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I had a bad day 8/13/16


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 13 August 2016 - 09:18 PM

Today I was supposed to do something I have done many times before, will do well into the future, and in fact intend to repeat just 2 weeks from now. I do a simple round trip Metropark-Washington-Metropark on Saturday mornings on Acela Express 2203 to Washington, have about 1 hour in Union Station to have lunch, and then return on Acela Express 2212 to Metropark.

Things did not work out that way today. It started out well when 2203 left Metropark on time. Until almost Baltimore, this was a perfect day. As we entered the tunnel before Baltimore, the crew announced the upcoming station stop per protocol. Then, we came to an abrupt stop as we were coming out of the tunnel. The power car and my first class car were out of the tunnel; the rest of the train still in it. The crew then announced that we had to wait for a signal, and once it changed we would be on our way. Then a few minutes later, they said there was an issue with the brakes. They said that as soon as a brake check was done, we would be on our way. We moved a short bit forward, and then stopped abruptly again.

The conductor then got on the public address system again, and said that every time they thought they had their problem resolved, another one would surface. Regional train 153, which usually operates behind 2203, used the adjacent track through the tunnel and passed us, briefly stopping alongside us before continuing to what is usually the northbound track (Track 6) at Baltimore Penn Station. Shortly after that, we moved too and stopped on the normal southbound track (Track 7). I thought that 153 was being held to transfer us over, which would have been fairly easy at an island platform. Then 153 departed without that taking place and headed for Washington. We left soon afterwards. The time was 10:56 AM, which meant we were 37 minutes late. I figured with my approximate hour leeway, things would still be fine albeit close.

However, we moved at a slower rate of speed than normal. The crew did not immediately make any further announcements even though it was obvious we were travelling at well under normal track speed. We made our stop at BWI Airport 11:12 AM, 40 minutes late. That meant we had only lost another 3 minutes. I could have bailed out at BWI, but decided to stay the course.

Bad move. We came to a stop once more on the local southbound track at the Odenton MARC station. The first class car was right next to the station building; I could see the faces of people inside sitting waiting for a MARC train. The crew said our problems had redeveloped, and that they were working on resolving it. Then we moved, roughly ½ mile south from the Odenton platform, and stopped again. I overheard over crew radio that a MARC train was behind us. By now I knew I would not be arriving in Washington in time for the 11:55 AM Acela (2212), so I rebooked myself on Regional 140, which leaves at 12:22 PM. That bought me another 23 minutes, and I bought myself a Business Class ticket which cost more than the Acela would have, so I could still get at least as many double AGR points I was travelling for.

After a while we began to move. but in the opposite direction. We rolled back to the Odenton station platform. By now, the southbound MARC train was sitting at Odenton's normal northbound platform. The crew announced they were unable to take the train into Washington, and that the MARC train could take some of us to Washington; however they did not have room for everybody. I bolted out to ensure I would be one of the lucky ones. Being in the front car of the Acela helped since the tunnel needed to cross under the tracks is on the southern end of the platforms. The MARC crews were helpful in guiding Acela passengers to the MARC train and where available seats would be. I sat in one of the MARC bicycle cars, as did many other Acela passengers, many of them with luggage that could easily be stowed in its low level racks.

I knew by now that making Regional 140 out of Washington at 12:22 wasnt going to happen either. I had the choice of Regional 96 at 1:25, or the next Acela 2260 at 1:55 PM. Figuring the Acela being a little faster would get to Metropark not long after 96, I reserved 2260 and was lucky enough to get it at the same rate as I had originally booked 2212.

12:07 PM, the MARC train moved south. Its crew came into the bicycle car where most of us Acela refugees were, and handed out emergency water packets. As it turned out, I didnt think of another option I could have kept the reservation for Regional 140 and switched from MARC to it at New Carrolton. We finally came into Washington Union Station at 12:37 PM. However it was a low level platform which made things a bit difficult for people with strollers and heavy luggage. It was also a long walk to the building from there.

The only thing that worked as planned was the quick lunch in the stations food court. OK, so as I went into the Club Acela to await 2260, I figured that I had been through my worst, and that I would just be getting home 2 hours later than expected. I was hoping that 2260 would not be using the trainset that had been 2203 which I assumed was still stuck up in Odenton. However since then, the next Acela 2207 would represent our 2260, and 2207 had arrived on time. When the boarding call came for 2260, I went outside and hustled to Business Class car at the front of the train (First Class was in the rear but I wasnt doing that on this trip.) While walking briskly I recognized the consist of what had been 2203 on another track. It had in fact made it to Washington! I dont know if any passengers had remained, but I figured that at least they had to deliver the crew to Washington Union Station to work another train in the opposite direction. When I took my seat on 2260, who walked by me but the conductor who had been on 2203? Soon after that, what had been 2203 left Union Station in the northbound direction, hopefully for the yards and whatever repairs would be necessary.

