Southeast Flooding (October 2015) - Weather related cancellations

I switched to the big silver bird on Thursday for the trip to Washington DC to join the Gathering. The return trip for me moved from the Star to the Meteor on Sunday. My primary goal currently is to amass enough AGR point during this trip to become Select+ for the next year, and the fare that I got on the Meteor on the way back meets that requirement.

The air fare to Washington was chump change compared to that, and oddly enough this flight will get me to Platinum on United too.

andersone said:

Noah, this is the Lord Noah

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Really. One would think Amtrak could offer alternate service aboard an ark.

Decision made - by Amtrak. Tomorrows 97 has been canceled so no going to FL for me. Glad I didn't cancel my Friday back-up ticket to ALX.

Looks like they have now put a hold on both 98 and 92 on Wednesday. And of course same is true for 97/98 and 91/92 tomorrow too.

All these cancellations just points to the need for alternate routes. Florida passengers could have taken the Crescent to Atlanta and an Atlanta - Florida train. Probably routed thru Jacksonville. That way greatly expanded trains using the silver's consists on the rear could have been routed thru Atlanta on those two trains.

SteveSTX said:

VentureForth said:

SteveSTX said:

Crap. I'm taking Meteor from Orlando to NYP on the 16th. Hope they can get it resolved by then.

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If it rains for the next 11 days, then no. It's not THEM resolving anything. It's the weather. And, if it DOES continue to rain for the next 11 days, then there are going to be a whole lot more problems than just li'l ol' Amtrak.

NOTE: As of 0:37 EDT this morning, Palmetto is cancelled. Silvers only operating between JAX and MIA.

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Well if tracks are washed out because of the weather, then there is a "THEY" that will need to resolve it.

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I guess I didn't see anything about tracks getting washed out. But that's certainly a possibility, and I'm sure the effort will commence as soon as the flooding subsides. I hear that the Columbia flooding will actually cause the rivers to not crest until Thursday. That could be a problem. But, rest assured, CSX won't let their precious mainline stay out of service too long!

It appears that the "A" line will be the first to be repaired ? Once fixed combine Meteor with Star southbound. Choice might be to delay north bound Meteor to meet the "stars" timetable ? That might be too late so rebook as many as possible passengers on Meteor and run the stub Star MIA - JAX ? That would cover the many Star passengers south Florida - TPA.

I grew up in Columbia just next to the Arcadia Lakes/Forest Acres area that is Ground Zero. Yes, the trains need to run, but I have a more personal connection, even if it has been decades.

The pictures look ugly. In high school I used to run in Arcadia Lakes because it was level and had great views of the water. I've been on the dam that is busting. The Forest Acres shopping center near where we were evidently got flooded, just from the little creek that went by the play area that I used as a kid.

I don't think the house I grew up in would have been hit by the floodwaters because it is on a hill, but I hope the current owner maintained the drainage or all the rain would have flooded the living room for sure.

Ruh Roh. My back up plan train is #89 - Palmetto on Friday. At least, if it gets cancelled, i can catch a regional but will probably miss the pre-Gathering train from ALX to WAS.

We spoke to Brother In Law By Marriage #2 (of7) last night/ He is in the hospital in Columbia but can't get discharged because there is no way to get home. He intoned it is a real mess,,,,, I only pray all come through this safely

Looks like 98 is now scheduled to run on Wednesday but all Sleepers are sold out. Maybe they should transfer a few of 92's Sleepers to 98 for the time being.

jis said:

Looks like 98 is now scheduled to run on Wednesday but all Sleepers are sold out. Maybe they should transfer a few of 92's Sleepers to 98 for the time being.

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I am hoping for that situation and check the website periodically to see if anything is available.

The service alert went away, but the trains are still cancelled today. Looks like normal service to resume by Thursday, but with sell outs like jis pointed out (while I was typing this).

I see no availability for either the Silver Star or Silver Meteor until Friday (I checked Washington to Savannah); The Palmettto shows available as of Thursday October 8th.

But it may be longer than that. If what has been reported on other discussion boards is accurate, there are washouts on the Silver Star's route and significant bridge damage on the A-line.

Yeah, they blocked off 97/98 on Wednesday soon after I typed that they opened it with sellout. Now both 91/92 and 97/98 are unblovked on Thursday with almost everything sold out except some expensive Sleeper space on 98, the last time I looked.

BTW, here is the report that talks of the bridge damage on the A-Line: http://ccrail.com/storm-of-biblical-proportions-in-southeast-fouling-amtrak-service/

And while I was typing this, they blocked off Thursday for both trains again!

Gene Poon posted on TO that Florida trains may be out of service for awhile. The damaged bridge is also mentioned.

He. Posted a CSX advisory

And also this article JIS posted above my post.

http://ccrail.com/storm-of-biblical-proportions-in-southeast-fouling-amtrak-service/

The TO link

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3860087

Already folk at TO are dreaming there about how the idle cars could be used to add sleepers on other trains etc. or get the trains shopped during the downtime!

