Cancelations / mid-Atlantic storm

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acelafan

acelafan

Conductor
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
1,045
Location
Atlanta, GA
More heavy snow Friday into Saturday for much of the mid Atlantic region and some cancellations are already announced. Blizzard warnings have been issued for southern NJ and parts of DE. Might make for some great photography opportunities if the trains are running, and one dares to venture around a bit!

February 4, 2010

5:45 p.m. ET

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Due to impending winter weather conditions in Virginia and the Carolinas, most Amtrak service south from Washington, DC has been canceled for Friday, February 5.

 

All southbound Northeast Regional trains, with the exception of Train 67, are canceled between Washington and Richmond and Newport News with no alternate transportation. Northeast Regional Train 176 is canceled between Lynchburg and Washington and Train 171 is canceled from Washington to Lynchburg.

 

Palmetto, Trains 89 and 90, are canceled in their entirety between New York and Savannah.

 

Carolinian Trains 79 and 80 will operate only between Raleigh and Charlotte.

 

Cardinal Train 50 departing Chicago eastbound on February 4 will terminate in Huntington, W.V. As a result, Train 51, the westbound Cardinal, for February 5 will originate in Huntington and operate through to Chicago.

 

Silver Service trains between New York and Miami will operate normally.
 
Still running the Silver Meteor and Star. I've taken the Meteor down from NY in a heavy snowstorm. Was a great experience, had a slumbercoach room if I remember right.
 
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So what happened to rail's "so called" weather advantage?

Seems like Amtrak is just pain wimping out, in ADVANCE.

Just like the public schools do now, on the mere "THREAT" of snow.......

Damn Bill H., This country is full of pu**ies these days. No backbone or spine at all.

Everyone is afraid to "make a mistake".......................... Or WORSE yet, be labeled as one who does not subscribe to "political correctness" ....OMG how did I get on this rant......Sorry guys.
 
any diehard railfan will be out filming. just like the US mail neither rain or sleet or hail or snow will stop a railfan from getting their footage.
 
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Aw, that stinks.

I did a ride from Galesburg, IL to Chicago, IL on the Southwest Chief #4 today (2/4) and met this nice older gentleman in the lounge car who told me some tales of his days in WWII. He was going to Washington, DC to visit his son and decided to take the Cardinal instead of the Capitol Limited tonight because #50 was more scenic.

Now, it sounds like he's going to get stuck in WV.

I feel bad for him. :( I hope they caught this before #50 departed and stuck him on #30 instead.
 
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I sorta wonder why they are cancelling the Cardinal in WV even before the storm starts... I mean is there just not enough equipment to keep the tracks clear?? Or... what is going on here??? I agree... it does almost sounds like Amtrak is wimping out a little... what if the storm turns out not being as bad as predicted?
 
rtabern said:
I sorta wonder why they are cancelling the Cardinal in WV even before the storm starts... I mean is there just not enough equipment to keep the tracks clear?? Or... what is going on here??? I agree... it does almost sounds like Amtrak is wimping out a little... what if the storm turns out not being as bad as predicted?
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I was a little surprised the trains were canceled, but maybe Amtrak got really beat up in the big December storm and it's better to cancel than fight the weather.

Is it common for Amtrak to cancel trains like this during the winter? Could the host railroads have anything to do with these decisions?
 
rtabern said:
I sorta wonder why they are cancelling the Cardinal in WV even before the storm starts... I mean is there just not enough equipment to keep the tracks clear?? Or... what is going on here??? I agree... it does almost sounds like Amtrak is wimping out a little... what if the storm turns out not being as bad as predicted?
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Aloha

An hour or so ago I spoke with my sister and they are expecting this to be he worst storm this year, Friday Saturday They expect 18 inches. that is like an inch an hour, that is hard to keep up with.
 
And what if if it IS a bad storm? Push through. Geeze, the railroads did this for the better part of 100 years, with very little forecasting, or should I type "scare-casting".............

So what? It snows. You go slow. You swap trains mid-route. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
 
I think that they're trying to avoid the mess they got in for the December storm. Since this is likely to pass that one, and possible set the all time record here in DC, I think that discretion is the better part of valor this time around.
 
Ryan said:
I think that they're trying to avoid the mess they got in for the December storm. Since this is likely to pass that one, and possible set the all time record here in DC, I think that discretion is the better part of valor this time around.
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No, no, no, no, no, just run the damn trains......................
 
