posted
Thanks Smitty Next question is, do you know if they add an additional standard viewing car for the Sleeper customers in place of the Parlor car?? We have taken the Starlight a few times in the past but have always been lucky enough to have a Parlor car where we had a wine and cheese tasting.Don't know what they do otherwise
Posts: 11 | From: Scottsdale AZ USA | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
As of right now, no, they do not have a substitute car running in place of the Pacific Parlour Car. In the past (even in the recent past) they have added an additional Sightseer Lounge Car....but not right now though.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Smitty - the problem with the May 2nd date is that Mesaman, who is departing May 4th, got a call to exchange his one ticket for the three needed for the train, bus, train. However, I have not received such a call regarding my May 8th date. I still have hope for a train all the way.
-------------------- Vicki in usually sunny Southern California Posts: 951 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I think one of the problems with "relying" on Amtrak and trying to read the tea leaves is that the fluidity of the issue up in the Cascades has so many people being told (and telling) various stories as to when the Coast Starlight can run the full route again. Several days ago when Mesaman was called by Amtrak to exchange his tickets, the situation was such that they weren't really sure when the train would go all the way through.......so they began having people exchange their tickets for the train-bus-train connection. However, the "rumor mill" now says May 2nd.....and this information came after the phone call to Mesaman.
Sooooooo.......I think it's still more accurate to flip a coin at this point. However, don't be surprised if suddenly and out of the blue, the Starlight begins running all the way through in about 6 days.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Miss Vickie, while I think we should both defer to Mr. Smith, as he evidently is a "betting man", somehow I think you and Mr. Art will be getting into your BR or RM as case may be, in LAX and not leaving it until your arrival in SEA.
Bon Voyage
Posts: 9977 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Gil -- I hope you are right about that!!! We are scheduled for July 7 LAX-SEA in a bedroom.
I still would not be that surprised if I saw a little yellow box in the new May 10 timetable under the CS schedule saying "The Coast Starlight service between Klamath Falls and Eugene (Seattle?) has been suspended. Future service has not been determined."
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
RRRICH, rest assured there is no yellow box...There is no indication at all regarding recent troubles. It does indicate "...newly refurbished PP Car with coffee and bar service and afternoon and evening alternate meal service, wine tasting..."
Posts: 332 | From: Long Island, NY USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
It ain't over yet. The following appeared on Trainorders over the weekend:
quote:Saturday night around 1845 there was another slide at Frazier. This slide wasn't even close to the size of January's slide but it brought things to a halt for a while. The contractors loaded mud train after mud train trying to get the line open. In the meantime through trains started backing up and there were hopes that they could run through traffic through the area before the night was over. Around midnight it was decided to shut the railroad down for through traffic all together. The contractors are still working and they are still loading mud trains trying to get mud out of there. One of the big problems now is that there are 2 very large rocks above the track structure and there is fear that by running heavy trains through the area that one or both of those rocks might come down.
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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posted
According to this posting TODAY - AMAZINGLY the line is OPEN again (4-28-08). It looks like some very TOP NOTCH and Above, Beyond the Call work by the crews on the ground is actually getting this massive job done : --- Daniel
Date: April 28, 2008 13:02 Re: Frazier - Part Deux Author: Railbaron
Holy Toledo - I started this thread simply to update people on what was happening at Frazier (Oregon, to keep the geographic challenged happy). It was NEVER intended to create a huge discussion about stuff that will never happen anyway: a tunnel system through the Siskiyou mountains as has been done in Europe (who would pay for that), or a tunnel through the mountain behind the slide (probably close to 1-1/2 miles that probably wouldn't work anyway because of the steep grade causing the diesel engines to stall out), or rebuilding the entire Siskiyou line to bypass this line (who would pay for rebuilding 200 miles of railroad with even steeper grades then is on this line), or even a car float from Coos Bay to Eureka (both cities are isolated from rail traffic). Can't a post like this be taken for what it was intended - a newsy update?
The bottom line is they had a VERY minor slide caused by the contractor himself moving unstable earth from above the slide. That in itself started a minor slide that deposited some mud on the tracks at Frazier. There was NO damage to the tracks through Frazier and indeed that potion of the railroad is now probably the most stable piece of railroad on the entire line considering all the work they put into it. And within about 4 hours they were going to start running through trains again but out of concern for safety due to the fact a couple of very large boulders had become exposed above the tracks they decided to NOT run through trains past the area until the boulders were dealt with. BTW, there were 13 trains run through the area, not counting the "mud trains", between 1700 yesterday and this morning so that doesn't exactly sound "shut down" to me. And I came through there around 0130 this morning and if I didn't know there had been another minor slide, I would have never known it.
The contractor will be there for months to come, which has already been previously posted. That in itself will probably lead to more minor slides so I'll refrain from updating what's happening since it leads to ridiculous speculation and having the situation blown totally out of proportion.
One thing that might be fun to post is a report the next time a tree falls across the tracks and "shuts the railroad down", as often happens up here (it may only be an hour or so but what the heck - it's "shut down"). I'll be curious to see how many people then call to de-forest the entire state of Oregon to avoid having that happen again also as that's something that "can't be fixed" either.
Posts: 283 | From: Palo Alto,CA | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
After reading the last 2 posts, my comments from above still stand. BTW, has it stopped snowing in the Cascades yet?
Heavy snow = a lot of meltwater = more slope instability = more slides = washed out tracks
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Date: April 29, 2008 17:40 Coast Starlight resumes May 6 Author: mundo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coast Starlight resumes May 6 northbound, May 7 southbound.
