Sauve850
OBS Chief
After arriving to DC I hung around the Acela lounge for a while. I always seem to see notables in the lounge. Jesse Jackson wandered thru from the east door and back out again 15 minutes later. A policeman with several weapons on him (police presence was noticeably increased in Union Station in general) escorted several very well dressed men and one lady dressed in very colorful African or Caribbean dress to the conference room. I asked cust service Lisa and she "diplomat". They were in there for a short while and were escorted out. I decided to go to Pizzeria Uno for dinner rather than eat on the train which probably would end up being 8pm. Train 97 Silver Meteor was listed as on time.
I got back to the lounge by 6:15 and shortly afterwards train 97 was listed as delayed. It arrived around 7pm but there was a problem with a coach car I was told. There was another car in the yard so after switching the engine out they would swap cars and shouldn't be too long. All of a sudden it was 8:30 and nine of us were left in the lounge. An Amtrak employee came thru handing us each a $20 bill and suggested we go get some food. She said there was little confidence of even a 9pm boarding. Had to be something more than swapping out a car. I picked nothing up on my scanner. Customer service girl Lisa made call after to to try to get more information no one could give her any. A very pleasant girl.
Finally at 9:30 we were called to board. Big relief as I was almost out of clothes from traveling for many days and if I didn't make this train I would be stuck for a few days due to hurricane.
Met my SCA Patrick and just had him make my room up. I get a roomette on the Silver trains as bedrooms are so expensive with dollars or points. I had a backpack, small cooler and a suitcase. Its nice that the Viewliners have storage space above the sink area. Organized the rest of my items and went to sleep.
Somewhere in North Carolina the train came to a stop and power went off.I grabbed my scanner and listened. A scanner cant solve any issues but sure helps to let you know whats going on. A problem with lead engine. Oh joy!
The engineer, conductor and another guy were preparing to swap engine places at a siding. I listened as the conductor threw the switches manually, one of course was stuck and he needed help. It was very hot out also. I assume they brought the engines into the siding, uncoupled them and the good engine backed out pulled forward and then coupled to the bad engine. They then would pull forward and back up to us in the train. This was taking a toll on conductor with all the switches being moved this way and that way. I could hear him getting very weary and he even said he was out of breath. Cars were getting hot and people fussing. Finally power came back on and after several tests we were moving again.
We went a few miles and engineer said something was loose and about to fall off?? We stopped and power out again. A few groans to be heard. After ten minutes power came back up and off we went. He called conductor and asked for a roll of duct tape at next station. I walked down to the dining car and the conductor was a dirty mess. All red in face and grease on him. Someone had gotten him a clean shirt and all were thanking him for his efforts as none of us had any desire to be stranded in North Carolina. Good job and much quicker than I would have thought with just the three guys.
The diner on this train (68024 Tallahassee) was different than the Capital Limited. Still new and nice. Breakfast was good and my trip ended happily at 7:30 instead of 4:47pm. No big deal as I just went out to dinner. Hopefully I can do a cross country trip again after my summer in Wyoming next year.
I got back to the lounge by 6:15 and shortly afterwards train 97 was listed as delayed. It arrived around 7pm but there was a problem with a coach car I was told. There was another car in the yard so after switching the engine out they would swap cars and shouldn't be too long. All of a sudden it was 8:30 and nine of us were left in the lounge. An Amtrak employee came thru handing us each a $20 bill and suggested we go get some food. She said there was little confidence of even a 9pm boarding. Had to be something more than swapping out a car. I picked nothing up on my scanner. Customer service girl Lisa made call after to to try to get more information no one could give her any. A very pleasant girl.
Finally at 9:30 we were called to board. Big relief as I was almost out of clothes from traveling for many days and if I didn't make this train I would be stuck for a few days due to hurricane.
Met my SCA Patrick and just had him make my room up. I get a roomette on the Silver trains as bedrooms are so expensive with dollars or points. I had a backpack, small cooler and a suitcase. Its nice that the Viewliners have storage space above the sink area. Organized the rest of my items and went to sleep.
Somewhere in North Carolina the train came to a stop and power went off.I grabbed my scanner and listened. A scanner cant solve any issues but sure helps to let you know whats going on. A problem with lead engine. Oh joy!
The engineer, conductor and another guy were preparing to swap engine places at a siding. I listened as the conductor threw the switches manually, one of course was stuck and he needed help. It was very hot out also. I assume they brought the engines into the siding, uncoupled them and the good engine backed out pulled forward and then coupled to the bad engine. They then would pull forward and back up to us in the train. This was taking a toll on conductor with all the switches being moved this way and that way. I could hear him getting very weary and he even said he was out of breath. Cars were getting hot and people fussing. Finally power came back on and after several tests we were moving again.
We went a few miles and engineer said something was loose and about to fall off?? We stopped and power out again. A few groans to be heard. After ten minutes power came back up and off we went. He called conductor and asked for a roll of duct tape at next station. I walked down to the dining car and the conductor was a dirty mess. All red in face and grease on him. Someone had gotten him a clean shirt and all were thanking him for his efforts as none of us had any desire to be stranded in North Carolina. Good job and much quicker than I would have thought with just the three guys.
The diner on this train (68024 Tallahassee) was different than the Capital Limited. Still new and nice. Breakfast was good and my trip ended happily at 7:30 instead of 4:47pm. No big deal as I just went out to dinner. Hopefully I can do a cross country trip again after my summer in Wyoming next year.
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