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My wife and I had a chance to travel the Heartland flyer from OKC to Ft. Worth and back yesterday. We were picking up two of our grand kids for the week end and knew a train ride was in order. The Flyer was early into Ft. Worth, and only 6 minutes late coming back. That was after a signal outage reduced our speed to 10 miles per hour for about 15 minutes, and then got side tracked for a passing freight. Even though we were out of the slot a little, most of the freight passings were all ok with no delays. At one point on the way down, we hit 80 MPH on my GPS. While in Ft Worth I got to see both the South bound Eagle, and the North bound Eagle. All three train sets were lined up on the two designated Amtrak tracks for Ft. Worth. The South bound was a little late and they spotted it on the west side track at the end of the platform. This location was well south of the covered areas, but still afforded proper platform features for service with power and water when needed. They had to use step stools as this area does not have the raised platform featured with the main, covered platform near the waiting room entrance. When the North bound 21 arrived about 1 ½ hours late, they Spotted it engine in, side by side the southbound. Both trains had a full consist with full diner and SightSeer lounge. All but one car appeared to be older Super liners, and only the sleeper, the Arizona on number 21 was a super liner II. The sets looked worn, with almost all of the paint and appliqués peeling and faded. One poor hapless family was directed to the sleeper at the end of the train, only to learn that they had been placed in a bed room on the Transition sleeper. It was a very long walk back with all their belongings and children in tow to the transition car. I had heard that they had begun selling space in the crew car, but this was the first time I had seen any one boarded. One sad note was that each Eagle was transported using only one of the big GE diesels. With a consist of 8 or so cars, I can just imagine the poor acceleration from a dead stop. And God forbid they loose that engine or they might loose the HEP as well. Number 21 got out about 20 minutes late, while Northbound 22 was at least an hour late. It is such fun to watch this process. People coming and going. Some dressed like kings, while others seemed ready to travel in pajamas. Such a contrast. Service staff and maintenance crews were fluttering about on all fronts. I did have a concerned thought after I saw one of the maintenance staff walking off one of the sleepers with a jug of freon for the A/C units. I heard the service attendant asking if that would fix it this time. She only got a look of scorn from the maintenance guy. I sure hope that car had air, as it was in the 90’s that day. After all the commotion, I had a bout 30 minutes to kill before the Flyer began preparations for the return to OKC. As the boarding process started, I encountered a new experience. I am sure that it is in response to the heightened security measures. As each passenger approached the coach, the conductor and assistant were announcing that ALL bags and ALL carry on had to have a name tag with full address (including ice chests, camera cases, and sleeping bags). They handed out handfuls of the paper baggage tags, and then began to board only after checking ID’s (nothing new here), and then looking at the name tags of every bag. One of mine did not have a full address, and I had to complete it before I was allowed on. You can imagine the confusion as people with 5 and six carry-ons scrambled to complete the name tags. Most folks did not have a pen or pencil, and the conductor had none to spare. I am sure that is why we began to board an all coach train 30 minutes before departure. You might want to think about this new procedure before you start your next journey. At the end of the day we had a grand time. I can’t wait for our next journey.
Jim Fix
Posts: 24 | From: Panama City, FL | Registered: Apr 2004
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Ridership in both directions was at least 50 percent. This was on a Thursday, and on the weekends the train is often full. The landscape along the Heartland route is mostly rural farm land with many small Oklahoma towns dotting the tracks. Towns such as Gene Autry, Pauls Valley, Paoli, and yes even Slaughterville pass by your window. There is one very scenic section just north of Ardmore. As you approach the Arbuckle Mountains (small by all standards at 1413 foot elevation), the tracks begin to follow alongside the Washita River. For about 15 or 20 miles the river darts into and out of view. This time of year, there is enough flow to reflect many rapids and moving current. We cross over the river several times, making for nice views of the area. Once into Texas you begin to see more commercial developments. You pass many grain elevators and petrochemical plants. The entrance into Ft Worth is quite striking, with a full view of the downtown area. You cross over the Trinity River and soon approach the Ft worth train station which is just a few blocks east of downtown and the convention center. Bus transportation around the downtown area is free, and the station is the transportation center for the city, so you only need to walk a few feet from the train to catch a bus. A very visitor friendly city.
Posts: 24 | From: Panama City, FL | Registered: Apr 2004
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I remeber at Christmas time 2003 the Eagle hit a truck about an hour outside of St. Louis.
When I had heard about it, the first thing I remembered was Amtrak only used one engine on the route now a days.
I saw on TV the engine was bashed in on the left front to side. But it kept on going to Chicago after about 6-7 hours in STL if I remember them saying correctly.
Posts: 547 | From: St. Louis, MO, USA | Registered: Nov 2002
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