I feel like I could speak for other people as well, we watch your train stuff and they’re good videos, but we watch the videos for you as well. I got drawn to your charm, passion, and positive, and calming vibes you give. With that said, please be careful over there in the Midwest with those blizzards. I complain about the nippy weather here in San Diego, but I really shouldn’t.
Hey, thanks for this compliment! Totally made my day. Don’t worry, I’m back in Chicago and it’s a beautiful 50 degrees! Though I won’t complain when I get to spend a week in your state next month… Thanks for watching and commenting!
The first ever Amtrak I took was the coast starlight from Klamath Falls Oregon to Olympia Washington. It was 2 1/2 hours delay upon arriving in Klamath Falls. What happened was a cargo train derailed not far from one of the two tunnels near the Oregon California border. And due to another derailment farther south the two closest relailers were already in use. They had to bring on all the way from grants pass Oregon over syskou pass to weed and the re-rail the train luckily there was a siding just across the border which the cargo train pulled into. Believe or not by the time I arrived at my stop it was only 1 hour and 15 minutes delay
The snow in Michigan made the holiday spirit, and that station was just wonderful! Poor lady, I have slightly tight calf muscles and have to do daily stretches to avoid cramps while driving esp if I can't use cruise control on a long road trip. Panic turns off your human decision making part of your brain and your inner lizard takes over. Of course all this happens as the train arrives. Typical. I thought for sure you were going to roll into Chicago with a super duper pooper scooper train half as long as a small East Coast state in the union. Great vid!
I'm happy to hear that you guys got home safely despite the major headache with the delays. I agree with what you said about train travel Thom because I believe trains can be more reliable than flying. I like train travel better than flying because airport security is a royal pain in my backside. I have a disability and traveling is a challenge already. Add airport security to the mix and I have a recipe for disaster.
Great video as always Thom! Those horizon cars were always nortorious for having snow in the vestibules ever since Amtrak changed the retractable stair design to an open stair with a separate closing trap door. The Amfleets still use the retractable stair design and have minimal snow in the vestibules. My guess for the design change in the stairs for the Horizon cars is they were having problems with the stairs not closing all the way or they broke free from the closing trap door leaving the folding stairs in the down position. So they decided to permanently weld stairs to the frame and leave them open and exposed to the elements.
Wow that was a fairly unique experience having a car drive onto the tracks - luckily it all went okay. Yes, it can get annoying when confronted with unexpected delays - I mean considering the train had 3 locos one would not be expecting engine issues! Anyway, you are right Thom better to be stuck on a train - at least you can walk about., and use the restroom & cafe. It was good to see that the train crew really does a great job of letting the passengers know what is happening, ensuring the safety of the passengers & providing complimentary drinks/snacks. Snow sure does add to the travel experience. Hope you & Lindsey & family all have a Happy New Year from me & my family in hot Sydney, Australia (where it is 35 degrees C - 95 degrees F) where trains can be delayed due to rails buckling due to the extreme heat. Stay warm.
A really long shot around 10:00. Totally necessary. The long slow to stop was very illustrative! Good story telling with rolling realities. Nice sharing the potential realities of rail fandom and being a customer if you're seriously going to utilize it as reliable transport.
This very much reminds me of the quality time I spent during the Lothar Blizzard on December 1999 on a regional train between Solothurn and Bern (Switzerland). Falling trees had ripped down the overhead wires while we were on the tracks. We had to wait for hours in the small RBS commuter train until some buses showed up to drive us passengers around the broken down part, as the storm was wrecking havoc on train lines and roads all over the country. Needless to say, there was no dining car and no food on the train. The buses eventually took us to a small train stop that did not have enough shelter space for all passengers, and we had to huddle together to wait for a relieve train that finally took us to Bern. The trip usually takes about half an hour. We ended up spending about 4 hours on it. In retrospect I must say that even as this might sound like a nightmare, this will be something I don't really have bad memories of. We passengers experienced an impressive winter storm on this 2nd day of Christmas. We were reminded of the force of nature and the ingenuity of mankind that still manages to handle exceptional situations by collaborating and making use of our technology.
Same here! The situation was terrible, but it’s certainly a Christmas we’ll never forget, and we had the quality time together. Though I think we’d rather be in Switzerland than Michigan!
Grest vid and Well done to Amtrak. This reminds me of my trip from Montreux to Amsterdam during storm Ciara in Feb 2020. What should have taken around 10 hours ended up taking 34 hours due to various train ND track issues and an overnight stop on Cologne followed by bus delays the following day as the tracks were still closed by fallen trees and power lines.
In 2018 I was awaiting a green line train in Minneapolis to take me home, across town in a 20"+ snowfall event. I was on the Nicollet Mall platform and saw a sedan drive onto the snow covered tracks, putting the nail in the coffin for westbound trains for the remainder of the day. Fortunately I was headed west, though I would eventually see bus service decay in downtown St. Paul and chose a last resort cab ride home rather than risk severe frostbite. Great video! Even the harrowing experiences in transit are worth experiencing for the character you gain from it all.
