May 10 timetables posted for many routes

[gercohen]

As of 4/30/2010, a number of new timetables effective May 10 have been posted at:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServe...5/1237405732505

for the following new routes only. I've tried to analyze changes for some routes and will let others chime in. I've not analyzed any differences in thruway bus connections, or in station services. I also did not check some of the timetables, I'll let other look for differences on those.

California Zephyr

-- WB Omaha arrival and departure 20 minutes earlier

-- EB Lincoln arrival and departure 20 minutes earlier. Galsesburg and Princeton marked D (discharge only)

Capitol Limited

-- no changes but connections to WAS/NYP train shown

Cardinal & Hoosier State

City of New Orleans

-- no changes

Coast Starlight

-- SB Chemult 3 minutes later

-- NB no changes

Crescent

-- SB no changes

-- NB arival in Newark and NYP 2-3 minutes earlier

-- NE Regional service to Lynchburg not shown on Crescent timetable

Empire Builder

Heartland Flyer

Hiawatha

Keystone

Michigan

Pennsylvanian

Southwest Chief

-- WB no changes other than DST differences for Arizona stops

-- EB operates 10 minutes earlier at all stops, plus DST differences for Arizona stops

Texas Eagle

--for WB besides DST differences for Arizona stops, California stops appear to arrive about 8-10 minutes earlier in the new schedule

-- for EB besides DST differences for Arizona stops, California stops appear to depart about 8-10 minutes later in the new schedule

 

[Ryan]

SWC also leaves 10 minutes later.

 

[Rafi]

Hardly anyone will notice it, but Culpeper is no longer a flag stop on the Crescent. That was a holdover from the Southern days, but Amtrak took a look at the passengrwr counts and made the call that there was enough ridership out of that station to warrant a removal of the flag. Fwiw.

Rafi

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Hardly anyone will notice it, but Culpeper is no longer a flag stop on the Crescent. That was a holdover from the Southern days, but Amtrak took a look at the passengrwr counts and made the call that there was enough ridership out of that station to warrant a removal of the flag. Fwiw.
Rafi

Something tells me I would have noticed it!!!

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Pretty sure the Empire Builder doesn't stop in Arizona.

Question:

are the NEC timetables going to be back in the national?

 

[MattW]

If there were near daily boardings, aside from the days without them, does removing the flag stop really make any difference in the long run?

 

[Rafi]

Pretty sure the Empire Builder doesn't stop in Arizona.
Question:

are the NEC timetables going to be back in the national?

Yep!

 

[Rafi]

If there were near daily boardings, aside from the days without them, does removing the flag stop really make any difference in the long run?

Yes, actually, from what I understand. In removing the flag, the station dwell time in CLP had to be factored in, where it wasn't before. I don't think it actually changed the runtime, but the numbers did have to get crunched, and the removal of the flag did have to pass a schedule/operations committee. Removing the flag also helps people feel more assured that the train is, indeed, going to stop for them, and hence they'll ride it more readily. If no one hardly ever got on at CLP, it would have been one thing, of course, but in this case, the flag was there for years (really the past 15 or so) when it really didn't need to be.

Rafi

 

[Rafi]

Something tells me I would have noticed it!!!

How could I overlook the almighty Haithcoat!!

 

[Exiled in Express]

Keystone had some minor retimings. I was to be on 655 on May 10, it got moved forward 15 minutes turning a tight connection from the airport into an impossible one. Rebooking to the later 619 now, not looking forward to that 3 hour delay.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Something tells me I would have noticed it!!!

How could I overlook the almighty Haithcoat!!

That is cool, Rafi.

In looking at a March 1954 Southern timetable I find this: ten trains a day in each direction passing through Culpepper.

Of those, two stopped on signal, four stopped every day and four did not stop at all.

 

[printman2000]

Pretty sure the Empire Builder doesn't stop in Arizona.
Question:

are the NEC timetables going to be back in the national?

I believe the EB was short for eastbound under the Southwest Chief.

 

[had8ley]

Unfortunatley, Amtrak wants to keep its head buried in the sand while keeping Slidell, LA as flag stop. I don't have the exact numbers but ridership has increased dramatically since Katrina. I know of no days that at least a handful of pax have boarded or de-trained and have personally witnessed as many as 40 boarding and it wasn't a group boarding. The most important part of my dialogue is the fact that the Crescent runs engineer only to/from Slidell thus REQUIRING that the train be stopped to copy track warrants to enter/exit New Orleans. Oh well I guess it's good for one thing~ the Slidell loophole. :huh:

 

[GaSteve]

Unfortunatley, Amtrak wants to keep its head buried in the sand while keeping Slidell, LA as flag stop. I don't have the exact numbers but ridership has increased dramatically since Katrina. I know of no days that at least a handful of pax have boarded or de-trained and have personally witnessed as many as 40 boarding and it wasn't a group boarding. The most important part of my dialogue is the fact that the Crescent runs engineer only to/from Slidell thus REQUIRING that the train be stopped to copy track warrants to enter/exit New Orleans. Oh well I guess it's good for one thing~ the Slidell loophole. :huh:

So what crew member directs the backup move into New Orleans :unsure: if the engineer is the only crew?

