City of New Orleans (train) discussion

[Palmland]

Sometimes a switch engine was part of the process, a thing which Amtrak only has available in a few places.

Most definitely. The sleeper I was in was added at Memphis. A switch engine coupled up and pulled us beyond the yard throat. When the Panama pulled in another engine was moving in behind the observation before the train had stopped and then removed it. My car was quickly added, then the observation and we were off. Quite a performance done in 12 minutes.

But in Amtrak’s mail and express era we lived in Jax. A switch engine was based there to handle it but it also switched out the east and west coast sections of the Silver Star.

 

[ryanwc]

Guess times are not going to get back to the 50s when they had hair dressers and barbers that even gave shaves with straight razors.

Investigator: What happened here?

Barber: Well, the ride got a little bumpy while I was shaving his neck…

 

[Asher]

The story I read about the barbers was about the smooth roadway the train traveled on a particular route in the 50’s. I suppose they were much smoother back then.

 

[Rover]

With the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans being postponed until Thursday, this may affect some folks reservations for sleepers.

The airlines have issued statements about "offering increased flexibility to Customers holding reservations to, from, or through New Orleans, LA (MSY) between January 1-3, 2025."

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/suga...me-after-postponement-amid-new-orleans-attack

 

[Palmland]

With the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans being postponed until Thursday, this may affect some folks reservations for sleepers.

The airlines have issued statements about "offering increased flexibility to Customers holding reservations to, from, or through New Orleans, LA (MSY) between January 1-3, 2025."

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/suga...me-after-postponement-amid-new-orleans-attack

 

[George Harris]

Most definitely. The sleeper I was in was added at Memphis. A switch engine coupled up and pulled us beyond the yard throat. When the Panama pulled in another engine was moving in behind the observation before the train had stopped and then removed it. My car was quickly added, then the observation and we were off. Quite a performance done in 12 minutes.

But in Amtrak’s mail and express era we lived in Jax. A switch engine was based there to handle it but it also switched out the east and west coast sections of the Silver Star.

Even though for the daytime City of New Orleans of the 1960's there was no mention of cars added or subtracted other than the to/from St. Louis cars at Carbondale IL, there was always activity at Memphis northbound. Probably southbound as well, but I was seldom on that train, but fairly regularly on the northbound on Sunday afternoon in my early college days. A RPO was added northbound, and for Sundays at least, a fourth engine. On Sundays, and again I do not know about other days of the week, there were commonly two to four coaches added as well. Since the train had a round end observation car, this meant pull off the observation car, take it and stick it on the back of the coaches to be added and take back and put on the train while another switch engine was adding the RPO and engine on the front end. All this was done in a 10 minute scheduled stop. Remember, at this time it was not just couplers and brake lines, it was also steam lines and communication lines, and for the inside the train people, unhooking and rehooking the protection sheets through the vestibules. We are talking two switch engines and at least 10 men in addition to whatever the train crew itself was doing.