Train 21, late, late late!

[DryCreek]

OK folks, I have been tracking OTP of 21/421 and 22/422 just to have an idea of what to expect for my first LD train vacation (officially dubbed our "Land Cruise" by the wife) coming up over the Memorial Day holiday next month.

I know that there is track maintenance that has necessitated a re-route from CHI to STL, and I have read that this can sometimes add between 1-1/2 and 2 hours to the time on that leg. That was seen in the train 21 (4/2) times into STL. Apparently, something happened between Popular Bluff and Little Rock. About 5 hours was added there. It hasn't even made it into Cleburne yet (my departure station) - and is optimistically scheduled for arrival in SAS at 0228! It is scheduled to be departing from SAS at 0245 after being mated to Train 1 (which is on time, so far).

Was there an equipment failure, or some other such event that caused such a huge delay? What if I were to be departing from Little Rock, and I timed it such that I had taken into account the approximately 1-1/2 hours it was running behind schedule into Popular Bluff. Would I be able to get an updated departure time from Julie by telephone while enroute? The reason I ask is because it is a nearly 40 mile drive from my house to my departure point (CBR). Fortunately, there usually isn't much of a chance for a lengthy delay to build between there and FTW, but it would be nice to check on the way over!

 

[Notelvis]

Not sure what happened to delay the train by 5 hours additional between Poplar Bluff and Walnut Ridge. Could have been a locomotive failure or a grade crossing accident by either the Amtrak train or a freight train right in front of it.

 

[Me]

Engine problems, yup. It appears they got to FTW, and are currently swapping it out as I type.

 

[DryCreek]

Engine problems, yup. It appears they got to FTW, and are currently swapping it out as I type.

Wow, so they keep an extra locomotive available as a protect? Or, are they using motive power from a host railroad? This sure adds credence to many peoples argument that the TE shouldn't have a single locomotive - I guess the stress of proving HEP and traction takes its toll on the equipment.

 

[Me]

Engine problems, yup. It appears they got to FTW, and are currently swapping it out as I type.

Wow, so they keep an extra locomotive available as a protect? Or, are they using motive power from a host railroad? This sure adds credence to many peoples argument that the TE shouldn't have a single locomotive - I guess the stress of proving HEP and traction takes its toll on the equipment.

Looked a little more in depth in to it. They had UP6028 lead from WTR to FTW. In FTW UP6028 and engine 76 was pulled off, and 16 was put on.

The issue wasn't related to HEP or traction, it appears to be something to do with cab signals.

 

[DryCreek]

Engine problems, yup. It appears they got to FTW, and are currently swapping it out as I type.

Wow, so they keep an extra locomotive available as a protect? Or, are they using motive power from a host railroad? This sure adds credence to many peoples argument that the TE shouldn't have a single locomotive - I guess the stress of proving HEP and traction takes its toll on the equipment.

Looked a little more in depth in to it. They had UP6028 lead from WTR to FTW. In FTW UP6028 and engine 76 was pulled off, and 16 was put on.

The issue wasn't related to HEP or traction, it appears to be something to do with cab signals.

Thanks for looking into that. So, was 16 already in FTW being held as a protect?

 

[Me]

Engine problems, yup. It appears they got to FTW, and are currently swapping it out as I type.

Wow, so they keep an extra locomotive available as a protect? Or, are they using motive power from a host railroad? This sure adds credence to many peoples argument that the TE shouldn't have a single locomotive - I guess the stress of proving HEP and traction takes its toll on the equipment.

Looked a little more in depth in to it. They had UP6028 lead from WTR to FTW. In FTW UP6028 and engine 76 was pulled off, and 16 was put on.

The issue wasn't related to HEP or traction, it appears to be something to do with cab signals.

Thanks for looking into that. So, was 16 already in FTW being held as a protect?

That I'm not sure. I can only assume it was.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

There is almost always a protect P42 in FTW along with a Superliner Coach; if you look at the Google Sat Map of the station, you can also see a Sightseer Lounge, likely from the Red River Rivalry Heartland Flyer.

 

[SanAntonioClyde]

Lately the Eagle has been saying "if it wern't for bad luck, I would have no luck at all."

 

[inthegauge]

Ummm... Cab Signals? None in use on the TE. Don't think that was why.

 

[Me]

Ummm... Cab Signals? None in use on the TE. Don't think that was why.

I am simply going by the data entered in to the Amtrak intranet. The reasons are always abbreviated, so I am not positive. It's too late for me to be able to go back in and post what was said.

This is kind of "funny" though. Engine 57 on 21(7) had HEP failure at WTR, and although I'm not sure if they recovered it or not, what engine did they tack on in FTW today? 76. Just checked 21(8), and they sent it out of CHI with two engines. Must be getting tired of having to rescue 21 this week!

 

[Twlankford]

I hope this Texas Eagle mess gets straightened out soon. I have a trip to San Antonio May 11 and returning May 15th. Both trips involve conections with the Cardinal.

 

[DryCreek]

There is almost always a protect P42 in FTW along with a Superliner Coach; if you look at the Google Sat Map of the station, you can also see a Sightseer Lounge, likely from the Red River Rivalry Heartland Flyer.

Yup, as we passed by the station on the way home from Macon MO yesterday we noticed the "Big Game Day" locomotive and a Superliner car (I assume a coach) in the yadr to the south of the boarding platforms.

The wife says "oh look! it's the Amtrak train". And then she pauses and remarks about how short it is. I was going to lead her on about how ridership had dropped and so forth, but then I explained how they hold rolling stock and motive power in reserve at certain points to cover equipment failures. I was too road-weary to play along at that point.

