4 (4) The Train From Hell?

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I heard someone from the stuck train (on the news) complaining that "All they gave us was a small serving of mashed potatoes, some beef stew, and a dried-out roll."

Um, yeah. I remember eating the "emergency meal" some dozen years ago while on a 12-hour delayed TE and being grateful that they provided food....

IF I get out of here Thursday (as planned), I think I'm going to bring extra snacks just in case.....
 
fillyjonk said:
I heard someone from the stuck train (on the news) complaining that "All they gave us was a small serving of mashed potatoes, some beef stew, and a dried-out roll."

Um, yeah. I remember eating the "emergency meal" some dozen years ago while on a 12-hour delayed TE and being grateful that they provided food....

IF I get out of here Thursday (as planned), I think I'm going to bring extra snacks just in case.....
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Eric: Sounds like a Good Idea! (Is Flagstaff in the Deep Freeze with Snow like Most of the Country??)
 
Anderson said:
saxman said:
Anderson said:
I bailed to the River Runner. At the moment, my plan is, if the Card is operating from Indianapolis, to grab a one-way rental between STL and IND and connect from there.
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There's an Ambus between BLN and IND that can make the Cardinal. It leaves BLN at 7:15 pm. Of course who knows if the Lincoln Service trains are running today?
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Lincoln Service is down (the requisite connection was already axed anyway), but I have a one-way car rental from St. Louis to Indianapolis. I should have about 8 hours for the drive, which ought to be enough, even with the weather. So, with chewing gum and bailing wire, I've stuffed together a trip from LAX-RVR without going through either CHI or NOL.
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Did your River Runner just hit a tractor-trailer in Missouri?

jb
 
Nope. We were held up for a frozen diamond, but I'm currently in rural Illinois at a Steak and Shake on my way to Indianapolis.
 
John Bobinyec said:
Anderson said:
saxman said:
Anderson said:
I bailed to the River Runner. At the moment, my plan is, if the Card is operating from Indianapolis, to grab a one-way rental between STL and IND and connect from there.
Click to expand...
There's an Ambus between BLN and IND that can make the Cardinal. It leaves BLN at 7:15 pm. Of course who knows if the Lincoln Service trains are running today?
Click to expand...
Lincoln Service is down (the requisite connection was already axed anyway), but I have a one-way car rental from St. Louis to Indianapolis. I should have about 8 hours for the drive, which ought to be enough, even with the weather. So, with chewing gum and bailing wire, I've stuffed together a trip from LAX-RVR without going through either CHI or NOL.
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Did your River Runner just hit a tractor-trailer in Missouri?
jb
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That's what I was wondering when I just saw Agents post. Maybe Anderson can fix things up with his chewing gum & bailing wire. :eek: Hope it wasn't his train.
 
fillyjonk said:
I heard someone from the stuck train (on the news) complaining that "All they gave us was a small serving of mashed potatoes, some beef stew, and a dried-out roll."
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This person could have been on the airlines and would have got nothing except for up to a week stranded at an airport :)
 
Again, good luck driving to Indianapolis. Flagstaff is 41 degrees and just some leftover snow from before Christmas. Just drove up from Phoenix, where it was 66 but quite cool in 30s last night.
 
Rob Creighton said:
Has a melt down of this proportion ever happened in the Midwest before? At least in the existence of Amtrak? I don't ever remember media coverage or even coverage in Passenger Train Journal about everything just falling apart and I grew up in Chicago.

One thing I remember, a little off topic... but somewhat relevant in the middle of cold snap. Walking from the frigid vestibule into the diner, warm, toasty, brightly lit by sun with the smell of coffee and food. One of those wonderful sights, smells and visuals that you just can't get any where else!
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Rob, I can speak from personal experince from January 1979 when I went from Denver to New Haven, CT. The Denver to Chicago trip left Dever on time, the first night was spent in eastern Colorado and western Nebraska arriving in Lincoln just before noon. We spent a second night on the train going across Iowa and arrived in Chicago at 7 p.m. on the third night. All of the eastern trains were cancelled that night and we finally left on a very late Broadway Limited the next evening arriving in New York around 8 p.m. the next night. I took the Metro North train to New Haven and arrived after midnight. That was a major meltdown.
 
Beef stew, potatoes, and a roll is a perfectly acceptable meal and 100% more than you'd get on an airplane sitting on the tarmac or while stuck on a bus. Heck, that's one of my favorite meals and the perfect thing for a cold, winter night. They were warm and fed, and while I sympathize with the delays and cancellations (having been in both situations twice within the course of two weeks), I would hardly call that "no food". Homeless people have "no food". *They* had a hot meal. :angry:
 
I just observed Train 3 headed west departing Flagstaff on time. This would have been Train 4 that went through here this morning and was turned at Albuquerque. The group of us here in the pub are wondering if they put passengers off in ABQ to go to hotels or had the decision been made when it left LA And passengers for points east were not boarded.

Three years ago I was on a SWC in Feb '11 following that blizzard in Chicago. We were detoured by way of St. Louis and were very late, but they took good care of us. They served a complete dinner, not stew, to the sleeper passengers and a comp hamburger dinner as a take out to the coaches.
 
OlympianHiawatha said:
fillyjonk said:
I heard someone from the stuck train (on the news) complaining that "All they gave us was a small serving of mashed potatoes, some beef stew, and a dried-out roll."
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This person could have been on the airlines and would have got nothing except for up to a week stranded at an airport :)
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Yup. I just thought it showed something interesting about human nature. Apparently Amtrak did the best it could - in the local (BNL) paper today, there was a story that said the conductors on the stuck train helped "entertain" children and they also shepherded people off in small groups so they could smoke.

Even with the reporter putting the best face possible on it, that does sound a bit like "over and above."

Still, if I do get on the Eagle Thursday, I'm packing extra snacks and water just in case.....the beef stew is fine but it's nice to know I can take care of myself if I have to.
 
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