In January of 2000 (New Year's Day!) I was on a Lincoln Service Train which blew a fuel line on its P42 and had to borrow one of 2 locos on the Texas Eagle to get us to Springfield!
i was supposed to had been home on christmas day, but i had got stuck in the pacific northwest when all the roads were iced up. It was bad indeed. I was delivering a bus to a transit agency up there but didnt deliver until 2 days after. Meanwhile, I think Amtrak had already cancelled the empire builder for a few days straight...and public transportation ( including local transit ) was just a standstill. a crazy xmas weekend it was
At least you were able to ride your train! We were scheduled to be on the 353 on Christmas Day, but that got canceled, so we shifted to the 351/365 (Blue Water) since we were going to one of the intermediate stops between Kalamazoo and Chicago, but on Christmas Eve we got the message that the Blue Water was also canceled. Ended up having to borrow my mother-in-law's car just so we could spend Christmas Day with my family. We always book a train to avoid driving in the winter season, but we ended up having to drive anyway. To me, it seems like the train should be more weatherproof, especially in colder weather, but the delays and cancelations from Amtrak were quite disappointing.
Oof, that sounds like a terrible experience. So sorry to hear that. I really don’t know why I many of the trains were cancelled, seems like there’s nothing more snow proof than a train.
I recently found your videos and I love them! As someone who grew up in southwestern Michigan near the Indiana border, I love to see the experiences and trains I have been on. I found your channel while looking up videos on the portland metro, where I currently live. Keep up the great videos!
I think my niece was on that train. She would have gotten on in Pontiac or Detroit. I know she posted on Facebook something about taking a train to Chicago and having late trains, broken trains, plenty of vodka.
This is a great account of what would have been a nightmare journey at any time, but to be stuck on a broken down train on Christmas Day just adds to the frustration. You are right to remind us that many people were involved in getting you to your destination and none of them wanted these event to happen but turned out to help. In the UK there are hardly any scheduled trains on Christmas Day (this year none because of strikes) so to see a regular service running is very interesting. You are very good at bringing a sense of perspective to such railway events and I appreciated your reminder about the nature of Christmas. Happy New Year!
Thank you for sharing thi. Hope you and Lyndsey have a great New Year and looking forward to the next. The Michigan Line looks like it has so much potential in the future. And indeed Trains are Awesome!
Thank you for a superb video ! We have seen on our news channels here in the U.K how severe the recent snow storms have been, and well done for perservering on your train journey. I completely agree with you “Trains are awesome”. For despite all the difficulties, thankfully you and Lindsey did arrive in Chicago safely, though very late ! Happy new year to you both.
This was very well done. In an era when everyone is in it for themselves and trying to profit from poor service, you handled yourself very well and it reflected in the video. Because of this, I have subscribed to your channel.
We were supposed to take the train from Kalamazoo to Chicago on Christmas Eve. The train was cancelled. We booked again for Christmas Day. That was also cancelled. We had to drive, which was very, very dangerous.
When you summed up what Christmas is really all about and took it as an object lesson for how things weren't as bad for you and yours,I was like "Right on!" This was an adventure! An unplanned adventure,but an adventure all the same!
Lindsey’s cameo appearance brought respite to a story of meteorological and mechanical catastrophe. Great video, capturing the Blizzard of ‘22s essence.
No way, just seeing this video now. I was trying to catch a train going the opposite direction from Chicago to Kalamazoo. Had the 3 o’clock train booked, did not leave at 9:30 so I walked to greyhound and took a 10:40 bus. I checked the tracker and the train I had ended up leaving at 11:30 PM. Amtrak definitely got worse after you got off that train, we may have even seen each other in the station.
I always thought how great it would have been to ride one of the great trains in the 40"s on Christmas day, but that is only a dream,. I have taken the Wolverine many times from Chicago to Ann Arbor and some times it was late, Amtrak is what it is , a highly underfunded operation that does the best it can. I still love it even with the delays. I like your video's , you and your wife are a very cute couple, I wish you all the best.
I got a girl in .... Kalamazoo :) what a great song... would ride the train just to sing that song... Aussie here but I love Amtrak... don't let it fail America!
Out of all that you managed to get home that's the most important thing!! Great video by the way but it's a reminder that not everything is so perfect even on the rails too. At the same time things could be worse on the road or you could be stuck at the airport with your flight canceled. I also believe Trains Are Still Awesome (TRSA) even on its bad days!!
This is not the first time the Wolverine has had problems. When it started to get cold this fall it broke down. They waited for the next train to power it but that one broke down in Indiana. It got dark out and there was no power for the coaches. Light sticks and water were distributed and passengers started to get cold. Many groups of passengers departed the train, walked across tracks toward a nearby freeway where they could see a casino. Many called Ubers to complete their trip. I believe the entire trip took about 10 hours.