Edit year changed to yard.

 

[SouthernServesTheSouth]

I'll be headed to Chicago from San Antinio 2nd week of May. If 22 is running late how will they get to the Eastbound Cardinal? Is the delays of 4 to 5 hours delay expected to continue into May? I a headed to CVS on the Cardinal in a bedroom.

 

[the_traveler]

Sometimes if a train is running late, they may take connecting passengers off early and bus them to "catch up" to the other train. I'm not saying these specific cities, but maybe you get off the TE in STL and get bussed on I-70 to IND to get the Cardinal.

 

[Shortline]

Ummm... Cab Signals? None in use on the TE. Don't think that was why.

If that's what was reported, it's likely....no, it's not cab signal territory, but a cab signal defect can make the locomotive unable to load, rendering it useless effectively.

 

[DryCreek]

Again, today - train 21 has gone into service disruption. Apparently locomotive failure.....again. Didn't that just happen not too long ago? I'm talking about motive power failure, not the airbrake issue that had occurred since then.

More and more I can see the reasoning behind them using two power units for this train!

 

[Bigval109]

Engine problems, yup. It appears they got to FTW, and are currently swapping it out as I type.

I'm on board the Texas Eagle and we have engine breakdown and have been sitting here for many hours. Right now we're being towed back to Ft Worth and everything seems to be up in the air about what happens next.

 

[Bigval109]

At present I'm supposed to be in San Antonio and I'm very tired. Right now we going back to Ft Worth at about 28mph. That feels good after sitting so long.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Once again the Single P-42 on the Eagle results in a mess! When will the suits in Chicago get it that this Train requires 2 Engines?!!!

As the saying goes, "Let's look @ the record!" This is the 7th engine failure in the past year on this route, and there are numerous instances of various problems requiring UP and BNSF to send Rescue Engines out to tow the Eagle into civilization!

Note to Amtrak: To borrow a phrase from NASA, " Houston, we have a problem!"

 

[DryCreek]

At present I'm supposed to be in San Antonio and I'm very tired. Right now we going back to Ft Worth at about 28mph. That feels good after sitting so long.

Man, I am sorry that you are having to go through this. It does not bode well for those of us with a TE booking in three weeks! On the bright side, it looks like there wasn't a SL connector running last night, so that should help.....some.

Since we are connecting through to TUS, I wonder if it would be to our advantage to have a backup plan should this exact situation occur for us. How is parking at SAS? Safe enough to leave a decent vehicle there, or should I drive my old pickup?

And, how would they handle just such an event if I had to drive down to SAS to connect with the SL? Since we are booked on a through sleeper, I reckon they might not even have one available for us on the SL without the through 421 sleeper and coach. Would they even accept my tickets since we didn't board at CBR?

 

[DryCreek]

Once again the Single P-42 on the Eagle results in a mess! When will the suits in Chicago get it that this Train requires 2 Engines?!!!

I am starting to think that when they lock the prime mover to a speed to provide HEP that is what is causing all of these problems. The length of the consist alone saps a good deal of power for hotel loads, and then when you have to rely on the (already lowered capacity) of that same generator to provide traction power, you are setting yourself up for high-amperage heating damage (I2R losses) to both the generator and the traction motors.

 

[DryCreek]

As a note - the Amtrak train status for number 22 is currently shown as service disruption. It also shows a scheduled departure time of 0900. I show it currently to be 1224 here. I guess that needs to be updated, huh?

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

Dry Creek, I would not plan to "drive" to SAS as alternative. You are correct that the 421 sleeper car is actually switched from the Texas Eagle to the Sunset Limited thus there will be no sleeper for you to board should Eagle not make it to SAS. The good thing is that even if the Eagle in multiple hours late as it was several weeks ago, the Sunset Limited is held in SAS until the Eagle arrives. That is why the Sunset Limited a few weeks ago was late arriving in LAX around mid day instead of 5:30 AM as it usually arrives. Incidentally, the Eagle yesterday arrived in SAS this morning 6:58AM 9 hours late. Not a problem since there was no connecting Sunset Limited overnight that this Eagle connected to. The turn around Eagle 22 departed SAS 3 hours late this morning.

So the moral of my ramblings--don't over think this. Trust Amtrak to get you and your sleeper from the Eagle to Tucson safe and sound.

 

[Bob Dylan]

At present I'm supposed to be in San Antonio and I'm very tired. Right now we going back to Ft Worth at about 28mph. That feels good after sitting so long.

Since we are connecting through to TUS, I wonder if it would be to our advantage to have a backup plan should this exact situation occur for us. How is parking at SAS? Safe enough to leave a decent vehicle there, or should I drive my old pickup?
And, how would they handle just such an event if I had to drive down to SAS to connect with the SL? Since we are booked on a through sleeper, I reckon they might not even have one available for us on the SL without the through 421 sleeper and coach. Would they even accept my tickets since we didn't board at CBR?

The connection between ##21/421 and #1 is guaranteed in SAS. In the past they have either held #1 ( and #2 also) or bussed pax from FTW to SAS.
When it comes to your sleeper, if you wanted to drive to SAS you would need to "Modify" your rez to leave from SAS, not further North, since your rez will likely be Canceled if you're a no show @ your originating Station.

There basically is No Parking @ the Sunset Station in San Antonio, the lots around it are geared to tourist activities and Reserved for workers, plus they are expensive and short term!

I'd say that your odds of making the connection in SAS between #421 and #1 is like 90-95% Favorable since #1 only runs 3 times a week so plan on making your original trip!

There is quite a bit of padding on the schedule on the Sunset Route, by the time you get to Tucson you should be OK even if you arrive late!