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I was down at the station today picking up tickets for a quick SBA/SLO/SBA roundtrip tomorrow and saw today's (08 Aug) #14 come in and leave. It departed at 1:10PM with a Transition Sleeper, three Sleepers, a real Pacific Parlour Car (!!), a diner, a Sightseer Lounge, and four coaches. There was also an additional Transition Sleeper tacked on at the rear but it didn't seem to be occupied.
There was some confusion with boarding since there were quite a few non-English speakers boarding and there had been NO announcements at all while I was there. There was also a passenger who needed to get off and return to San Diego for an emergency. Some of the cars appeared to have been re-done recently but a couple were in very sad shape.
Frank in sunny, gorgeous SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Not too bad, but then, that's only a few hours out of Los Angeles... According to Amtrak.com, #11 isn't due in until 2am (presently running 9hrs late as of Salinas) **sigh**
What's this about a Transition Lounge??
Posts: 108 | From: Culver City, CA, US | Registered: Oct 2004
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Sorry. Meant to type Transition Sleeper the second time. I've corrected it. Just back from a very good day trip SBA/SLO/SBA that involved a 1 hour delay N/B at "Waldorf" just before Guadalupe due to UP "switching activity". It cut into our ground time in SLO but we still had time for a great lunch and a pleasant trip back down the coast.
We even talked one of the conductors out of his "old" gold hat badge. As part of the new "Captain Crunch" look (their words, not mine) Amtrak has decided that in addition to the oversized epaulets the gold hat badges need to be replaced with "pewter" ones.
Frank in dark but muggy SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Does anyone know specifically what is causing the Starlight's extreme delays? I understand it is largely due to UP track work in northern California and southern Oregon, but that's about as specific as I've heard. Anyone know how long this work will take, and how many miles are affected?
posted
On my recent Coast Starlight trip from Los Angeles to Eugene, the only track work I saw was just north of Klamath Lake. I think that is a tie replacement project. They moved the LA departure time back to 10:15 from 9:30, as they theoretically were planning to hold the northbound CS in Klamath Falls until 11 am, when track work was supposed to halt for the day. Of course, in practice, the train never makes it to Klamath Falls by 11 am. The biggest cause of the delays that I experienced were holds for passing freight traffic. I don't know if it is true, but I heard that UP freight trains are often too long to fit on the sidings, so Amtrak has to wait. We had a particularly long hold at a siding called "Smalltown Dorris" south of Klamath Falls, not only for a passing freight, but also for the old "hours of service" problem. You would think that they could be a bit flexible with that rule, but it appears to be applied quite rigidly.
Posts: 133 | From: Canaan, CT | Registered: Dec 2004
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There is zero flexibility in the Hours of Service Law, and that is what it is, federal law. 12h00m, and that does not mean 12h01m.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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sbalax - you physically saw the #14 on the 8th, otherwise I wouldn't believe it existed. As of now, the Amtrak website still does not admit it ever got to SEA. The next two left, on the 9th and 10th, so I guess they are stacking up somewhere? I am getting really nervous about my trip on this train.
-------------------- Vicki in usually sunny Southern California Posts: 951 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Aug 2006
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I checked, too, and there is no information for the arrival of #14 in SEA on the 9th except for the usual "service interruption" message. i suppose you could call and explain that you will be traveling on this train and are concerned. The trains on either side of this one arrived between 2-5 hours late. (Don't remember the exact times.) When we were in SLO yesterday (08/09) we saw the NB #14 come in and leave at about 4:15PM. I think that's pretty close to ontime.
Let me know if you find out anything.
Frank in sunny SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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