Service disruption on #30 (4/30), Capitol Limited

[Thirdrail7]

As I said, I don't pretend to know about the physical limitations of running the train via the Old Main Line. Turning the consist at Point of Rocks is certainly possible, but does not address the need to clean the cars, refuel and service locomotives, and restock the train. These can all be accomplished much more efficiently if the consist can be gotten into Washington.

If it were up to me, I think I'd get the passengers off the train and bus them from Point of Rocks. Then get the consist to Washington via the Old Main Line as quickly as possible for the most efficient servicing and restocking. I would run today's westbound 29 via the Old Main Line and try to make up time on the road, and hope that the Metropolitan Branch can be cleared in time to run that way tomorrow.

There may be reasons this is not a practical plan. I'm curious to see what solution they actually come up with.

Tom

The solution was already mentioned:

Indeed, according to reports elsewhere, busing is happening, from/to Point of Rocks today, with the consist turning there.

Indeed, according to reports elsewhere, busing is happening, from/to Point of Rocks today, with the consist turning there.

The consist is apparently deadheading west to PGH where it will meet the buses for 29.

As you indicated, servicing a train at Point of Rocks isn't really feasible and attempting your detour would add many hours to this trip, require CSX pilots and you'd run afoul with related congestion on the CSX Capitol Subdivision.

 

[Trollopian]

I'm the original poster, reporting back after having been "bustituted" from DC to Pittsburgh in lieu of a scheduled trip on today's 29. Yes, jis ("Engineer") was prescient in predicting that 29 wouldn't leave Union Station today.

We were loaded onto four (I think) buses, leaving DC at 4:50 instead of the scheduled 4:05, and arriving (in my

case) in Pittsburgh about 10:15, an hour and a half early. No leg room, no wifi, no outlets, no view. Despite the time savings, no railfan will be surprised to hear that I would much rather have taken the train.

Amtrak staff handled the announcements and boarding with patience and reasonable efficiency. No complaints there. But I feel really sorry for the people (including families with children) who are continuing to Ohio and points west, who got no cafe car/dining car and who are now stuck waiting in Pittsburgh's grim "Amshack" with, at best, a couple of vending machines. In my dreams, Amtrak would've arranged a nice buffet for them in Pittsburgh and sent the bill to CSX.

 

[Train2104]

I'm the original poster, reporting back after having been "bustituted" from DC to Pittsburgh in lieu of a scheduled trip on today's 29. Yes, jis ("Engineer") was prescient in predicting that 29 wouldn't leave Union Station today.

We were loaded onto four (I think) buses, leaving DC at 4:50 instead of the scheduled 4:05, and arriving (in my

case) in Pittsburgh about 10:15, an hour and a half early. No leg room, no wifi, no outlets, no view. Despite the time savings, no railfan will be surprised to hear that I would much rather have taken the train.

Amtrak staff handled the announcements and boarding with patience and reasonable efficiency. No complaints there. But I feel really sorry for the people (including families with children) who are continuing to Ohio and points west, who got no cafe car/dining car and who are now stuck waiting in Pittsburgh's grim "Amshack" with, at best, a couple of vending machines. In my dreams, Amtrak would've arranged a nice buffet for them in Pittsburgh and sent the bill to CSX.

Were those passengers going to/from the intermediate stops between DC and Pittsburgh provided service or just left stranded?

 

[chakk]

The consist turned at Point of Rocks could have its engines serviced at the CSX yard in Brunswick (a few miles west). Sounds like the passenger cars were to be serviced in Pittsburgh after their deadhead move west from

Point of Rocks.

 

[Trollopian]

Train2104: I'm not entirely sure what service was arranged for passengers between DC and Pittsburgh. One bus (out of, I think, four) was designated for people who were booked to Martinsburg, Cumberland, etc. So the alighting passengers were okay, but what about passengers scheduled to board at those stations? Did Amtrak pick them up and eventually drop them off in Pittsburgh? I didn't stick around to learn.

32 hours after the derailment, there's still zero information on Amtrak's website, though I can infer from other sources that the bustitution is still occurring today.

