Thanks, I was wondering if the 2/15 train was gonna catch the 2/14. One of my FB friends was on the 2/15 and hoping for delays. Of course we take sleepers, and on the final portion of the trip where connections don't matter, we like delays (sorry to all coach pax), it's about the journey, not the destination. Apparently one pax on the 14th train boarded at Granby for Denver and they wouldn't let her off. A two hour trip turned into 9. Why not give passengers the option of finding alternative transportation? Apparently, the train never pulled out of the station till it was finally on its way. Is it that they didn't know how long the delay would take? Just curious, not that it really matters, though who knows, maybe it will in the future.
Finding alternate transportation to Denver from Granby can be pretty remote, unless you just happen to hook up with someone who is skiing at the nearby slope (called Solvista Basin) for a ride back to Denver. Problem is that the resort is EAST of Granby Amtrak station, and so skiers would probably not be aware that the train is stuck a few miles west in the Granby station, awaiting clearance of a freight train disabled in Fraser Canyon.
I'm guessing that the Amtrak crew had no exact idea from the UP dispatcher just how long the delay would be, other than "a while", and maybe "a long while".
It is good that the train remained in Granby station during the delay -- if evacuation was ultimately needed, it could be effected there quite easily. While in Fraser Canyon, there is no easy access to the tracks, as the road (US-40) is on the opposite side of the river canyon.