-
Tracking Rail News: December 2010
Photo and Comments by Russ Jackson . . . Winter has begun for Amtrak. The Thanksgiving weekend saw the start of Amtrak’s annual battle with winter weather, and nowhere was it more evident than along the route of the Empire Builder. Train #8 (22) departed Seattle 3 hours and 20 minutes late and finally arrived…
-
Tracking Rail News: November 2010
Photos and Commentary by Russ Jackson … Retirement and a milestone: We want to note the retirement of veteran Amtrak station agent John Murphy, who has held down the fort at the very busy Davis, CA, station for many years. John’s career included working for the Southern Pacific, and he worked for Amtrak at San…
-
Tracking Rail News: October 2010
Comments by Russ Jackson Photos by Bob Snow and Russ Jackson . . . On Time Performance. With the fiscal year ending in a few days, we will hold off the big numbers until the yearly data is available. September has been a fairly routine month, once the flooding in Iowa subsided. The California Zephyr…
-
Tracking Rail News: September 2010
Comments by Russ Jackson Photos by Mike Palmer, Bob Snow, James Washington and Russ Jackson
-
Tracking Rail News: August 2010
Photos and Commentary by Russ Jackson . . . There’s great news for San Joaquin riders. On July 26 Amtrak announced that on six of the twelve daily trains that now operate with four cars, a fifth car will be added to the trains through Labor Day, increasing capacity by 25% and allowing an additional…
-
Tracking Rail News: July 2010
Commentary and Photos by Russ Jackson . . . On Time Performance. Strange month, what with the mid-west heavy rains causing detours for several trains. On June 24 heavy rain washed out the BNSF tracks just south of Las Vegas, New Mexico, with repairs expected to take a week and causing Southwest Chief passengers to…
-
Tracking Rail News: June 2010
Comments and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson . . . Good news for Los Angeles Union Station. The lack of a variety of food items available in the LAUS waiting room has been lessened with the news that by July Peets Coffee and Tea, Subway Sandwiches, and Wetzel’s Pretzels will open, and later in the summer…
-
Tracking Rail News: May 2010
Commentary and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson . . . On Time Performance. April was again a good month for the Amtrak western long distance trains. There were more “on time” than late, but when it was late was it late! The big exceptions were #6, the California Zephyr, was almost 11 hours late into Denver…
-
Tracking Rail News: April 2010
Photos and Commentary by Russ Jackson . . . On Time Performance. As usual, we start with some current facts, and then take an historical look at the Amtrak Western long distance trains. The Sunset Limited fell back slightly in March, but is still above 90% since October 1. Its companion, the Texas Eagle, also…
-
Tracking Rail News . . . for March 2010
PHOTOS and Comments by Russ Jackson . . . Amtrak Western On Time Performance. On February 19, Train #1, the Sunset Limited arrived at Los Angeles Union Station at 8:20 AM. Nothing remarkable about that since its due at 8:40, but as crew members will tell you they consider that arrival time as being late…