 

[FormerOBS]

It used to be the case that there are three consist sets to cover 29/30's schedule.

If #30's passengers had been detrained & bussed from Martinsburg or Brunswick yesterday, the consist could have been moved to Point of Rocks and turned in time to be prepared for today's departure. So why deadhead to Pittsburgh???? Servicing in Brunswick would have allowed servicing and restocking of the train closer to the normal location, and ostensible train passengers would have been able to spend a lot more time on the train, rather than ride a couple hundred miles to Pittsburgh on a bus with minimal comfort and service.

It was CSX's derailment. It was up to them to get the train over their railroad with minimal disruption and discomfort to the passengers, and minimal added logistical problems for Amtrak. It doesn't look like that happened, and it doesn't look like anybody took passenger comfort/convenience into account when this plan was hatched.

Tom

 

[Thirdrail7]

It used to be the case that there are three consist sets to cover 29/30's schedule.

If #30's passengers had been detrained & bussed from Martinsburg or Brunswick yesterday, the consist could have been moved to Point of Rocks and turned in time to be prepared for today's departure. So why deadhead to Pittsburgh???? Servicing in Brunswick would have allowed servicing and restocking of the train closer to the normal location, and ostensible train passengers would have been able to spend a lot more time on the train, rather than ride a couple hundred miles to Pittsburgh on a bus with minimal comfort and service.

It was CSX's derailment. It was up to them to get the train over their railroad with minimal disruption and discomfort to the passengers, and minimal added logistical problems for Amtrak. It doesn't look like that happened, and it doesn't look like anybody took passenger comfort/convenience into account when this plan was hatched.

Tom

There are no Amtrak facilities, crews or parts available in Brunswick or Point of Rocks. Pittsburgh has the crew, facilities, space and staff available to service the train. Secondly, do you know the status of the rest of the Metropolitan Subdivision? It could be littered with stranded trains that would have added to congestion and reduced the time available to service the equipment.

So, perhaps it was the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Trollopian]

"Pittsburgh has the crew, facilities, space, and staff available to service the train." True, but what Pittsburgh doesn't have is any food options. By the time the buses arrived there, the only passengers who had any kind of dinner were those with the foresight to pick it up at Union Station in DC. The Pittsburgh station itself is a no-frills Amshack; and both cafe and dining car are typically closed for the entire Pittsburgh-to-Elkhart (or thereabouts) segment.

As I suggested earlier, Amtrak ought to have laid on a buffet in Pittsburgh and sent CSX the bill. Didn't affect me, since Pittsburgh was my destination; but I truly worried about some of my fellow passengers who weren't prepared for an 18-hour fast.

(If Amtrak made special provision to open the cafe and dining car west of Pittsburgh, I apologize....we don't seem to have any reports from those passengers.)

 

[FormerOBS]

Trollopian is addressing some of my concerns. Brunswick has loco servicing facilities. Martinsburg routinely turns commuter equipment. Supplies can be brought from Washington Commissary by truck. The wye at Point of Rocks is serviceable. Passengers can be boarded at the Martinsburg or Brunswick commuter platforms.

Too bad CSX has a crowded railroad. They do have a route around the blockage. It's their responsibility to get 29/30 over the road with minimal delay, inconvenience, and discomfort to Amtrak and its passengers. Railroaders have been dealing with this kind of thing for generations, and they have routinely done it better than CSX on its best day.

I still haven't heard why this plan isn't superior to the notion of putting RR passengers on a 250 mile, 4+ hour bus trip. I spent too many years listening to CSX's excuses, to buy it this time.

Tom

 

[Thirdrail7]

"Pittsburgh has the crew, facilities, space, and staff available to service the train." True, but what Pittsburgh doesn't have is any food options. By the time the buses arrived there, the only passengers who had any kind of dinner were those with the foresight to pick it up at Union Station in DC. The Pittsburgh station itself is a no-frills Amshack; and both cafe and dining car are typically closed for the entire Pittsburgh-to-Elkhart (or thereabouts) segment.