Chaz said:

Gene Poon posted on TO that Florida trains may be out of service for awhile. The damaged bridge is also mentioned.

He. Posted a CSX advisory

And also this article

http://ccrail.com/storm-of-biblical-proportions-in-southeast-fouling-amtrak-service/

The TO link

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3860087

Already folk are dreaming there about how the idle cars could be used to add sleepers on other trains etc. or get the trains refurbished during the downtime!

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With the obligatory joke about a Sunset east scenario thrown in!

Chaz said:

Gene Poon posted on TO that Florida trains may be out of service for awhile. The damaged bridge is also mentioned.

He. Posted a CSX advisory

And also this article JIS posted above my post.

http://ccrail.com/storm-of-biblical-proportions-in-southeast-fouling-amtrak-service/

The TO link

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3860087

Already folk at TO are dreaming there about how the idle cars could be used to add sleepers on other trains etc. or get the trains shopped during the downtime!

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Ha. I guess they could do shop work, but it seems like they can't add them to other trains because they're trapped in Florida with no way out....

I don't think it's good to have the Viewliner shops in Florida, by the way. Despite various catastrophes, Beech Grove never gets cut off from the world.

I just received an email from Amtrak stating that my reservation on 92 for tomorrow was canceled. I phoned to see if 98 was running. I was told that neither train would be running until Friday. I could book on Friday and get to WAS on Saturday morning, but there are no rooms available - just one seat. I likely will cancel the entire trip.

neroden said:

Chaz said:

Gene Poon posted on TO that Florida trains may be out of service for awhile. The damaged bridge is also mentioned.

He. Posted a CSX advisory

And also this article JIS posted above my post.

http://ccrail.com/storm-of-biblical-proportions-in-southeast-fouling-amtrak-service/

The TO link

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3860087

Already folk at TO are dreaming there about how the idle cars could be used to add sleepers on other trains etc. or get the trains shopped during the downtime!

Click to expand...

Ha. I guess they could do shop work, but it seems like they can't add them to other trains because they're trapped in Florida with no way out....

I don't think it's good to have the Viewliner shops in Florida, by the way. Despite various catastrophes, Beech Grove never gets cut off from the world.

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The equipment is not truly trapped; There are always Norfolk Southern (to Atlanta) or CSX (to New Orleans, the Sunset route) detour options (and an empty equipment move need not worry over the hours of delays likely in such a case), but I'm sure everyone is hoping that the A-line closure doesn't drag on for weeks as has been feared.

Granted, Hialeah shops are at the end of a "long, thin line" connecting to the rest of the network, but then of course it doesn't freeze in Miami in winter. Either location has advantages.

pennyk said:

I just received an email from Amtrak stating that my reservation on 92 for tomorrow was canceled. I phoned to see if 98 was running. I was told that neither train would be running until Friday. I could book on Friday and get to WAS on Saturday morning, but there are no rooms available - just one seat. I likely will cancel the entire trip.

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pennyk said:

I just received an email from Amtrak stating that my reservation on 92 for tomorrow was canceled. I phoned to see if 98 was running. I was told that neither train would be running until Friday. I could book on Friday and get to WAS on Saturday morning, but there are no rooms available - just one seat. I likely will cancel the entire trip.

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After talking to my friends in North and South Carolina I kinda sorta knew that this was going to happen. Since I don;t have any qualms about flying I jsut arranged a workaround yesterday, and that seems to still be workable with return on the Meteor on Sunday. If that gets canned, I guess I will just pick the cheapest flight on Sunday evening, usually the 10pm one back to Orlando, and spend Sunday doing a few points runs to get to Select+ to make up for the points I will not get via the Washington - Florida exceptionally expensive Sleeper that I have now

There is a new update on Amtrak.com, basically confirming what we already knew. The Palmetto, Silver Meteor, and Auto Train are cancelled today and tomorrow (and probably longer, but it doesn't state that). The Carolinian and Silver Star (Jacksonville to Miami only) are operating.

Track-a-train shows #97 on the move in Florida, though the Amtrak notice simply says it is cancelled and makes no mention of it running in the sunshine state. Empty equipment move, perhaps?

I guess my Winterhaven-NYP-CHI-SEA trip on the 16th is up in the air. Unfortunately, if the Meteor is still not running by then, I'll have to buy an airline ticket back to Houston and I'll lose my non-refundable Seattle-Houston flight, too.

I see that there's no way to get the New York routing anymore (and new mileage WAS-NYP-CHI is one of the reasons for my trip) so I guess I'm SOL in terms of a backup plan. If Amtrak cancels the Meteor segment would I still be able to board the LSL in New York, or would it cancel my whole reservation?

In other words, even if I can get myself to Richmond or Washington or Philadelphia, I don't think Amtrak would provide transportation for me to get from there to New York to catch the LSL.

By the way, this is an AGR trip as far as Wolf Point and then paid from there to Seattle.

I'm sitting here thinking, " I feel bad for all who are having to cancel for the Gathering ", then realized I'm booked on Meteor #97 (WAS to STP) on the 27th!!! :wacko: :unsure: :blink: