# My 2nd AGR Award Trip/1 zone loophole-part paid



## Bob Dylan (Jan 17, 2010)

Having survived the frigid cold wave (8 here last Saturday!Coldest in history!), and suffering from "traveleritis" it was time for a train trip!Booked the SDL loophole in reverse, AUS-CHI-WAS-SDL for a 1 zone,15,000 point AGR award.I wanted the Cardinal but getting a room on #50 is as easy as getting in to see President Obama, opps, bad comparison! :lol:

Mon 1/11/10 TE#22 AUS-CHI Superliner II(Louisiana),Room #9/Sleeper 2200

Welcomed on a cold/sunny morning in AUS by SCA Liz,a professional/friendly vet. Large crowd boarding coach, traffic really up lately in Austin!  Checked bag here for the first time ever to CHI (were now 7 day a week/bag service station!), usual consist of the train, we rolled up the line through Texas into FTW/DAL into Eastex, had the usual CCC food on the Eagle, not bad, anything on a train tastes pretty good!  Starting to see snow in East-Tex

and its dark and cold as we cross into Arkansas @ TXA, into LRK on time where we pick up 2 coaches from last weeks derailed #21 to deadhead to CHI!

This put us 1 hr. down but it's warm inside the train and sleep soon comes as we cruise through the hills or ARK and Mo. Wake up just as we hit the Mississippi River south of STL, its very snowy and cold, have a nice hot shower, dress and watch from the SSL as we roll into STL now 1 hour early!!!

Have breakfast sitting in the STL station, the MORR is sitting there ready to roll to KCY, step off the train into a very cold and frozen STL, dont go into the station since its so cold and much ice on the platform too! Lots of folks get off here, new pax load mostly in coach and we highball on time for CHI through the snowy/sunny landscape! They announce a very brief lunch as we leave Springfield so have a sandwich and tea, skip dessert as we roll up the line through snowy,cold corn fields towards CHI as it begins to cloud up and snow again! Into the burbs of CHI on time, we back a long way into CHI which leaves us 30 mins. down into CUS.Head for the Metro Lounge up very cold platorms (it's a long train with the 5 coaches), they say theres a shortage of redcaps so lots of folks have to wait as we head into the welcoming and warm lounge after claiming my luggage! Have some coffee/snacks,

walk a round a very cold and crowded CUS, it's too cold to go outside!Watch TV, the earthquake news is terrible, poor folks! Talk with others as they western trains come and go and the lounge stays pretty full no doubt due to the extreme cold inside the station!Soon they announce the boarding of the CL#30 so we are led through the station, not outside through the side door as usual, due to the cold and ice on the platform they say!

Tues 1/12/10 CL#30 CHI-WAS Room#8/Sleeper 3000 (Tennesse)Superliner II

Met by SCA Larry, a friendly OBS with a definite NY accent!Hes made me a 7:00PM dinner rez, we roll out about 7PM on a half-full train on this cold and dark night! The consist is: 2 engines/baggage/trans-dorm/2 sleepers/CCC (still no diner)/SSL/2 coaches. Dinner is the steak, not bad, take a nice hot shower and go to bed after Elkhart,IN, interesting to see the NYCentral Museum that others have commented on. Is it worth a visit some day?Wake up briefly in the Toledo/Cleveland stops, up for good @ Pittsburgh on a cold/damp dreary morning. Didnt try to visit the station which is upstairs due to the cold. WE roll out on time, heading through PA into MD, lots of snow/ice and a dreary morning as the sun slowly comes up. Go for breakfast "brunch", then hang in the lounge as we go through the really nice scenery even if it it is snowy and very cold, must be great in summer/spring/fall!Nice to see the oldest US station and roundhouse in Martinsburg, the sun is now out, I go and have a Steakburger for the lunch part of "brunch" as we roll into Harpers Ferry which looks like a really great place to visit and explore in the summer! :lol: Roll into the DC burbs, boy has it grown since I was here back in the day!Rockville used to be in the sticks!  Soon can see the WAS monument and the Cap dome as we pull into the yards and into a crowded WAS Union Ststion on this cold and sunny day! Up the platform, grab the checked bag and head to the CA! A nice trip!

