Empire Builder #8: Departing SEA on June 16, 2017

I see on the Real Time Status Map that #8 left Seattle 1 hour and 54 minutes late on Friday. I have been following the schedule recently since I will be aboard in July and this late departure is unusual. The train almost always leaves on time. Any information as to why the train left so late on Friday?

It looks they added extra equipment.

Thirdrail7 said:

It looks they added extra equipment.

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Thanks for your reply. How do you know this? There must be a web site with this information about which I am not aware.

Dakota 400 said:

Thirdrail7 said:

It looks they added extra equipment.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. How do you know this? There must be a web site with this information about which I am not aware.

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He is an Amtrak employee...

OBS said:

Dakota 400 said:

Thirdrail7 said:

It looks they added extra equipment.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. How do you know this? There must be a web site with this information about which I am not aware.

Click to expand...

He is an Amtrak employee...

Click to expand...

Aw, you gave it away. I was going to say he has a crystal ball.

I appreciate the information, but why should this this lead to such a delay for the train's departure?

Just a wild, uneducated guess as to why it can take so long. And I have no idea what Seattle is like as I've never been there.

EB is on track 1, extra equipment is on track 3. Switcher engine goes to get extra equipment...it takes time to hook up cars to engine. Switcher engine is ready to move cars from track 3 to track one, but wait, here comes a long freight on track 2. Then when it finally gets onto track 1, it takes time to hook up the cars to the EB and unhook the switcher engine.

And to add to the delay, the extra equipment may have been added to the middle of the consist, so you have to separate cars and put the additional cars in, etc, etc.

Sometimes, orders come down later than others. You find out that because of a situation elsewhere, you have to add equipment that will get set off (like in SPK as an example). So, now you have to wait for the equipment, get it serviced and added into both ends of your train so it can get cut off enroute.

This is something that happens quite often across the system. A perfect example is yesterday, when a train was held (just as it was ready to depart) so they could add additional equipment to accommodate displaced passengers from another train that was delayed by a trespasser strike.