So, I was all scheduled to leave Fort Worth Texas just out of the military. My friend Ronnie dropped me off at the station in Ft Worth TX. There I sat waiting on Amtrak's Super Liner to take me to Chicago and then DC. So I waited and waited and nothing. I asked the Amtrak attendant when he thought it may arrive. He only stated the train was running late. Well, almost 2 hours goes by and I began to wonder if I should stay in Ft. Worth and cowboy up. Within another half hour, the Amtrak attendant announced that the Texas Eagle would be arriving within several minutes. So, I hauled myself outside and waited on the platform. I and others waited and waited. No train in site. Within another couple of minutes I heard what sounded like a locomotive coming into the station.
Well, within seconds, a locomotive did appear alright, but it was a Blue and Yellow Santa Fe SD40-2 with the whole Amtrak train in tow. I actually laughed. Really hard as I recall because I thought....really....Santa Fe?
Pulling Amtrak? No......
So, here the F40 that was heading the consist had broke down right smack in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. One women had to be medevac off the train from heat stroke. The air did not work and the whole mess was picked up by Santa Fe and delivered to Ft. Worth for a crew change and a new F40. Lucky us. LOL
So, we boarded the new train and off we went. We got as far as one hour before St Louis and the F40.....well she ran out of fuel. I mean you cannot make this stuff up. Amtrak was in rare form this day. I was cool because I had no plans, no connecting flights etc. Yet, some passengers did and boy were they ticked. So, a fuel truck was brought out to refuel the engine and within an hour we were off and running. So I thought. The poor F40 just said, " screw it, I quite, I retire.....I'm out of here. LOL Yes she broke alright and now we had to wait for another F40 from St. Louis to arrive to pick the whole mess up and drag us off to the city with the arch.
There Amtrak pulled every single passenger, including me, into a private car and asked what our itineraries were. Here, Amtrak realized a golden moment and seized upon it by feeding us all steak and setting up everyone on their dime. I was put up at the Hilton in Chicago and stayed over night for what would become a really cool stay in the windy city. I ate at a famous pizza joint and took a tour of the Sears Tower.
The trip home from Chicago to DC was uneventful and the best part was Horseshoe Curve. Saw my train on the other side. Really cool. Once I arrived in DC, I thought about it all and said to my father that it was the train ride from Hell. He laughed. LOL
I mean, you cannot make this stuff up......LOL
Pete