Put my bags in the storeage room, take a visit around the mall, er, station, large crowds!Still wish the place was more a rail station than a mall but @ least it gets used unlike too many other old gems!Walk out front, it's too cold to walk over to THE MALL (the outside real one!) so go down to the food court, it's very crowded even though it's after 2PM, a few familiar joints, some new ones and sticker shock, forgot about the NY prices! :lol: Have a nice Pasta Dish and Diet Coke and head back to the lounge to kick back. Still terrible news about the poor earthquake victims, how sad!There is a crew in the CA working on a re-design, they are from BOS and say there will be a remodling of the whole lounge, lighting, decor and furniture soon, perhaps even giant screen TVs, a bigger and better biz center and more of a snack area! Lots of folks try to bring food into the lounge but it's not like CHI, they are told to eat outside the lounge. Get by on Pretzels, Diet Pepsi and Gold fish. Meet Paul M in the CA, didn't know he was on the CL, he's heading for FLA on a Silver Train which is delayed and he tells me that he got WIFI on the train up in the wilds on WVA/MD, imagine that!Soon it's time to board, they lead us out the side door to our train, down the escelator and load up as we walk down the very cold platform to the rear of the train on #19! 

WED 1/13/10 WAS-NOL Crescent #19 Room #2/Sleeper 1911 (Palasides View)Viewliner

Meet our SCA, Rene, very helpful/friendly guy, now lives in NY, from NOL! He's made a 7:30 diner rez, I walk the train, the consist is;

2 engines/baggage/3 coaches (1 deadhead)/cafe-lounge/diner-lite/2 sleepers.(1910/1911),were the tail end of the train, a first for me on a Viewliner!

Have the chicken, it's not bad for a heat and eat meal, hit the sack after Lynchburg as we roll down the line on a cold/snowy dark night, wake-up briefly in Charlotte, sleep through Greenville,SC (where my dad was from, ridden many times too/from there to WAS), awake as the sun is coming up as we pull into a Cold,icy ATL, heavy traffic on the 85, what else is new! A quick shower, get off for some cold air, dont go up to the station, a large crowd has gotten off here, more boarding. Go back as we roll out, have breakfast (usual omelette and trimmings with grits), head down the line through icy/cold but sunny piney wodds seeing interesting streams/villages/ etc. as we head into Alabama. Surprised to see a big Honda Plant in Alabama, we pull into Birmingham on time, looks like the downtown has seen better days, dont go downstairs to the station, we dont stay long , on ly 5 minutes!

Have lunch (special sandwich) as we roll past the U of A (ROLL TIDE!  ),on down the line for Mississippi. Its a cold, sunny day, still some ice but the snow is now gone.AN early dinner is announced in Laurel,MS (Nawlins awaits with great food as the LSA says) have some RAGU on rice for a snack, not bad but the real stuff is coming up for those that are staying and going out!We roll into the dark night as we hit the swamps and into La., the AGR award runs out in SDL but I'm allowed to stay in my room by the conductor and SCA as the traveler has said, ride on a Paid coach ticket across the lake, through the gritty part of the city and we back into the station 30 minutes down, I share a cab with my neighbor, who is on his first LD train ride to LAX and loving it to the Drury Inn and Suites on Poydras, booked through Orbitz, it's a real deal and a great place to stay!)The dispatcher and the drivers try their usual fleece the tourists hustle telling us its $30 for 2, the real fare is $12!!!If it wasnt so col and rainy and dark I'd walk but it's worth it for this time of night!

A really nice room, hot shower, free snacks and drinks in the lobby, hit the sack early, the place is jammed with folks in town for the big game on Sat (Go Saints!!), sleepike a baby, have a nice hot breakfast, pack up, talk a walk around town on sunny and warming up morning.)(Rain due tonight!)Head back to the hotel, saddle up and walk the 6 blocks to the station, check my bag to AUS and head to the Magnificent "Magnolia Room" (there's no Magnolias! :lol: )snag one of the few seats, it soon fills up, have some coffee(that,water a small TV and magazines from the 80s make up the amenities!)

My neighbor from the night before arrives in a cab just in time (he overslept) the Amtrak Police and Conductor talk with us, Conductor pulls the tickets and we go out to board #1, The Sunset Ltd. @ 11:30AM. It's starting to rain and has warmed up.An FRA Business car (looks brand new) is parked next to us with an older looking diner that also belongs to the FRA, must be an urgernt reason to be in NOL (is there a game this weekend? :lol: )!Goodbye to a brief stay in the Big Easy!!

