The wakeup call comes @ 4AM but Im already up and making coffee,a quick shower/awaken Stacy and we
pack up/saddle up and check out!The clerk assures us that the hotel is trying to change the breakfast @ the
hotel since it doesnt begin until 6AM and they are aware that lots of train pax stay here for the 540AM
departure of SSL#1!
A quick walk across the street to the AMSHACK which is jammed,people out the door and street
characters hanging out and working the crowd(got 50 cents for coffee mister?
The station staff
are overwhelmed due to the crowd and the long night(the station is open 9PM until 715AM),glad we checked our
bags the night before as was suggested on this forum!
We board the train @ 5AM,sleeper 0130,roomette #14 which will be my first time downstairs on a Superliner!
Debbie has coffee and juice out, she asks if we want the room made up(we tell her no, well rest as is)
and step off to watch the action and walk the train.Not being an equipment person I dont write down the
car or engine numbers but the consist is: 2 engines/1 baggage/transition dorm/2 sleepers/diner(a real one! :lol: )
ssl/2 coaches.The station staff is loading baggage(lots of it!!), theres a thunderstorm coming up,lightning,
thunder,debbie and stacy take pics as we watch a long line @ the "red poles" wait to board the train!Another remeinder of why the old Sunset Depot should still be used as a station instead of an entertainment mecca!(Those were the days my friend! )Debbie tells us shes 3 moinths on the job,on the extra board and loves it except for missing her
boyfriend on the long hauls!She says she never knows where shell go until they call her or what duties shell
have but its interesting!Also they offered her a regular route in coach but she says she would rather rotate
so as to keep it interesting!
Finally we have the train loaded,they pull up,back up and they hook the coach and sleeper from TE#21
onto the rear, thoiught they did this earlier but it must be like the EB in SPK??Then we back back into the station and the
conductor announces a short delay while MORE folks are boarde, that it will be a full train clear toLAX!!
Its about 6AM,they announce breakfast in the diner soon as we get out of town,first come, so we head for the
ssl to await the rush to begin and about 6AM we back out of the station,make a couple of manuevers and head
West in the rain and beautiful lightning storm going on!!About 615AM the announcement is made, we grab a
seat in the diner with a friendly couple from England doing the country, Stacy orders the Continental, I have
the Omelet with bacon!Its great for prepared food, good and hot/tasty and great service!The LSA tells us
that due to the crowds we can make Lunch reservations beginning @ 1130AM, we opt for 12 and Stacy heads to the
room for a nap and I walk the train to walk off the chow!Its true, its full and there are no seats in the SSL
and its only 7AM!The rain ends, the sun comes out and we cruise past ranches and small towns with wet roads
and light traffic!Were due into Del Rio about 8:30AM, arrive about 9AM due to freight traffic and the late
start but the ride was smooth,guess UP is fixing up the traks along this part of the route!
We are not allowed to get off here, the conductor announces that the next smoke break will be EL Paso!!!!
that if you get off the next train is Thursday! :lol: Load some more folks, where they put them is a mystery to
me?We roll out about 9:15, I get Stacy,we snag some seats in the SSL and watch Lake Amistad roll by(the border
with Mexico),lots of Border Patrol vehicles aloing the way!Soon we get to the Pecos High Bridge and pass through
Langtry(Judge Roy Bean etc.)Its time for a nap so we head for the room!Before we kn ow it the announcement is
made for Alpine, the place of my birth and where I spent so many pleasnat summers with my grandparents,
my grandfather being a 40 year man with the SP!! Its about 1:30 now, we are not allowed to detrain as
mentioned but some got off and more got on ! :lol: We roll out and I show Stacy the old Toronto section where
my mother grew up(now just trees and rocks on the side of a mountain but you can see the foundations of the
old rr buildings!), then its Paisano Pass where I lived after my birth in Alpine until the end of WW2,that being
my grandfathers section then!Next we rooled throughMarfa, a ranch and railroad town fast becoming a high
dessert Santa Fe full of artists and trendy type folks transforming the town into a meecca of expensive hippness! :angry:
After that its dessert until El Paso with lots of irrigated fruit trees and vegetables etc./small towns typical of border
regions in the west including Fabens where my sister was born!I realized that we passed through all three towns
that my siblings and I were born in on this leg, SAS/ALPINE?FABENS! Small world!Were now in MST also!!
