Well, it has been a nail biter the last few weeks as I watched the Empire Builder get hit by one natural disaster after another, all disrupting service by at best giving horrid on-time performance (6-9 hours late was the norm) and at worst cancellations.

The flooding has been ongoing since April, but there have been different factors at play.

1. Unprecedented snowmelt (April) raised Devils Lake to within 1 foot of the tracks and resulted in mud boils and slow orders on the detour Surrey Cutoff route.
2. Wave action during high winds damaged the Devils Lake crossing (late May).
3. Unprecedented rainfall (late May, early June) in Montana raised the Missouri River above flood stage, necessitating track raises and creating slow orders.
4. Unprecedented rainfall in Saskatchewan overwhelmed the flood control system on the Souris River, closing the BNSF northern transcon (two week closure estimated to begin midday tomorrow, per BNSF).

I heard a rumor on another board last night that the BNSF mainline was being closed for 2 weeks (they are expecting up to 6 feet of water over the tracks), and decided to be proactive by calling Amtrak customer service.

An hour later, Vito in customer service had done an excellent job of rerouting us and being patient with us as we negotiated the changed visit with my sister-in-law on the other cell phone.


So, here is the updated itinerary for our trip:

Sat, June 25th: Board the Crescent in Birmingham, AL at 2:24 pm headed to Washington DC.

Sun, June 26th: Due to arrive in DC Sunday morning at 9:53 am

do some sightseeing in our nation's capitol until time to check in that afternoon. (to include grabbing lunch with a friend)

Board the Capitol Limited at 4:05 pm headed to Chicago.

Mon, June 27th: Due to arrive in Chicago Monday morning at 8:45 am

Do some sightseeing until time to check in that afternoon, and catch lunch with another friend!

Here is where things got changed up a bit. Since the Empire Builder is cancelled, we were re-routed to Portland, OR via Denver and Sacramento!

We will board the California Zephyr headed to Sacramento, CA at 2:00 pm.

Tues, June 28th: full day of travel.


Wed, June 29th: Arrive in Sacramento, CA at 2:13 pm and have a approx 10 hour layover in Sacramento, then catch the Coast Starlight north to Portland, OR at 11:59 pm

Thur, June 30th: met by Sister-in-law and boyfriend, who show us around Portland, then head to the coast, and end up in Seattle, WA. Sightseeing galore!

Mon, July 4th: Board the Coast Starlight from Seattle at 9:45 am bound for Los Angeles

Tue, July 5nd: Due to arrive in Los Angeles at 9:00 pm

Staying at the Metro Plaza Hotel

Wed, July 6th: Board the Sunset Limited at 2:40 pm bound for New Orleans

Thu, July 7th: Full day of travel

Fri, July 8th: Due to arrive in New Orleans at 2:55 pm

Staying at the Fairchild House B&B in the Lower Garden District, do some sightseeing in the Quarter

Sat, July 9th: Board the Crescent at 7:00 am bound for Birmingham, AL, due to complete our trip at 2:15 pm.