Empire Builder Disrupted by Flooding

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I was in CUS on Friday afternoon. Half of the great hall was roped off and this is where they were sending all west bound EB passengers to "break" the news to them they would have a long bus ride to Minneapolis to catch their train. I couldn't get real close, but you could tell by their expressions they weren't happy about it.

Then, when I was back on Saturday, I saw this:

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They were running the train again via a detour. Never could find out exactly where that detour was. One of the Amtrak attendants said they were told but she couldn't remember the details.

Anyway, it is back and running. It must not be going up through Milwaukee as when I left on the Eagle yesterday, it was sitting ready to head south out of CUS.
 
Hi! It's me here, WINTERSUMMER, posting and reading from our hotel in Seattle! I've taken a chance to use this computer to catch up on train news. Amtrak told me that EB is running! Info here looks like EB is running! Looks like I'll catch the train! We've been out this way for almost a week, starting in Portland, spending some time in Ellensburg WA, then to Quincey WA, then into Seattle. Thanks for everyone's help!
 
As of yesterday, the train was running through Milwaukee to points west, but skipping Winona and Red Wing. A friend photographed the train north of Glenview, running double-ended and backwards (i.e. engines on both ends, Portland section leading). Apparently, they'll wye the train somewhere west of LaCrosse while operating on a detour out that way.
 
rmadisonwi said:
As of yesterday, the train was running through Milwaukee to points west, but skipping Winona and Red Wing. A friend photographed the train north of Glenview, running double-ended and backwards (i.e. engines on both ends, Portland section leading). Apparently, they'll wye the train somewhere west of LaCrosse while operating on a detour out that way.
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That's why it looked to me as if it was going out of CUS southbound. I only saw the one set of engines.
 
PRR 60 said:
Buses are substituting for the Empire Builder between Chicago and Minneapolis due to flooding in eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Several rail routes, including the route of the Builder and some potential detour routes, are blocked by water, mud slides, bridge washouts, and trapped trains. No word on how long the disruptions will last.
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Any word on the Empire Builder will be running all the way to Chicago?

I sent this on Sunday August 26 2007
 
I'm back from my trip! Thanks to all of you here on this board who helped me in so many ways in preparation for my first trip on a train, taking the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago.

We were fortunate that the EB was running the entire distance. I called Amtrak the day before we left (Aug 27) and the agent told me that the EB had never been diverted because of flooding and there had never been any re-routing or busing. When we boarded, the conductor told us that we'd be going only as far as MSP, then switching to buses. Our car attendant told us we'd be going all way to CHI on the train. We decided to just take it day-by-day. But, we made it all the way, arriving about 30 minutes late. Pretty good, right? We did see significant track damage and bridge wash-outs in a number of places. I'm not sure if our tracks had been washed out and replaced in that short period of time, but the tracks right next to the ones we were on were amazing....ground washed out under the tracks and the tracks just suspended in air for significant lengths.

I've been gone almost 2 weeks and am catching up on odds-and-ends. I'll put together a little trip report and post under trip reports, hopefully within a day or so.

Thanks again to everyone!
 
wintersummer said:
I'm back from my trip! Thanks to all of you here on this board who helped me in so many ways in preparation for my first trip on a train, taking the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago.
We were fortunate that the EB was running the entire distance. I called Amtrak the day before we left (Aug 27) and the agent told me that the EB had never been diverted because of flooding and there had never been any re-routing or busing. When we boarded, the conductor told us that we'd be going only as far as MSP, then switching to buses. Our car attendant told us we'd be going all way to CHI on the train. We decided to just take it day-by-day. But, we made it all the way, arriving about 30 minutes late. Pretty good, right? We did see significant track damage and bridge wash-outs in a number of places. I'm not sure if our tracks had been washed out and replaced in that short period of time, but the tracks right next to the ones we were on were amazing....ground washed out under the tracks and the tracks just suspended in air for significant lengths.

I've been gone almost 2 weeks and am catching up on odds-and-ends. I'll put together a little trip report and post under trip reports, hopefully within a day or so.

Thanks again to everyone!
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Glad you had a good trip. Will watch for the report!
 
wintersummer said:
...I called Amtrak the day before we left (Aug 27) and the agent told me that the EB had never been diverted because of flooding and there had never been any re-routing or busing.
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Maybe Amtrak should insist that their customer service reps check Amtrak Unlimited before providing information on Amtrak service issues. They certainly would be better informed.
 
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