Roll into ELP about on time due to the time change,detrain with all the smokers and see the interesting old red AT&SF
station which a fairly long hike from where the train is spotted!Its very hot and dusty,we just thought we had it bad
in Austin!The station has the AC out, the doors are propped open and the only AC room is where the vending
machines are for pax but they are not working! :lol: Guess its Diet Pepsi for me! The local transportation
company has their offices in most of the station and the nice garden/courtyard us not available to us poor
train pax,reminds me of the pics of the ones in LAUS!!We rr-board the train to escape the heat and soon
all aboard and we roll along the border noticing the holes cut into the new 40 foot fence and look into the
shanty towns and the poor folks so close you could reach out and shake their hands!No wonder theyll risk
all to come here!Some border patrol driving up and down and helicopters in the air also but stillfolks
jumping the ditch(aka Rio Grande)and running into Texas/New Mexico!Cross the border into New Mexico
(interesting that their plates say New Mexico/USA since folks think they are a foriegn land!! :blink:
We had 600PM dinner reservations so soon go to the diner and I order the Flat Iron mystery meat for the
first time and as advertised its Pot Roast, terrible,not worth the $$$,the SAs tell me they dont eat it either to let
AMTRAK know about it/will do for sure!Enjoyed the rest,Stacy enjoyed the Special(some passta dish,the usual
salds and we both had cheescake!)Now a beautiful sunset on the dessert, its been a long day so Debbie makes
up our room and I get to experience skleeping downstairs for the first time!Stacy climbs up top since shes smaller
and I have claustaphobia(shoulda seen me in the Navy aboard ship! :lol: )WQe go to sleep, awake to the announcement thatTuscon is the next stop in ten minutes, roll in 11PM, detrain to strech and go into the interesting long old station,
again a long walk to the gate to the station. As others have said theres a resturant/music club on one end,
the station basically seems unused to be so big!Its very warm still, outside there are a few clubs across the
strret that seem to be a small version of bourbon street and the taxis have the highest rates Ive seen ,I know
its supposed to be a mob town but $3 drop/$2 per 1/9 mile plus waiting time seems pretty high????
We stay aboujt an hour, reboard and roll out,the announcemnt is next stop Maricopa but we go to sleep and
dont awaken until the announcemnt for Palm Springs and Breakfast about 5:15AM.Interesting to see the Salton
Sea(they say it used to be a popular resort in the 40s and 50s)we roll into Palm Springs, a brief stop ,backout and
high ball for Ontario and Pomona!Interesting fruit trees and palm tree farms here, where does the water come
from and who tends them?? :lol: :lol: We eat a Continental breakfast,quick stops in Ontario and Pomona and
enter the haze in the LAXyards, stop and watch lots of Commuter and freight trains pass/criss-cross etc.
Still asrrive @ the Beautiful LAUS about 45 minutes early/keep our luggage checked as someone advised and
toured this magnificent monument to beauty and grace!!In the next Part well discuss Lunch @ Phillipes vs. Coles,
LAX,our hotel experience and getting ready for the CS to MTZ!!
A disclaimer here, my trip notebook seems to have vanished into the haze and Stacys camera with the trip
photos is gone, more on this later!Ill have to rely on my fading 65 year old memory, hope this is not
to long or boring without pics!The crew on SSL#1 were excellent,AMTRAK will hear from us!!!
pack up/saddle up and check out!The clerk assures us that the hotel is trying to change the breakfast @ the
hotel since it doesnt begin until 6AM and they are aware that lots of train pax stay here for the 540AM
departure of SSL#1!
A quick walk across the street to the AMSHACK which is jammed,people out the door and street
characters hanging out and working the crowd(got 50 cents for coffee mister?
The station staffare overwhelmed due to the crowd and the long night(the station is open 9PM until 715AM),glad we checked our
bags the night before as was suggested on this forum!
We board the train @ 5AM,sleeper 0130,roomette #14 which will be my first time downstairs on a Superliner!
Debbie has coffee and juice out, she asks if we want the room made up(we tell her no, well rest as is)
and step off to watch the action and walk the train.Not being an equipment person I dont write down the
car or engine numbers but the consist is: 2 engines/1 baggage/transition dorm/2 sleepers/diner(a real one! :lol: )
ssl/2 coaches.The station staff is loading baggage(lots of it!!), theres a thunderstorm coming up,lightning,
thunder,debbie and stacy take pics as we watch a long line @ the "red poles" wait to board the train!Another remeinder of why the old Sunset Depot should still be used as a station instead of an entertainment mecca!(Those were the days my friend!
)Debbie tells us shes 3 moinths on the job,on the extra board and loves it except for missing herboyfriend on the long hauls!She says she never knows where shell go until they call her or what duties shell
have but its interesting!Also they offered her a regular route in coach but she says she would rather rotate
so as to keep it interesting!
Finally we have the train loaded,they pull up,back up and they hook the coach and sleeper from TE#21
onto the rear, thoiught they did this earlier but it must be like the EB in SPK??Then we back back into the station and the
conductor announces a short delay while MORE folks are boarde, that it will be a full train clear toLAX!!
Its about 6AM,they announce breakfast in the diner soon as we get out of town,first come, so we head for the
ssl to await the rush to begin and about 6AM we back out of the station,make a couple of manuevers and head
West in the rain and beautiful lightning storm going on!!About 615AM the announcement is made, we grab a
seat in the diner with a friendly couple from England doing the country, Stacy orders the Continental, I have
the Omelet with bacon!Its great for prepared food, good and hot/tasty and great service!The LSA tells us
that due to the crowds we can make Lunch reservations beginning @ 1130AM, we opt for 12 and Stacy heads to the
room for a nap and I walk the train to walk off the chow!Its true, its full and there are no seats in the SSL
and its only 7AM!The rain ends, the sun comes out and we cruise past ranches and small towns with wet roads
and light traffic!Were due into Del Rio about 8:30AM, arrive about 9AM due to freight traffic and the late
start but the ride was smooth,guess UP is fixing up the traks along this part of the route!
