stranded Acela

When your stuck on a train how * will you get to airport ??

Funny you should ask. A late Acela from BOS to NYP (including a 60+ minute delay in Queens due to frozen air lines) caused me to miss my Silver Service connection to Orlando, so I ended up using the time to book a last minute flight later in the day, as the trip was for a short weekend with friends (I was already planning to fly home) and missing a night was not a great option. As it turns out, my flight was also substantially delayed, though we got to pass the time on the tarmac (almost 2 hours before returning to the gate) watching reports of Captain Sullenberger landing a plane in the river. All in all, I ended up arriving in Orlando about 9 hours before the train.

n2cbo wrote:

DutchRailnut wrote:no but doors are, bathrooms are depending on electricity and air, loosing pantograph guarantees both are lost.

Has Amtrak never heard of BATTERIES?????

And what would you like the batteries to have done in this situation? The trainsets are equipped with batteries to provide power to emergency lighting, doors, PA and safety critical systems. The toilets are flushed by main res air which was most likely completely gone after 30 mins or so. The other problem is the trainsets and batteries are both probably the same age so the batteries probably arent’t providing optimal power and once the power is lost from a trainset it goes into load shed very quickly.

Put a 'track dump' override for overflowing toilets in these situations.

Backshophoss wrote:The Hellgate line is on the MN's New Haven Line power Grid,will take time for MN's Wire crew to respond,and Amtrak has to clear
the damaged Pan to allow repairs. Not sure if a GP38-3 has enough kw's to power the acela set HEP needs.

Lincolin 78,the used a "stock" photo of MBTA's ROW. :wink:

The Hell Gate is NOT on MNR’s power grid, although it was converted to 60 cycle power when MNR converted in the 80s. It may have been dependent on MNR back then, but it is not now. And MNR forces (in any craft, power or other) never perform any work west of the division post at the western limits of CP216 on the Hell Gate. The only time you might see MNR forces working on Amtrak property is if there’s a derailment and Amtrak requests assistance from the MNR wreck crew.

Jim

CarterB wrote:Put a 'track dump' override for overflowing toilets in these situations.

Um, dumping untreated sewage on the ground is illegal, and rightly so.

Jim

BobLI wrote:Woodside would be a reverse move to LIRR mainline so that move would be impossible. Hunters point is possible if it’s a diesel switcher.

And from the satellite picture, Hunters Point would of been a reverse move as well.

Erie-Lackawanna wrote:

CarterB wrote:Put a 'track dump' override for overflowing toilets in these situations.

Um, dumping untreated sewage on the ground is illegal, and rightly so.

Jim

Worked well for over 150 years. I'm not advocating return to it, just use 'track dump' in case of emergency power failures, when on board toilets are overflowing and a hazard in and of itself.

Tadman wrote:I realize it was a busy weekend and a Sunday to boot, but this is nuts. Fifteen minutes outside the busiest station on the continent and they couldn't find something to drag it back to the platform or at least a safe place? For six hours? I'd be livid. It's not my nature to blame the carrier, but in this case I'd absolutely hit the roof. There's a reason the government enacted the passenger bill of rights for airliners, sitting for extended time in a tube with no power is unsafe.

I had the same thought, especially considering that this is Amtrak's premiere high speed train. I was on board an Acela back in '02 that snagged the catenary just south of New Rochelle, so not far from this spot, and we sat for over two hours before a rescue train (an Amtrak Regional) pulled up alongside and took us on our way. That felt long enough. Six hours is a long time!

Not nearly as long but I sat on a train less than a quarter mile outside of ALB last week due to the station tracks all being occupied and the perfect storm of events. Won't hear about that one though as it was at the same time 68 split apart.

CarterB wrote:

Erie-Lackawanna wrote:

CarterB wrote:Put a 'track dump' override for overflowing toilets in these situations.

Um, dumping untreated sewage on the ground is illegal, and rightly so.

Jim

Worked well for over 150 years. I'm not advocating return to it, just use 'track dump' in case of emergency power failures, when on board toilets are overflowing and a hazard in and of itself.

That’s right. Dumping on ROW is illegal because it’s a health hazard. What is pooping in a box? Overflowing toilets? Probably much bigger health hazard than refuse on the ballast.

Tadman wrote:

CarterB wrote:

Erie-Lackawanna wrote:

CarterB wrote:Put a 'track dump' override for overflowing toilets in these situations.

Um, dumping untreated sewage on the ground is illegal, and rightly so.

Jim

Worked well for over 150 years. I'm not advocating return to it, just use 'track dump' in case of emergency power failures, when on board toilets are overflowing and a hazard in and of itself.

That’s right. Dumping on ROW is illegal because it’s a health hazard. What is pooping in a box? Overflowing toilets? Probably much bigger health hazard than refuse on the ballast.

AMEN!!!!!

Tadman wrote: That’s right. Dumping on ROW is illegal because it’s a health hazard. What is pooping in a box? Overflowing toilets? Probably much bigger health hazard than refuse on the ballast.

You know what's even better than that?

Getting a locomotive and towing the thing back to a platform.

This happened in the busiest part of the NEC, on the busiest travel day of the year, with Amtrak's premiere train. You mean to tell me, with Sunnyside and all just a mile away, they couldn't find a single damn locomotive for 6 hours, to simply hook it up and tow it over to HPA or so, so the passengers could at least get out, take a dump like any other NYer, and find the ever popular 'alternative transportation'?

Really, there wasn't one locomotive capable of this, anywhere in the area?

Not a single one?

None?

Seriously, 6 hours. That's longer than it takes to get to Boston by train. You can fly to Europe in that time.

It was not only train with pantograph damage at time and Sunny side switching crew was already called for other broken down trains.
The only diesel rescue power and crew and was available in New Haven. they dispatched a P42 with cab car to tow train to New Haven.

Add to that that non of those trains can be moved till offending pantograph is either secured in Down position or removed which not only requires power dept employees plus employees from MofE with a power saw.

Dutch: if I follow Mr. Nasadowski’s thoughts, I think he suggested that Amtrak *gasp* pay LIRR or even NY&A to move the train once the wire was clear and AMTK Mechanical had removed the offending pan. The outside switching charge has to be less than the total reimbursement the passengers will have rightly demanded - possibly including dry cleaning

it was not in LIRR or NY&A territory last I looked their crews are not qualified.