Next week is a vacation week from work and I decided to take a couple of steps closer to completing the whole Amtrak system:

CHI-GRR-CHI with all of nine hours in Ford's hometown. All new except shared with other routes.
CHI-QCY-CHI with only eight hours there assuming on time. GBB-QCY new.

Then
CHI-SAS-NOL-CHI over five days. SAS-NOL new. Superliner roomette. When I booked I originally was going to go counterclockwise but one segment seemed to be sold out on the roomettes.


After this I'll just be missing
DER-PNT
BTL-PTH
GRO-RGH
LKL-MIA
EVR-VAC : Could I complete the system on next July's railfest? Hmmmm. Definitely a railfest I will want to attend.

I come back a pending Select Plus member and virtually assured of maintaining HHonors Gold status.

Wow! thats impressive. Good luck closing the other gaps.

Very good, John. My status is well documented here. Somehow I've got to get out to the Midwest and West Coast a lot more to close those gaps. I surprise myself when I realize that the only long distance trains I have left to complete are the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight.

It would be interesting to see where other members stand on a train by train basis as well!

The Grand Rapids turn is coming with more difficulty than hoped. I am on train 370 at St Joseph-Benton Harbor waiting indefinitely for a stuck drawbridge between the two towns. I was already scheduling a short night in GRR. Perhaps I'll be wishing the hotel charged by the hour instead of the night as I may not be there that long!

Edit: Cleared and on the move, only an hour late.

Even up in Michigan one can get "CSX'ed". Just remember all is not lost, there's a Thruway bus in GRR that connects with the Wolverines in Kalamazoo. Also..... if you get into GRR too late, the crew has to have their required hours of rest in between shifts, so they and you might be able to sleep a little later as #371 might be delayed tomorrow.

Got to GRR an hour late and made the return to Chicago. Now in Union Station Metropolitan Lounge. Storms in Grand Rapids last night and this morning.

Yesterday's Empire Builder arrival #8 (25) was posted as 15 hours late and just came this morning. I checked news for any accidents on the route and only found one that affected #7 (25).

http://www.perhameb.com/event/article/id/13205/


Edit: Just overheard a woman on a cell phone who was on the delayed train mentioning an incident in Montana involving another train and then having to go 20MPH for a long stretch because of high winds.