As I mentioned, our train was about 14 hours late getting into Chicago. That was a lot better than the train last Thursday. It hit a 5-foot-diameter boulder in northern New Mexico, and the front engine partially derailed. No one was hurt, and the heat, electricity and toilets still worked, but the passengers had to spend the night on a siding before the train could continue. It was 22 hours and 20 minutes late reaching Chicago.
It took me a while to get that arrival information from Amtrak, and I had some trouble updating our estimated time of arrival while we were on the train. But this morning I found a non-official site that seems to update the status of all Amtrak trains. If it, or something comparable, is there when/if we go again, it could be very useful.
I do love the internet!
I love the idea of many trains in your country – of course it’s a wider landmass in the first place AND yes the Internet is to love, love & love again…
Yes, ♥♥♥
I am told that the passenger railway service in the USA is not quite famous for keeping to time. I have never travelled by train there but, those who have had similar experiences. Here, by and large, our trains run on time and since someone or the other will be carrying a bradshaw, or the conductor will have information on the status from station to station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradshaw%27s_Guide
Passenger trains here don’t have top priority, so the service isn’t perfect. And, of course, a big boulder on the tracks doesn’t help. 🙂
Spending the night on the siding, waiting, would rate high on the discomfort scale for me! Interesting journey—tell us more!
I’m glad we weren’t on that train! Ours was about 14 hours late, but for some of that we were still at home and could do things while we waited.
I say I still love the trains and yet I haven’t ridden one in decades!
I find it hard to believe that Amtrak doesn’t have some kind of communication on board the way the pilots and attendants do on airplanes…
you know “good morning ladies and gentleman… sorry but we are to be sidelined for 22 hours and 20 minutes before reaching Chicago!!!”
still even with all of that I would love it I think!
what a beautiful picture that is of the train!
I’m guessing they told the passengers they would be there for the night. The other delays they can’t predict because it involves waiting for other trains with higher priority and also signal problems, where they have to go more slowly. We learned a lot on our trip!
It has been ages since I’ve ridden. I wonder if the trains I rode in are still working. Love the names: The Chieftain and El Capitain.
Ours is the Southwest Chief. The names do warm our hearts. 🙂
When using such applications, it is important to know which train you are riding. There are three Train #8s, the Empire Builder, running at the same time as they leave a day apart and take three days to make the run between the west coast and Chicago. If the one that left Wednesday gets severely incapacitated it can be passed by the one that left Thursday which makes things even more confusing. If you really want to know a train’s status, the conductor can usually tell you. But, I’m with Tammy, I love riding trains. I have ridden at least the Empire Builder, the City of New Orleans, the Sunset Limited, the Coast Starlight, the Capitol, the Cardinal, and the Lakeshore. I don’t know the name of the one I rode in Illinois at age 8.
You’ve gone on a lot more trains than we have! The train fellow on our car didn’t know anything. He said sometimes they make up time, even when we knew that would not be true for our trip. Comparing the time we arrived at the various stops with the scheduled time was a better source of information. But the website I mentioned in the post would be a lot better. It’s a gem.
I’ve only used Amtrak once, a train from New York to Boston. I remember it being excruciatingly slow – an average of about 40 mph. The only plus was that we had plenty of time to appreciate the passing scenery.
That’s very slow!