Our train had to be towed - what an embarrassment!

[me_little_me]

On Saturday, July 17th we were waitng for the Southwest Chief to arrive in Albuquerque for our trip to Kansas City. Four hours late (that was good - explained below) and towed by a freight diesel engine from Burlington Northern Santa Fe. How embarrassing! Apparently our engine broke down and BNSF had to send an engine to tow the train. Amtrak had a new engine waiting in ABQ to replace the broken one. It arrived too late for us to have lunch on board but there was good news:

The train was due in to Kansas City at 7:15 the next morning and almost every day for the previous two weeks it was on time or early. That means you have to get up real early in the morning to shower, pack and have breakfast. Moreover, since we wanted to see some of the stuff at the station (museums, etc), it would mean hanging around until 1PM as they don't open until then on Sunday. With the four hour delay, we got a full night's sleep, plenty of time to get ready and a relaxing, leisurely breakfast before arriving five hours late. We even got to see those towns and wheat fields in Kansas that nobody ever sees because the train goes through in the middle of the night. Talk about excitement! Flat, dull fields. So, all in all, it as a great ride.

 

[Guest]

When handed lemons some people make lemonade! Experienced travelers recognize this scenerario, glad it all came together for you!

 

[the_traveler]

Welcome!

It's great that you made a bad experience into a good experience. Many riders would say something like "Amtrak is always late" or "I'm never going to ride Amtrak again"! Then they say "I'll fly next time"!

I remember 1 time I flew from ORD to PVD. I had my dinner (this was back in the old days when they served meals

) saw 1 movie, and saw 1/2 of another movie - and all this happened before we even took off!

And it was once of the few times I flew First Class!

I didn't mind the delay at all! (Just keep refilling them drinks!

)

 

[greatcats]

Glad you enjoyed the trip. In my opinion, places like Kansas are beautiful in their own way. On my upcoming bigtime road trip around the continent, I may just follow the route of the Southwest Chief through the boring, dull fields. One of my favorite places on that train is waking up westbound in Kansas and seeing the sun rise over the prairie.

 

[JayPea]

Would it be that all passengers turn what could be a negative into a positive in this fashion.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Good report and glade you took a negative and turned it into a positive. Those p-42s have been breaking down allot lately.If they keep breaking down they will make the P40CH(POOCH) locomotive look good.

 

[me_little_me]

Another interesting fact. The Westbound Chief arrived on time on the furthest track from the station building. People, of course, have to cross the tracks (concrete walkways) to get to it. As people were crossing, our train came in on the middle track. Those not in the first group had to walk through our train to get to the Westbound. As people were loading onto our train, the northbound Rail Runner (a fabulous, well-run commuter to Santa Fe) arrived on the closest track. Latecomers to the Westbound now really had fun walking through two trains!