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I read about the unfortunate sleper setout on the SW Chief last week but no details. Could you provide info about what happened to cause this, which car number it was, and how they notified and handled passengers? Did a knock on the door roust you from sleep, were you given time to gather belongings, and moved to coach or another sleeper. Thanks for any and all details.
Posts: 561 | Registered: Jul 2003
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You don't want to know (about the silly Amtrak oops)....but:
What woke me about 2am in car 431 room 8 was a loud banging sound for a long time under the train. There were lots of Amtrak staff moving about and eventually the train came to a stop on single track east of Dodge. I saw flashlights below my window. Word was a stabilizer bar was dragging in the ballast due to a broken bushing. And the FRA had just inspected this car in ABQ!
So we creep to the next siding. Turns out car 430 behind me was to be evacuated and folks moved to crew dorm and coach so 430 could be set out. A long parade of sleepy folks moved past me up to the crew dorm.
But, I thought ...car 430??? It sure sounded like it was my car (431) making that noise. Turns out (that is the big oops) ..it was my car that broke. The offending part had kicked up enough ballast to chip some windows in 430 and scare the daylights out of the occupants, but the real broken car was 431. Now I find I must evacuate and I was lucky enough to get room 8 in 430. I volunteered for coach but they said no. There were a lot of very irate sleepy people by now.(Two BNSF trucks showed up but the broken part was unique to Amtrak.)
So being a foamer, I eagerly watched out the open front door of 430 as a P42 played switch engine and 431 disappeared into the Kansas night. It was kind of creepy to watch your locomotive go away in the middle of nowhere. No passengers ever stepped off the train. I overheard a discussion involving the conductor saying the roadbed was too steep and it was too dark. Amtrak staff moved most of the luggage to the crew dorm and it was later sorted to the same cars as it's owners, so the train wouldn't need to stop twice in stations with short platforms.
It turns out the guy guarding my door was Amtrak management in transit. His name was Jack and he worked for Brian Rosenwald, and his specialty was cost effectiveness of routes and diners. He was impressive. So it was an interesting conversation ...until the guy in the adjacent bedroom emerged and said "It is 5am and I am trying to sleep." Realizing runaway foamers such as myself are indeed a menace to civilized folks, I shut up. And I do feel bad I got carried away.
It was fun for me to have a front row seat watching a train broken up and reconnected miles from lights and humans. I was lucky enough to reconnect with Jack, as well as another Amtrak employee (a technician for the voice of Julie) at the same table at lunch. Service improves with Amtrak brass at your table. We remained over 4 hours late, so lunch was a bonus since my destination was La Plata originally scheduled at 10am.
As we always say, think of each trip as an adventure. I certainly enjoyed this one. The sleeper folks shuttled to coach got a refund. The guy I woke up went back to sleep. I found out at my lunch with Amtrak folks that Julie understands better if you talk back to her like you are a robot (I've always had a thing for Julie but whenever I ask for a date she says 'sorry, I don't understand'). My only downside was that my drive home from La Plata to St. Paul finished after dark in the snow and I am old.
Oh, and lunch the day before out of ABQ included a very distinguished retired dental surgeon, banker and rancher from near Roswell NM who had all sorts of inside info on the alien spacecraft crash there. And another person at the table was a UFO government cover up conspiracy fanatic. But that is another story.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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Autographed copies of my ticket stub will soon be available for a small fee.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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Thanks for the great report. Sorry you had to endure this but it's always good to make it an adventure. I'm sure it helped to get another room rather than coach. Did you notice the specific car number such as 32000 or whatever? Just curious if it was on the SW Chief I rode a couple weeks earlier as the same consist should have been in use. Thanks!
Posts: 561 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Sorry, I didn't notice the permanent car number. The other sleeper (430) still had a state name on it. I think it was Nebraska or Wisconsin.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Rocket, you ought to be writing travelogues for TrainWeb. This is a first-rate piece of personal journalism.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Thank you Mr. Kisor. If I may link this to the Small Minds in Wisconsin thread, thank a teacher.
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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