Friday 1/15/10 NOL-SAS SSL#1 Room #2/Sleeper 0130 (Superliner II)

Our SCA Brian, a vet that used to work the CZ, greets us, a most friendly and professional guy!( Amtrak will hear about him!)Its raining as we make the long slow pull over the Huey Long bridge, the work continues on adding vehicle lanes so the traffic is heavy with one lane in each direction!I have luch once we are over the bridege and roll through a wet/swampy run through La. Hop off for some air in Layfette, we roll on through Lake Charles, into Texas via Orange and into the infamous Beaumont slab where several vehicle are waiting in the dark and cold rain for pax that are detraining and some are getting on!I have dinner (the NY strip isnt bad!  )and we pull into HOS early, spend 1 and 1/2 hours, walk around the station looking @ the old RR timetables/maps etc. on display here. There is a private varnish set called "Creative Charters" parked next to us, I've seen it before on the TE. A dome/

platform car and a sleeper/diner. Looks new even though it's a rehab! Bet it's pricey to rent!

Go to sleep as we roll out for SAS on a dark,rainy night! The tracks seem smoother than last summer, perhaps UP has been working on them, they used to be rough as a cobb through here (OLD SP)!A couple starts a yelling/screaming fight that wakes everyone up about midnight, Brian and the conductor tell them theyll be put off @ the next town if they dont pipe down, they do! (The next town is Nowheresville, Texas! :lol: )We pull into SAS on time, it's 3AM

so time for a 4 hour wait in the AMSHAK with the grand old Sunset Depot sitting empty next door!  Already crowded with pax waiting for the west bound SSL#1 to leave @ 5:40AM and the Eagle due out @ 7AM. As the night progresses more and more folks arrive, they actually let people wait in the baggage and crew part of the station there are so many!(Charter busses bring tour groups and a Girl Scout troup arrives to ride to AUS!)I watch them switch the cut out cars from the TE#21 from the night before, hook them to the rear of #1 (1 coach/1 sleeper).The train pulls out on time @ 5:40AM, Brian had told me it would be full, someone was already in my room by 4AM (they allow early boarders on the SSL but not the Eagle??)Finally after watching bad infommercials on TV, having a diet coke (the seats make it impossible to sleep in this AMSHAK!) they announce the train, we load @ 6:45 on a sunny and cold morning!(Line up @ the poles folks!)The SAS station crew is friendly and effcient, the place just is too small!!)

SAT 1/16/10 TE#22 SAS-AUS Coach/Superliner

We back out, highball about 15 minutes down, the train is very crowded, the car is good and warm I have a seat by myself by the window, watch as we roll up through flooded creeks,farmland and a stop in San Marcos, my old hometown where more people get on from the Platform with a picnic table station in the cold and damp! Past the factory with the old Lone Star Special cars used as officies (I think Tom or Eric showed pics of these one time?),

into AUS on time @ 9:15AM, a another large crowd waiting to board, Stacy's smiley face is waiting, I get my checked bag from the coach/baggage and we roll through the usual heavy Austion traffic South towards home! A good trip, time to plan the next one when it's warmer, earn some more AGR points (hope they keep the promos coming!How bout double or triple points! :lol: ),want to ride the CZ and the Cardinal when it's warmer before the summer rush, snow and sun appeals to me! Glad to be back, ready to go again as the_traveler says!


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## the_traveler (Jan 17, 2010)

Good report, but ...



jimhudson said:


> I wanted the Cardinal but getting a room on #50 is as easy as getting in to see President Obama, opps, bad comparison! :lol:


I got a room on #50 *TWICE*  - and on an AGR award both times! So I'm 2 for 2 in rooms on #50!


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## Long Train Runnin' (Jan 17, 2010)

sounds like a great trip! you got a lot of miles down!


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## AlanB (Jan 20, 2010)

jimhudson said:


> WED 1/13/10 WAS-NOL Crescent #19 Room #2/Sleeper 1911 (Palasides View)Viewliner
> Meet our SCA, Rene, very helpful/friendly guy, now lives in NY, from NOL! He's made a 7:30 diner rez, I walk the train, the consist is;
> 
> 2 engines/baggage/3 coaches (1 deadhead)/cafe-lounge/diner-lite/2 sleepers.(1910/1911),were the tail end of the train, a first for me on a Viewliner!


You had a diner-lite on this train instead of a real diner? :unsure: Was the service area in the middle of the car, with seats on both sides? Or were there seats only on one side, with the kitchen at the other end of the car. It would be very unusual to see a diner-lite on this run.


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## Bob Dylan (Jan 20, 2010)

AlanB said:


> jimhudson said:
> 
> 
> > WED 1/13/10 WAS-NOL Crescent #19 Room #2/Sleeper 1911 (Palasides View)Viewliner
> ...


As usual you are correct Alan, that will teach me to learn to read my own notes, my arthritis and the bumpy tracks caused me to do even a worse job than usual of jotting down my train notes! :lol: (of course it was a regular diner!)


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