We are not allowed to get off here, the conductor announces that the next smoke break will be EL Paso!!!!
that if you get off the next train is Thursday! :lol: Load some more folks, where they put them is a mystery to
me?We roll out about 9:15, I get Stacy,we snag some seats in the SSL and watch Lake Amistad roll by(the border
with Mexico),lots of Border Patrol vehicles aloing the way!Soon we get to the Pecos High Bridge and pass through
Langtry(Judge Roy Bean etc.)Its time for a nap so we head for the room!Before we kn ow it the announcement is
made for Alpine, the place of my birth and where I spent so many pleasnat summers with my grandparents,
my grandfather being a 40 year man with the SP!!
Its about 1:30 now, we are not allowed to detrain asmentioned but some got off and more got on ! :lol: We roll out and I show Stacy the old Toronto section where
my mother grew up(now just trees and rocks on the side of a mountain but you can see the foundations of the
old rr buildings!), then its Paisano Pass where I lived after my birth in Alpine until the end of WW2,that being
my grandfathers section then!Next we rooled throughMarfa, a ranch and railroad town fast becoming a high
dessert Santa Fe full of artists and trendy type folks transforming the town into a meecca of expensive hippness! :angry:
After that its dessert until El Paso with lots of irrigated fruit trees and vegetables etc./small towns typical of border
regions in the west including Fabens where my sister was born!I realized that we passed through all three towns
that my siblings and I were born in on this leg, SAS/ALPINE?FABENS!
Small world!Were now in MST also!!Roll into ELP about on time due to the time change,detrain with all the smokers and see the interesting old red AT&SF
station which a fairly long hike from where the train is spotted!Its very hot and dusty,we just thought we had it bad
in Austin!The station has the AC out, the doors are propped open and the only AC room is where the vending
machines are for pax but they are not working! :lol: Guess its Diet Pepsi for me!
The local transportationcompany has their offices in most of the station and the nice garden/courtyard us not available to us poor
train pax,reminds me of the pics of the ones in LAUS!!We rr-board the train to escape the heat and soon
all aboard and we roll along the border noticing the holes cut into the new 40 foot fence and look into the
shanty towns and the poor folks so close you could reach out and shake their hands!No wonder theyll risk
all to come here!Some border patrol driving up and down and helicopters in the air also but stillfolks
jumping the ditch(aka Rio Grande)and running into Texas/New Mexico!Cross the border into New Mexico
(interesting that their plates say New Mexico/USA since folks think they are a foriegn land!! :blink:
We had 600PM dinner reservations so soon go to the diner and I order the Flat Iron mystery meat for the
first time and as advertised its Pot Roast, terrible,not worth the $$$,the SAs tell me they dont eat it either to let
AMTRAK know about it/will do for sure!Enjoyed the rest,Stacy enjoyed the Special(some passta dish,the usual
salds and we both had cheescake!)Now a beautiful sunset on the dessert, its been a long day so Debbie makes
up our room and I get to experience skleeping downstairs for the first time!Stacy climbs up top since shes smaller
and I have claustaphobia(shoulda seen me in the Navy aboard ship! :lol: )WQe go to sleep, awake to the announcement thatTuscon is the next stop in ten minutes, roll in 11PM, detrain to strech and go into the interesting long old station,
again a long walk to the gate to the station. As others have said theres a resturant/music club on one end,
the station basically seems unused to be so big!Its very warm still, outside there are a few clubs across the
strret that seem to be a small version of bourbon street and the taxis have the highest rates Ive seen ,I know
its supposed to be a mob town but $3 drop/$2 per 1/9 mile plus waiting time seems pretty high????
We stay aboujt an hour, reboard and roll out,the announcemnt is next stop Maricopa but we go to sleep and
dont awaken until the announcemnt for Palm Springs and Breakfast about 5:15AM.Interesting to see the Salton
Sea(they say it used to be a popular resort in the 40s and 50s)we roll into Palm Springs, a brief stop ,backout and
high ball for Ontario and Pomona!Interesting fruit trees and palm tree farms here, where does the water come
from and who tends them?? :lol: :lol: We eat a Continental breakfast,quick stops in Ontario and Pomona and
enter the haze in the LAXyards, stop and watch lots of Commuter and freight trains pass/criss-cross etc.
Still asrrive @ the Beautiful LAUS about 45 minutes early/keep our luggage checked as someone advised and
toured this magnificent monument to beauty and grace!!In the next Part well discuss Lunch @ Phillipes vs. Coles,
LAX,our hotel experience and getting ready for the CS to MTZ!!
A disclaimer here, my trip notebook seems to have vanished into the haze and Stacys camera with the trip
photos is gone, more on this later!Ill have to rely on my fading 65 year old memory, hope this is not
to long or boring without pics!The crew on SSL#1 were excellent,AMTRAK will hear from us!!!
