In the days of steam, the Nickel Plate Road put the varnish in the sidings instead of the freights, their reasoning was, "its easier to start and stop a short, fast passenger than a long, slow freight".

It is likely that it isn't due to priority so much as train length versus siding length. The coal drag may have been too long for the siding, so the passenger trains had to take it. This is usually called a "saw by" (if one train is short enough to fit in the siding.) A "double saw by" is when both trains are two long to fit into the siding. That requires complicating switching moves and uncoupling to get the trains past each other, bit by bit. So this doesn't necessarily prove passenger trains take a back seat (although that's possible). It could just as easily prove that it is the standard way to get train longer than a siding past a train shorter than the siding.

Amtrak trains have a time window that they have to stay within. If they start getting late, then the freight railroads work them in as best they can, but they lose their priority. On long-distance trains, they’re just Cascades into more and more delay

More than likely they pulled up behind another train in the siding, it's a fairly common practice

Looks like the Mississippi in the background so they've just crossed the river going west.

Putting Amtrak in the hole for a coal train. I thought this was UP until I saw the four position signals.

Don't have video, but had same thing with Carolinian (79). Freight traffic blocking our track, and when passing freight cleared, we backed up to get on the other main.

50 years ago I worked freight on the CNW and ran quite a few of those Wyoming coal trains into Chicago (northbound). The agreement with Union Pacific was that the 100 cars of coal and the slugs would be unseparated and never stop rolling as the UP crew hopped off and we hopped on. Of course things are different now, but those coal trains had a separate contract back then.

As a dispatcher I'll have Amtrak do backup moves occasionally like this, often times it'll save several minutes on the trip

MY GUESS IS THERE WAS A TRAIN IN FRONT OF THEM ALSO, IN THE SIDING AND IT WAS THE ONLY WAY FOR THEM TO KEEP TRACK AND TIME ON THE MAIN, WITHOUT FOLLOWING A FREIGHT TILL THE NEXT SIDING.

The reason why Amtrak has lower priority is because they mostly use track that is owned and operated by other companies, such as BNSF. So of course their trains are going to have the highest priority. Amtrak does however, own most of the Northeast Corridor tracks, where the Acela operates. Until Amtrak or another competing passenger service company can lay down their own track, passenger service will never improve, and we will have to wait on freight trains.

"passenger service has taken a back seat to freight traffic on the nation's railroad". In all my 16 years of riding AMTRAK long distance that's all I see-- Freight trains having priority

The one thing I find interesting is that the signals have 4 heads and that red is on top instead of green. Also, for the siding, yellow is on the bottom, and so maybe there is no green. Can anyone elucidate?

Nicely done!

Loooooove your video.

I would think there is a freight already in siding with enough room to park Amtrak in siding also. Back out and get in front of train in siding. Am I wrong?

Love the Empire Builder! Thanks for sharing!

That was Incredible! Cool Video!

I'm guessing they pulled in behind a train and then backed out and ran around it after the coal train went by.

"RARE VIEW", ironically, it was also the "REAR VIEW"

The line single tracked there. what did you want the Amtrak train to do? crash? he had no choice to go to the siding. Question is why are the signals upside down?

Is nobody gonna mention the executive Mac leading that freight??

Excellent 🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾

Excellent. 💙 T.E.N.

Passenger service, especially one runned by Amtrak will NEVER be a priority on BNSF, UP, CSX, or NS rails.. You expect an Amtrak train to take priority to freight traffic that makes them money while Amtrak trains like the Empire Builder that runs maybe once a day on the same rails.. your dreaming. I love how people want passenger trains to come back but Amtrak constantly reduces services...

This happens on Crescent #19 from time to time between Tuscaloosa and Meridian

Freight traffic is the money maker for the railroad and not the little bit Amtrak pays to use their tracks!

Awesome video nice catch

Was this location Lakeview East?

This is common for Canadian passenger trains. Hurry up and wait is a common saying.

I’m surprised how many of these major railroad lines are single track. I would think that major rail lines would be at least double tracked.

Why did they have to reverse instead of moving forward and exiting the siding on the other end?

Which direction was the coal train heあding to？

Greetings railfans from Indonesia

What kind of signals are these? They look quite odd, and I never knew BNSF used them (thought another railroad did).

Surprised she called it a yellow signal. Approach is probably the most universal signal aspect.

Guys lol it doesn't matter who takes priority when the train averages 35 mph. Even if it went 173 MPH -- the average speed of the TGV in France -- it would still be too slow to replace aviation out here in North America and Australia, that's why none of us (USA, Canada, Australia) use it. If the next town is 200 miles away sure, you can get there as fast as a jet, but most people are driving that distance. Like Washington DC to New York, most people drive I-95 and take shorter trips. But anybody who needs to get from DC to NYC as quick as possible isn't going to be on the slow ass train, they're going to use a jet airplane or jet helicopter. Amtrak gets slightly more market share than aviation in the NEC but remember it's still 80% car. And they're getting slightly more because of the intermediate stops, like I said most people are doing short trips WITHIN the NEC, not traveling from one end of it to the other. That's why amtrak and aviation combined are only like 10% of the traffic and 80% is car. And for longer trips, 500-3000 miles, the airplane becomes dominant, the train can never hold a candle to its speed, not even a French TGV. Maybe a maglev in vacuum tunnel...at least until we do supersonic flight over land again (NASA and Lockheed recently figured it out. If you make the plane long and end in a small point, you can break the sound barrier with a barely audible sonic boom. Thus go supersonic over land and not break anyone's ears or windows. NYC to LA in 3 hours instead of six.).

Nice

This is the part that always boggled me. If amtrak is faster then frieght? Why does amtrak always pull over in to the sidings and let a slower train pass? 🤔

Look at all that soon to be Co2 travelling at speed.

So, you're _on_ the Amtrak, _onboard_ it, as it's backing up. So it's actually a short video of a coal train going past, then the view out the back of the train, but not an actual video of the train backing up. That would be someone with a camera on a tripod filming the train from trackside. Ok. So, why did it back off the siding instead of just rolling on thru it back onto the mainline? Seems kinda counterproductive to me.

Is that just East of White Rock BC?

красивая природа

I take it that Amtrak don't have priority.

Canadian Pacific along the Mississippi?

Why did they have to reverse off the siding? Is it because it's a stub track?

Thought Amtrak had prior over freight trains ?

Thats actually CP trackage

I think all freight trains have priority over passenger trains....

You are touting your self-interest; perhaps the utility customer waiting for the coal doesn't consider it unfortunate.

Only in America … 🙄

Coal train makes money passenger trains do not. Therefor freight will always be priority. We should be thankful that railroads allow Amtrak on its rails

A freight passing a passenger train? That's wrong in so many ways. I wouldn't be surprised if the passenger train, which can move faster, would run up the back end of the freight and have to deal with red signals.

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