1995_03_25 AMTK Pioneer Trip OR on UP with Rescue SD60

While traveling westward on Amtrak's Pioneer across Oregon the power to the passenger cars (HEP) went off. It turns out the coolant leak in AMTK 378 mentioned on the scanner as we departed Denver had caught up with us and our locomotive overheated and shut down. After 378 (our only locomotive) cooled off for a while, the crew decided to pull ahead a few miles into a section of single track before calling the dispatcher to request a rescue locomotive. Once in the single track the UP would have to help us quicker than if we were in a double track section where they could just run the trains around us. An eastbound train was relatively close by with a westward facing trailing unit. After putting SD60, UP 6049, onto the front of our train we continued our journey westward. In La Grande Oregon they filled up 378's coolant but didn't fix the leak. They decided to let the SD60 pull us to Portland while the 378 only supplied the HEP for the coaches. Enjoy the ride!

Link to the Colorado & Wyoming portion of the Pioneer trip:
   • 1995_03_24 AMTK Pioneer Trip CO & WY ...