battalion51
Engineer
Both from the Trains.com newswire for Today (November 3, 2005)
There's a curiosity with each story. On the Meteor that makes two Engine fires Amtrak's had in two weeks. I'm not saying these were intentional, but it is a little odd. Secondly for the Palmetto story, I'm surprised by the route it's taking. The only reasoning I can come up with for the route is to keep T&E online out of FLO to SAV. But still this is going to require either pilots or folks to get qualified on new territory, both seem highly unnecessary. But if you're into rare trackage, buy your tickets!Locomotive on Amtrak Silver Meteor catches fire
CRESCENT CITY, Fla. – Amtrak’s northbound Silver Meteor, bound from Orlando to New York, was delayed more than 3 hours when a diesel fuel leak caused a fire in its locomotive Wednesday afternoon on CSX near Crescent City, according to a story in the Palatka (Fla.) Daily News. Crescent City is 80 miles south of Jacksonville.
Train No. 98 was met by local fire departments from Crescent City, Pomona Park, and Georgetown, Fla. There were no injuries. The locomotive crew was evaluated for possible smoke inhalation but did not require medical treatment.
“Some flames were visible coming from the engine when we arrived, and it took about 30 minutes to get it under control,” said firefighter Lt. Keith Fleetwood. “It took several hours for Amtrak to get a second engine in from Sanford.” Sanford is just north of Orlando.
Georgetown and Pomona Park volunteer fire departments provided water and ice for the passengers, who did not disembark. The train arrived at Jacksonville 3 hours, 14 minutes late.
The Silver Meteor normally runs between Miami and New York, but it has been terminating in Orlando due to damage to CSX track to the south caused by Hurricane Wilma.
CSX trackwork may detour Amtrak Palmetto
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s northbound Palmetto, train No. 90, which runs from Savannah, Ga., to New York, is anticipated to detour from Florence, S.C., to Selma, N.C., for four days, Nov. 14-17, because of trackwork being planned for that period in North Carolina by CSX on the train’s normal route, Trains magazine has learned from Amtrak sources. Missed station stops between Florence and Rocky Mount, N.C., will be covered by a bus. The southbound Palmetto, train 89, will not be affected.
The train will veer from its normal route, the CSX “A Line,” just south of Dillon, S.C., onto CSX’s freight-only Andrews Subdivision, a former Seaboard Air Line route between Charleston, S.C., and Hamlet, N.C. At Hamlet, the train will access the Amtrak Silver Star route, CSX’s Aberdeen Sub, to Cary, N.C., and then Norfolk Southern through Raleigh to Selma, before rejoining its normal route.
The northbound Palmetto is expected to lose 2 hours or more going via the detour, and for those 4 days, will depart Savannah and all stops through Florence, S.C., 1 hour in advance of the published scheduled times. The Andrews Subdivision has been used occasionally in the past as an alternate route by Amtrak, owing to either trackwork or line service disruptions, for the Palmetto and/or the New York-Florida trains.