# NYP-NOL, The Crescent



## cpamtfan (May 20, 2010)

For the years since my original overnight journey, I've planned all kinds of trips to visit relatives, all evaporating as there wasn't really a point to just go and visit them for the hell of it.

My break came when a aunt in Mississippi became engaged, and that was my chance to get a nice, long trip!

My dad and brother enjoy WW2 history ,and there is a huge WW2 museum in New Orleans, so this fit in well.

I also wanted to go back to Wisconsin to visit relatives there, so we put that in. Perfect!

We had just enough AGR points to get all three of us into a bedroom on the Crescent, and roomettes on the Memphis-Chicago and Chicago-New York leg.

We were lazy in booking this trip, such as the fact that we waited until almost mid April to finish booking. They almost ran out of bedrooms on the Crescent and LSL.

Finally everything was coming together, and just 5 days prior to our departure...I awoke to find our house a little messed up, as if things had been moved aound. Then I saw crutches, but I was still half awake. After hearing a message from my uncle and a a call to my mother, apparently my dad heard something pop near his ankle! When he got home, I was in shock, but the trip was still on with him.

The _Beginning_

We left the house at 10am, arriving into the LIRR Mineola station for the 10:32am train. It arrived just about on time, and we ran smoothly all the way to Penn Station. I made sure to check Sunnyside Yard (Big NJT/Amtrak yard in Sunnyside, Queens about 5 minutes from AlanB's neighborhood  ) for our connsist. I did spot it, but I wasn't sure at the time if it was our consist. We arrived into NYP on track 17 and walked *slowly* to the elevator. Another slow walk and elevator up to the Acela Club to rest up for the Crescent.

19,The _Crescent_

I *knew* from past experiences that the Crescent usually leaves from tracks 15-11, and I *knew* it was going to get into the station around 1:30 (15 minutes over everyone else means alot to me), but we had ordered a Red Cap for my dad. Although I really wanted just to walk over there, we took the Red Cap down to track 12 (!). Our car was 1911, attendent Carl. After sending off my mom, I went to take the consist down. I made it through 1910, the diner, and when I got to the cafe, I ran into Carl who shewed me back to my car. I was kind of mad but didn't want to make a big fuss on a train I'd be on for 30 hours!

We departed at 2:15, right on schedule. I videoed through the Hudson River Tunnel, and once we excited the tunnel I went to take down our consist:

656 (NYP-WAS)

87-165 (WAS-NOL)

1736 Phase IVb

25118

25097

25027

25018

28010 (Diner Lite Rebuild)

8504 (Temoinsa Rebuild)

62037 (Phase IVc)

62008 (Our car)

Our train was around ten minutes late between Newark New Jersey and Washington, D.C.. I noticed less Amfleet cars outside the Wilmington Shops, work in Wilmington, crossing the Susquehanna River, and Amtrak Ivy City shops in Washington with some P40s still out there. I ran into a little trouble when I ordered a pizza, Pepsi, and Gatorade. I somehow didn't get my Pepsi, but I got a new one (I looked kinda foolish when I said I forgot about that).

We arrived into Washington about 10 minutes early, and I took the time to walk down the platform and back in Washington, and even got a cool view of the HHP8!

I walked back to our car, now ith the Carolinian next to us, and watched some action before we left. I saw our locomotives pass by 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave, but we of course left late.

We went to the diner for dinner. Due to my dad having crutches, no one could sit with us.

The salads and rolls were better than the last time I rode, and we had:

Dad had the Special, which was BBQ spare ribs with mashed potatoes and a veggie mix. Said it was good, but a good bit of sauce.

Brother: Fish, which was crab cakes. I liked them. Not as good as my aunts but on par with them!

Me: I wanted to see what the chicken was like, but somehow I got crab cakes! No problem I waited and got my chicken, which was pretty good.

For dessert, my brother got the ice cream, but I ordered the PB Pie, and it got messed up again! Boy I'm having a problem speaking up I guess!

As we proceeded back to our car, my dad could barely hang on with crutches, so he never left the room again!

The worst thing to happen on the trip to this point was one idiotic mistake by me. I knew the locks on the car could only work from the inside, but I still left my wallet in view of someone passing. I'm not sure if it was a crew member (Yikes), or a robber (Someone else was robbed), but alot of money was stolen :angry:  !!! Luckily, whoever it was didn't steal my scanner, so I got lucky. Also unfortunite, we didn't know if we should report it, so we waited until the next day to tell Carl, who said we should have told him right after it happened  . So I learened a very, very hard life lesson.

My dad wanted to go to bed at 9pm, but I didn't feel like chasing Carl, so we figured out how to set up a train bed! I took the upper bunk, my dad used the bed, and my brother took the chair (Yup, the chair). Carl came later, but he saw we were already set up so he went off.

Sleeping on the train wasn't too hard, I woke up every few hours, but slept nicely. My dad and brother seemed to have a little more trouble sleeping, however.

I awoke as the train arrived into Gainesville, Georgia, home of AU member Bill H  . My dad said he needed to eat in room, so I went to the diner where Carl was working. We got our food right as we arrived in Atlanta, so I went to walk our train first. A good number of our people on our train exited at Atlanta, and just as many boarded. I went to my room and ate a yummy meal of french toast and bacon, while my dad went with the omelet, and brother...well he never ate his breakfast. He got the eggs, but he slept until noon!

Although, I must say that the scenery between Atlanta and New Orleans did put me to sleep at some points  :lol: .

For lunch I took my brother to the diner, We both had burgers, both seemed, meh. I think, personally, that they were just burgers from the cafe car with the toppings. He got ice cream and I got Cia Bello Lemon Sorbet for dessert. The rest of the trip was quiet,with a yummy steak for dinner. As we closed in on the Lake Po-------------- bridge (Okay, sometimes I just don't want to spell something that won't make sence), I found a wall of people at the rear window filming our crossing over the bridge. I enjoyed the view as our trip came to an end on the Crescent. Slowly moving into position for the backup move, past the Superdome and into New Orleans about 5 minutes late. Carl had sasid we might meet the police in NOL, but we were taken by cart AROUND the station to a taxi. So we took it instead of waiting and went to our Drury Inn and rested up, but we didn't know what would be instore for us for leg two...


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## girly25 (May 20, 2010)

hey just question............did u come up to the diner to order 3 steaks to go?



cpamtfan said:


> For the years since my original overnight journey, I've planned all kinds of trips to visit relatives, all evaporating as there wasn't really a point to just go and visit them for the hell of it.My break came when a aunt in Mississippi became engaged, and that was my chance to get a nice, long trip!
> 
> My dad and brother enjoy WW2 history ,and there is a huge WW2 museum in New Orleans, so this fit in well.
> 
> ...


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## cpamtfan (May 21, 2010)

Yes I did. I was ordering it from one of the diner attendents, but my attendand came and took the order and delivered it.


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## had8ley (May 21, 2010)

Great report...it's Lake Pontchartrain


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## Bill Haithcoat (May 21, 2010)

Great report.. I can identify with it since the Crescent is the only show in town for me.

BTW,I do live in Atlanta, not Gainesville. In fact you can see my apartment in Atlanta from the train just a few minutes before it stops in the station.


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## girly25 (May 24, 2010)

yes i remember u because I took ur order and carl deliver it to u guys. glad u r trip was ok .



cpamtfan said:


> Yes I did. I was ordering it from one of the diner attendents, but my attendand came and took the order and delivered it.


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