What is it about the Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac line? Sort of a Bermuda Triangle for Amtrak! My son and I had ridden from Texas to Jackson, Michigan. We left Chicago on the early afternoon Wolverine of Thursday, November 10, 2022. Things went well until we were leaving Michigan City, Indiana. The train slowly coasted to a stop. The electrical system totally failed. Not only was the Charger locomotive dead, lights were strictly battery-powered for the rest of our time on this train. We sat there for hours. The following Wolverine passed us by at Michigan City. That train was not directed to stop and pick up passengers from our stranded train. Eventually spare equipment was located and they pulled us to New Buffalo where all of us were discharged. Then we waited for busses out of Chicago to take us to our ticketed destination. Further, the busses also stopped at the various stations to pick-up passengers that would have caught our train. We had made previous arrangements to have a ride from the Amtrak station at Jackson to our motel which was about four miles from the Amtrak station (no motels near the Amtrak station and the local taxi company does not do "late night fares"). While these unsavory events were unfolding, I received a phone call from our intended driver at Jackson. She does not do late night fares either as she had to be at her regular job very early the next morning (Friday). Once we were on the bus and headed toward Jackson, I looked at the Google Map for Jackson. The bus would pass the exit for the motel we were booked-in for the night (the exit on the interstate was about one block from the motel). I asked the driver if he could stop at that exit and drop us off. He was not in favor of that. I must give that driver credit, though. He eventually agreed to get off of the interstate and drop us off. Perhaps he felt sorry for us. The one-block walk to the motel was not a problem after the day we had just experienced! We had chosen Jackson for a rail destination because the next day we rented a car to drive into Ohio to visit family and Jackson was the most appropriate stop for that. I understand that another Wolverine train had also "died in the line of duty" about 10 or so days prior to our trip. Then there was your experience on a Wolverine train. Hopefully the Charger units are not turning into the "Edsels" of the rail industry! We did enjoy our return trip on the Wolverine about a week later. No problems encountered. The return trip had some snow and it was a wet snow. As the train travelled to Chicago, apparently snow would cake up under the coach and ever so often break-away and make a lot of noise. No issues with that was noted, though. I enjoyed catching the train at the Jackson Station. Apparently Jackson has the oldest operating U.S. train station in continuous use (dates from 1873 from what I read). Keep up your articles, they are enjoyable!
Ha, "cramp"...yeah right. The lady should have just told the truth that she got disoriented in the snow and mistook the track for a side street. That would have been much more plausible and less embarrassing. As far as all the delays go, I really do believe passenger train crews do the best they can. Amtrak has never been given the funding they need.
Wow. Glad I chickened out and cancelled my Friday AM through Tuesday AM reservation on the Lincoln Service and stayed in Chicago. I just didn't want my family to have to drive 50 miles round trip on country roads with 30-50 mph winds after the snow just to pick me up at the station. The weather delays are still horrible as of today. Will take a while for the system to recover.
Happy New Year to you and your family. Looking forward to new videos. Meanwhile, the MTA is delaying the startup of Grand Central Madison until sometime in January!
Thanks for a well narrated video of a less than stellar trip. If you could get some of the technical details about the engine problem(s) it might make for an interesting follow up video.
Imagine how long the train was when it was being towed. It was already a super long train and they added on a whole other train. Would like to see it from the outside.
I know they didn't drive on the track. wonder if they can radio from the station? wow, that was an adventure. I remember in march on 352 took forever to leave Chicago. the locomotive would not start up i hoped to make it back. Without stopping again.
My understanding is that those Charger locomotives see a snow flake and they begin to falter, bear in mind those engines are practically brand new. On the other hand, the Genesis locomotives fail because they're just plain old. But, in terms of reliability, I think the Genesis in their heyday were superior to the Chargers.
It can always be worse, you could’ve been on the Wolverine that lost power and took 19 hours to go from Detroit to Chicago with no heat and overflowing toilets a couple months ago.
Really enjoyed this video!!! I’ve been on some crazyyyyy Amtrak trips as well, so I understand. I do like how you still think trains are awesome and your appreciation for train staff and blessings. 😊Happy New Year and looking forward to another year of awesome trains!!!
Hello Thom, interesting video. I am from the Netherlands and wondering why trains in the US use their horn so often. Here in the Netherlands and other countries around the Netherlands, trains use their horn just very occasionally (working people on the tracks, accident). Do you know why?
Dat heeft drie redenen: 1. Met tienduizenden kilometers spoor zijn er nog behoorlijk wat onbewaakte overwegen. 2. Treinen rijden op de meeste trajecten veel minder vaak dan in Nederland, dus gedragen mensen zich vaak minder voorzichtig rond spoorwegovergangen. Mensen verwachten vaak geen trein, en de toeter waarschuwt ze dat er wat komt. 3. Het is een achtergebleven traditie uit het stoomtijdperk. Ik heb eerlijk gezegd nooit iemand gesproken die zich eraan ergert. Het hoort nou eenmaal bij de spoorwegen hier.
@@Thom-TRA Dank je wel voor je snelle antwoord in het Nederlands. Hier in Nederland worden op dit moment de laatste onbewaakte overwegen gesloten en vervangen door een alternatief. De kans dat je rechtstreeks in contact met een trein kunt komen is nagenoeg nul. In Amerika is deze scheiding, begrijp ik niet zo strikt. Happy New Year, Ralf
They are my least favorite Amtrak cars. They look dated, but not in a good way. The seats are uncomfortable, to the point of the cushions falling off, the lights unpleasant, and in the winter they are terribly isolated. You feel a draft and snow collects in the vestibules.
Have you ever been to Germany? Or taken the train between France and the Netherlands? Unfortunately these delays happen even in places with the best trains.
I had my adventure on my train trip out to Essex MT Just over a week ago. My train had 3 Charger, and ti did well from CHI-MOT.. After that. was a lot of stop and reset one of the locomotive. We ended being 4 hours late. These new Chargers dont like the cold weather... Sad.. I had high hope for them.
I think the cold thing isn’t something they’re doomed to have forever. I mean, a lot of trains make it successfully. I wonder what the effects are of snow coming into the machines.
If that happens again, go to the nearest street crossing, look for a small blue DOT sign that is at every crossing in America, call the (800) number on the sign and give them the DOT crossing ID number. They will pick up the phone right away, and within seconds of identifying the crossing begin communicating with any train nearby to stop.
