Sunset Ltd - San Antonio to New Orleans.

[Bharat R]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and to long distance Amtrak travel. Previous journeys have been on the NE corridor (NYC to Washington/Boston/Pittsburgh) all in coach. AM traveling on Sunset Ltd from San Antonio to New Orleans next week. Will be in a roomette. My questions are as follows

- What will the composition of the train be from San Antonio to New Orleans? i.e. how many cars and what kind? Approx how many superliners? Will there be a sighteseer lounge?

- Related to the above - It appears that Texas Eagle & Sunset ltd run combined to/from LA to San Antonio. So does the train get a lat smaller in San Antonio?

- What is the earliest time they will let me board at San Antonio? The combined train comes in at 9.30 and leaves only at 11.55.

- It appears that Texas Eagle from Chicago gets in at 9.55. So how does San Antonio handle the two trains? How many platforms does it have?

- What can I expect on the run from San Antonio? Is it a double line or are they stretches where it is a single line? Will I see a lot of freight traffic? Any specific scenic highlights to be aware of?

Regards,

Bharat

 

[Devil's Advocate]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

I travel the SL a few times each year, but those trips are all out west, so I can only answer a few questions here.

- What will the composition of the train be from San Antonio to New Orleans? i.e. how many cars and what kind? Approx how many superliners? Will there be a sighteseer lounge?- Related to the above - It appears that Texas Eagle & Sunset ltd run combined to/from LA to San Antonio. So does the train get a lat smaller in San Antonio?

I believe the Sunset Limited arrived with nine cars the last time I rode it, and all but the baggage car were Superliners, including a sightseer lounge. Assuming the SL loses two cars to the Texas Eagle I suppose you'd have seven cars or so heading toward NOL. I'm sure I'll be corrected if that's incorrect. h34r: The actual type and number of cars on any given run can vary slightly depending on bad orders and seasonal adjustments.

What is the earliest time they will let me board at San Antonio?

I typically arrive just before departure so I don't really know. Since both the SL and TE arrive late at night and leave early the following morning it sure would be nice to be able to board early and simply sleep on the train instead of having to rush to the station in the wee hours of the morning. When I inquired about this with the station staff they told me that it's up to the conductor and that he generally won't let anyone board until a half hour or so before departure.

- It appears that Texas Eagle from Chicago gets in at 9.55. So how does San Antonio handle the two trains? How many platforms does it have?

I've never stuck around to see the switching process. San Antonio has two tracks for passenger trains with a platform between them. At least one of those tracks extends alongside the Alamo Dome and can be used for staging.

Hope that helps?

 

[jim hudson]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and to long distance Amtrak travel. Previous journeys have been on the NE corridor (NYC to Washington/Boston/Pittsburgh) all in coach. AM traveling on Sunset Ltd from San Antonio to New Orleans next week. Will be in a roomette. My questions are as follows

- What will the composition of the train be from San Antonio to New Orleans? i.e. how many cars and what kind? Approx how many superliners? Will there be a sighteseer lounge?

- Related to the above - It appears that Texas Eagle & Sunset ltd run combined to/from LA to San Antonio. So does the train get a lat smaller in San Antonio?

- What is the earliest time they will let me board at San Antonio? The combined train comes in at 9.30 and leaves only at 11.55.

- It appears that Texas Eagle from Chicago gets in at 9.55. So how does San Antonio handle the two trains? How many platforms does it have?

- What can I expect on the run from San Antonio? Is it a double line or are they stretches where it is a single line? Will I see a lot of freight traffic? Any specific scenic highlights to be aware of?

Regards,

Bharat

The Sunset Ltd. from LA-NOL is all Superliner, usually will have 2 engines, baggage car, transdorm sleepr, a revenue sleeper from LA-NOl, a regular diner,a Sightseer Lounge (occasional a CCC will replace),two LA-NOL coaches, this is train #2.

At the rear of the train will be a coach and a revenue sleeper, Train #422 tthat will be cut out, spend the night in SAS, be hooked to the Eagle/Train #22/#422 that leaves at 7:00AM for CHI the next morning! Your train, as you said, leaves around 11:55PM (not before)

for NOL, you will be able to board your sleeper once the switching is done and the SCA has the room ready if someone has occupied your room from points West.

