# Fort Worth to New Orleans



## Shanghai (Oct 29, 2010)

Trip Report: Fort Worth to New Orleans: October 28, 2010

With the board meeting complete, I took the hotel van to DFW Airport, then boarded the Trinity Express bus to the Trinity Railway Express station at Centerpoint. I had to wait about forty minutes for the next TRE train to the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center in Fort Worth, TX.

I wasn’t feeling up to par as I had developed a sore throat during the night. I was barely able to talk and sounded terrible. I did get some medicine at the hotel which I think is helping. Our group had dinner the previous night at The Big Fish restaurant in a place called Grapevine, Texas. Anyone heard of this town?? I had some shrimp with red beans and rice. I think those beans have created some intestinal gas in my body, so I have been walking through the train to get some relief!!

I checked the status of the southbound Texas Eagle to ascertain if it would depart Fort Worth on time and found a message that there was a service disruption and to contact Amtrak for further details. I phoned Amtrak and was told there was a freight derailment near Texarkana and to expect delays. While I was on the telephone, the agent told me there was a plan to bus passengers to San Antonio to connect with the Sunset Limited to New Orleans.

I was disappointed, but preceded to the station. Upon arrival, I was told the train would only be a few minutes late and would board at 1:55pm for a 2:15 departure. I was pleased that the train would be running. I waited for the boarding call and walked to my car. I was in Room 2, Car 2120.

I was the only person to board in the sleeper and there were more than thirty people who boarded coach. I asked my SCA, Michael, what had happened. He told me they were able to take an alternate route around the derailment and was able to make up schedule time. The train arrived Dallas ten minutes late and only stayed there for ten minutes rather than the normal twenty.

My roomette was cleaned and ready for my arrival. I did some work on my computer as we traveled south. I took the 4:30pm dinner reservation and had Texas spare ribs. They were OK, but nothing special. I was seated with two elderly ladies and during our conversation found that one of the ladies was from the town of my birth, Kokomo, Indiana!!

After dinner, I returned to my room and read the newspaper and watched the brown, flat land pass by as we sped towards Austin and San Antonio. We were traveling at a high rate of speed most of the distance. As we approached Austin, I could see the traffic jam on the expressway along side railroad tracks. I stepped off the train for a couple of minutes to get some fresh air and stretch my legs

I waved to our Jim Hudson as we departed Austin to began our trek to San Antonio, but I don’t think he saw me!! I was getting dark and there was a beautiful sunset in the sky.

We arrived in San Antonio a few minutes after 9;00pm. I detrained with my luggage and walked to the station waiting room. The World Series baseball game was on the TV, so I, along with several other Ranger fans, watched the Giants defeat the Rangers, 9 to 0.

At approximately 10:00pm, the eastbound Sunset Limited arrived. At approximately 10:45pm, we were permitted to board the train. I went to my room and found my bed made. I stowed my luggage and went to bed. I don’t even recall the train departing the station. My SCA had prepared the lower bunk, so I slept there. At 4:03am, I awoke and washed up and put on clean clothes. I restored the room to daytime use and decided to go to the Observation lounge. I met my SCA, Peggy in the dining car and went onto the lounge. I watched as we entered Houston and stopped at the station. This is the first time I have been in Houston and I wanted to get my feet on the ground to say I have been there!!

It was a bit chilly outside, so I came back to my room to update this message. We departed Houston at 5:17am, 7 minutes off schedule. After about five minutes, our train stopped to allow a freight to pass. Next we began reversing direction. I don’t know why we reversed, but soon we were moving in a forward direction. The trip was somewhat uneventful. I had an early lunch as we will be arriving New Orleans ahead of schedule. It is a bright and sunny day. I saw miles and miles of sugar cane growing in the fields.

We arrived in New Orleans at 1:59pm, nearly one hour ahead of schedule.

I went to a Quik-Trak machine to print my Crescent ticket for tomorrow

then took a taxi to my hotel. Much to my surprize, I was upgraded to a

suite. I walked down Canal street and looked around. It is a bit windy

so I returned to the hotel after getting some cold medication. I will get

to be early and go back to the Amtrak Station tomorrow morning at 6:30am

for the 7:05am Crescent to New York.


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## saxman (Oct 29, 2010)

Shanghai said:


> Our group had dinner the previous night at The Big Fish restaurant in a place called Grapevine, Texas. Anyone heard of this town??


I've never heard of this town.  Probably weren't more than a couple miles from me. But I flew in just last night so I would have missed you anyway. Hope you liked my home town though.


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## Shanghai (Oct 30, 2010)

Chris,

Grapevine is a most charming town. I enjoyed being there

and enjoyed the food at The Big Fish!! Maybe next time

you will be in town.


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## jimhudson (Oct 31, 2010)

:hi: Nice trip report,  too bad you got the cold,  that can really suck when you are traveling! I agree , grapevine is an interesting town, Chris has the best of both worlds being able to live in the MetroPlex and fly all over! Not too many airline pilots love trains like Chris IINM! You are correct about the ribs, youll have to come back and visit the Bar-B-Q joints in Central Texas if you want good ribs! Thanks for the shoutout, I was out of town, would have met the train to say hello if Id been home! Austin is a pretty interesting place also!  Hope to meet you again along the rails! Jim


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