Empire Builder detour, 10 December 2005
Canadian Pacific maintenance on the Kinnickinnic (KK) Bridge at MP 83.4 on the C&M subdivision required the Amtrak Empire Builders originating eastbound on 8 December 2005 and westbound on 10 December 2005 to detour between Duplainville, WI (MP 102.1), and Rondout, IL (MP 32.3).
Train 8(8) diverted southbound on the Canadian National (former Wisconsin Central) Waukesha subdivision. It arrived at the CN interlocking with the Metra Fox Lake subdivision at 16:04.
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Train 8 waited there until the arrival of westbound Metra 2601 at 16:12. A extra Metra engineer was aboard 2601 to serve as a pilot for Amtrak #8.
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After Metra 2601 stopped briefly at the interlocking to deliver the pilot engineer, the Empire Builder proceeded eastbound onto the Fox Lake line, continuing east through Metra's Prairie Crossing station.
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The eastbound Empire Builder continued about 8 miles to Rondout, where it resumed its regular route on the CP C&M subdivision for the remaining 32 miles into Chicago. Meanwhile, Train 7(10) had waited at Rondout for Train 8(8) to clear the single-track Fox Lake line and deliver the pilot engineer. Train 7 then proceeded west from Rondout, arrived at the Prairie Crossing station at 16:51, and diverged northbound onto the CN.
video [.wmv, 1.6 MB]
Double-sized Hiawatha, 10 December 2005
I was waiting for a friend to arrive on Hiawatha 334 to go watch the detoured Empire Builder. But he called to say that they were not leaving the Milwaukee airport eastbound (compass south) at the scheduled 11:00 due to mechanical problems. [As it was, most of the Hiawathas were operating with a bus bridge between the Milwaukee downtown and airport stations (MKE and MKA, respectively) due to the same CP track work that required the Empire Builder detour.]
Eventually train 333(10) arrived at the airport station (MKA) westbound (compass north) but was blocked from the single platform on track 1 by the disabled consist that was supposed to have departed 34 minutes earlier as train 334. After some delay, the consists were coupled and 333 pushed the disabled 334 west so that 333's passengers could exit the train. Finally, the double train departed slightly late as 333's normal turn, 336(10), scheduled to depart MKA at 13:10.
It was actually even more than a double consist. For some reason there were six coaches (versus the usual four) on the disabled set that was to have been 334. The total fourteen-car consist east-to-west was:
cabbage (90222)
four Horizons
P42 (185)
cabbage
six Horizons
P42
The photo and video below show this train at MP 19.0, Metra's North Glenview station, 1.5 miles from its stop at Glenview, IL.
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Apparently the working half of this train departed Chicago as train 337(10), and the disabled portion later departed as a somewhat late 339(10). Its locomotive had been replaced with P32-BWH #500, shown here during its Glenview, IL, station stop at 18:20 (48 minutes late). It was (uncharacteristically) on track 2.
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30 April 2005
Both Hiawathas with P40s
Both Hiawatha trainsets happened to be running with 800-series P40s on the same day.
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photo [.jpg, 407 kB] — AMTK 841 on Train 335(30)
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photo [.jpg, 338 kB] — AMTK 833 on Train 337(30)
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photo [.jpg, 396 kB] — Cabbage 90208 on Train 338(30)
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photo [.jpg, 327 kB] — AMTK 841 on Train 338(30)
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9 April 2005
Hiawatha 335 with two P42s—and a cabbage
Following a mechanical failure of cabbage 90200 on 7 April 2005 (and
subsequent wyeing at Rondout), Hiawatha 335(9) retains the reversed
orientation (cabbage on Milwaukee end) and an extra P42. The consist,
from north (west) to south (east) is: 36, 90200, 54557, 54048, 51501, 54575, 124. Font-sensitive viewers should beware: locomotive 36 appears to have a non-Frutiger "36" on the fireman's side.
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video [.wmv, 15 seconds, 679 kB]
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25 March 2005
P42 157 on Hiawatha 338
apparently newly repaired; arriving 16:06 at Glenview, IL
Metra 2129
running express through Glenview, IL, station, 17:03
video [.wmv, 13 seconds, 851 kB]
Amtrak 8(23 March 2005), Empire Builder
arriving at Glenview, IL, station at 17:41 with five P42s (numbers 130, 94, 162, 179, and 87)
video [.rm, 43 seconds, 1.65 MB]
27 June 2003
Metra F40Cs in revenue service