We're never going to have a world-class train system as long as we are dependent upon Amtrak to operate our trains. Amtrak's top management these days is absolutely abysmal. Engine failures are rampant with the new Siemens locomotives. This is the result of Amtrak not staying on top of things and failing to ensure that the locomotives were reliable before placing them in service. Amtrak isn't the only problem though. As bad as they are, there is an even bigger one: Until this country makes the decision to fund passenger rail infrastructure at the same level it has funded highways and aviation, we'll always have a third-rate rail system. Other countries have great rail systems because they pay for it. Please note that none of these comments are directed in any way, shape, or form at Amtrak's front line workers, the vast majority of whom are to be commended.
To be fair, it snows in Germany so everyone kinda expected at the very least, that the Siemens locomotives wouldn't be utterly worthless every time it snows. Can't really blame that on Amtrak especially since America doesn't want to build passenger locomotives anymore.
I'm guessing a White Christmas becomes redundant after the 50th time? Brand NEW engine and its already broken. typical Amtrak. accept the cheapest bid.
I think the first thing what I would have done with a car on the tracks and the train aproching would have been to walk towards the train next o the tracks and wave my arms to warn the engineer of danger. My worst train delay I can remember was around 2 hours after the ICE wasn't able to connect to the ETCS system on the high speed line and we had to drive the slow way around. After arrival at home I had to seed across the city with my bike because I had a dentist appointment.
That’s a helpful thing to do, but by itself it wouldn’t be enough. A train needs so much time to brake, that you wouldn’t be able to signal it in time if you walked and waved. Calling the dispatcher asap is the best thing to do. Priority #1 of course is making sure the car’s passengers have evacuated. I had a delay of 3.5 hours once on an Intercity going from Berlin to Amsterdam!
I'm confused by the engine troubles... they had three chargers, it looked like 10 cars total? I would think two would be more than enough. I would think one could probably mange at reduced speed.
Hey Rail Fan. DID YOU FORGET??? You were right next to 2 rail road crossings. Call that Number on the little blue sign that is posted on EVERY RAIL ROAD crossing in the USA, and Canada. you call that Number it's puts you in touch with the very same Room of employees that monitor everything in the Central Dispatch location. I cannot believe you did not know this, or forgot. wow. Oh by the way, you did a very nice video. My first time on your channel. ✌👍
Hey, TH-cam commenter. Guess what. DID YOU NOT KNOW?? Someone already immediately ran to the railroad crossing. I literally talk about people trying to call Amtrak. Don’t act like you know everything when you don’t see everything. The train stopped on time, didn’t it? How do you think that happened? Huh!???
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_6lZ6b3_7Vo/mqdefault.jpg)
All I could think during all of that was "if you drove you'd be in a ditch already". Train was definitely the safest way to travel that day!
In a ditch… or on the train tracks apparently! Lol
I drove during the storm for work. Like almost 200 mile trip I take each night all over Michigan. Was not a fun night.
I feel like I could speak for other people as well, we watch your train stuff and they’re good videos, but we watch the videos for you as well. I got drawn to your charm, passion, and positive, and calming vibes you give. With that said, please be careful over there in the Midwest with those blizzards. I complain about the nippy weather here in San Diego, but I really shouldn’t.
Hey, thanks for this compliment! Totally made my day.
Don’t worry, I’m back in Chicago and it’s a beautiful 50 degrees! Though I won’t complain when I get to spend a week in your state next month…
Thanks for watching and commenting!
The first ever Amtrak I took was the coast starlight from Klamath Falls Oregon to Olympia Washington. It was 2 1/2 hours delay upon arriving in Klamath Falls. What happened was a cargo train derailed not far from one of the two tunnels near the Oregon California border. And due to another derailment farther south the two closest relailers were already in use. They had to bring on all the way from grants pass Oregon over syskou pass to weed and the re-rail the train luckily there was a siding just across the border which the cargo train pulled into. Believe or not by the time I arrived at my stop it was only 1 hour and 15 minutes delay
The snow in Michigan made the holiday spirit, and that station was just wonderful! Poor lady, I have slightly tight calf muscles and have to do daily stretches to avoid cramps while driving esp if I can't use cruise control on a long road trip. Panic turns off your human decision making part of your brain and your inner lizard takes over. Of course all this happens as the train arrives. Typical. I thought for sure you were going to roll into Chicago with a super duper pooper scooper train half as long as a small East Coast state in the union. Great vid!
Thankfully her inner lizard decisions were only a small part of our delay!
I'm happy to hear that you guys got home safely despite the major headache with the delays. I agree with what you said about train travel Thom because I believe trains can be more reliable than flying. I like train travel better than flying because airport security is a royal pain in my backside. I have a disability and traveling is a challenge already. Add airport security to the mix and I have a recipe for disaster.
I’m happy to hear that you’ve found a mode of travel that better addresses your needs! This is why I advocate for rail travel!
Train crews, first responders and tow trucks are awesome!
Never expected a tow truck to become a hero 😂😂 that's awesome
Congratulations on switching gears to report of the various challenges of the day. You have a great attitude.
Thank you!
Great video as always Thom! Those horizon cars were always nortorious for having snow in the vestibules ever since Amtrak changed the retractable stair design to an open stair with a separate closing trap door. The Amfleets still use the retractable stair design and have minimal snow in the vestibules. My guess for the design change in the stairs for the Horizon cars is they were having problems with the stairs not closing all the way or they broke free from the closing trap door leaving the folding stairs in the down position. So they decided to permanently weld stairs to the frame and leave them open and exposed to the elements.
