What happened to train 49 (May 17th)

Just wondering if anyone knows what happened to train 49 tonight (5/17).

Thanks.

C&O RR said:

Just wondering if anyone knows what happened to train 49 tonight (5/17).

Thanks.

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I don't have the answer, but I have the same question. :unsure:

Every stop between NYP and CHI is marked as a service distuption. It's beginning to look like the Lake Shore Limited (49) never left NYP on Tuesday. hboy:

I am on 49 now. we puled into ALB a bit late and were then told that we would be there for at least 90 min due to a bridge problem. We were still in ALB when I crashed around midnight. I woke up at 6:00 and learned that we were re routed and that we were 9 hours late. I just learned that we are not expected into CHI before 10:00 tonight. Everyone is extremely upset. I don't think all of the crew had the same info. Folks are also wondering why it took so long to make a decision to re route. I have come to expect some delays, but this is nuts! Sorry a bit frustrated....we are getting lunch. No word on dinnernjust yet.

I forgot to mention we are just west of Buffalo at this time

As I understand it, the Livingston Avenue bridge just outside of Albany became stuck in the open position, and once it was closed (hours later), a broken rail on the bridge had to be replaced. The bridge wasn't closed until 7:05 PM, and the broken rail replacement process hit problems that pushed work on that well past midnight. CSX brought in pilots at 2:30 AM to take the LSL on a detour through Selkirk. The bridge wasn't re-opened for service until 8:05 AM this morning.

Rafi

Thanks for the info Rafi. We are pulling into the Cleveland area now - about 11 hours late. Lunch was standard Amtrak fare. Rumor has it we'll get dinner, but no one knows what it will be.

Just in case anyone was curious....we're still limping along. Amtrak provided subway subs, chips, etc. for dinner after we left Toledo. We were slowed down due to freight traffic...at times less than 15 MPH. Just left Elkhart and I wonder if I will get a chance to enjoy my hotel room tonight.

Interesting... let us know what time you finally make Chicago.

BuzzKillington said:

Interesting... let us know what time you finally make Chicago.

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This morning (Thursday May 19 @ 9:47) Amtrak has the arrival of 49 marked as arriving in CHI at 10:34 PM on May 18, 2011, 12 hours and 49 minutes late. hboy:

Greetings - apologies for not chiming bin sooner. Arrived as indicated - 10:30-ish. We picked speed for a bit after South Bend... I realize that this delay was not due to Amtrak, but I am surprised that it took so long to re-route. Not sure if Amtrak had any say in that decision. I suppose it could have been worse!

deimos said:

I realize that this delay was not due to Amtrak, but I am surprised that it took so long to re-route. Not sure if Amtrak had any say in that decision. I suppose it could have been worse!

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Nope, that would have been CSX's decision, and they needed to provide a pilot crew for the detour since Amtrak's crews are not qualified to operate trains on that route.

I'm sure initially at least, both CSX & Amtrak were talking with one another and hoping that the bridge problem would clear up sooner than it did. But once they hit the broken rail problem, it would have become clear that it was going to take far to long to fix things. At that point no doubt CSX started scrambling to find engineers qualified on the detour route. And of course once you get a hold of someone, they've got to drive to the CSX yard and then be transported over to the Amtrak train. That alone could take 2 hours, as you've got the give the engineer time to get ready, drive to CSX, and then be driven over to the Amtrak station.

Thanks Alan

I'm currently on 50 heading to CIN. It departed 2 hours late since 51 was 4 hours late arriving CHI, plus they delayed departure to allow 30 pax from EB to make connection.

Also .. trying out new Droid 2 and 3G connect while enroute. Still getting used the Android browser....log in and log out links, etc. Its a different presentation in comparison to Firefox browser.

How did dinner on the second night ultimately shake out, dare I ask? The one time I was on a delayed LSL, the lunch fare was pretty thin...but we got nowhere near a second dinner onboard.

Amtrak seemed to be well prepared to serve lunch - almost as if it was an expectation.

Dinner was subway subs, chips and soft drinks - all delivered to the train in Toledo. The subs were ordered in bulk and cut into thirds to improve individual selection options. There were some left overs - and some folks were able to get more than one "slice".

Also, I think an Amtrak service representative boarded in Cleveland to help passengers with issues. I'm pretty sure a number of folks were taken off the train and moved to buses at various locations to help get them to some destinations.

I'm heading to WAS from CIN tonight. The Card 50(21) appears to be nearly on time - currently shows 5 minute delay.

Just got back from a 16 day trip and I will post a trip report later. We were on the infamous train 49 coming out of Boston in a roomette. We were scheduled to pick up the Empire Builder on the 18th. I think the service reps took care of the NY sleeper passengers first, because by the time they got around to us, the sleepers on the May 19 train were sold out. We got a confirmed coach reservation and figured we'd give things another try when we got to Chicago. We also were to be given a refund. In Chicago they put us at the Hyatt at McCormick Place and gave us $84 for cab fare and meals. The room was fine. The next day we talked to customer service to no avail and I thought an indifferent attitude. We then checked in and got a real nice ticket agent. I wish I could remember her name. She started working her computer and was able to get us in a Roomette from Minot to Whitefish which was better than nothing. We still got a substantial refund. The coach seats were not bad but I didn't get much sleep. It was not a great first impression of AMtrak as it cut our time in Whitefish to two days. Things, got better from that point on, however. More to follow.