Northern California storms

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bmjhagen9426

bmjhagen9426

OBS Chief
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Messages
815
Location
North Sacramento, California
It has come to my attention that Northern California is being battered with gusty hurricane force winds, blizzards and snow in the mountains, and downpours of rains. Several highways, including the I-5 near Grapevine, are either currently closed, or were closed for some time. Transit services such as Sacramento's RT are being affected. Many are without power as well, with utility providers such as PG&E and publicly-owned utility providers reporting power outages region-wide, as well as ISPs reporting outages as well. Downtown Sacramento, where its Amtrak station is, is not doing well, with reports of downed trees and power outages, and SMF airport reported a 60mph gust. Does anyone know anything regarding disruption resulting from this storm (CA Zephyr, Starlight, Capitols, Surfliners, San Joaquins, or AmBuses)?
 
Haven't heard of much besides for a Capitol Corridor train getting delayed this morning near Roseville for some Downed Power Lines. They were repaired though by mid-morning. Train 5 lost about an hour over the mountain during the heavy snowfall but nothing too significant (most of its delays were from problems in the Midwest). Otherwise the trains didn't do too bad today. The roads on the other hand for highway traffic were another story. The Thruway connections did have delays or cancellations, however most of these were announced ahead of time. These were the routes that mainly go over the mountains. There was also snow on the Grapevine on I-5 in SoCal, however CHP was escorting traffic through. Overall the network was rather reliable though given the conditions.
 
bmjhagen9426 said:
Does anyone know anything regarding disruption resulting from this storm (CA Zephyr, Starlight, Capitols, Surfliners, San Joaquins, or AmBuses)?
Click to expand...
Of course Donner Pass could be closed affecting the CZ; snow in the Cascades could affect the CS but until Amtrak posts (on their website, Twitter, etc.) advisories, notices of service disruption, how would we know?
 
Main issue seems to have been mud. 14 took a delay north of Paso Robles and 11 took a delay in the mountains due to some track and freight issues. 6 left a tad left today due to the late inbound arrival of 5 and a minor mechanical issue. Looking at the live Caltrans Traffic Cameras, it still is coming down over Donner and traffic is now being held at Colfax (EB) and Truckee (WB) (as indicated by the line of trucks). Hopefully the plows are out in full force to keep the rail line clear.

Caltrans Highway Views
 
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roadman3313 said:
Main issue seems to have been mud. 14 took a delay north of Paso Robles and 11 took a delay in the mountains due to some track and freight issues. 6 left a tad left today due to the late inbound arrival of 5 and a minor mechanical issue. Looking at the live Caltrans Traffic Cameras, it still is coming down over Donner and traffic is now being held at Colfax (EB) and Truckee (WB) (as indicated by the line of trucks). Hopefully the plows are out in full force to keep the rail line clear.

Caltrans Highway Views
Click to expand...
Twitter said that the 6 was being held at Colfax, because of weather. I don't know if any rail is moving east of Colfax at this time.

California Zephyr Train 6 which departed Emeryville (EMY) on 1/28 is currently stopped in Colfax (COX) due to current weather conditions. A lengthy delay is expected. Updates to come.

5:42 PM CT · Jan 28, 2021·
Click to expand...

But... Transitdocs says the 6 left Colfax at 4:09 PT.

At 7:52PT the 6 was on the move per what could be seen on the Downtown Truckee webcam.

Here is some music for 6 to travel in the snow by...

 
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Looks like Transitdocs is correct:
@AmtrakAlerts

UPDATE: Train 6 which departed Emeryville (EMY) on 1/28 which was stopped in Colfax (COX) is back on the move operating approximately 3 hours 45 minutes late.

Still snowing in the area. I-80 still closed over Donner due to snow and multiple spin outs. Looks like several feet given how high the snow looks on some of the sign posts compared to this morning.




 
Overall summary:

Capitol Corridor:
Bus Service to Tahoe/Reno cancelled 1/27 and 1/28 due to winter weather conditions. A 30 minute delay between Roseville and Sacramento on 1/27 in the AM due to weather related downed power lines.

San Joaquin:
Thruway Buses to/from Bakersfield and other connection points are being affected due to severe weather. Expect delays.

Pacific Surfliner:
Train 777(28) will terminate in Goleta due to unpassable tracks due to current weather conditions. Alternative transportation (buses) will be provided to Grover Beach and San Luis Obispo. Lompoc Surf station will have no alternate transportation.

Train 774(29) will originate in Goleta. Alternative transportation (buses) will be provided from San Luis Obispo and Grover Beach. Lompoc Surf station will have no alternate transportation.

Coast Starlight:
Train 11(27) will terminate in San Luis Obispo on 1/28 due to unpassable tracks due to current weather conditions. Alternate transportation (buses) will be provided to points south. This train initially took a delay near Dunsmuir to unforeseen weather related track work.

Train 14(27) experienced heavy delays due to speed restrictions and a mudslide between Paso Robles and Salinas. No word yet if train 14(29) will originate in SLO due to the turning of train 11(27) at that location.

California Zephyr:
Train 5(25) took a delay of just over an hour passing through the Sierras heading West. This was combined with a 5+ hour delay due to freight train issues and weather in the Midwest.

Train 6(28) left EMY slightly late due to the previous late arrival of 5 plus a minor mechanical issue. It was held in Colfax for just under 4 Hours due to weather in the Sierras. The train made it through the mountains and arrived in Reno just under 5 hours late.

It should be noted that I-80 through the Sierras has been closed from Colfax to the Nevada State Line all day and is still closed at this hour. US-50 has had intermittent closures throughout the day due to Avalanche Control. Train 6(28), while delayed, was pretty much the only way through that portion of the Sierras today as all the Thruway buses were also cancelled ahead of the storm and road closure.
 
It will never happen but imagine what a tunnel under Donner would do for truck and passenger traffic. There is just not enough demand for traffic as compared to the N-S European tunnel traffic.
 
Sounds like the wash out on the Coast line may take some time to repair. Surfliners 774/777 will continue to originate/terminate in Santa Barbara/Goleta with alternate transportation to/from SLO and Grover Beach.

Amtrak Alerts already puts the Coast Starlight due to leave Seattle on Saturday terminating in Oakland on Sunday 1/31 with Alternate Transportation provided by other "Local Amtrak Services" (i.e. San Joaquin and Thruway Buses).

Donner was much nicer today in terms of the rails and roads. 5 took about an hour hit coming over the pass on top of delays further east but with padding it made it in to Emeryville just over 1.5 Hours late. Next chance of snow doesn't look to be until early next week so looks like a (much) needed break to clean up.
 

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