RAILforum: Your Longest Amtrak Delay

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Posted by polarbearucla (Member # 2723) on :

Mine would have to be about 8 hours. Ironic part was that the train was stuck right outside the station i got on (burbank), and next to the I-5 , which would have been less than 6 hour drive to oakland, my destination. However, I dont take the train for speed so I really wasn't too upset.

[This message has been edited by polarbearucla (edited 11-01-2003).]

Posted by dnsommer (Member # 2825) on :

Punctuality seems to be a top horror story topic inside and outside Amtrak and railfan circles. Sadly, Amtrak critics often base their opinion of Amtrak on one incident .

The longest delay I've ever experienced was about 90 minutes. It was at Syracuse, New York. I was waiting for the WB Lake Shore Limited. I forget what caused the delay.

I once waited for a good eight hours at Zaventem Airport in Brussels, Belgium for a charter flight that was to bring me back to the United States. The delay was caused by a snowstorm in New York City. Our aircraft, a Capitol Airlines DC-8-63, was stuck at JFK.

I didn't walk away from this experience saying I'd never fly again. I didn't blame the airline. Likewise, when I waited for 90 minutes at Syracuse, I didn't get mad at Amtrak.

Why is it we railfans can spend hours trackside just watching trains, but when we're trackside waiting to get on one that's running late we get angry and critical?

Stuff happens.

Dave

[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 11-01-2003).]

Posted by ShaLeah (Member # 2856) on :

15 hours.

Leaving Chicago, right as we get to the bridge before Hammond-Whiting, the main engine blows. We are stuck, in that position, holding up other traffic, for 15 hrs without power or heat, couldn't even make coffee. It was not a pretty sight.

Posted by UncleBuck44 (Member # 2049) on :

quote:
Originally posted by dnsommer:

Why is it we railfans can spend hours trackside just watching trains, but when we're trackside waiting to get on one that's running late we get angry and critical?

Mostly Because you have waited probably along time to get on that train, and sometimes you can't wait any longer.
When you go just to see a train come and go, that decision comes out of the blue.
Plus if a Train is an hour late, its up to you wether you want to wait to see it or leave, where as when boarding the train you must wait.

Also my longest wait would have to be 2 and a half hours in Chicago while they got the train ready.
Longest Delay 4-5 hours on Texas Eagle, again going from SAS to STL, so many freights.
While waiting for the Eagle to take us to SAS the train had to take a 1 hour break in Alton so that the workers could take their break.

[This message has been edited by UncleBuck44 (edited 11-02-2003).]

Posted by JonA (Member # 2690) on :

shaleah,

What did you and the passengers do for 15 hours? Why could amtrak not hook another engine up and drag you away?

I might have jumped off after5 hours.

I sat on the CZ for about 90 minutes waiting for a broken uP freight. It was a few minutes after the moffet tunnel. Pretty watching the sunset. But I had no where to go so there was no stress.

Posted by denmarks (Member # 2748) on :

Fifteen hours. Missed train out of Chicago, flew to Omaha to catch it. The train never made it across the Mississippi River due to floods. I had to wait for the eastbound train that turned around in Omaha.

Posted by CHATTER (Member # 1185) on :

12 hours, last summer on the eastbound Sunset Limited, various reasons for the delay simply accumulated. Saved us a hotel room for the night!

Posted by espeefoamer (Member # 2815) on :

Once on the Empire Builder we left Chicago on time,arrived in MSP early,then sat for two hours.There was no explanation of any kind.We just sat there until the train left.We finally arrived in Portland 5hr.30min.late.

------------------
Trust Jesus,Ride Amtrak.

Posted by royaltrain (Member # 622) on :

Would you believe three days? OK I admit I wasn't stuck on a train for three days, but back in 2000 when the Texas Eagle was delayed 12 hours into Dallas due to ice storms in Arkansas, Amtrak throws everyone off the train and tells passengers to take a bus to El Paso and connect there with the Sunset Limited. A bus to El Paso, you can't be serious I said to Amtrak (yes they were). I drove to San Antonio and waited three days for the next Sunset Limited, and sent my bill for expenses to Amtrak. Guess what, they wouldn't pay. So I sued them. I finally won my case, but it took even longer than a late Texas Eagle to collect.

Posted by CoastStarlight99 (Member # 2734) on :

My friend is an Amtrak lawyer, Its a very hard job!
I dont think sueing them was quite right---You deserve your money but Amtrak doesnt controll the weather!

Anton

Posted by rmiller (Member # 341) on :

Had a trip this summer similar to Royaltrain's.

Eagle was several hours late into St. Louis because electrical storms had knocked out signals between Joliet and Springfield. Passengers for Cal and AZ points were bussed to Kansas City to connect with SW Chief.

More hours late into Ft Worth because tanker truck had over turned in DeSoto Mo and line was closed. Had to back up to nearly St Louis and take the freight route south. On arrival Ft Worth, passengers for Cal and AZ points bussed to El Paso...and that is a long ride. On arrival El Paso, they were told the Sunset was stuck behind a derailed freight near San Antonio and another bus would be provided for the ride from El Paso to Los Angeles. Those passengers were bussed all the way from Fort Worth to Los Angeles. I remained in El Paso to wait for the Sunset which staggered into LA about 4pm, whata trip.

Posted by royaltrain (Member # 622) on :

Suing Amtrak was definitely the right thing to do. Although I agree Amtrak cannot control the weather, there was no reason why the train could not continue on to Los Angeles. There was no emergency, the tracks were not blocked, no bridges had fallen down. It was purely an economic decision--cheaper to inconvenience the passengers (first class in my case in a deluxe bedroom) then to run the train. The court agreed with my contention that Amtrak was in breach of contract when they failed to provide the promised deluxe bedroom from Chicago to Tucson in the absence of an emergency.

[This message has been edited by royaltrain (edited 11-04-2003).]

Posted by Italiancanuck89 (Member # 1873) on :

8hrs on the WB LSL. It was about 2 hrs late into BUF, 4 IN TOL. There we sat for 2 more hours (saw the Pennsylvanian, i believe come and go) repairing a car and then 2 more into CHI. I felt bad for the people going on the EB LSL. They would have had to wait atleast 1-2hrs while they serviced the train since it's the same set they use.

Posted by CG96 (Member # 1408) on :

Had to be taking the SW chief in 1988. Around La Junta, CO, we coolided with a driver who attempted to beat the train at a crossing (and lost, of course

) . We ended up being at least 8 hrs late into Raton. Combined with the fact that we were in the "overflow" car that had duct tape on the seats, and taht the airconditioning was shut off for over two hours while we dealt with cleaning up the wreakage, and later on had the engine crew go outlaw on us, made for a less than pleasant experience. I enjoyed looking at the nearby mountains, though, so all was not lost.