Amtrak relocates to SPUD May 7 (includes old topic)

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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 fair bit of press - and a good deal of bad press for BNSF if the first #8 arrives eight hours late. Better to wait until things are moving, say in that one-month May window between snow/flooding and summer construction.
 
Heavy traffic combined with the utterly astonishing occurrence of winter operating mostly on its normal schedule and with a slightly worse then usual nature has left BNSF in shock. They apparently thought summer was going to go on for 12 months this year.

This has been a particularly bad winter for those of us on the snow maybe line such as in central Jersey. For the northern states, its been a snowy winter. Just like the usual snowy winter with a bit more snow. I'm sick of the "winter occurred, and thats why we can't manage to take a **** without stomping on our crank 15 times" excuse.
 
No, you are mistaken. Actually, in Minnesota it's the coldest winter in 35 years. Or nineth coldest winter ever recorded.

And it's colder in North Dakota and Montana than it is here.

Snow is annoying, and snowfalls are running a foot more than average (and you know, none of the snow that has fallen has melted yet), but equipment can handle snow to some extent. The problem for the railroad is a) working on broken equipment outside when it's dangerously cold out, and b) continuing to do that when the cold continues for days and weeks. Even with good clothes, it saps morale.

I'd love to enjoy your winter in New Jersey. You guys probably don't bombard snowfields with helicopter-dropped bombs
 
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No, you are mistaken. Actually, in Minnesota it's the coldest winter in 35 years. Or nineth coldest winter ever recorded.

And it's colder in North Dakota and Montana than it is here.

Snow is annoying, and snowfalls are running a foot more than average (and you know, none of the snow that has fallen has melted yet), but equipment can handle snow to some extent. The problem for the railroad is a) working on broken equipment outside when it's dangerously cold out, and b) continuing to do that when the cold continues for days and weeks. Even with good clothes, it saps morale.

I'd love to enjoy your winter in New Jersey. You guys probably don't bombard snowfields with helicopter-dropped bombs
Amen, I'm glad I retired. I live approximately 25 miles from Chicago and this is the worst winter I have seen in my 65 years. The record number of zero degree days is broken or tied, depending on your source. The snowfall total is twice the seasonal average. I haven't seen bare ground on my land in 3 months, at least the way it is going I won't have to mow the lawn until after the 4 of July snow melt!

Working outdoors can be BRUTAL in the Chicago yard. Yes the S&I building is better heated, but what percentage of the cars dispatched can fit into it? How long are the cars allowed to stay in the S&I until it is needed for another train? The employees are physically and emotionally drained.

You may ask how I know, I started there with the PennCentral in 1972. I went to Amtrak in 1973 and traveled extensively. I am familiar with the 480 power cars. Riding for hours with the noise and fumes while sitting on a folding chair and ear glued to a railroad radio. I've spliced in 480 volt cable heads on # 7 at 20 degrees below zero. So cold that the heat shrink insulation would not shrink until you applied a torch directly to it and electrical tape broke when you tried to get it off the roll. I'm proud to say that we were on the move with full 480 power in 20 minutes.

This and other incidents over 35+ years are probably the main reason that I have multiple disabling injuries and illnesses now. I can tell you that one of the most common sayings in the was "The beating will continue until the morale improves!"
 
You may ask how I know, I started there with the PennCentral in 1972. I went to Amtrak in 1973 and traveled extensively. I am familiar with the 480 power cars. Riding for hours with the noise and fumes while sitting on a folding chair and ear glued to a railroad radio. I've spliced in 480 volt cable heads on # 7 at 20 degrees below zero. So cold that the heat shrink insulation would not shrink until you applied a torch directly to it and electrical tape broke when you tried to get it off the roll. I'm proud to say that we were on the move with full 480 power in 20 minutes.
I've never had to do anything more complicated in subzero cold than throw hay bales and chop ice to water cattle, and that was when I was a youngster. Now I have to shovel snow, but you can leave your mittens (and gloves and glove liners) on for that. I can't imagine doing detail work as your fingers lose feeling. I grew up in a railroad town, and every winter night that I hear the wind howl, I think of people out doing the sort of work you did.