Wow that was a fairly unique experience having a car drive onto the tracks - luckily it all went okay. Yes, it can get annoying when confronted with unexpected delays - I mean considering the train had 3 locos one would not be expecting engine issues! Anyway, you are right Thom better to be stuck on a train - at least you can walk about., and use the restroom & cafe. It was good to see that the train crew really does a great job of letting the passengers know what is happening, ensuring the safety of the passengers & providing complimentary drinks/snacks. Snow sure does add to the travel experience. Hope you & Lindsey & family all have a Happy New Year from me & my family in hot Sydney, Australia (where it is 35 degrees C - 95 degrees F) where trains can be delayed due to rails buckling due to the extreme heat. Stay warm.
9:29 That RxR crossing Doppler was funny for no reason at all 😂
A really long shot around 10:00. Totally necessary. The long slow to stop was very illustrative! Good story telling with rolling realities. Nice sharing the potential realities of rail fandom and being a customer if you're seriously going to utilize it as reliable transport.
Great video.....two words: Southwest Airlines. Your experience is heaven compared to being stuck in an airport.
That’s exactly what I kept telling myself!
This very much reminds me of the quality time I spent during the Lothar Blizzard on December 1999 on a regional train between Solothurn and Bern (Switzerland). Falling trees had ripped down the overhead wires while we were on the tracks. We had to wait for hours in the small RBS commuter train until some buses showed up to drive us passengers around the broken down part, as the storm was wrecking havoc on train lines and roads all over the country. Needless to say, there was no dining car and no food on the train.
The buses eventually took us to a small train stop that did not have enough shelter space for all passengers, and we had to huddle together to wait for a relieve train that finally took us to Bern. The trip usually takes about half an hour. We ended up spending about 4 hours on it.
In retrospect I must say that even as this might sound like a nightmare, this will be something I don't really have bad memories of. We passengers experienced an impressive winter storm on this 2nd day of Christmas. We were reminded of the force of nature and the ingenuity of mankind that still manages to handle exceptional situations by collaborating and making use of our technology.
Same here! The situation was terrible, but it’s certainly a Christmas we’ll never forget, and we had the quality time together. Though I think we’d rather be in Switzerland than Michigan!
@@Thom-TRA Unfortunately I did not have a loved one next to me that time to share the experience with, one thing you had to your advantage! 🙂
Grest vid and Well done to Amtrak. This reminds me of my trip from Montreux to Amsterdam during storm Ciara in Feb 2020. What should have taken around 10 hours ended up taking 34 hours due to various train ND track issues and an overnight stop on Cologne followed by bus delays the following day as the tracks were still closed by fallen trees and power lines.
I love the part of the video when you guys arrive to Chicago. Chicago is really beautiful and I'd love to visit someday
In 2018 I was awaiting a green line train in Minneapolis to take me home, across town in a 20"+ snowfall event. I was on the Nicollet Mall platform and saw a sedan drive onto the snow covered tracks, putting the nail in the coffin for westbound trains for the remainder of the day. Fortunately I was headed west, though I would eventually see bus service decay in downtown St. Paul and chose a last resort cab ride home rather than risk severe frostbite.
Great video! Even the harrowing experiences in transit are worth experiencing for the character you gain from it all.
Great video. I understand that Amtrak is having a lot of tribble with its new engines in the cold weather.
In January of 2000 (New Year's Day!) I was on a Lincoln Service Train which blew a fuel line on its P42 and had to borrow one of 2 locos on the Texas Eagle to get us to Springfield!
Wow, that’s a crazy story as well!
i was supposed to had been home on christmas day, but i had got stuck in the pacific northwest when all the roads were iced up. It was bad indeed. I was delivering a bus to a transit agency up there but didnt deliver until 2 days after. Meanwhile, I think Amtrak had already cancelled the empire builder for a few days straight...and public transportation ( including local transit ) was just a standstill. a crazy xmas weekend it was
Sorry to hear you had such a terrible Christmas!
At least you were able to ride your train! We were scheduled to be on the 353 on Christmas Day, but that got canceled, so we shifted to the 351/365 (Blue Water) since we were going to one of the intermediate stops between Kalamazoo and Chicago, but on Christmas Eve we got the message that the Blue Water was also canceled. Ended up having to borrow my mother-in-law's car just so we could spend Christmas Day with my family.
We always book a train to avoid driving in the winter season, but we ended up having to drive anyway. To me, it seems like the train should be more weatherproof, especially in colder weather, but the delays and cancelations from Amtrak were quite disappointing.
Oof, that sounds like a terrible experience. So sorry to hear that. I really don’t know why I many of the trains were cancelled, seems like there’s nothing more snow proof than a train.
I recently found your videos and I love them! As someone who grew up in southwestern Michigan near the Indiana border, I love to see the experiences and trains I have been on. I found your channel while looking up videos on the portland metro, where I currently live. Keep up the great videos!
Thank you! I’m so glad you found this channel!
I think my niece was on that train. She would have gotten on in Pontiac or Detroit. I know she posted on Facebook something about taking a train to Chicago and having late trains, broken trains, plenty of vodka.
This is a great account of what would have been a nightmare journey at any time, but to be stuck on a broken down train on Christmas Day just adds to the frustration. You are right to remind us that many people were involved in getting you to your destination and none of them wanted these event to happen but turned out to help. In the UK there are hardly any scheduled trains on Christmas Day (this year none because of strikes) so to see a regular service running is very interesting. You are very good at bringing a sense of perspective to such railway events and I appreciated your reminder about the nature of Christmas. Happy New Year!
