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I was listening to the scanner and heard that the northbound Coast Starlight #14 was running very late Saturday 1/19/02. According to the Amtrak website it was 4 hours late into Santa Barbara, almost 7 hours late into San Luis Obisbo, and 8 hours late into Salinas. It didn't lose much more time after that and it got all the way into into Seattle having lost only one more hour, making it 9 hours late.
Anyone know what happened down south that day?
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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All I can think of is maybe the UP Torch Train got in front of #14. I know the UP train was scheduled to be heading towards Oregon that day. Or maybe #14 had some equipment problems along the way. Just my guess. Has the Starlight been doing any better with on-time stats lately?
DC2001 Member # 542
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From what I read elsewhere, the northbound Starlight had problems with the lead locomotive just out of L.A. A freight unit was appropriated, but it was facing the wrong direction. The crew then died on the law after twelve hours. Even more strange, the crew was then ordered to work beyond the permitted hours of service (I'd guess about 13 and 1/2 hours on duty), with the train finally reaching San Luis Obispo sometime after 10:00 p.m. It may have lost more time after that, I don't know.
"It's 22:30. Do you know where your train is? If it's Amtrak #14, it's in San Luis Obispo, where it is due out at 15:43."
Lead unit of #14 at Los Angeles was a Seattle based unit, and mechanic in Los Angeles really don't give a squat, so nobody cared about problems and unit had red light on compressor right after leaving LA (The "attitudes" are opinions).
"Amtrak wyed the power at Montalvo, and ended up with the unit without a horn, leading. Conductor went to the second unit (single man cab territory) and did the horn blowing. Apparently this imposed a 25 mph restriction for the train. They got a freight unit, and as also reported previously, it was facing the wrong direction.
"The train took the siding at Gaviota and let Amtrak #775 pass (couldn't get a "tow" - no place to turn the freight unit at San Luis Obispo), then were going to wye the freight unit at Surf. No such luck - boxcars occupying at least one leg of the wye there. Crew died on the law at 20:45, but there were no relief crews available, so crew was ordered to work beyond the hours of service. Don't know what this does to crew paychecks, but apparently this also involves fines in the tens of thousands of dollars on top of other costs.
"A/C took off tie and went off duty, but conductor (in second unit) and hogger stayed on. They then crawled to Tangair and wyed the freight unit there, then limped into San Luis Obispo sometime after 22:00.
"Baggage for San Luis Obispo had been pulled off hours earlier, and apparently had been told (or understood) the Surfliner they boarded would come all the way to San Luis Obispo. No such - they got the "Ambus" Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, some came in complaining (but they beat Amtrak #14 by a long way). Also, some irate people about missing connections. San Luis Obispo sent their Bay area and Sac passengers to Hanford to connect with San Joaquins, but everyone north of that had to wait for Amtrak #14. Last look, Amtrak #14 was around 9 hours down somewhere north of Dunsmuir. -Dan Ainsworth, Gene Poon
mrlithian Member # 1129
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Forgive my ignorance of train crew jargon, but what does "crew died on the law" mean?
TIA
Eric Member # 674
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"Crew died on the law" means that the train crew (engineer, asst. engineer) has worked for the 12-hour limit mandated by (I think) the FRA. Once the crews have worked for twelve hours during a single "tour of duty," they are required by law to be relieved by another crew (although this story is an exception!) This rule does not apply to conductors, car attendents, etc., because they are not responsible for operating the train, although the conductor is responsible for the train's movements. This law was created to lower crew fatigue, improve safety, and make life better for train crews. The crews are required to have at least eight hours rest in between "tours." Other terms are "outlawed," "hoglawed" and maybe "died on the clock." Hope this helps! There is still some slang I'm not sure of! Eric
[This message has been edited by Eric (edited 01-25-2002).]
[This message has been edited by Eric (edited 01-25-2002).]
mrlithian Member # 1129
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Thanks, Eric - fascinating stuff.
cajon Member # 40
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Sorry Eric Conductors fall under same rule as they are Train & Engine (T&E) employees. They are NOT OBS employees.
Eric Member # 674
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Thanks cajon, So the conductors have a twelve-hour limit also?
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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Thanks for the replies. Now I see that Train 11 was 7 hours late into Salinas on the 24th. As many regulars here may recall, I rode the Starlight regularly in the 1970s. Back then it was rare for a train to be much more than two hours late. Three hours late is routine nowdays, and six hours or more is all too common. Sigh.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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