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Re: The WORST trip you've ever taken
Author: Tom McCann
Date: 02-07-2011 - 21:55
I had the same thing happen on my first Empire Builder trip in December 1993. It was just before Christmas and I was on my way from Portland to Philadelphia (Broadway Limited east of Chicago).
It was bitterly cold outside when we left the Twin Cities, where we had picked up a setout coach (former Santa Fe Hi-level) which had sat overnight after coming up from Chicago. About an hiur into the trip down the Mississippi, between Red Wing and Winona, I was in the lounge car when we suddenly drifted to a stop. I had my scanner with me and heard the train crew radio that we had had a separation.
What had apparently happened was that ice had accumulated in the coupler of the setout coach as it sat overnight in St. Paul. When it was added to the rear of the train that morning, the coupler was not fully engaged and, as we headed south, the friction buildup in the coupler caused the ice to melt and the couplers to separate. When that occurred, the air hoses also separated and caused the air brakes to activate. When we rolled to a stop, the rear coach was about 1/4 mile behind the rest of the train.
It took the crew about an hour to recouple, then walk the train to physically check every coupler. We were already an hour late out of the Twin Cities, and exactly two hours late arriving in Chicago.
It was bitterly cold outside when we left the Twin Cities, where we had picked up a setout coach (former Santa Fe Hi-level) which had sat overnight after coming up from Chicago. About an hiur into the trip down the Mississippi, between Red Wing and Winona, I was in the lounge car when we suddenly drifted to a stop. I had my scanner with me and heard the train crew radio that we had had a separation.
What had apparently happened was that ice had accumulated in the coupler of the setout coach as it sat overnight in St. Paul. When it was added to the rear of the train that morning, the coupler was not fully engaged and, as we headed south, the friction buildup in the coupler caused the ice to melt and the couplers to separate. When that occurred, the air hoses also separated and caused the air brakes to activate. When we rolled to a stop, the rear coach was about 1/4 mile behind the rest of the train.
It took the crew about an hour to recouple, then walk the train to physically check every coupler. We were already an hour late out of the Twin Cities, and exactly two hours late arriving in Chicago.