This had to be a picture perfect trip compared to the last one, right? We left on time at 1:55 PM. Excellent so far. Then, things deteriorated quickly. A few miles out, we started to lose catenary power, then regain it, and then intermittently it kept on going off and on quite a few times. We came to a stop at the New Carrollton station platform. Here came an announcement from the crew that our engineer was working diligently to correct a technical problem. Where had I heard that before? Eventually, what had happened to me earlier happened once more. We were told that this train would not be able to continue on its run, and we had to get off and wait for the next Regional to come by. What are the odds that anyone would be dumped off trains due to mechanical issues twice in one day? This time however, we did not have a train waiting for us. The next Regional would be 156, and it was still roughly 20 minutes away. Eventually the Acela trainset moved out of the station, in the southbound direction to return to Washington.

An announcement from station staff informed us that those from the Acela train should assemble by Location A; presumably the first coach of that train was being set aside for us. I knew this could not be good. Given the number of people on the platform, vs the number of available seats in one coach, plus anyone who might already have been on board, this could not work. Yet I followed instructions thinking they wanted to keep us together for a better reason.

When Regional 156 finally showed up, Location A turned out to be where its engine landed. So the crowd moved down to Location B to board the front car at its front door. Eventually the flow just stopped and nobody was moving anyplace. I ran down a couple of cars and found a seat in a coach just in front of the café car. I dont want to think of the bedlam among those who followed the instructions to board the front car.

Regional 156 left New Carrollton at 3:01 PM after its heavy station work. Crews told people to take belongings off the seats because the train was accommodating two loads of passengers. There were still plenty of available seats in the coach I had parked myself in, and perhaps it was because of something I would be finding out a little later.

As we got past Baltimore, many passengers in my coach began fanning themselves. I realized that it was in fact getting hot and hotter quickly. It was in the high 90s outside; many of us had been out in it, and initially the car had felt comfortable compared to outside. But it was noticeable after a while that the air conditioning was not doing its job. A few complained to the crew, who tried to reset the system in our car to no avail.

Around Newark, Delaware, crew members came through our coach and said that we could move back to another car if we were hot; that they had tried unsuccessfully to fix the problem. So we got our stuff once more, had to walk through the café car that had a long line, and went into the next coach. We found that it was just as hot in this coach too! I went another coach back and was now in the Quiet Car. This one felt much cooler, so I parked myself there as did others who had followed. Eventually, that car filled up as there were two uncomfortable coaches. The café car in between them however was not too bad, but not a place to sit for a couple more hours.

In Philadelphia, we were told that there would be a further delay, as the Mechanical department had boarded the train and was trying to fix the air conditioning problems. Since this train was only going to New York (not Boston), I wondered why they could not just press onward and deal with it in Sunnyside Yard. The time taken to fix the air conditioning they could have made more progress towards New York. Not many more people would be boarding from Philadelphia and up the line at the stations in New Jersey. I never found out if the repairs were successful, since the crew made no further announcements about the situation (such as inviting people back to the cars that had been running hot).

I finally stepped off Regional 156 at Metropark at 5:55 PM. My original plan involving Acela 2212 would have gotten me there at 2:22 PM, so I had effectively lost over 3-1/2 hours of my day thanks to two annulled trains, two rescues, and one in-service repair. I look forward to attempting the same 2203/2212 turn in two weeks, hopefully with much better success!


Edited by KevinKorell, 05 March 2017 - 01:17 PM.
more Spelling & Grammar fixes


Kevin Korell


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#2 jis

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Posted 15 August 2016 - 01:54 PM

8/13/16 was apparently the day for AC failures. Apparently the Silver Star suffered from a few that day too and was held in Washington DC for almost an hour to get them all fixed. I was on it that evening out of Raleigh headed back to Florida, and everything seemed to be working fine by then, though due to heat restrictions during the day it crawled in over two hours late around 11pm.



#3 Lightning

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Posted 20 August 2016 - 12:31 AM

KK:  So sorry to hear of your "nightmare day".  Sounds like one of a kind and future such trips should be normal and pleasant.


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