EmpireBuilderFan
Lead Service Attendant
Well, UP has announced another tie replacement blitz for the California Zephyr, so the opportunity once again arises to ride along the original transcontinental railroad between Denver and Salt Lake City. From Gene Poon on the Yahoo Amtrak mailing list:
I wish I could get a trip on one of these detours. I just finished reading Nothing Like It In the World, Stephen Ambrose's book on the building of the Transcon. It's very interesting reading, as he tells it more as a story than as a history lesson.CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR DETOUR DUE TO TIE REPLACEMENT WORK
TIE REPLACEMENT PROJECT:
UNION PACIFIC WILL INSTALL 86,553 TIES BETWEEN BOND, MP 128.8,
(NEAREST STATION IS GRANBY) AND PALISADE, CO, MP 437.0
(NEAREST STATION IS GRAND JUNCTION), BETWEEN THURSDAY,
SEPTEMBER 1, AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2005. DURING THE WORK
PERIOD NO TRAINS CAN OPERATE OVER THIS PART OF THE RAILROAD.
TRAINS 5/6 DETOUR DATES
TRAINS ORIGINATING EMY AND CHI ON THE FOLLOWING DATES WILL
DETOUR BETWEEN DENVER AND SALT LAKE CITY VIA SOUTHERN
WYOMING:
TRAIN ORIGIN DATES DETOUR DATES
----------------------- -----------------------
AUG 31 THROUGH SEP 7 SEP 1 THROUGH SEP 8
SEP 15 THROUGH SEP 22 SEP 16 THROUGH SEP 23
SEP 30 THROUGH OCT 7 OCT 1 THROUGH OCT 8
OCT 15 THROUGH OCT 22 OCT 16 THROUGH OCT 23
OCT 31 THROUGH NOV 3 NOV 1 THROUGH NOV 4
NOTE THAT THE ACTUAL DATES OF THE DETOUR ARE ONE DAY LATER
THAN THE TRAIN ORIGIN DATES.
SCHEDULES EMY-SLC AND DEN-CHI ARE UNCHANGED; IN FACT, THE
DETOUR TAKES LESS TIME SO IT IS LIKELY THAT THE TRAIN WILL
ARRIVE EARLY IN SLC FROM THE EAST AND IN DEN FROM THE WEST.
NO STOPS WILL BE MADE ON THE DETOUR ROUTE.
ON DATES NOT INCLUDED ABOVE, THE TRAIN WILL OPERATE ON ITS
NORMAL ROUTE MAKING ALL STOPS:
ORIGIN DATES OF NORMAL OPERATION
--------------------------------------
- ORIGIN DATES AUGUST 30 AND BEFORE
- ORIGIN DATES SEPTEMBER 8 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 14
- ORIGIN DATES SEPTEMBER 23 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 29
- ORIGIN DATES OCTOBER 8 THROUGH OCTOBER 14
- ORIGIN DATES OCTOBER 23 THROUGH OCTOBER 30
- ORIGIN DATES NOVEMBER 4 AND AFTER.
ARROW ACCURATELY SHOWS THE DATES OF NORMAL OPERATION AND THE
DATES OF THE DETOUR. ASK YOUR CUSTOMER FOR THE ACTUAL
INTENDED DATE OF TRAVEL AND USE THAT IN YOUR AVAILABILITY
ENTRY. IF THE CUSTOMER SPECIFIES A DATE WHEN THE TRAIN IS
DETOURING AND MENTIONS THAT HE OR SHE REALLY WANTS TO SEE THE
SCENERY, OFFER TRAVEL ON A DATE WHEN THE TRAIN IS NOT
DETOURING.
MISSED STOPS
THE ONLY STOPS ON THE NORMAL ROUTE THAT WILL BE PROTECTED
WHEN THE TRAIN IS DETOURING WILL BE GLENWOOD SPRINGS AND
GRAND JUNCTION, AND ONLY TO AND FROM DENVER AND THE EAST.
TRAIN 5 - BUS 3505 DP DEN 805A, AR GSC 153P AR GJT 357P.
(THESE ARE THE TRAIN TIMES; THE BUS CAN GO MUCH
FASTER. THE BUS MAY ARRIVE EARLY AT GSC AND GJT.)
THE BUS DROPS OFF PASSENGERS ONLY.
BUS WILL WAIT FOR TRAIN 5 IF IT IS LATE.
TRAIN 6 - BUS 3606 DP GJT 1043A, DP GSC 1230P, AR DEN 658P.
(THESE ARE THE TRAIN TIMES; THE BUS CAN GO MUCH
FASTER. THE BUS WILL DEPART GJT AND GSC AT THE
TIMES SHOWN BUT MAY ARRIVE EARLY AT DEN.)
THE BUS PICKS UP PASSENGERS ONLY.
BUS WILL OPERATE AT THESE TIMES EVEN IF TRAIN 6 IS
LATE.
OTHER STOPS ARE NOT PROTECTED BECAUSE THEY ARE WELL OFF THE
MAIN HIGHWAY (WIP, GRA) OR RIDERSHIP IS LOW (PRO, HER, GRI)
AND IN EITHER CASE, THE BUS RIDE WOULD BE VERY LONG.
PLEASE NOTE IN PARTICULAR THAT THERE IS NO BUS BETWEEN GSC
AND GJT, ON THE ONE HAND, AND STOPS ON TRAINS 5/6 BETWEEN SLC
AND EMY, ON THE OTHER HAND. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS NO
SERVICE FROM THESE STOPS TO AND FROM SLC AND POINTS WEST.
(THERE ARE SOME GROUPS ALREADY BOOKED OVER THIS SEGMENT AND
INDIVIDUAL ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE HANDLED BY THE GROUP DESK.)
(Cut passenger notification and other internal Amtrak "stuff")