=break checks driver=
"Sorry, Had a cramp"
Thank you for sharing thi. Hope you and Lyndsey have a great New Year and looking forward to the next. The Michigan Line looks like it has so much potential in the future. And indeed Trains are Awesome!
Happy new year to you too! Thanks for commenting
Thank you for a superb video ! We have seen on our news channels here in the U.K how severe the recent snow storms have been, and well done for perservering on your train journey. I completely agree with you “Trains are awesome”. For despite all the difficulties, thankfully you and Lindsey did arrive in Chicago safely, though very late ! Happy new year to you both.
Happy new year to you too! Looking forward to more comments from you in 2023
This was very well done. In an era when everyone is in it for themselves and trying to profit from poor service, you handled yourself very well and it reflected in the video. Because of this, I have subscribed to your channel.
I appreciate it!
Once again, you've dragged me along on your adventure. I think I'm glad I watched it rather than experienced it!
We were supposed to take the train from Kalamazoo to Chicago on Christmas Eve. The train was cancelled. We booked again for Christmas Day. That was also cancelled. We had to drive, which was very, very dangerous.
I’m sorry to hear that!
When you summed up what Christmas is really all about and took it as an object lesson for how things weren't as bad for you and yours,I was like "Right on!"
This was an adventure!
An unplanned adventure,but an adventure all the same!
Lindsey’s cameo appearance brought respite to a story of meteorological and mechanical catastrophe. Great video, capturing the Blizzard of ‘22s essence.
No way, just seeing this video now. I was trying to catch a train going the opposite direction from Chicago to Kalamazoo. Had the 3 o’clock train booked, did not leave at 9:30 so I walked to greyhound and took a 10:40 bus. I checked the tracker and the train I had ended up leaving at 11:30 PM. Amtrak definitely got worse after you got off that train, we may have even seen each other in the station.
Oof that sounds horrible. Good thing it was a holiday and there was space available in the greyhound.
I was on a Lincoln service. Was late for 5 hours Lol arrived at my stop after midnight.
Yikes! What a trip.
Gold!
I would be incredibly excited for something like this because that would mean more time on the train
It was Christmas Day though. We wanted to be home!
That lady that drove down the tracks is VERY lucky. Had the engineer not been "scrubbing" her brakes, she'd have hit that car in Kalamazoo!
She was lucky, us not so much 😂
TWA (That Was Awesome...) Happy new year, Thom and Lindsay. Warm greetings from a soggy Netherlands.
I always thought how great it would have been to ride one of the great trains in the 40"s on Christmas day, but that is only a dream,. I have taken the Wolverine many times from Chicago to Ann Arbor and some times it was late, Amtrak is what it is , a highly underfunded operation that does the best it can. I still love it even with the delays. I like your video's , you and your wife are a very cute couple, I wish you all the best.
I like what you say about Amtrak. They do everything they can, given the odds against them. And thank you!
What a trip!
I got a girl in .... Kalamazoo :) what a great song... would ride the train just to sing that song...
Aussie here but I love Amtrak... don't let it fail America!
It won’t fail, this may be the best time for Amtrak in its history!
Out of all that you managed to get home that's the most important thing!! Great video by the way but it's a reminder that not everything is so perfect even on the rails too. At the same time things could be worse on the road or you could be stuck at the airport with your flight canceled. I also believe Trains Are Still Awesome (TRSA) even on its bad days!!
This was one of the most unique train rides I’ve seen on TH-cam 😅
This is not the first time the Wolverine has had problems. When it started to get cold this fall it broke down. They waited for the next train to power it but that one broke down in Indiana. It got dark out and there was no power for the coaches. Light sticks and water were distributed and passengers started to get cold. Many groups of passengers departed the train, walked across tracks toward a nearby freeway where they could see a casino. Many called Ubers to complete their trip. I believe the entire trip took about 10 hours.
I’m surprised they hit those high speeds. Usually they go half speed for inclement weather.
Triple train!
What is it about the Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac line? Sort of a Bermuda Triangle for Amtrak! My son and I had ridden from Texas to Jackson, Michigan. We left Chicago on the early afternoon Wolverine of Thursday, November 10, 2022. Things went well until we were leaving Michigan City, Indiana. The train slowly coasted to a stop. The electrical system totally failed. Not only was the Charger locomotive dead, lights were strictly battery-powered for the rest of our time on this train. We sat there for hours. The following Wolverine passed us by at Michigan City. That train was not directed to stop and pick up passengers from our stranded train. Eventually spare equipment was located and they pulled us to New Buffalo where all of us were discharged. Then we waited for busses out of Chicago to take us to our ticketed destination. Further, the busses also stopped at the various stations to pick-up passengers that would have caught our train. We had made previous arrangements to have a ride from the Amtrak station at Jackson to our motel which was about four miles from the Amtrak station (no motels near the Amtrak station and the local taxi company does not do "late night fares"). While these unsavory events were unfolding, I received a phone call from our intended driver at Jackson. She does not do late night fares either as she had to be at her regular job very early the next morning (Friday). Once we were on the bus and headed toward Jackson, I looked at the Google Map for Jackson. The bus would pass the exit for the motel we were booked-in for the night (the exit on the interstate was about one block from the motel). I asked the driver if he could stop at that exit and drop us off. He was not in favor of that. I must give that driver credit, though. He eventually agreed to get off of the interstate and drop us off. Perhaps he felt sorry for us. The one-block walk to the motel was not a problem after the day we had just experienced! We had chosen Jackson for a rail destination because the next day we rented a car to drive into Ohio to visit family and Jackson was the most appropriate stop for that. I understand that another Wolverine train had also "died in the line of duty" about 10 or so days prior to our trip. Then there was your experience on a Wolverine train. Hopefully the Charger units are not turning into the "Edsels" of the rail industry! We did enjoy our return trip on the Wolverine about a week later. No problems encountered. The return trip had some snow and it was a wet snow. As the train travelled to Chicago, apparently snow would cake up under the coach and ever so often break-away and make a lot of noise. No issues with that was noted, though. I enjoyed catching the train at the Jackson Station. Apparently Jackson has the oldest operating U.S. train station in continuous use (dates from 1873 from what I read). Keep up your articles, they are enjoyable!
