We're trying to get out of here but the train's broke.
It’s been a long day and it’s still not over. We went to bed early last night and we woke up before the alarm went off. Showered, shaved, packed up, and checked out of the hotel. Left our bags there while we walked downtown and did a little more shopping. Grabbed a bite to eat at the “Westlake Center.” While we were there the monorail went right past the window where we were setting. They were making some test runs on the thing. There had been an accident last year and they had to do some major safety updates and today was the first time it had run since the accident. I thought it might be nice to take it to the other end of the route since the far terminal was about two blocks from our hotel but they were only making test runs.
We got back to the hotel and when we went to pick up our luggage, they couldn’t find it. It took them several minutes but eventually they came up with it. The room they normally use to store luggage was full and our stuff went to the overflow room. We were ready to go and we got the hotel shuttle to take us to the station. We arrived about 90 minutes early. We didn’t have anything else to do anyway. The train was scheduled to depart at 4:45PM. I was a bit surprised to find that it wasn’t at the station when we got there but, sometimes they keep a track clear for other trains to pass through the station. The King Street Station serves several “Amtrak Cascades” trains and the “Sounder” trains. Well, around 4:00PM I saw the locomotive come around a curve about four or five hundred yards from the station and stop. Again, nothing unusual here. It may have been waiting for another train to come through the station or it could have been waiting for warrants (track usage authorization) from the dispatcher. It’s 9:15PM and we’re still in the station.
It’s hard to get exact details on the problem but as they announced, there was a problem with one of the wheels and they had to replace it. They didn’t have any extra coaches in Seattle and the train was booked almost to capacity so they had to fix the problem. First estimates were three hours delay. Then we got word that while they were moving it through the yard to the rip track (track where they performed the repairs) the thing derailed and they drug it a couple hundred feet before they realized the wheel was off the track. Those locomotives have so much power that they don’t even notice a wheel or two off the rails. In the process, they bent some other stuff on the truck (the assembly with the wheels, springs, breaks, etc...) Now they are telling us we might be able to leave around 10:30PM, if nothing else goes wrong.
On the positive side, the weather was somewhat warmer today. It was a little cool in the shade when there was a strong breeze. Temperatures today were in the mid 70’s. The forecast is for 90’s by the weekend.
Frances has a book to read on the train. She read some last night and has been reading it while we wait. She’s about half way through it now.
Check back later for updates.