Alrerady mentioned the switching in SAS, there is one platform in SAS, the Sunset will be next to the station, the Eagle on the next track away from the station on the far side of the Sunset. From SAS to Houston you will be in the dark, the layover in Houston,depending on the arrival time may be up to an hour if early, check with the SCA if you get off, dont go far from train side, the station isnt much to write home about but has some interestin pics and brochures from the old days on the walls from various railroads= that served Houston. The tracks are v ery rough in spots between SAS and Houston, old SP, now UP maintained. The freight yartds are faiuirly extensive in SAS and Houston but usually you woint see that many freights, business is starting to pick up somewhat.

As to scenery, from Houston-NOL, youll see the infamous Beaumont station, a crumbling

cement slab!, then get into the swamps andf bayous of Louisiana, go through rice fields,and upon approaching NOl will cross the Huey Long Bridge, downtown is on the right hand side, you want to be in the Sightseer Lounge for this crossing! You will wind around through the less scenic parts of NOL, past the superDome and back into the station which also serves Greyhound! Hope this helps, the food and service is usually good on this route, lots of Senior OBS!!

 

[gregoryla]

I'm planning a trip on the Sunset Limited from LAX to Houston in January, so I'll add my thanks for all the answers and help. In my case, the train arrives Houston (or I should say, is scheduled to arrive Houston) at 4:40 am. I'll have a couple hour wait until my wife arrives to pick me up. What is the Houston station like? Is there a coffee or snack bar there that is open that early? Anything within walking distance (on Google it looks pretty isolated)?

 

[henryj]

The Sunset Ltd. from LA-NOL is all Superliner, usually will have 2 engines, baggage car, transdorm sleepr, a revenue sleeper from LA-NOl, a regular diner,a Sightseer Lounge (occasional a CCC will replace),two LA-NOL coaches, this is train #2.

What you can expect is a train that is slow slow and more slow particularly between Beaumont and New Orleans. When I rode #1 last August the track was quite smooth between San Antonio and Houston and we arrived in San Antonio an hour early. It's only 200 miles and the schedule is for 5 hours. It usually takes less than four. If that happens in Houston, do not leave the station. The Houston station is located under a freeway bridge in a crummy part of town. There are some nice displays inside to look at. You will arrive at 4:40 in the morning or earlier if on time. It's still dark until amost 7am. Personally, I would just get some good zzzzz's while the train is not bouncing around and have breadfast when you wake up around Beaumont. I would not even attempt to get off in Houston. There isn't much to see between Houston and Beaumont anyway. The scenery is coastal plain and Bayou country all the way to New Orleans. The best views are crossing the Huey Long bridge over the Mississippi going into New Orleans as Jim states. However, there are numerous little stations that you stop at along the way that are worth seeing. The train has to slow down to 30mph or so through each and every town in Louisiana making for some slow going and the schedule is heavily padded due to the UP's and BNSF's poor handling of the train. That is why it takes around 9 hours to go only 360 miles between Houston and New Orleans. You pass numerous chemical plants and lots of local yards to serve them. There is no telling what you may see as Texas is a repository for every piece of obsolete and junk motive power the UP has and also KCS and BNSF have trackage rights on the line. The route by the way is all single track with numerous passing sidings. It's an interesting ride, but nothing like the NEC. Relax in the lounge car, have a leisurely lunch and enjoy the ride. The crews are friendly and the food in the diner is good. I have taken this train a few times but it is so slow I prefer to drive or fly. Driving Houston to NOL takes only 6 hours or less on I10 and flying is one hour. Once they implement daily service with the coach only trains the schedule is supposed to be speeded up and at more reasonable hours....but don't hold your breath for that to happen soon. The Sunset Limited west of San Antonio is a totally different animal. The train moves along smartly and the scenery is much better.

 

[Bharat R]

Thanks for all the replies - this is very helpful and detailed. We are a group of 6 traveling from San Antonio to NOL. I am the one that came up with the train idea and the others are yet to warm to it with frames of mind ranging from skeptical to lukewarm to indifferent (only the 3 yr old in the group is close to my levels of enthusiasm). While browsing today I had a panic attack - that a large part of the train including the sightseer lounge would go away to Texas Eagle and we'd be left with a stub of a train with just the sleepers & a dining car at most. Doesn't look anywhere near as bad as that now.