I know that I shouldn't try to one-up you, but bare ground? I haven't seen my street's pavement since early December. I remember hearing an NPR story about Texas' problem with "cobblestone ice." Here we call that "winter driving."

Stay warm!
 
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Lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Yes, statistics can be misused. But this isn't a "slightly worse than normal" winter. It's one of the coldest winters ever (in fact, the coldest winter in Minnesota since I've been born,) especially in terms of long stretches of cold days. Each particular day may not be so cold as to break records, but it's been a persistent cold...50+ below-zero nights with highs often barely breaking the 0 mark. That doesn't play well with fixing broken rails, fixing slow orders to keep them to a minimum, etc.

I saw elsewhere what temperatures are required before BNSF imposes slow orders, but I can't remember them off-hand. If this is reaching those levels, though, then there's not much that can be done.
 
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Yeh, it is pretty cold. Not historic cold, but enough cold to cause all sorts of problems. Like frostbite and gangrene. Meaning people in its path need to know things like dressing properly and paying attention to what their body parts are telling them. In some parts of the world, the whole way of life is adapted to this. But the cold this year has also hit places where people have expectations of more warmth. Those are the people really suffering.
 
Yeh, it is pretty cold. Not historic cold, but enough cold to cause all sorts of problems. Like frostbite and gangrene. Meaning people in its path need to know things like dressing properly and paying attention to what their body parts are telling them. In some parts of the world, the whole way of life is adapted to this. But the cold this year has also hit places where people have expectations of more warmth. Those are the people really suffering.
Head South for the Winter! Birds and Snowbirds do it, and when you Retire(or Win the Lottery!! ), Move where it's Warm in the Winter like so many Have! ;) Just Don't move to Austin!! :lol:
 
Good winter move. Pretty bad summer move. Unless you spend winter in the desert and the summer high in the mountains.
 
Totally agree! If one is wealthy enough to spend the winter where its warm and summers where its cool, that's ideal!

The best overall compromise is Southern CA if u can afford it! The worst is places where the temperature extremes are like 90s-100 with high humidity in the summer and six month winters below zero!

My ideal combo would be British Columbia in the Summer and San Diego or Hawaii in the Winter! Worst would be the South or the Desert SW in the Summer and the Northern Great Lakes Area in the Winter!

Best overall Climate has to be SoCal South of LA!
 
I lived in the Bay Area for five years, and the weather suffered from the tyranny of perfection. 300 days out of the year the forecast was, "Cloudy on the coast, clearing by noon. Highs sixties on the coast, eighties inland." I think I heard thunder half a dozen times in the those five years.

I don't have those issues here in Minnesota, where we even have thunder snow storms. Plus, I get to enjoy mocking east-coast residents who whine about a little snow.

How cold was this winter? Even with a three-foot snow depth, the ground is frozen six feet down, and people are having problems with pipes freezing. Not pipes in their houses, no, the supply pipe from the water main freezing.

And this is the weather in which my county board decided it would have signals installed at SPUD.
 
Awesome. I always thought burying pipes was a really unreliable way of preventing them from freezing. This year, I am proven right.
 
I see today that Greyhound is joining Jefferson Lines and Megabus at St. Paul Union Depot tomorrow. "The bus companies are finding that the waiting room is just really nice for their passengers," Well, sure. It's certainly not crowded with Amtrak passengers.
 
Haha. Well, if the Empire Builder isn't there yet, why would Amtrak passengers be there. But, yeh, I took Metro Transit down there to transfer to the #54 line on West 7th. Good place to get out of the weather. Nice old building.
 
And the way EB is going, even when trains are running (in a meaningful sense) the station will be pretty empty pretty much all the time.
 
so when will Amtrak relocate to SPUD?
Should be by next month. That's the end of Q1 14 where Amtrak's signed agreement stipulates that they will begin service at St Paul Union Station.
 
As everyone has said: I will believe it when I see it. This has dragged on soooooo long now it's almost comical.

:-(
I like the verse in I Heard It Through The Grapevine, it says "believe half of what you see and some or none of what you hear!"

This is so true on Amtrak and you can usually add make sure you have had your vision checked recently.
 
This topic was started in January of 2013. It's kind of funny (or sad) that the topic title still seems appropriate.
 
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