Amtrak Southwest Chief Discussion

I've seen that in yards and shops, but I don't recall seeing that in passenger stations in question. Perhaps they feel that 1x/day is not worth it, versus a Class 1 fuel rack somewhere like Elkhart or Enola where they might fuel 100+ engines per day. I was once told Elkhart was a superfund site for all the fuel that NYC and PC leached into the groundwater.

David Benton wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2024 3:31 pm Don't the fuel tracks have a "tray", that goes under the tank , for that purpose?

Pretty much. It's three troughs -- one between the rails and one outside each rail.

Tadman wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2024 8:46 pm I've seen that in yards and shops, but I don't recall seeing that in passenger stations in question.

The one place I know I've seen them in a station is Olgilvie. They converted the mail tracks to fuel pockets (located at Lake and Canal in the upper northwest corner of the station), and there's another fuel pocket just north of Fulton in the puzzle switches at the station throat. All visible on Google Maps.

eolesen wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2024 9:35 pm

David Benton wrote: ↑Wed Jul 31, 2024 3:31 pm Don't the fuel tracks have a "tray", that goes under the tank , for that purpose?

Pretty much. It's three troughs -- one between the rails and one outside each rail.

Dam predictive text. I meant fuel trucks, not fuel tracks.

Ah. There's what I'd called an oversize bucket. Enough to capture what's still in the hose, but not enough to capture a real spill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r-niyiH_uw

No bucket here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBRLruBVVag

or here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Np64ZmzXbI

LOL, That's just a oil drain sump bucket .
What I have seen somewhere is a tray probably 6 foot square , maybe a 6 inch high lip , that swings out from the back of the truck , under the tank been filled , and presumably drains to a tank on the truck .
I guess the danger is the tank pressurises while filling , and coughs up a decent amount of fuel when the hose is removed.

Maybe oddball question, but if anyone knows, it'll be one of you: Where does the eastbound chief typically lose time? In particular, if I want to take it from galesburg to chicago and I check how late it is the evening before, how good of a predictor is that of how late it will get to chicago?

The backstory, in case anyone's interested:
I'm going from galesburg to rutland starting Monday morning. I'm booked on the Illinois Zephyr at 7:37 am because the chief has occasionally missed the connection with the Lake Shore Limited in the past year and indeed once in the past week (which means being something like seven and a half hours late!), and I really don't want to miss the connection. And most of a day in Chicago isn't a bad thing. And when I booked I thought I had nothing particular to do in Galesburg that morning. BUT it turns out I could actually hang out with someone I don't often see if I took the chief instead of the Illinois Zephyr. (Amtrak website doesn't offer the California Zephyr for Galesburg-Chicago on Monday; idk if that's always the case or if its all booked.) So I was thinking about checking how #4 is doing on Sunday evening around 7 or 8, and if it's doing well, going online and changing my ticket. And I wonder if that's sensible or a bad idea.

Arborwayfan wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2024 9:30 pm Maybe oddball question, but if anyone knows, it'll be one of you: Where does the eastbound chief typically lose time? In particular, if I want to take it from galesburg to chicago and I check how late it is the evening before, how good of a predictor is that of how late it will get to chicago?

(Snip)

Over the years, I’ve seen 3/4 lose time in the mainline/left passing track/right passing track from Barstow to Kansas City, at the Missouri River Bridge, at the Mississippi River Bridge, and in the last few/first few miles into or out of Chicago.

What's up with the Chief lately? It's been very late more than on time. Today, at Kingman, #4 was being towed east by a BNSF locomotive tied on to the rear of the train towing it backwards. In Kingman at around 15:45 EDT(12:45 PST). Normal departure from Kingman is 1:01 am PST. Tomorrow's departure is cancelled.

#3's CHI departure time is now 225P vice 250P.
LAX arrival is now 757A (2nd morning).

First I was aware was today when I noted #5(1) passing about 25ML; so what's new?

But that about 240P, here's #3(1) smack on time. This was my first knowledge of the schedule change.

While it means less than nothing to me nowadays, it certainly was a sight noting two Superliner trains as good as chasing one another's markers.