The route by the way is all single track with numerous passing sidings

So does this mean SL has to stop for trains passing in the opposite direction? I have traveled extensively by train in India where single lines are fairly common and the "crossings" as they are called (one train on a siding for another to pass in the opposite direction) can be quite spectacular and a railfan's delight. It is not uncommon to have 24 car passenger trains and having one blast past at 60-70 miles/hr can be exhilirating especially when you are also trying to figure out which train it is, what kind of locos are involved, which loco shed they belong to etc. etc.

 

[George Harris]

The route by the way is all single track with numerous passing sidings

So does this mean SL has to stop for trains passing in the opposite direction? I have traveled extensively by train in India where single lines are fairly common and the "crossings" as they are called (one train on a siding for another to pass in the opposite direction) can be quite spectacular and a railfan's delight. It is not uncommon to have 24 car passenger trains and having one blast past at 60-70 miles/hr can be exhilirating especially when you are also trying to figure out which train it is, what kind of locos are involved, which loco shed they belong to etc. etc.

Yes, there are numerous "crossing loops" to use the British terminology, or "sidings" to use American terminology. Some of the time the Sunset will stop, and some of the time the other train will be stopped. If everything goes well, the trains will merely go slow without stopping completely where the switches are power operated.

Although this line was for many years Southern Pacific, actually subsidiary Texas and New Orleans, there is now multiple ownership of the tracks. Between San Antonio and Iowa Jct, a point about 10 miles east of Lake Charles LA the line is Union Pacific. Between Iowa Jct. and West Bridge Junction, which is a few miles west of the Mississippi River crossing at New Orleans and the New Orleans station, the railroad is the New Orleans Public Belt, which is, I think, owned by the city.

The high point of the trip, in every sense of the word, is the crossing of the Mississippi River on the Huey P. Long bridge. at the main spans over the river, the tracks are 135 feet above the river. The bridge is a combined railroad and highway bridge. For most of its life the main spans over the river carried the tracks inside the truss with the roadways hung outside the truss on both sides. It now has, or is under construction to soon have four truss lines with the railroad still in the middle, but with an additional truss line on each side so the roadways are now or soon will be three lanes of modern standard width instead of two lanes of the minimum width allowed in 1935.

Also, in your trek through the swamps of south Louisiana there are several draw bridges over other streams, most of which must be crossed at relatively slow speeds. The largest drawbridge is not in Louisiana, but across the Neches River which is on the east side of Beaumont. Going across south Louisiana gives you the feel of being in a different country.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I just wanted to say that if your fellow travelers are cold or indifferent to passenger train travel and are unfamiliar with foreign trains then that might actually be a benefit in the long run. If they're not expecting much then there's less chance they'll be extremely disappointed. These days the Sunset Limited has been doing better with on-time performance that is reasonable to many travelers. The poor nutritional quality of the food remains my primary complaint but that can be addressed in part by bringing your own food on-board. The staff can be friendly or unresponsive depending on the crew. I have found it rare for the Sunset Limited to be routinely delayed for freight traffic in recent years, although again that's out west and subject to change at UP's and BNSF's whims.

 

[had8ley]

One of the "high" points of the leg between Houston and New Orleans besides the Huey P. Long is Customs/Border Patrol agents usually get on in Lake Charles and let their doggies sniff around for funny stuff.I asked one of the agents one time if he wanted access to my room, to which he politely declined, as he said his dog was so good that he had previously smelled out a drug filled room from downstairs and the room was upstairs !!!

 

[George Harris]

Considering the new scanning (X-ray or molestation) at airports and reactions I have heard, anybody that has not should make their rail travel reservations NOW.

 

[Bharat R]

Thanks for all the information. The trip went well. Here's the link to my trip report

http://bartnj.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/dec-5-trip-report-of-a-train-journey-san-antonio-to-new-orleans/

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I'm glad to hear it went well and that you might try it again sometime. Next time you might want to try the California Zephyr or the Coast Starlight if you felt the Sunset Limited was a little dull.