# My First Amtrak Trip



## Floridays (Jan 1, 2004)

Hi,

Last month I embarked on my first ever Amtrak adventure. I traveled on the Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Deland, Fl. which is almost the entire length of the route. The Train left L. A. on a Wednesday night at 10;30 pm( on time) and arrived in Deland on Saturday at 9:00 pm, four and a half hours late.(but i didnt mind). I booked a deluxe sleeper for the trip. I traveled solo. I enjoyed the train trip. I had heard good stories about the food and the fun of eating on the dining car so I was anxious to try it myself. The meals were alright,nothing spectacular though was my opinion. And I liked the idea of all meals being included with the first class fare ticket price. Although I must admit I didnt sleep well on the train. But I did enjoy the deluxe room.

I have a couple of questions for you long time train travelers. How many engineers does this train have for this lengthly trip?? And how many hours does an engineer work at one time? And I think the engineer should introduce himself to the passengers like an airline pilot does. I think it would be nice to hear a greeting from the engineer once in a while since he is carrying people and not just freight.  Also, how fast does this train travel? It seems at times this train was going at high speeds.

Also, that Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans is something! I wish it was

daylight when we were on it so I could see better but it was at 9pm. Also, another question I have.After we left New Orleans and were going thru Gulfport, Biloxi,Bay St Louis, Pascagula, the train went over numerous bridges and I am wondering what body of water that was? It was late at night and all night after N.O. that we were going over these dark bridges (that I wasnt very happy to be going ) and I couldnt see what was going on.Oh, and also, everytime the train was switching i thought it was going to derail..How do these trains stay on these tracks? No, im not paranoid, just new to train travel lol

All in all, i enjoyed the trip. It was a relaxing exPerience. Most of the trip I just sat in my room watching the changing scenery pass me by. I look forward to more train travel in the future. I hope someone out there can answer my questions. Thanks.


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## EmpireBuilderFan (Jan 1, 2004)

While I've never ridden Amtrak across that area, I'm somewhat familiar with the terrain in Southern Mississippi as I spent several months in Biloxi, MS, a few years ago. The bridges that you crossed are most likely water channels within swamps because most of that land is pretty swampy. Also, some of the longer bridges might have been across bays off of the Gulf of Mexico, especially near Biloxi, MS.


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## AlanB (Jan 1, 2004)

Floridays,

First, thanks for your report. 

It's hard to say precisely just how many engineer's your train had, but it was quite a few. The reason that it is hard to give you a finite number is due to a couple of factors. The first is the fact that an engineer can only work by law a certain number of hours. The second factor here is that Amtrak tries to schedule those crew changes at station stops whenever possible. So that can cause some engineers to work longer than others.

Finally if the engineer is working a short shift, then he may be the only one in the cab. Longer shifts require both an engineer and a fireman (who's still qualified to drive the train).

My best guess, assuming that each crew worked an 8 hour shift, and again some may have worked longer while others worked less, is that your train saw 8 different sets of engineer's. Again this is more of a guess on my part, but expect the total number to be within 7 - 9 crew changes.

Now this is also one reason why the engineer does not make announcements. You would have heard 8 different engineers making announcements. Worse, some of those crew changes occured during the middle of the night. Somehow I don't think that most people would appreciate and announcement from an engineer at 2:00 AM in the morning. :lol:

Next, the train is simply not setup to allow announcements to be made by the engineer, in part thanks to the baggage car that sits between the engines an the passenger cars. Finally, since the conductor is actually in charge of the train (not the engineer), he/she is the one who makes the announcements. The train cannot move without the conductor's permission, as the conductor is the boss. In effect the conductor is the Captain of the train.

As far as I know, the maximum speed for that train is 79 MPH.

Finally with regard to switching, it takes a heck of a lot of force to derail a train. Most derailments occur when the tracks move out of alignment or the train hits something. But it is not easy to derail a train. As a general rule, while it may be bumpy, trains don't derail while going over switches.

Again, thanks for your report and I'm glad that you had a good trip.


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## Bill Haithcoat (Jan 2, 2004)

I enjoyed your report. And yes, that area around New Orleans is very interesting. The route north to Meridian, Bhm, Atl, NYC that the Crescent takes is interesting also, lots of bayous, etc.

As for food, I will agree that not all the meals are spectacular but take my word for it, sometimes they are.....especially dinner. (beats airline peanuts!!) What is really nice is to be served in your room, esp in a deluxe bedroom. And you sure were riding on top of the world in a deluxe bedroom as as a single passenger. Been there, done that many times. I personally sleep better in the "second floor" than on a standard level train. Guess it depends on the person.

Anyway, don't let that be your last trip...continue to enjoy, and to post with us.

As to my mention of having your meals served in your room, I do not think a healthy able bodied person should ABUSE that priviledge, but it can be done. Maybe one meal out of a long trip like that you might want to consider it, just for the experience.


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## battalion51 (Jan 2, 2004)

AlanB said:


> Next, the train is simply not setup to allow announcements to be made by the engineer, in part thanks to the baggage car that sits between the engines an the passenger cars.


Well Alan I'm not entirely sure that's true. To allow on board communication COMM Cables (the blue socket) are placed in between each car. The COMM Cable not only carries PA/IC and that sort of thing, but is also responsible for relaying Brake Valve information to the on board computer in the cab (thanks to this most passenger trains don't need EOT's). Now there is a code that can be used on the Motorola Spectra that will allow the cab radio to function as a PA (they do this frequently at Tri-Rail). Now there are two problems A: I don't know the code (otherwise I'd have a buddy test it out for me) and B: I don't know if the code is compatible with Amtrak engines.



> My best guess, assuming that each crew worked an 8 hour shift, and again some may have worked longer while others worked less, is that your train saw 8 different sets of engineer's. Again this is more of a guess on my part, but expect the total number to be within 7 - 9 crew changes.


 I'd say 9 Conductor changes. My reasoning, the Conductor's pouch that is sent to El Paso with all the tickets has nine slots for Conductor names, since the Sunset is the longest route I'd guess that'd need nine crew changes. As far as crew change points I know that there are crew changes in JAX, Pensacola, New Orleans, Houston, and San Antonio. Beyond that I don't know crew change points for this train, but I'll try to find out.


> But it is not easy to derail a train.


 Well for most people. :lol: There's one Conductor I know of that's put three engines on the ground, two cars, and destroyed a golf cart within the last year. Fortunately she doesn't work the road job that much.


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