Mystery train on Cali Zephyr #6 eastbound - how to find status

McMike said:

Hi, due to heavy rains the #5 & #6 were extremely delayed on the 9th. #5 is 20 hours late westbound and still has 8 scheduled hours to go.

#6 was supposed turn around and become #5 eastbound this morning. Which we catch in Denver tomorrow. I am told by Amtrak that a back-up train will be used, and that is still shows as on time in Denver tomorrow.

However, there is no indication that the train has started, which makes it already 3+ hours late. The Amtrak guys assured me it was rolling, but how do I verify that if it doesn't show up on the system? The system shows as "status unavailable."

I suspect it has not actually started its journey yet.

Thanks

Click to expand...

chakk said:

http:// dixielandsoftware.net shows Amtrak status maps. click on the map for the greater West and click on the #5 icon in Illinois and you will see that today's westbound train left Chicago about
30 minutes late.

The map will update as the train continues its westward movment.

Click to expand...

McMike said:

Thanks. This is for an eastbound #6 that should have left Emeryville this morning (7/11/19) and is allegedly en route. But if you check the Dixieland or Amtrak's map it does not show up, and if you check Amtrak's status checker, you get a "no data/service disruption" message.

Click to expand...

chakk said:

OK. The word on trainorders.com is that yesterday's #5 arrived Reno this morning, more than 24 hours late. So that #5 was terminated in Reno, and the equipment was turned in Reno and will leave this afternoon from Reno as #6. Eastbound passengers from stations west of Reno are being bused to Reno as I type this.

So your #6 for boarding in Denver on 12 July should start appearing on both the dixieland site and Amtrak's track-a-train web site around 5 PM Pacific time on 11 July.

I experienced a similar turning of #5 at Reno to become #6 several years ago when a snow slide blocked the main at Yuba Pass (Calif), not far from where the City Of San Francisco was snowbound for several days in 1952. In my case, Amtrak provided free lodging and meals at a hotel adjacent to the Reno depot and put us on the next morning's #5 to our final destinations west of Reno.

Click to expand...

chakk said:

OK. The word on trainorders.com is that yesterday's #5 arrived Reno this morning, more than 24 hours late. So that #5 was terminated in Reno, and the equipment was turned in Reno and will leave this afternoon from Reno as #6. .

Click to expand...