What Happened to the Zephyrs in Nebraska?

[Agent]

Both the eastbound and westbound California Zephyrs, #6(17) and #5(18), went into service disruptions early this morning in Nebraska. Does anyone know what happened? Derailment? Flood? Irrigation Sprinkler?

 

[Lisle Man]

Father-in-Law on board #6 reports the train hit a herd of cattle at speed in rural Nebraska. Engineer reported at least 70 head killed and piled up on the front of the engine plus damage to undercarriage causing prolonged delay.

 

[Linda T]

Father-in-Law on board #6 reports the train hit a herd of cattle at speed in rural Nebraska. Engineer reported at least 70 head killed and piled up on the front of the engine plus damage to undercarriage causing prolonged delay.

Were they walking down the track? Wow! That's a bunch of dead cattle. I couldn't find anything on Google news which kind of surprised me -- they're typically up on this kind of thing.

 

[Grandpa D]

Father-in-Law on board #6 reports the train hit a herd of cattle at speed in rural Nebraska.

And those will be the most expensive cattle that the rancher owns. hboy:

 

[JayPea]

Someone on another board speculated that, with the drought and the cost of feed for the cattle in that part of the country sky high, that perhaps the rancher deliberately herded his cattle onto the tracks, as apparently some cattle were hit in the same area week or so previously. I may be naive, but I don't think the rancher would have gone to those lengths.

 

[Amtrak George]

Doggone it, I like both cows(plus steaks, milk, etc.) and trains, so this is sad, but I think I will have to come down in favor of the train here.

 

[Huskers88]

I've lurked on this site for a long time and absolutely love it. Never thought I had anything to add to the conversation until now so I guess this is my hello post. Having grown up on a Nebraska farm and having an active part in raising cattle I feel fairly certain I know what happened. The phrase "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" has a little bit of truth in it. At this time of year and especially with the drought this year cattle will poke their heads through the fence in order to get at the last bits of grass as well as the best bits of grass since they have not been grazed. Now when you put 1200 pounds of head and neck pushing on a fence those fences will sometimes break and next to a railroad there would be lots of un-grazed grass. Not really a new phenomena, that's why the front bottom part of a locomotive was called a "cattle catcher". What is staggering is the amount of cattle that the train hit. The only thing I can think of as to why that many were on the track is only a theory, and since this is the internet I'll share it. When you feed cows in the last month or two of pregnancy, if you feed them at night the majority of them will give birth during the day instead of at night. It's easier to monitor them calving during the day so most guys feed cattle in the evening. As such you have the lights on your tractor and on. Maybe these cattle thought someone was coming out to feed them and gravitated towards the lights. It's flat here in Nebraska so they could have seen those lights coming from a long ways away but instead of a tractor going 5-10 mph it was a locomotive going 79mph. Just a theory.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I was on #6 when it hit the Cattle between McCook and Holdridge ,Nebraska @ 100AM! We sat until 5AM when a UP Helper Engine showed up to take off the TransDorm which was severly damaged by the approximately 75 Cattle that were on the Tracks which according to the Engineer happened at 79mph! The front of the engine was pushed back like it hit a wall and the transdorm and Engine had blood and parts of Cattle under and all over it! We had no Head End Power for approximately 5 hours until the Engines were inspected, an Investigation was conducted by the authorities, UP and Amtrak and the Cattle owner was brought to the scene!! The Air hoses were damaged beyond repair on the Transdorm also!

Since the Conductors and Engineer run from Denver to Omaha, they went Dead on Hours and we had to wait on a Relief Engineer to be brought from Omaha (about 300 miles away! )and #5, which was delayed since we were blocking the Main and the Siding "Loaned" their Conductor to #6 and went on with one Conductor to Denver! Finally the Engineer arrived about 7AM, we procedded to Hastings Nebraska where the Conductors and Engineer that had gone dead were let off and we proceeded to Lincoln with One Conductor and One Engineer! When we arrived in Lincoln the Conductor that had gotten off #5 went Dead on Hours! and we stopped again and a a relief Conductor came out from Omaha to relieve him! We finally rolled out and arrived 9 Hours down into Omaha (first time I ever saw Nebraska in Daylight, not that I had missed much! :lol:

We then rolled out for Chicago and ran 9 Hours down the whole way! Since everyone on #6 missed their Connections, a Customer Service Crew was brought out from Chicago and met us in Burlington,Iowa but only were able to han dle about 20 Passengers during the Trip to Chicago since they were doing everything by Hand! All the Coach Passengers were given Snack Packs and Bottled Water and Fed Beef Stew and Rice for Free in the Lounge,and as a Pleasant Surprise, the Sleeping Car Pax were fed the Regular Menu for both Lunch and Dinner in the Diner! (Dinner is not a Normal Meal into CHI on this train!) Upon arrival into CHI @ Midnight, we were sent to Customer Service (think I broke the World Record for Fastest down the Platform into the Station) to get Vouchers for a Hotel and Money for a Cab and to eat on! We received $74 in Cash, were booked into Embassy Suites on State Street (Very Nice! ), took a Shower and hit the Bed until the next morning when we were to Return to Union Station to pick up our tickets for Mondays Eagle to Austin! (We were on an AGR Award, I called them and Amtrak had Rebooked us into a Sleeper in the Transdorm on the otherwise SOLD OUT Eagle#21!

Others were put on Busses to Illinois,Indiana, Michigan and Wisconson. All the Eastern Connections were Re-booked onto the Cap Ltd. and Lake Shore Ltd., how many or What Accomidations I dont know??? :unsure: I want to Commend the Ladies in the Customer Service Office and Ticket Agents @ the Station, they did a Professional, efficient Job under Strange Circumstances, a Very Nice Surprise consdiering the Chicago Reputation for rude and Uncaring Staff!!

The Relief Engineer that was on #6 when we hit the Cattle "guessed damage to the Lead Engine and Transdorm @ $500,000-$1,000,000!!! The Transdorm was left in a Siding in some Burg by a Grain Elevator, it was said it was unable to be towed @ this time?? The Crew was moved into the Diner since the Train was Full! As we say, it's always an Adventure on Amtrak! Me, Im ready to Leave tomorrow on my next Adventure!!

 

[Agent]

There's a picture on this forum of the lead engine being washed off with a fire hose.

 

[Bierboy]

There's a picture on this forum of the lead engine being washed off with a fire hose.

Very difficult to see anything with pic that size....and I won't pay to join ANY board.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Someone on another board speculated that, with the drought and the cost of feed for the cattle in that part of the country sky high, that perhaps the rancher deliberately herded his cattle onto the tracks, as apparently some cattle were hit in the same area week or so previously. I may be naive, but I don't think the rancher would have gone to those lengths.

Let me see if I have this right.

1. Cows enter ROW.

2. Passenger train hits cows.

3. Rancher sues owner of fence (freight RR).

4. Freight RR loses lawsuit due to biased laws.

5. Freight RR shrugs and passes bill on to Amtrak.

6. Amtrak pays entire bill without so much as a peep.

Even if the rancher didn't specific heard the cattle onto the ROW all he has to do is leave them with insufficient food and those cattle will find their own way to the ROW. Maybe it's time we started making the ranchers responsible for their own cattle. My guess is that there would be far fewer incursions that way.

 

[rusty spike]

6. Amtrak pays entire bill without so much as a peep.

Maybe so, but the CZ is offering a weekly special in the DC for "fresh-cut Nebraska beef" for its steak dinner. :giggle:

 

[AlanB]

3. Rancher sues owner of fence (freight RR).

The freight RR doesn't own the fence, it's the ranch owner's fence.

 

[PRR 60]

3. Rancher sues owner of fence (freight RR).

The freight RR doesn't own the fence, it's the ranch owner's fence.

That is not true in all cases.

There are many ranches in Nebraska that are "open range." Open range basically means that the ranch is not fenced and cattle are free to roam here, there and everywhere. Under open range laws, an adjacent property owner (like a railroad) that does not want livestock to wander onto their property is responsible to maintain a fence to specific requirements. If a proper fence is not in place or maintained, the owner of the livestock is not responsible for any damage done by livestock that wanders onto the adjacent property. I know that sounds counter-intuative to us eastern city folk, but that is the way it is in the west.

