Amtrak On-Time Performance (OTP) Delays Reroutes Annulled

Before anyone asks, Downeaster 688 hit and ran over a trespasser just north of the junction leading into Portland station today, causing it to suffer a 2h50m delay. I got wind of it from my Boston friend who's traveling back home after a day trip with a relative. The police and medics were involved but no other injuries, the trespasser declared dead at the scene and removed, the crew swapped out, and train inspected before leaving the scene on the way to South Station.

South station ????

west point wrote: ↑Fri Aug 27, 2021 2:51 am South station ????

North Station, I mean. Can't we get these damned stations linked?!? I'm already writing it in the next train tour novel..

Weird... getting word through Virtual Railfan that passenger rail service at San Juan Capistrano, CA is canceled until Oct 3rd. I think that's the Pacific Surfliner. Anyone has better details? Amtrak's site is a bit dense at this time and ye brainpower is on "low".

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:31 pmWeird... getting word through Virtual Railfan that passenger rail service at San Juan Capistrano, CA is canceled until Oct 3rd. I think that's the Pacific Surfliner. Anyone has better details? Amtrak's site is a bit dense at this time and ye brainpower is on "low".

High surf is washing trains as they pass along the line. It may wash away the tracks.
When the waves subside the service will resume ... assuming the track is in place.

Beach Erosion Suspends All Metrolink, Amtrak Service Between OC, San Diego

Metrolink and Amtrak have been forced to suspend service between Orange and San Diego counties for several weeks in order to conduct emergency repairs caused by beach erosion.

The two railroad companies announced Wednesday night that service was being immediately suspended in order to conduct emergency repairs on the track in San Clemente.

BNSF has been dumping rip-rap almost every day since the suspension to try and stabilize the embankment. There is a picture out there( which I can't find now) of a train dumping stone and getting washed by the incoming waves.

Here's a good sample of trains questionably delayed by NS between Porter and Chicago:
PERE MARQUETTE 371 by CP 482 8:04, arrived CHI 10:27 (due 9:08)
LAKE SHORE LIMITED 49 by CP 482 8:33, arrived CHI 10:42 (due 9:50)
WOLVERINE 351 by CP 482 9:21, arrived CHI 10:52 (due 10:47)
CAPITOL LIMITED 29 left South Bend at 8:07 ET and arrived CHI 10:14 CT (due 8:45 CT) (normally an 85-95 min trip)
BLUE WATER 365 left New Buffalo 11:38 ET and arrived CHI 12:39 CT (due 11:45 CT) (normally a 70-80 min trip)
With 482-CHI running time normally 50-60 min and considering normal times from SB and NBU, the first 4 trains should have been early or OT and 365 only a few min LT.
It should also be noted that 351 made its first OT departure from Kalamazoo in at least 1.5 yr, passed 482 5 min early, only to be tripped up on its final lap. So much for protecting a daily scheduled train's time slot.
WOLVERINE 353 left New Buffalo at 1:36 ET and arrived CHI 2:12 (due 2:32 CT), which indicates the congestion only affected morning trains.
​Andy

Wire service reports for Valentine's Day 2022 have Acela 2151 departing Boston, Massachusetts for Washington, D.C. about 5:05 a.m. and being annulled upon arrival at New York's Penn Station about 4 p.m. after losing power near Hunters Point about 8:37 a.m.

https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/lo ... passengers

So why did it take 6 hours to get a rescue engine hooked up and drag the train to NYP?

OMG! Seriously, why?!?!? No excuse for that amount of time right next to NYP.

Am I looking at the past with rose colored glasses or was Amtrak in the rainbow era much better at handling breakdowns than today?

Acela train 2151 is a popular option for people traveling from Boston to New York City for in person meetings, as it departs South Station at 5:05 am. The trains popularity has been ticking back up as more in person meetings are starting to happen.

Save for Valentine's Day when the train stalled out in Queens, and did not move for hours.

We know things happen, BUT, why were no protect engines available until the afternoon ?

https://www.wcvb.com/article/more-than- ... k/39078936#

Ken

Freakin' Amtrak... I'm having flashbacks to the June 21, 2010 MARC 538 incident near DC. Tell me if this sounds familiar:

• Train breaks down on the busy NEC.
• Engineers and conductors concentrate on diagnosing and fixing the problem.
• Passengers are not notified and left clueless.
• Delays mount until a rescue engine is found and attached.
• Train is terminated.

The connecting relevance here is that in both cases, Amtrak personnel were running the train (by contract for MARC in 538's case). The difference here is 2151 was in colder weather and was kept warm by sunlight, while 538 was in sweltering heat that ended up evacuating the train and pulling in medics late -- a far worse case.

Mr. Lamb, back in "Rainbow Days", the roads still had "Passenger Traffic Departments" as the relationship with Amtrak was "turnkey" or, another term, "wet lease". They ran the trains under essentially a Purchase of Service agreement with Amtrak. The assumption of activities was not complete until "the 80's" when T&E became Amtrak employees.

But regarding the 2151(14) incident, I think "someone got some 'splainin to do".

We have no clear idea why it stopped.

The comments about a burning smell make me question if it was a seized brake or traction motor, which the crews would need to deal with first before it could be moved.

I watched a brake seizure on a train one morning at a station. It took mechanical three hours to fix before it could deadhead back to a place where the bad ordered car could be cut out... try doing that on a mainline where there isn't easy access for the mechanical guys or their tools.

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