UP Trains won't get back on Cascades track for weeks

Good story about the slide that is still blocking the I-5 corridor between Klamath Falls and Eugene. Some have said it may be July before all is back to normal.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... xml&coll=7

Here are some dramatic (and I'm not given to superlatives in my writings) photos showing the scope of the damage this slide caused. I learned of this material reviewing another site.

http://www.budandraven.com/gallery/main ... temId=2496

While not as prevalent here as at some sites, I think it is time for the passenger advocacy community simply to "stow' any of the rhetoric to the effect of "we want our Starlight back...now". UP clearly has a few other things on the plate than when Amtrak service will be restored.

UP is currently running thousands of out-of-route train miles per week due to the obstruction.

Some amazing photos in that slideshow (after a 2 day viewing party, wow that's alot of photos) Seems like anytime there was any progress made, it would snow again and turn it back to a slop pit.

Wow, they really are amazing photos in that slide show. Hard to believe that there was a railroad under there in some of those pics!!!

Whats amazing to me is the size of the project, something that probably hasn't been that large of a project in that area since the line was built! -

only the railroad can take on something like that and get it done (not that they have a choice) - it might take a while, but it will get done!!!

LA Times story:
Oregon landslide is bad for a railroad, good for a town
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... ?track=rss

According to Amtrak's website, they expect to operate #14 NB Starlight through LA to Seattle on April 21.

Place your bets!!!

From the aerial photos I saw, it looks like the line was actually destroyed, in three seperate places, from the slides, where the tracks were "stacked' above each other, where they gained elevation by multiple passes up the side of the mountain. There are now "cycle" trains, running around the clock, from Eugene, taking rip-rap, ballast and fill material, in Difco side dumps, as fast as they can run to the work sight, dump, then turn.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:According to Amtrak's website, they expect to operate #14 NB Starlight through LA to Seattle on April 21.

Place your bets!!!

With all the work yet to be done, that's being overly optimistic. Frankly, I'd be amazed if service was restored before Memorial Day...

I've got it from an "inside source", that only two slides occured across the railroad. The other one was across a road, perhaps a logging road. Thanks LCJ, er I mean "inside source".........

We are still meeting their trains out their on the Oregon Trunk. Our newspaper had a write up on it today. UP is saying they are expecting to start running the trains being routed through Salt Lake this weekend. They want to try and run some in the evening and let the m.o.w. work in the day. We will see what happens...

Latest info (as of 4/1) is that they hope to "rough-in" track during the next couple of weeks, enabling a limited number of freight trains to move some time this month.

LCJ wrote:Latest info (as of 4/1) is that they hope to "rough-in" track during the next couple of weeks, enabling a limited number of freight trains to move some time this month.

Thats what they are telling us BNSF guys. No trains have gone through yet...

Engineers on another forum are reporting they've run through there already.

Rockingham Racer wrote:Engineers on another forum are reporting they've run through there already.

Hmph. If they really knew anything, they'd be posting here.