 

[Steve4031]

I think they mean in the locomotive. The conductor and Assistant conductor are part of the operating crew. And one of them would stand in the rear car and direct the back up move into the station.

 

[GaSteve]

I think they mean in the locomotive. The conductor and Assistant conductor are part of the operating crew. And one of them would stand in the rear car and direct the back up move into the station.

OK, so the engineer is the only person in the cab. It's that pretty much the norm on most Amtrak routes, now?

 

[had8ley]

I think they mean in the locomotive. The conductor and Assistant conductor are part of the operating crew. And one of them would stand in the rear car and direct the back up move into the station.

OK, so the engineer is the only person in the cab. It's that pretty much the norm on most Amtrak routes, now?

In runs of six hours or less it is pretty much the norm unless someone is breaking in or a Road Foreman is performing a check ride. Runs of over six hours require a second engineer or fireman as they were called years ago. And yes, I mean only one person is on the engine on these six hour or less runs.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I think they mean in the locomotive. The conductor and Assistant conductor are part of the operating crew. And one of them would stand in the rear car and direct the back up move into the station.

OK, so the engineer is the only person in the cab. It's that pretty much the norm on most Amtrak routes, now?

In runs of six hours or less it is pretty much the norm unless someone is breaking in or a Road Foreman is performing a check ride. Runs of over six hours require a second engineer or fireman as they were called years ago. And yes, I mean only one person is on the engine on these six hour or less runs.

I know this has been covered before and I think the answer to the question is "yes".

But I will ask anyway.

If the engineer absolutely HAS to "potty" does he actually stop the train? I do not want think about the alternatives.

Six hours is a long time to go for many people and that is for real.

Too bad the days of "firemen" or whatever one would call them are over. I recall the fireman taking over for an engneer having a heart attack on Southern RR's Royal Palm years back. It was in the paper.The engineer died in the cab.

 

[Steve4031]

Yes. This happened on the Texas eagle between Chicago and stl. I heard the coversation on the scanner. The announcement made to the passengers was that the engineer was "checking the engine".

 

[AlanB]

Bill, typically the engineer will simply try to time his potty call with a regular stop of the train. He/she doesn't actually have to exit the engine, as there is a bathroom just off the cab.

And no, they can't just let the train roll down the track while they go, if indeed they are alone in the cab. The deadman's feature will stop the train if they're not there to hit the button. Not to mention that it would be against FRA rules anyhow and they could lose their license to drive trains if they got caught.

However, in a dire emergency, the engineer would indeed have to stop the train some place if they just couldn't wait.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Bill, typically the engineer will simply try to time his potty call with a regular stop of the train. He/she doesn't actually have to exit the engine, as there is a bathroom just off the cab.
And no, they can't just let the train roll down the track while they go, if indeed they are alone in the cab. The deadman's feature will stop the train if they're not there to hit the button. Not to mention that it would be against FRA rules anyhow and they could lose their license to drive trains if they got caught.

However, in a dire emergency, the engineer would indeed have to stop the train some place if they just couldn't wait.

Thanks for making sense of my question.

I did know something about the deadman's feature.

Was just focusing on the dreaded idea of s-i-x h-o-u-r-s without thinking it through about stops.

 

[railiner]

Bill, typically the engineer will simply try to time his potty call with a regular stop of the train. He/she doesn't actually have to exit the engine, as there is a bathroom just off the cab.
And no, they can't just let the train roll down the track while they go, if indeed they are alone in the cab. The deadman's feature will stop the train if they're not there to hit the button. Not to mention that it would be against FRA rules anyhow and they could lose their license to drive trains if they got caught.

However, in a dire emergency, the engineer would indeed have to stop the train some place if they just couldn't wait.

Thanks for making sense of my question.

I did know something about the deadman's feature.

Was just focusing on the dreaded idea of s-i-x h-o-u-r-s without thinking it through about stops.

It would require planning for engineers on those western trains that run a few hours between stops. And woe to the engineer that has to delay an Acela express to make a potty stop enroute..

 

[Ryan]

On those western trains, the runs are longer than 6 hours, so there would be two people in the cab.

 

[battalion51]

The Western trains pretty much all have a fireman for the majority of their run. There are obviously exceptions. The Coast Starlight is one exception, and portions of the EB trip are made solo. Whereas in the east it's almost exactly the opposite. There are a number of trains that are off corridor that never see a fireman like the Carolinian, Crescent, Palmetto bug, Capitol Limited, Cardinal (?), Maple Leaf, and LSL. There are some runs that are less than six hours that still get a fireman, Silver Meteor JAX-FLO and Vermonter BRA-SAB come to mind. Many times in an area where a Track Warrant or Form D is known to be needed the Conductor will get up on the head end for that part of the trip. For example, on the Vermonter between Palmer and Brattleboro when there is a Track Warrant issued the Conductor will do the copying.

 

[rtabern]

So I guess plans to do a daily Texas Eagle from CHI-LAX and the cut-back of the Sunset has been put off until fall??