When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading!
1) There are NOT a lot of Locomotives just sitting around waiting and hoping someone wants to use one.
2) Maybe more important - Amtrak would have to WANT to use a Locomotive, and they would have to ASK if there was one available.
Money could be an issue. There could be two different scenarios: 1) A Locomotive failure en route, would seem to be different than a Locomotive failure right from the start of the trip. I think these two issues are covered within the Amtrak/CN Our Track/Your Trains Agreement. #1 would be OK, they got it moving, we have to help them. #2 would be Nope, won't move, we don't care, you fix your own problem.
(Now whether either of these could happen, I don't know, but it sure is how the railroad that owns the tracks, acts.)
I can remember in the last Century, this happening one afternoon while I was the Yardmaster at the Flint Bristol Road Tower.
The Westbound Amtrak from Port Huron, had a Locomotive failure somewhere between the Flint Amtrak Station, and the Flint Yard. I do not remember from where the call came, probably Amtrak contacted the Chief Train Dispatcher, in Pontiac still, before they moved to Troy, and TD-3 Flint Subdivision Train Dispatcher contacted Flint, me, about the need of a Locomotive for the west bound Amtrak.
We had some old POS Lease Unit in town and they came and got it, and added it to their train and were gone!!!
The whole process from start to finish didn't really take too long. The Amtrak Locomotive was not able to move the train, so the Amtrak Crew got a taxi ride and showed up in a cab. Found the Locomotive, headed out to the Main Line at Bristol Road, backed up eastward to their train, coupled up the Locomotives, did a little air test, and were gone!!!
I asked someone a couple days later if they had had any trouble with that POS we gave them. Nope....and more importantly, it dragged that train right along at Amtrak Passenger Train Speed!!!
Ron
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