The december storms took a lot of P42s out of service, a couple possibly permanently. Amtrak is starting to come into a power crunch this winter. I think they're afraid of losing more power. I don't blame them. I saw one of the wrecked engines sitting in Chicago yard. Egad.
 
For many years, railroads extolled the virtues of their being the 'all-weather' mode of transportation. They proudly exclaimed their superiority over highway and airway modes of travel for dependability.

What happened?

Is it the drastic cuts in maintenance of way forces that kept the lines open back then as compared to now?

Is it modern high tech equipment is too prone to failure in severe operating conditions?

Or is it (I suspect) the Company lawyers paranoia over litigation that may ensue (pun intended) if trains get stranded enroute?
 
railiner said:
For many years, railroads extolled the virtues of their being the 'all-weather' mode of transportation. They proudly exclaimed their superiority over highway and airway modes of travel for dependability.What happened?

Is it the drastic cuts in maintenance of way forces that kept the lines open back then as compared to now?

Is it modern high tech equipment is too prone to failure in severe operating conditions?

Or is it (I suspect) the Company lawyers paranoia over litigation that may ensue (pun intended) if trains get stranded enroute?
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I am surprised that no one has bruoght up the possibility that the railroads or railroad (CSX) may have caused the cancelations.

:( :( :(
 
Ryan said:
I think that they're trying to avoid the mess they got in for the December storm. Since this is likely to pass that one, and possible set the all time record here in DC, I think that discretion is the better part of valor this time around.
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You are probably right on this one.

The airlines have learned the hard way that it is better to cancel the bulk or whole of their schedules to avoid digging themselves into a mess that would take much longer to recover from then just cancelling until its over.
 
oldtimer2 said:
railiner said:
For many years, railroads extolled the virtues of their being the 'all-weather' mode of transportation. They proudly exclaimed their superiority over highway and airway modes of travel for dependability.What happened?

Is it the drastic cuts in maintenance of way forces that kept the lines open back then as compared to now?

Is it modern high tech equipment is too prone to failure in severe operating conditions?

Or is it (I suspect) the Company lawyers paranoia over litigation that may ensue (pun intended) if trains get stranded enroute?
Click to expand...
I am surprised that no one has bruoght up the possibility that the railroads or railroad (CSX) may have caused the cancelations.

:( :( :(
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Acelafan raised that possibility.

So I still ask my questions, but direct it towards the host railroads if that is the case.
 
Personally I suspect that CSX may have played a part in the decision, since all the cancellations run on CSX tracks.

However, it wouldn't surprise me either if Amtrak went along willingly too. After all, it's not uncommon for Amtrak to cut back on the NEC schedule too when things get tough.

Quite possibly part of it is also a matter of dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. If they don't run the trains, we're here criticizing. But if they do run them and something goes wrong, like the Crescent sitting outside DC for several hours last December in the storm, not only are we here criticizing them you've also got a bunch of angry passengers. Angry passengers who somehow can't figure out that had they been flying, they'd still be sitting in an airport on their suitcase. Instead, they had heat, food, water, a comfortable seat, and still got where they needed to be even if they were delayed several hours. Last snowstorm saw flyers delayed 2 to 3 days.
 
rrdude said:
Ryan said:
I think that they're trying to avoid the mess they got in for the December storm. Since this is likely to pass that one, and possible set the all time record here in DC, I think that discretion is the better part of valor this time around.
Click to expand...
No, no, no, no, no, just run the damn trains......................
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Sometimes, you've just got to respect the weather - they don't run on the sheer force of willpower alone, man. I'll admit that I'm a little personally invested in this one, I've got a ticket for BWI-KIN early Sunday morning that I'd really like to be able to use.
 