The relaunch will come later. Details should be Amtrak web wednesday
-------------------- Vicki in usually sunny Southern California Posts: 951 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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Like I said in my post above, because I know him. His information is reliable. Have I ever posted anything here that is wrong? No.
Regarding you still standing by your two comments about the slide in Frazier, you are absolutely entitled to your opinion. However, the experts in geology seem to disagree with you.
Andy
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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When I was at Trainorders, or otherwise until I got kicked out, I found Mr. Mundo's reports to be reliable. I believe he is with Amtrak in one capacity or another.
Again I note to you, Miss Vickie, and others in the "to whom it may concern" category, as of a few moments ago, the website still is accepting reservations for a LAX to SEA #14(6) and SEA to LAX #11(7).
Oh and by the time the management of TO got through with me, I'm not sure if I can even access it to read anymore. But then I had it coming; I really told the site owner off. In short, TO is simply a community in which, owing to my "anti-LD", anti-"photographer's rights", and admittedly formal bearing towards others, into which I simply did not fit.
Posts: 9977 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Agree. Mundo is normally accurate. Of course, a new slide could change everything, but that would be a force majure outside Mundo's control and Smitty's assurances of his usual accuracy. No matter how much who tries to predict what, true foreknowledge is still the province of the Almighty One alone.
Mr. Norman: I am a semi regular lurker at Trainorders, and my main gripe with them are those who with absolute assurance come up with incorrect "facts" particularly those track related. One person, I can't remember who and wouldn't say to protect the ignorant, came up with a technical sounding but completely erroneous explanation for rail buckling in hot weather.
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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posted
On Trainorders, yup, you gotta be careful with some of the info. There is an enormous knowledge base on there, but there are also a few who get their jollies out of purposely posting incorrect info just to stir up the pot. I've figured out who most of those are by now, and I ignore them. Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Smitty and Gil -- thanks a lot for your info about mundo. Sorry if I was sounding a little paranoid, but we all remember the posts from from Mr. "BNSF....." (whatever his handle was) a couple years ago that said "a reliable source" had told him that half of the AMTRAK system was going to shut down (he hasn't been around since then!!!) But I will take your word about Mr. mundo, since I know and respect both of you guys to have correct information!!!!
Smitty -- I too am a geologist, and know a little about mudslides, but I have not worked in that field for several years now. If the engineering geologists who are familiar with the slide and have worked on it believe the slide is stable now, then I will accept their conclusions.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
What a coinkydink, RRRICH, that you're a geologist! Then you understand the stuff about the slide way more than I do. I can't speak in technical terms (since I would just be making it up!), but the geologists up in Frazier I think pulled off a miracle. It's my understanding that my wish of this whole event being documented on video might have actually happened after all, so perhaps some day we will see it on the Nat'l Geographic Channel (or similar)?? But they are far from finished working up there---lots more to do. But they did get things safe (except for the usual stuff Mother Nature throws at the railroad up there), and I would feel very comfortable taking a train up through there any time. I'm looking forward to getting on the Coast Starlight once the relaunch has taken place, too. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Not sure what I think of being on the 3rd northbound passenger train to go through the area on May 9th but I am glad not to have to schlep luggage around to bus and train. Now let's see if the train can keep to the excellent time keeping the current system has been running. I have been monitoring since 4/15 and both the SEA and the LAX arrivals have been early with one exception, an hour late in SEA on 4/16. Sure would like that!
-------------------- Vicki in usually sunny Southern California Posts: 951 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
"coinkydink?" Never heard that word before, Smitty!!
I'll be looking at the area when we go through there on the CS in July, since I am curious as to what types of slope stabilization measures they have implemented in the area.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: ...but we all remember the posts from from Mr. "BNSF....." (whatever his handle was) a couple years ago that said "a reliable source" had told him that half of the AMTRAK system was going to shut down (he hasn't been around since then!!!)
(wonder why he never tried to post such over @ RRNET; guess who was Moderator over there at that time?)
Posts: 9977 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by HopefulRailUser: Not sure what I think of being on the 3rd northbound passenger train to go through the area
Remember, the freight trains they have been running for the last couple weeks are a lot heavier and more likely to have flat spots on wheels that cause ground vibrations then the passenger train. If anything is going to shake loose and come down on the trains due to the ground vibrations from the train, it won't be because of the passenger train. It will be due to a freight train. A downgrade freight train will be going almost as fast as the passenger trains do.
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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posted
"Tomorrow's the day that #14 goes all the way".
I must wonder if LA media will cover the "event". With its 1015A departure, there is after all, plenty of time to file stories before deadlines.
Oh and lest anyone think of an impulsive "reinaugural trip", as of a few moments ago, the website shows only Coach is open.
Posts: 9977 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
I'm taking the Coast Starlight from LAX to SEA on re-launch day: June 10th. I booked my AGR trip this morning, and will be in the 1432 car, Room C. If anyone else is riding, stop by and and say hi!
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Update: as of a few moments ago, the website shows Roomettes, but not Bedrooms, open LAX-SEA #14(6).
Impulsive "inaugural trip", anyone?.
It seems like the "amenity relaunch' date is generating more interest around here than return of service to the route.
But allow me to note, I guess an amenity upgraded Starlight represents 'fair play' between the two Coasts, as Auto Train has been unaffected by any recent amenity downgrades. So the East has its Auto Train, the West has its Starlight.
Posts: 9977 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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