Lake Shore Limited

I have a trip scheduled for POU-CLE 5/5/21 coming back CLE-POU 5/11/21. Outbound trip didn't change, but Amtrak emailed me a new eTicket the other day changing the arrival time in POU from 4:49PM to 5:13 PM. Not a huge change, probably track work but there's no alert on the website, at least not yet. Anyone know what will be going on?

daybeers wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:59 pm I have a trip scheduled for POU-CLE 5/5/21 coming back CLE-POU 5/11/21. Outbound trip didn't change, but Amtrak emailed me a new eTicket the other day changing the arrival time in POU from 4:49PM to 5:13 PM. Not a huge change, probably track work but there's no alert on the website, at least not yet. Anyone know what will be going on?

Amtrak's known to do that. Did that at my last trip on the Pennsylvanian. I'd check their website to see if there's a service notice.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:40 am Related of sorts, I'm now thinking a year ahead to an April '22 journey down under to Sydney, NSW where my Niece resides. Since I no longer "houseguest" (that's college stuff to me), I'll be at a hotel (likely an extended stay varietal), and doing much on my own (my Niece, M2K, has her own life). To see what NSW Trainlink is all about (State owned "Amtrak"), maybe a down and back same day as far as I can get on the line that goes to Melbourne, which looks like a place named Cootamundra with a 2hr layover for the return train (no way an AU$8K Luxotrain junket), but no matter I'll live for the two weeks within my "if you can't carry it...." maxim.

Sounds interesting. Haven't been to Oz myself but from watching videos etc. I wonder if a trip out on the Illawara line to Kiama which looks very scenic running along the coast and through several tunnels in the hills around Helensburgh could be done in one day. That line is electrified as far as Kiama and runs fairly frequently.

https://railmaps.com.au/routedetails.ph ... Select=250

Or out the line that runs out west towards Broken Hill so you could see a bit of the outback (not sure how far you could get out and back in one day, certainly not all the way to Broken Hill).

As far as the baggage to Boston situation is concerned, I imagine the car was pulled due to a lack of much baggage to carry BOS-CHI. It's too bad that they couldn't build a small baggage compartment at the end of a coach as they used to do in the old days. I'm sure there are other routes that could use a coach - baggage combination. My wife and I are planning a possible Boston to "somewhere cool out West" trip for the fall, and the lack of baggage BOS-CHI is a drawback. Maybe I'll have to consider Mr. Norman's philosophy.

Jon

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:21 pm

daybeers wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:59 pm I have a trip scheduled for POU-CLE 5/5/21 coming back CLE-POU 5/11/21. Outbound trip didn't change, but Amtrak emailed me a new eTicket the other day changing the arrival time in POU from 4:49PM to 5:13 PM. Not a huge change, probably track work but there's no alert on the website, at least not yet. Anyone know what will be going on?

Amtrak's known to do that. Did that at my last trip on the Pennsylvanian. I'd check their website to see if there's a service notice.

It happened to me a couple of weeks ago for a trip to DC we're taking in August; all they did was change our departure time from DC Union to about ten minutes earlier from what it was when we first booked. As an aside, if you're on a train with assigned seats, check to make sure they didn't move your seating selection when this happens. They ended up putting my girlfriend and I in different seats, front and back of each other instead of across from one another.

Looks like Boston section 448/449 goes to busses M-T starting May 4 - June 17 (presumably for CSX or MBTA track work.) this means it’s bustitution when service returns to daily. Thankfully for my upcoming cross country trip I leave on a Friday - the trains appear to be running Friday/Saturday/Sunday.)

lordsigma12345 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 1:08 pm Looks like Boston section 448/449 goes to busses M-T starting May 4 - June 17 (presumably for CSX or MBTA track work.) this means it’s bustitution when service returns to daily. Thankfully for my upcoming cross country trip I leave on a Friday - the trains appear to be running Friday/Saturday/Sunday.)

Thanks for the Heads up, Im being sent to Albany for training in june and was on the fence whether to drive the 2.5 hours or take the free ride to Albany. Guess Ill be taking a road trip, not gonna sit on a bus

lordsigma12345 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 1:08 pm Looks like Boston section 448/449 goes to busses M-T starting May 4 - June 17 (presumably for CSX or MBTA track work.) this means it’s bustitution when service returns to daily. Thankfully for my upcoming cross country trip I leave on a Friday - the trains appear to be running Friday/Saturday/Sunday.)

For the number of times this situation happens, we could have a separate thread.

Rockingham Racer wrote: ↑Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:02 am

lordsigma12345 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 1:08 pm Looks like Boston section 448/449 goes to busses M-T starting May 4 - June 17 (presumably for CSX or MBTA track work.) this means it’s bustitution when service returns to daily. Thankfully for my upcoming cross country trip I leave on a Friday - the trains appear to be running Friday/Saturday/Sunday.)

For the number of times this situation happens, we could have a separate thread.

Seems to be an annual affair.

CSX usually does track work on 4 10 hour days per week. Since a lot of the B&A is single track they basically shut the whole RR. down for those work windows on single track. Hence no 448/449 on those days.

J.D. Lang wrote: ↑Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:03 am CSX usually does track work on 4 10 hour days per week. Since a lot of the B&A is single track they basically shut the whole RR. down for those work windows on single track. Hence no 448/449 on those days.

Unacceptable. We got shipments to run. More proof we need to double-track.

Do you build the railroad you need one week a year, or the railroad you need the other 51 weeks?...

I know which one I'd rather maintain..

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eolesen wrote: ↑Sun Apr 25, 2021 1:51 pm Do you build the railroad you need one week a year, or the railroad you need the other 51 weeks?...

I know which one I'd rather maintain..

I think you miss my point. Having one track that you need to run maintenance on one week out of the year, shutting it down... means you're leaving money on the table. Running two tracks means you can run trains on one track while maintaining the other. You get more money in the long run...

...assuminig you're actually pricing the cost of hauling those shipments above that of operational and maintenance costs.

Plus, you still get Amtrak money because you're still operating, and Amtrak doesn't have to drop cash on a bus or three.

Seems like CSX has already answered the question by continuing to do an annual shutdown blitz.

I'm not sure the host road bears the cost of a detour or bustitute. Even if they do, the cost of chartering a couple buses wouldn't come close to approaching the cost of maintaining signals and a second track.

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J.D. Lang wrote: ↑Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:03 am CSX usually does track work on 4 10 hour days per week. Since a lot of the B&A is single track they basically shut the whole RR. down for those work windows on single track. Hence no 448/449 on those days.

Yes, we know all that.

I realize there was some interest in the missing bicycle story (fortunately now resolved), but is there a reason this topic is pinned?