Call Cuss-tomer Service when you are back home and tell them how much this has inconvenienced you. This should help you get a big credit for future Amtrak travel. You can then use some of the credit to stock up on the things once offered to passengers, plus drinks in the cafe when you are really late on the next trip.
I've seen long trains of empty grain cars heading west, so I'm looking forward to even bigger traffic-related delays on my Hi Line trip next month as grain shipments ramp up. There's only so much toothpaste you can push through the tube.
The previous #8 (9/01) arrived at CHI yesterday "only" 1 hour and 8 minutes late. So it is possible now for #8 to do better than getting into Chicago 3, 4, 5, 8 hours late. This #8(9/02) was doing pretty well until the almost 7 hour delay, but it is now a good bet to get to CHI after midnight.
What I hear from ND is -- that those grain empties will - at last - ship last year's harvest to make room for this year's grain harvest - which will then wait a year or so before it can possibly be shipped by rail. Luckily hard red and amber durum keep fairly well year-to-year.
