Ispolkom
Engineer
Mrs. Ispolkom and I made a quick trip from St. Paul to Minot over the weekend. We were in sleeper 0730 roomette 2 on the way west, on Friday, December 27, and sleeper 0830 roomette 2 going east on Sunday, December 29.
Our western trip confirmed why we prefer to ride Amtrak to other travel options, especially in winter. The temperature was expected to plunge below zero with a stiff north wind that was sure to kick up snow. I'm an experienced and confident winter driver, but even so I no longer drive long distances in bad weather if I have a choice. It was much better to park our car at the Midway station (for the last time, perhaps), and board our nice warm, safe train. We slept well and enjoyed breakfast in the dining car (I don't think that I'd ever tried the spinach and mushroom fritatta before), while outside the temperature and visability plunged as a ground blizzard swept across the state. I was very happy not to be driving, and not to have my mother worrying about us. We arrived in Minot about two hours late, and an unusually chatty conductor explained on the PA why:
1) slow orders between Fargo and Grand Forks
2) waiting for a late westbound Empire Builder to exit the Devils Lake subdivision at Grand Forks
3) oil patch traffic
A quote from the conductor: "Oil is king on this railroad, and passengers often are second. We're just renters on these tracks and have to follow BNSF orders."
Our return trip was equally pleasant. The eastbound train was 45 minutes late into Minot, and lost more than an hour overnight, but I've never considered the Empire Builder late if it arrives within 2 hours of schedule. Breakfast was just as good (I had the fritatta again), and we even had the same dining car crew. I swear that it was even colder in St. Paul. I'm used to scraping the outside of the windshield, not the inside as well.
I've had my share of late or poorly running Empire Builders this year, but this was a pretty good trip. No problems with frozen plumbing, even with the cold temperatures, and excellent crews each way.
It's interesting that Amtrak is getting a trifle more proactive about informing passengers about the delays on this line. I noticed a xeroxed newspaper article hanging next to the ticket office in Minot. The article attributed the Empire Builder's consistently poor OTP to BNSF. I imagine that staff there get an earful about late trains.
Our western trip confirmed why we prefer to ride Amtrak to other travel options, especially in winter. The temperature was expected to plunge below zero with a stiff north wind that was sure to kick up snow. I'm an experienced and confident winter driver, but even so I no longer drive long distances in bad weather if I have a choice. It was much better to park our car at the Midway station (for the last time, perhaps), and board our nice warm, safe train. We slept well and enjoyed breakfast in the dining car (I don't think that I'd ever tried the spinach and mushroom fritatta before), while outside the temperature and visability plunged as a ground blizzard swept across the state. I was very happy not to be driving, and not to have my mother worrying about us. We arrived in Minot about two hours late, and an unusually chatty conductor explained on the PA why:
1) slow orders between Fargo and Grand Forks
2) waiting for a late westbound Empire Builder to exit the Devils Lake subdivision at Grand Forks
3) oil patch traffic
A quote from the conductor: "Oil is king on this railroad, and passengers often are second. We're just renters on these tracks and have to follow BNSF orders."
Our return trip was equally pleasant. The eastbound train was 45 minutes late into Minot, and lost more than an hour overnight, but I've never considered the Empire Builder late if it arrives within 2 hours of schedule. Breakfast was just as good (I had the fritatta again), and we even had the same dining car crew. I swear that it was even colder in St. Paul. I'm used to scraping the outside of the windshield, not the inside as well.
I've had my share of late or poorly running Empire Builders this year, but this was a pretty good trip. No problems with frozen plumbing, even with the cold temperatures, and excellent crews each way.
It's interesting that Amtrak is getting a trifle more proactive about informing passengers about the delays on this line. I noticed a xeroxed newspaper article hanging next to the ticket office in Minot. The article attributed the Empire Builder's consistently poor OTP to BNSF. I imagine that staff there get an earful about late trains.
