The BIG ALL-AMtrak 11 and 14 meet for today was at Castroville CA. Amtrak 14 took the siding for Amtrak 11 there at Castroville. This meet usually takes place in the Santa Margarita-Cuesta CA area.
Amtrak Train 14 had Salinas CA times of 826-835PM. Amtrak 11 running as the Amtrak 231 south(F40PH) then got the Track Warrant authority as far as Milepost 153. The authority for train 11 was effective at 902PM Pacific Time. That 153 location is about 7 miles north of King City CA.
For those that do not know, Amtrak 11 was caught behind a tunnel fire in Oregon for a few hours. This is the reason this train is running about 8 hours late. This wraps up my coverage of this VERY late Amtrak train tonite! --Daniel
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
8 hours late for the Starlight? That's gotta be among the worst. And this follows on the heels of slow orders near Mt. Shasta which put train 14 five to six hours late getting into Oregon all last weekend.
Does anyone know if those speed restrictions are still in effect in N. Calif?
When I rode the Starlight in the '70s it was rare for it to be more than 2 hours late into either Salem (northbound) or Oakland (southbound). It seems that was the "golden age" for Amtrak's on-time performance. But I should add, it was the nightmare years as far as on-board service was concerned. Now its the exact opposite.
What caused the tunnel fire, and where was the tunnel?
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
Posted by reggierail (Member # 26) on :
Train # 11 was held at Oakridge oregon while the fire was extinguished. It was in tunnel # 7, obviously somewhere south of Oakridge. The fire was thought to have been started by the exhaust from a freight train passing through the tunnel. The train had mechanical, specifically engine problems & stalled just south of the tunnel Reggie
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Posted by reggierail (Member # 26) on :
Just checked one of my other rail lists & this from an Amtrak employee "UP's Natron Cutoff, east/south of Eugene, OR., Tunnel 7 caught fire again on the morning of June02." This forced the northbound train to terminate at Klamath Falls & the southbound to terminate at Portland. Passengers will be bussed between those 2 stations to make the connections & the trains will be turned, 11 becomes 14; 14 becomes 11. Yours Reggie