Now, I have no idea if the livestock that was on the BNSF tracks came off open range (not all ranches are open range), but if they did, the fence would be BNSF's responsibility.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Since this thread has evolved into a cow vs fence discussion, :giggle: I might add that Ohio law specifically requires railroads to maintain a fence along its ROW. Although there have technically been no open ranges in Ohio since the 1860s, the Public Utility Commission has required railroads to build and maintain fences. This was a much larger issue back in the late 19th century than today, but the law still stands and would be a factor in a projected "Cap Ltd vs Cow affair"

Let us have a moment of silence for our poor Nebraska bovines

 

[VentureForth]

I was on #6 when it hit the Cattle between McCook and Holdridge ,Nebraska @ 100AM! We sat until 5AM when a UP Helper Engine showed up to take off the TransDorm which was severly damaged by the approximately 75 Cattle that were on the Tracks which according to the Engineer happened at 79mph! The front of the engine was pushed back like it hit a wall and the transdorm and Engine had blood and parts of Cattle under and all over it! We had no Head End Power for approximately 5 hours until the Engines were inspected, an Investigation was conducted by the authorities, UP and Amtrak and the Cattle owner was brought to the scene!! The Air hoses were damaged beyond repair on the Transdorm also!

Since the Conductors and Engineer run from Denver to Omaha, they went Dead on Hours and we had to wait on a Relief Engineer to be brought from Omaha (about 300 miles away! )and #5, which was delayed since we were blocking the Main and the Siding "Loaned" their Conductor to #6 and went on with one Conductor to Denver! Finally the Engineer arrived about 7AM, we procedded to Hastings Nebraska where the Conductors and Engineer that had gone dead were let off and we proceeded to Lincoln with One Conductor and One Engineer! When we arrived in Lincoln the Conductor that had gotten off #5 went Dead on Hours! and we stopped again and a a relief Conductor came out from Omaha to relieve him! We finally rolled out and arrived 9 Hours down into Omaha (first time I ever saw Nebraska in Daylight, not that I had missed much! :lol:

We then rolled out for Chicago and ran 9 Hours down the whole way! Since everyone on #6 missed their Connections, a Customer Service Crew was brought out from Chicago and met us in Burlington,Iowa but only were able to han dle about 20 Passengers during the Trip to Chicago since they were doing everything by Hand! All the Coach Passengers were given Snack Packs and Bottled Water and Fed Beef Stew and Rice for Free in the Lounge,and as a Pleasant Surprise, the Sleeping Car Pax were fed the Regular Menu for both Lunch and Dinner in the Diner! (Dinner is not a Normal Meal into CHI on this train!) Upon arrival into CHI @ Midnight, we were sent to Customer Service (think I broke the World Record for Fastest down the Platform into the Station) to get Vouchers for a Hotel and Money for a Cab and to eat on! We received $74 in Cash, were booked into Embassy Suites on State Street (Very Nice! ), took a Shower and hit the Bed until the next morning when we were to Return to Union Station to pick up our tickets for Mondays Eagle to Austin! (We were on an AGR Award, I called them and Amtrak had Rebooked us into a Sleeper in the Transdorm on the otherwise SOLD OUT Eagle#21!

Others were put on Busses to Illinois,Indiana, Michigan and Wisconson. All the Eastern Connections were Re-booked onto the Cap Ltd. and Lake Shore Ltd., how many or What Accomidations I dont know??? :unsure: I want to Commend the Ladies in the Customer Service Office and Ticket Agents @ the Station, they did a Professional, efficient Job under Strange Circumstances, a Very Nice Surprise consdiering the Chicago Reputation for rude and Uncaring Staff!!

The Relief Engineer that was on #6 when we hit the Cattle "guessed damage to the Lead Engine and Transdorm @ $500,000-$1,000,000!!! The Transdorm was left in a Siding in some Burg by a Grain Elevator, it was said it was unable to be towed @ this time?? The Crew was moved into the Diner since the Train was Full! As we say, it's always an Adventure on Amtrak! Me, Im ready to Leave tomorrow on my next Adventure!!

!

 

[johnny.menhennet]

IMO the worst part of this is not the liability or the money it is the fact that yet more equipment is being taken off the roster for a LONG time. With the equip so stretched right now due to the 6th EB consist, this will hurt. Liability can be figured out later. What's critical is getting this equipment back up to service standards.