As I suggested earlier, Amtrak ought to have laid on a buffet in Pittsburgh and sent CSX the bill. Didn't affect me, since Pittsburgh was my destination; but I truly worried about some of my fellow passengers who weren't prepared for an 18-hour fast.

(If Amtrak made special provision to open the cafe and dining car west of Pittsburgh, I apologize....we don't seem to have any reports from those passengers.)

I don't believe Point of Rocks and Brunswick has food either and I'm not aware of what the food plan is for the train.

Trollopian is addressing some of my concerns. Brunswick has loco servicing facilities. Martinsburg routinely turns commuter equipment. Supplies can be brought from Washington Commissary by truck. The wye at Point of Rocks is serviceable. Passengers can be boarded at the Martinsburg or Brunswick commuter platforms.

Too bad CSX has a crowded railroad. They do have a route around the blockage. It's their responsibility to get 29/30 over the road with minimal delay, inconvenience, and discomfort to Amtrak and its passengers. Railroaders have been dealing with this kind of thing for generations, and they have routinely done it better than CSX on its best day.

I still haven't heard why this plan isn't superior to the notion of putting RR passengers on a 250 mile, 4+ hour bus trip. I spent too many years listening to CSX's excuses, to buy it this time.

Tom

Umm...ok. Brunswick has facilities for MARC trains....not AMTRAK trains. In case you don't know the difference, they have completely different engines, cars, components etc. Additionally, those engines need a calendar day inspection REGARDLESS of whether the train is delayed en route. They are not like the coaches or the air test which can continue to their next scheduled calendar day inspection point if they the train is delayed en route. What's your plan if the train makes it to Point of Rocks, turns around and has a defect. PGH has an operation that can FULLY support turning the train since there is a contractor available to clean, service and inspect the train. Additionally, they can even grab an engine if they need one.

Additionally, neither of you gents have ascertained the condition of the Metropolitan Subdivision which I do know had residual congestion yesterday.

Which leads to this: Do you really think that they can discharge inbound 30's passengers at Brunswick, turn it at Point of Rocks, send it back to Brunswick, yard it, inspect it, (assuming they taxied cleaners and and technicians to Brunswick) with enough time to make it realistic in terms of a departure for 29....and would there be enough crews (Amtrak and CSX pilots) to accomplish without them dying on the law?

These are some of the things that must be weighed and for all we know AMTRAK considered all of this and REQUESTED the turn at PGH. It may have little to do with CSX.

 

[FormerOBS]

Pittsburgh routinely turns and services P42's and Amfleets. I fail to see how it is easier for Pittsburgh to turn and service the all-Superliner 29/30, than for this to be done in Brunswick, where there are numerous yard tracks and a closer proximity to Washington. As I said, there are three Capitol Limited consists --- not two. This means about 24 hours for servicing at the east end. Pittsburgh cannot FULLY support the operation of an all-Superliner consist because they don't normally service Superliners at all, except for enroute running repairs.

I do not claim that my solution is necessarily the best or only one. I only say that the solution they actually employed was seriously flawed because passenger comfort and convenience took a back seat.

Tom

 

[Phil S]

Any info on how the clean-up is going? Saw othing on TO.

 

[jis]

It is always interesting to read a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking and armchair train operations controlling

Somehow it seems to me that when one is actually in the hot seat with a derailment ahead of ones train and trying to figure out what to do while the clock is ticking, the world may look very different, from ones view from the luxury of ones armchair with nothing really breathing down ones neck to deliver anything.

It runs out that the people addressing the situation after due consideration decided that it is better to service the train in Pittsburgh where they have their own staff as opposed somewhere else where there is neither staff nor the proper equipment. Do we really have adequate information available to us here to make a definitive judgement call hat the decision makers screwed up?

 

[afigg]

Getting back to the derailment, it took place next to the Rhode Island Metro station and was caught on several surveillance cameras at the station.

WRC 4: CSX Freight Train Derailment Caught on Video (have to wait through the 30 second ad).

The derailment tore up a lot of track; can see that from the shots of the track replacement work being done on Monday.