Just went by a few moments ago going WB on the BNSF push-pull train with about 6/8 coaches [:p]
Hard to tell from the saved image, but those don’t look like EB coaches.
They are not Superliners, possibly Horizon.
Will the EB eastbound be coming through Rochelle today (10/8, Saturday) on the C&I?
NO WAY that Amtrak train coming eastbound through the diamonds on BNSF C&I line at 9:13 a.m. today could have been the Empire Builder…looks more like an extra equipment move…wouldn’t it be nice if they permanently moved the Builder to the C&I? Sorry to the Wisconsinites who use the Builder daily, but I am selfish.
Not according to the info in this thread. Detours will happen 10/10-10/13, and 10/17, 10/18.
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=46405
BTW, according to spbed, that was a westbounder with engines on both ends.
Hmmm… I wonder if some other university is trying something along the lines of the Hawkeye Special? Could that train be headed up to Minneapolis for a Gopher game? This calls for some research…
EDIT: Nope, can’t be that- Gophers play Michigan at the Dome at Noon today, no way that train is connected to that, won’t make it there on time.
THOUGHT: Could BNSF have a detour in effect for the Illinois Zephyr which goes in the morning between Chicago and Quincy? It normally goes out the Denver line but perhaps is being detoured up the C&I to the Miss. River area and then down the river line to Quincy.
That wouldn’t make sense- BNSF doesn’t follow the river south from Galena, and it would be more practical to detour the IL Zephyr on the ATSF line through Joliet, Streator, and Chillicothe, which on my 1996 railroad map is shown as an AMTRAK route.
One of my railfanning buddies speculated to me this afternoon that this might well be the 20th. Century Railroad Club of Chicago’s annual trip to Galena. I just checked their web site and found that today IS the day for that trip…this is likely the answer to our puzzle.
Alright, Jim! Good investigative work there.
All interested in seeing more photos of this train can check out www.railpictures.net adn lookat photo numbers 121440/121442/121449 and 121450.