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Does anyone know why #353 left Pontiac 2 hrs 21 M LT on Friday the 8th?
thanks!
Andy

twropr wrote:Does anyone know why #353 left Pontiac 2 hrs 21 M LT on Friday the 8th?
thanks!
Andy

I never heard why but this is becoming fairly common though not always because of troubles originating in Pontiac like with your example.

Here is the lastest operational issues. Yesterday Amtrak 355 left Pontiac for Chicago right before Amtrak 352 arrived, around 8:30 pm, around three hours late, as it arrived like 4 hours late from Chicago as 350. Then Amtrak 354 arrived at Pontiac at 3:41 am, two hours and 45 minutes late. Yikes, what is going on with Amtrak? They used to run very late before the Michigan Line was purchased and upgraded by the State, like anytime it rained. Then the last year or two they were like clockwork on time. And now suddenly this winter even worse than before. Someone blamed it on poor maintenance of the aging locomotives lately. Winter cannot always be the reason as we have had a mild winter so far.

You Sir, are correct.....switch problems at Milwaukee Jct. yesterday made 350 extremely late, local management getting their decisions overturned by the 'managers ' above them, and the crew shortage in Michigan rearing it's ugly head all contributed to this mess

Buster Manning wrote:You Sir, are correct.....switch problems at Milwaukee Jct. yesterday made 350 extremely late, local management getting their decisions overturned by the 'managers ' above them, and the crew shortage in Michigan rearing it's ugly head all contributed to this mess

#350 sat in Detroit from 2:53 pm till 6:29 pm. I heard on the scanner feed archives that Amtrak had considered reversing the train to Dearborn and then changed their minds.
Was the switch issue frozen switches or something else? Seems like it took them a while to fix whatever the problem was.
Andy

Amtrak 350 just went NB past MP 22.5 on the Holly (just south of Pontiac station) almost two hours late today. This has been the norm the last month or so though it was on time this weekend. It had a locomotive on either end (maybe to quicken its turnaround time in Pontiac as 355 due to its tardiness so often lately?), four coaches and a baggage car. I wonder why they have an extra locomotive sitting at Pontiac depot if they don't use it for 350/355's turnaround?

And 355 left Pontiac on time with a locomotive on both ends.

Amtrak 355, the last train arriving at Pontiac, went NB past MP 22.5, passing 280 in my backyard, at 4:44 am, almost fours hours late.

And this morning, Amtrak 351 has not left Pontiac yet and the tracker says it will leave around 7 am, an hour late. This must be due to Train 355's late arrival as they wye the train or engine in Pontiac of 355 and 353 at night and must have waited to do both at once as usual even with the late 355 or something. Poor Amtrak Wolverine service. It has just gone done the tubes this winter and such an unusually mild one with no snow. And with all new track most of the route through Michigan.

Update, 351 rolled by MP 22.5 on the Holly, just south of Pontiac, at 7:10 am so it is on the move.

354 hit a pedestrian in downtown Royal Oak. The person struck died later at the hospital.

The timekeeping on Amtrak has been abysmal. However, I have to disagree that this winter has been unusually mild with no snow. Late January and most of February have not been mild and I have had to clear snow from our property in Wayne County 5 or 6 times.

It was so cold canceled trains for 3 days because of the cold.. it's been pretty cold, below freezing for long stretches of a time. 30+ year old cars and 20 year old locomotives do not help the case. It's not the snow that hurts, it's the cold. Anything below freezing is not friendly to the amfleets and horizons.

Ypsi wrote:It was so cold canceled trains for 3 days because of the cold.. it's been pretty cold, below freezing for long stretches of a time. 30+ year old cars and 20 year old locomotives do not help the case. It's not the snow that hurts, it's the cold. Anything below freezing is not friendly to the amfleets and horizons.

The snow does hurt also. Watched the SW Chief slide through it's stop at Flagstaff the other day.
It wasn't the cold that caused that, it was the snow on the brakes.

Cars and engines receiving proper maintenance are less susceptible to winter conditions. I haven't seen anyone accuse Amtrak of doing proper maintenance. That takes money they don't have and will likely never get. And that is part of the reason why Amtrak leadership wants to cut back to corridor service only. Between carrying more passengers than long distance trains, the states will have to pay to play. Thus more money in the pot to address long standing issues with the fleet.