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    Longer & Longer consists

    I've never seen a double saw-by in practice, and I can't imagine it's used except in emergencies or in the event of dispatcher error. Some railroads limit the length of trains in one direction so that, say, all of the southbounds can fit in the sidings. Other railroads just run extra-long...
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    Sleeper Car has been removed from train #11 (6/17)

    Currently I can book both northbound and southbound starting June 18.
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    Coast Starlight..#14(19) and #11(20)?

    They did offer the beef stew to all coach passengers, after serving regular dinner options to sleeper folks. Train was at less than 25% of capacity during the delay, seems most folks ride LAX to the bay and EUG to Seattle, with not that many riding overnight in between.
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    Coast Starlight..#14(19) and #11(20)?

    Pleasant surprise: Amtrak just called to give us a $400 voucher on account of the delay, despite the fact that we weren't actually upset and didn't complain to anyone. This for a points trip that cost us nothing, so essentially we spent two days in a roomette and one of the last parlor car...
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    Coast Starlight..#14(19) and #11(20)?

    Both trains had PPCs. For awhile they were side by side at Cruzatte siding when #11 finally got through and #14 was getting ready to move. There were some rumors onboard of maybe adding an extra sleeper or two for the last PPC runs, not sure if substantiated. I will miss the cars, but they...
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    EB mess

    Two thoughts on the recent discussion: 1. I'm not sure there is a precedent for this, but it seems that BNSF would have been wise to assess its capacity to handle oil trains while keeping the system fluid. They could then have set a cap at, say, 400,000 barrels per day. There is no reason...
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    EB mess

    The last Amtrak bus from Portland to Salem leaves at 9:30 pm, and it is seldom sold out. If you get in less than 11 hours late, you should be OK. Later than that (very unlikely but possible I suppose) and you will be spending the night in Portland. I would be very surprised if they charter a...
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    EB mess

    Looks like there was another avalanche this morning. http://domino.bnsf.com/website/updates.nsf/updates-service-consumer/CBDA4A726231112B86257C9300536A7C?Open
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    Amtrak relocates to SPUD May 7 (includes old topic)

    BNSF has been operating in crisis mode since December. Heavy traffic, polar vortexes, derailments, avalanches. Not surprised that they are postponing work not essential to getting trains over the road. I'm sure someone in BNSF management is also aware that the move to SPUD will generate a...
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    EB mess

    BNSF has been very heavy on maintenance in Montana for the last two summers at least; hence all of the summer delays. They may have been neglecting maintenance prior to that point, as they are still playing catch-up to some degree.
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    Amtrak passengers face bus rides between Grand Forks, Minot until 2/2

    Two reasons why this is unlikely: 1. The line from MSP to Fargo is almost entirely double track. 2. Traffic from MSP to Sioux City via Willmar and Marshall needs to move in both directions, so there would be trains moving against the flow from Willmar to MSP. On rare occasions the Empire...
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    Amtrak passengers face bus rides between Grand Forks, Minot until 2/2

    I can see this becoming the norm, if BNSF keeps up the full directional running. The Devils Lake sub doesn't have enough sidings (or CTC) to allow efficient movement of trains against the flow of traffic. If it keeps up, I would expect to see GFK served permanently with a bus, connecting in...
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    EB mess

    Pleasantly surprised to see #7 leaving not-so-late from Chicago today despite round 2 of the polar vortex. #8(26) is already east of Havre and blizzard conditions have ended, so it looks like the annulments were a one-day affair. With this being a low-ridership period, I wonder if there were...
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    Bill to Save Southwest Chief

    Amtrak's impacts on the freight railroads, especially on busy routes, are almost 100% time-domain. Wear on the tracks is negligible compared to 18,000 ton freights. Every time a freight pulls into a siding for Amtrak, costs start adding up. Let's say the average siding dwell time of a freight...
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    Winter Planning for Empire Builder Trips

    That's two freight derailments six days apart in time and 30 miles apart on the map. It appears that the roller coaster temperatures are taking their toll on the rails...
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    EB to CS No Longer Supported

    That might actually be an improvement. I have friends I can stay with in Chicago and Portland, and this way I can book an overnight "just in case" without burning through more points...
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    Winter Planning for Empire Builder Trips

    Fargo to Chicago is back in the deep freeze (temps around -10 to -20). Points further west are being spared this time.
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    Winter Planning for Empire Builder Trips

    The EBs look better on the map tonight than they have since some time last May. It's possible that the seasonal grain crunch is starting to ebb, freeing up some capacity on the line. Here's hoping it's a trend...
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    Inside the new St. Paul Union Depot

    That seems to be a moving target, always about two months away. Until they pick a date and make an announcement I'm not going to believe any estimate.
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    EB to CS No Longer Supported

    It would be nice if Amtrak would book overnight connections for AGR purposes. MSP-LAX used to be a 20,000 point 2-zone roomette but will now require 35,000 points (2 zones MSP-PDX, 1 zone PDX-LAX). It also seems that the Chicago connections are more important than the west coast ones, so...
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