This is an absolute horror story!!
What a crazy Christmas experience ⛄ great video
Thank you!
Ha, "cramp"...yeah right. The lady should have just told the truth that she got disoriented in the snow and mistook the track for a side street. That would have been much more plausible and less embarrassing. As far as all the delays go, I really do believe passenger train crews do the best they can. Amtrak has never been given the funding they need.
We all think she may have had too much egg nog…
And yes, this crew was fantastic
Wow. Glad I chickened out and cancelled my Friday AM through Tuesday AM reservation on the Lincoln Service and stayed in Chicago. I just didn't want my family to have to drive 50 miles round trip on country roads with 30-50 mph winds after the snow just to pick me up at the station. The weather delays are still horrible as of today. Will take a while for the system to recover.
Glad your family (and you) were able to stay safe!
Also glad the snow is melting away here in Chicago now.
Snow coming in has always been an issue with the Horizon fleet as it is not designed for cold weather
Happy New Year to you and your family. Looking forward to new videos. Meanwhile, the MTA is delaying the startup of Grand Central Madison until sometime in January!
God himself did not want that train to go lol. Random lady drives on the tracks and your engine takes a shit...twice....oooofff
I wonder if the engine that was being used was used on the Amtrak Disaster train in summer of 2022.
Thanks for a well narrated video of a less than stellar trip. If you could get some of the technical details about the engine problem(s) it might make for an interesting follow up video.
I’ll see if I can find out. It’s usually not made public.
@@Thom-TRA Perhaps you should tell them you are a journalist / reporter.
Thom and Lindsey, Happy New Year
I was on this train as well, it was terrible. Sad to see all of the passengers who took the train for the day, they had to turn right back around.
Imagine how long the train was when it was being towed. It was already a super long train and they added on a whole other train. Would like to see it from the outside.
I had some family ready to video it, but remember, we never ended up getting towed!
Brilliant video and Best wishes to the both of you for a Happy New Year.
Thank you! To you too
I know they didn't drive on the track. wonder if they can radio from the station? wow, that was an adventure. I remember in march on 352 took forever to leave Chicago. the locomotive would not start up i hoped to make it back. Without stopping again.
I live about a half hour from that station!
Nice!
At least the ones over here and Amtrak California is doing good
wow that is crazy amtrak can be late into the next day but they are the most comfortable way to get there
This is very true
Cars eh? Always holding everyone up in one way or another!
So true
My understanding is that those Charger locomotives see a snow flake and they begin to falter, bear in mind those engines are practically brand new. On the other hand, the Genesis locomotives fail because they're just plain old. But, in terms of reliability, I think the Genesis in their heyday were superior to the Chargers.
great video 🚅🚃👍
Thank you!
This trip report of mechanical failures is happening much to often on Amtrak.
Cheer up. At least you aren't in Buffalo,NY LOL!
Buffalo ain't that bad. Come out west if you ever want to see what REAL snow looks like :)
It can always be worse, you could’ve been on the Wolverine that lost power and took 19 hours to go from Detroit to Chicago with no heat and overflowing toilets a couple months ago.
Yeah no thanks. These toilets wouldn’t flush for about an hour and that was already bad enough.
Nice video. Any info on how badly the car was damaged? BTW, I flew 26 and 30 Dec. Neither flight was great.
I hope you got home alright!
I’m guessing the bottom was just damaged by the rails.
Quite a Christmas adventure(?)
Indeed it was!
I find it so wholesome that the conductor referred to the cars by their names, do the general American public know what a Venture car is? 🤣
Probably, they do have the safety manuals with the car names up. Otherwise the “newer” and “front” hints should be sufficient.
Cheaper to give soda and crisps than full refunds!
And it meets a more azure need
Really enjoyed this video!!! I’ve been on some crazyyyyy Amtrak trips as well, so I understand. I do like how you still think trains are awesome and your appreciation for train staff and blessings. 😊Happy New Year and looking forward to another year of awesome trains!!!
Wow... That... was... so... WILD!
Yeah it was something that’s for sure
When a train doesn't run frequently and it is snowing it possible the snow on tracks made it difficult for her to know was a railroad.
Probably, although the large crossing gates might have been a sign
@@Thom-TRA Yeah. But when the visibility is bad, than she might not have seen the crossing gates.
@@qolspony trust me, the visibility wasn’t that bad
AMEN!!! 👏👏👏
Hallelujah
Happy New Year to you
Same to you!
They salt the steps?
Hello Thom, interesting video. I am from the Netherlands and wondering why trains in the US use their horn so often. Here in the Netherlands and other countries around the Netherlands, trains use their horn just very occasionally (working people on the tracks, accident). Do you know why?
