pacific (usually from Galesburg, IL to Omaha, NE). This happened many times over the Summer because of washouts on the BNSF line from extensive amounts of rain. There is one known reroute (the train I was on) where the Zephyr went through Northern Missouri on August 11th from Galesburg, IL to Lincoln, NE via Kansas City. Skipping all regular stops in Iowa and Omaha, NE. Passengers were bussed to those locations.

In this case, the Zephyr was detoured using the Metra Union Pacific West line out of Chicago and on to Omaha. All the intermediate stops between Chicago and Omaha were skipped. Presumably there were buses provided for the skipped stops.

The good news is the OP's train left Denver just 50 minutes late, so the Rockies will be in daylight.

 

[stlouielady]

Whenever something occurs on the Southern Iowa portion of the Zephyr's route, it's often rerouted through Central Iowa on the Union Pacific (usually from Galesburg, IL to Omaha, NE). This happened many times over the Summer because of washouts on the BNSF line from extensive amounts of rain.

Silly question, but is there any way of knowing when this detour route will be used? I understand that, during flooding, no one really knows and that it depands on the flooding conditions. But are the actual construction dates known in advance? I grew up right along that line in cental Iowa, and still have family up there that would LOVE to watch an Amtrak train rumble through town. Thanks!

 

[George Harris]

Yesterday's Zephyr (leaving Chicago 11/4) had to take a slower, detour route due to a bridge project on the regular route. That is why it was 6 hours late into Omaha and into Denver. Today's train is on the regular route. As of this writing, it is about 90 minutes late which could be due to delays at the construction site. The normal schedule has some recovery time built in at Omaha and again at Denver. My guess is that it will not lose any more time, and may make some time up.

The most scenic part of the trip is between Denver and Glenwood Springs. With arrival at Glenwood Springs scheduled for just before 2pm, you should have daylight for the most scenic portion of the line through the Rockies even of the train leaves Denver an hour or two late.

Curious as to where No.5 detoured, can you elaborate?

The reason was replacement of one span on the Mississippi River bridge at Burlington IA

 

[guest]

Help me understand what is going wrong with number 5, the Zephyr going west.

We're scheduled to ride it tomorrow, Saturday, from Denver to Sacramento.

I see, though it was 6 hours late into Denver today! And already it's an hour and a half late out of Chicago, the train we're supposed to get on tomorrow.

Today's train is going to end up traveling most of the scenic area in Colorado in the dark!

We're scared that it seems the same thing will happen tomorrow?

Is there something going on between Denver and Chicago that is messing up the train? And our hopes???

When Amtrak knows there are going to be long delays because of detours, does it add extra food on the train so, for example, the CZ can serve dinner into California since the train won't be arriving until after 9 p.m.?

Or do passengers just sit and suffer?

 

[Superliner]

Silly question, but is there any way of knowing when this detour route will be used? I understand that, during flooding, no one really knows and that it depands on the flooding conditions. But are the actual construction dates known in advance? I grew up right along that line in cental Iowa, and still have family up there that would LOVE to watch an Amtrak train rumble through town. Thanks!

Unsure of specific dates. However, according to the BNSF press release posted above, there may be some detours happening next month as they 'float into place the new lift span'.

When Amtrak knows there are going to be long delays because of detours, does it add extra food on the train so, for example, the CZ can serve dinner into California since the train won't be arriving until after 9 p.m.?

Or do passengers just sit and suffer?

I have never been on a train that has completely run out of food, although I have heard of it happening. Amtrak does it's best to accommodate, when the situation arises. Others may be able to elaborate, but storage space places a limit on how much "extra" food the train can carry.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Absolutely an Amtrak train can run out of food. Sometimes it's fixed with station staff bringing food to the train mid-route, but not always, and probably not if the train isn't running anywhere near a staffed station. The main thing I want Amtrak to do is stop adding their junk food to my sleeper ticket. I'd much rather just snack on board and have a real meal at my destination.

 

[leemell]

Absolutely an Amtrak train can run out of food. Sometimes it's fixed with station staff bringing food to the train mid-route, but not always, and probably not if the train isn't running anywhere near a staffed station. The main thing I want Amtrak to do is stop adding their junk food to my sleeper ticket. I'd much rather just snack on board and have a real meal at my destination.

We were on the Crescent going to WAS about a month ago when we stopped next to the Crescent going to NOL with the dining cars opposite each other in the middle of a heavily wooded area. The dining crews then put several boxes of food aboard our train from theirs. We had been shorted some goods and somehow got word to the other train in advance.

 

[GaSteve]

Absolutely an Amtrak train can run out of food. Sometimes it's fixed with station staff bringing food to the train mid-route, but not always, and probably not if the train isn't running anywhere near a staffed station. The main thing I want Amtrak to do is stop adding their junk food to my sleeper ticket. I'd much rather just snack on board and have a real meal at my destination.

We were on the Crescent going to WAS about a month ago when we stopped next to the Crescent going to NOL with the dining cars opposite each other in the middle of a heavily wooded area. The dining crews then put several boxes of food aboard our train from theirs. We had been shorted some goods and somehow got word to the other train in advance.

Unless one or the other of the trains was seriously late, that would have been in the middle of the night. :blush:

 

[spot1181]

On the detour last Thursday on 6, four hours late into Chicago. Thr diner had the food but no way were they going to serve dinner. An agent was giving out snackpacs and half cans of soda to the misplaced connections.

 

[AlanB]

We were on the Crescent going to WAS about a month ago when we stopped next to the Crescent going to NOL with the dining cars opposite each other in the middle of a heavily wooded area. The dining crews then put several boxes of food aboard our train from theirs. We had been shorted some goods and somehow got word to the other train in advance.

Unless one or the other of the trains was seriously late, that would have been in the middle of the night. :blush:

Actually the north/southbound Crescents also pass one another around 1:00 PM in the afternoon, when on time, near Tuscaloosa, Alabama.