Ryan said:
rrdude said:
Ryan said:
I think that they're trying to avoid the mess they got in for the December storm. Since this is likely to pass that one, and possible set the all time record here in DC, I think that discretion is the better part of valor this time around.
Click to expand...
No, no, no, no, no, just run the damn trains......................
Click to expand...
Sometimes, you've just got to respect the weather - they don't run on the sheer force of willpower alone, man. I'll admit that I'm a little personally invested in this one, I've got a ticket for BWI-KIN early Sunday morning that I'd really like to be able to use.
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We'll have to see what happens Sunday, but all indications are that service recovery will be in full force at that point. The problems Amtrak had in the December storm were rooted in the Virginia service for the most part--specifically with CSX on the RF&P. Once trains were getting stranded in VA, equipment supplies got choked on the corridor and dominos started falling. After that lesson, the brunt of the cancellations this time around are centered around the Virginia regionals and day trains (79/80, 89/90, etc) and a general thinning out of the regular schedule to afford some flexibility on crew availability, equipment deadheads for placement, etc. Amtrak's doing everything they can, to be sure. But in cases like this, sometimes it just comes down to a choice: either trudge out into the snow with your summer clothes on and pretend there's nothing going on, or you bundle up and take your time shoveling the driveway before you get in the car.

Rafi
 
Rafi said:
Ryan said:
rrdude said:
Ryan said:
I think that they're trying to avoid the mess they got in for the December storm. Since this is likely to pass that one, and possible set the all time record here in DC, I think that discretion is the better part of valor this time around.
Click to expand...
No, no, no, no, no, just run the damn trains......................
Click to expand...
Sometimes, you've just got to respect the weather - they don't run on the sheer force of willpower alone, man. I'll admit that I'm a little personally invested in this one, I've got a ticket for BWI-KIN early Sunday morning that I'd really like to be able to use.
Click to expand...
We'll have to see what happens Sunday, but all indications are that service recovery will be in full force at that point. The problems Amtrak had in the December storm were rooted in the Virginia service for the most part--specifically with CSX on the RF&P. Once trains were getting stranded in VA, equipment supplies got choked on the corridor and dominos started falling. After that lesson, the brunt of the cancellations this time around are centered around the Virginia regionals and day trains (79/80, 89/90, etc) and a general thinning out of the regular schedule to afford some flexibility on crew availability, equipment deadheads for placement, etc. Amtrak's doing everything they can, to be sure. But in cases like this, sometimes it just comes down to a choice: either trudge out into the snow with your summer clothes on and pretend there's nothing going on, or you bundle up and take your time shoveling the driveway before you get in the car.

Rafi
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I can understand that - no need to cause a disaster on the whole corridor with stranded trains. Here's an update with several cancellations for Saturday, including the Auto Train.

The following service has been canceled for Saturday, February 6.

 

The following Northeast Regional trains are canceled in their entirety: Train 82, 152, 156, 159, 165, 199. The following southbound Northeast Regional Trains will terminate in Washington, DC: Train 66, 67, 88, 99, 147, 194, and 195.

 

Palmetto, Trains 89 and 90, are canceled in their entirety.

 

Carolinian Trains 79 and 80 will operate only between Raleigh and Charlotte.

 

Auto Train 52 and 53 are canceled in their entirety.
 
Bravo to MARC for shuffling service today to get all of us commuters home.

Attention MARC Passengers--
Full service will operate on all three lines on Friday, February 5. In anticipation of the large snowstorm forecast for tomorrow, MARC has made the following changes to service for Friday, February 5 ONLY:

Penn Line: No additional trains will operate, but starting with train 520 (12:20pm departure from Washington), the larger rush-hour trainsets will be used on all trains.

Camden Line: Train 852 (5:51pm departure from Washington) will be cancelled. An extra Camden Line train will depart Union Station at 2:00pm making all stops to Camden Yards.

Brunswick Line: Train 877 (4:55pm departure from Washington) will be cancelled. An extra Brunswick Line train will depart Union Station at 2:40pm making all stops to Martinsburg, WV. Train 871 (Friday-only 1:40pm departure from Washington) will operate as scheduled.

The latest predictions are that the snow will begin in the late morning. Please exercise extreme caution tomorrow when arriving at your station, parking your car, walking to and boarding your train.

Thank you for riding MARC Train Service.
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I'm headed for the train station! :D
 
I'm scheduled to be on the Cardinal from Indianapolis to New York tomorrow night. If it is cancelled, when and how are passengers

notified and how does Amtrak reschedule the trip? What happens to the passengers who were terminated in Huntington, WV? How

do they get to their more eastbound destinations? Can one call Amtrak to find out the status of their train? I have looked at

amtrak.com and there is no status for my train. It's a blizzard in Indianapolis now.
 
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