Dat heeft drie redenen:
1. Met tienduizenden kilometers spoor zijn er nog behoorlijk wat onbewaakte overwegen.
2. Treinen rijden op de meeste trajecten veel minder vaak dan in Nederland, dus gedragen mensen zich vaak minder voorzichtig rond spoorwegovergangen. Mensen verwachten vaak geen trein, en de toeter waarschuwt ze dat er wat komt.
3. Het is een achtergebleven traditie uit het stoomtijdperk. Ik heb eerlijk gezegd nooit iemand gesproken die zich eraan ergert. Het hoort nou eenmaal bij de spoorwegen hier.
@@Thom-TRA Dank je wel voor je snelle antwoord in het Nederlands. Hier in Nederland worden op dit moment de laatste onbewaakte overwegen gesloten en vervangen door een alternatief. De kans dat je rechtstreeks in contact met een trein kunt komen is nagenoeg nul. In Amerika is deze scheiding, begrijp ik niet zo strikt. Happy New Year, Ralf
What's to dislike about the Horizon cars?
They are my least favorite Amtrak cars. They look dated, but not in a good way. The seats are uncomfortable, to the point of the cushions falling off, the lights unpleasant, and in the winter they are terribly isolated. You feel a draft and snow collects in the vestibules.
What is wrong with Amtrak's "equipment" ?!
Third-world countries don't even have five hour train delays
Have you ever been to Germany? Or taken the train between France and the Netherlands? Unfortunately these delays happen even in places with the best trains.
Could the engine broke because on the side of SC-44 Chargers there is piece of see through wall where snow could have get in and break the engine?
I thought maybe it was that myself honestly
I had my adventure on my train trip out to Essex MT Just over a week ago. My train had 3 Charger, and ti did well from CHI-MOT.. After that. was a lot of stop and reset one of the locomotive. We ended being 4 hours late. These new Chargers dont like the cold weather... Sad.. I had high hope for them.
I think the cold thing isn’t something they’re doomed to have forever. I mean, a lot of trains make it successfully. I wonder what the effects are of snow coming into the machines.
@@Thom-TRA The large side opening is allowing too much cold, and snow into the coils.
Trains are 'awesome'?. PDX, Minneapolis and now this one. You have the worst luck, dude!
Not really. If you consider the thousands of trains I’ve been on, I have a great track record (pun intended)
If that happens again, go to the nearest street crossing, look for a small blue DOT sign that is at every crossing in America, call the (800) number on the sign and give them
the DOT crossing ID number. They will pick up the phone right away, and within seconds of identifying the crossing begin communicating with any train nearby to stop.
That’s the number we called. Someone else had gotten to it before me.
We're never going to have a world-class train system as long as we are dependent upon Amtrak to operate our trains. Amtrak's top management these days is absolutely abysmal. Engine failures are rampant with the new Siemens locomotives. This is the result of Amtrak not staying on top of things and failing to ensure that the locomotives were reliable before placing them in service. Amtrak isn't the only problem though. As bad as they are, there is an even bigger one: Until this country makes the decision to fund passenger rail infrastructure at the same level it has funded highways and aviation, we'll always have a third-rate rail system. Other countries have great rail systems because they pay for it. Please note that none of these comments are directed in any way, shape, or form at Amtrak's front line workers, the vast majority of whom are to be commended.
To be fair, it snows in Germany so everyone kinda expected at the very least, that the Siemens locomotives wouldn't be utterly worthless every time it snows. Can't really blame that on Amtrak especially since America doesn't want to build passenger locomotives anymore.
I'm guessing a White Christmas becomes redundant after the 50th time? Brand NEW engine and its already broken. typical Amtrak. accept the cheapest bid.
I think the first thing what I would have done with a car on the tracks and the train aproching would have been to walk towards the train next o the tracks and wave my arms to warn the engineer of danger.
My worst train delay I can remember was around 2 hours after the ICE wasn't able to connect to the ETCS system on the high speed line and we had to drive the slow way around. After arrival at home I had to seed across the city with my bike because I had a dentist appointment.
That’s a helpful thing to do, but by itself it wouldn’t be enough. A train needs so much time to brake, that you wouldn’t be able to signal it in time if you walked and waved. Calling the dispatcher asap is the best thing to do. Priority #1 of course is making sure the car’s passengers have evacuated.
I had a delay of 3.5 hours once on an Intercity going from Berlin to Amsterdam!
I'm confused by the engine troubles... they had three chargers, it looked like 10 cars total? I would think two would be more than enough. I would think one could probably mange at reduced speed.
Probably something wrong with the lead locomotive that either affected the controls or communication with the other locomotives.
SC44 CHARGERS ALREADY BROKEN WHAT THE FRICK
2:55 What was she even trying to do?
Hey Rail Fan. DID YOU FORGET??? You were right next to 2 rail road crossings. Call that Number on the little blue sign that is posted on EVERY RAIL ROAD crossing in the USA, and Canada. you call that Number it's puts you in touch with the very same Room of employees that monitor everything in the Central Dispatch location. I cannot believe you did not know this, or forgot. wow. Oh by the way, you did a very nice video. My first time on your channel. ✌👍
Hey, TH-cam commenter. Guess what. DID YOU NOT KNOW?? Someone already immediately ran to the railroad crossing. I literally talk about people trying to call Amtrak. Don’t act like you know everything when you don’t see everything. The train stopped on time, didn’t it? How do you think that happened? Huh!???