Sat 5/08/10 Crescent #19 PHL-NOL
Boarding from the CA via elevator @3:30PM in 30th St. Station after a great NTD with the AU gang!(See NTD PHL post) Bill H has room#4 in Sleeper #1910,I'm in #4 in Sleeper #1911, Ocean View. We roll out on time heading South on a windy and partly cloudy day. My SCA will prove to be not quiet up to Bills in the other car as will be apparent farther on in this report! We stop briefly in Willmington (Amtrak Joe nowhere to be seen),roll down to Baltimore, an Acela blows past us which later on we find out had Ryan on it, and he took pics of us going past BWI, look forward to seeing them!Stop briefly in DC. the train fills up pretty quickly, a windy, cool day, have to get a jacket to stay on the platform! All the private varnish seen from the day before is gone, no sign of NTD on the platforms but Amtrak crews servicing the train say it was a huge crowd today!Roll on out, Bill and I take the first dinner call @ 6PM in the diner. Bill came back and got me since my SCA was nowhere to be seen and no announcement was heard!Enjoyed talking with Bill, we had the really delicious Crab Cakes and all the trimmings! Friendly efficient service from the diner crew on this train!
Since Bill had loaned me some old Southern RR Timetables from the 50s,60s and 70s per my request we discussed them, and equipment and routes from the old days! Most enjoyable, Bill and I had some similar experiences, different roads but similar times!I learned alot from Bill! After the Lyncburg stop we went to our rooms, Bill to sleep and me to study more of the timetables, took a shower, put down the top bunk like I always do on a Viewliner (the Vanishing SCA was nowwhere to be found!)Slept good, only woke up once, in Charolette,NC, awoke as we approached ATL @ 6AM, we were going to be early which is not good on a LD train IMHO!
Bill and I ate breakfast (French Toast for me, juice and coffee, good as usual, it was even hot!)We waited a few minutes close to the station, as we rolled in Bill showed me the building he lived in! We detrained, I went up to the station with Bill, it was my first time, not bad, it was bigger than it looked from down below, a fairly large crowd waiting to board! Bill left for home on a sunny and warm day, I went back down and watched the coach pax board, a couple of people boarded the sleepers, we rolled out on time heading for NOL!
My car had no juice,coffee or ice, I went to the 1911 car, found plenty of all three and the SCA was making up beds, talking with the new boarders etc. She told me my SCA was probably "asleep" since she was always tired! I rode in the cafe/lounge, met and talked with some very interesting folks including an Aussie couple touring America, they were loving it they told us!Talked with a Vietnam vet from Alabama, worked @ the Anniston Depot, said that that and the Honda and Mercdes plants and the Space Center and Army base were the only decent jobs in Alabama!Also some couples heading for NOL for party vacations and the usual suspects (no alcohol, it's Sunday in the South! )some whom were friendly and some who were out of it!Rolled into BHM, I went down into the "station", the_traveler and Bill H are right, theres no there there anymore! Downtown BHM seems like a Ghost town!
We roll out on time, have a light lunch of Turkey sandwich and Ice Cream as we roll through Tuscaloosa (Roll Tide!), wheres the town, seems small!
On into Mississippi on a sunny,breezy day, into Meridian, a quick stop, step off for some fresh air, it ends upo being a 30 minute dwell while we wait on a freight! Then it's on down the line to Laurel,Hattiesburg where the only call for diner is announced, I have the chicken all by itself, will eat a late dinner in NOL! We then go into the hole waiting on freights, sit for an hour right outside Hattiesburg! Finally roll out,heading for NOL!
Once we reach Picayune we are 2 hours down so Highball on down the line after deboarding a fairly large number of coach pax! As we cross a bridge on the Ms/La border the train goes into Emergency Stop! Turns out some kids were playing on the bridge and had to jump off as the train speed by! After the conductors checked the train we rolled out for Slidell, dropped a few more pax and started the long run across the Causeway into NOL which seems like being on a boat to me!Its growing dark, we are 2 1/2 HRS down, wind our way through the city, back into the Station and hit the stop @9:45PM,2 HRs. and 15 minutes down! A fairly good trip on the Crescent!For the second time ever No tip for the Invisible SCA! Catch a cab to the La Quinta Inn and Suites on Camp St. , great deal from Orbitz for $64,its listed as a $300 Suite! Quick shower, unpack, go over to Coops Place for some Oysters, Rabbit Jambalaya and a couple of cold adult beverages! Very good and a nice price for the Quarter, highly recommended!(Its on Decatur past Jackson Square!)Back to the hotel, watch the weather, check AU on the free computers in the biz center, hit the hay for a good nights sleep! (Why isnt the bed moving? :lol: )
Monday 5/10/10 Sunset Ltd. #1 NOL-SAS/ Tue 5/11/10 TE#22 SAS-AUS
After a free breakfast @ the hotel, take a walk on a sunny, cool (for New Orleans!)morning over to Cafe Du Monde for some plasma!(Bet you can't eat just one! )Walk through the Quarter on the way back, stop for supplies @ the Quarter grocery (I dislike Pepsi, Diet Coke is better! )return to the hotel, check out and walk the six short blocks to Union Station, check my suitcase and notice the inside restrooms are finished and they are clean and in fine shape! No signs of street people, lots of law around the station, a Greyhound loads, our train set is being supplied and made ready out front! The coach attendant sets up by the gate about 11AM, gives out seat assignments (I get a good window seat in the back 1/3 of the train on the good (left side),only 2 coaches on the train!The train is mostly full they say which is good news, perhaps itll help keep a daily train to SAS when the new Eagle CHI-LAX starts someday! In a few minutes a guy in a Crescent T-Shirt (they are sold on the train) asks me if Im who Iam, it's Hytec, hes riding to LAX for his grandsons graduation in the sleeper! We talk a little, he goes to the magnificent Magnolia Room (well there's one painted on the sign! :lol: )it's over full, lots of folks sitting in the main lobby to have a seat, avoid the crowding in the small room!Soon it's time to board, the sleeper crowd goes first, then us!Hytec and I will meet in the SSL once aboard to have good seats for crossing the Huey Long Bridge! We roll out on time, the coach attendant (Joe) is pretty sharp, he has a route map taped by the stairs with a clock and time that each stop will be coming and keeps it updated as we roll down the line. Passes out pillows, checks with everyone, hes working two cars but doing a bang up job, best Ive ever seen! (Amtrak will hear from me about his Superior service!)
As we roll out I go to the lounge, Hytec is already there, has his camera ready and we roll slowly through the city, start the climb up and over the HueyLong which is still a thrill to cross even after so many times in both a car and the train! (The train is better! ) After the crossing we go have lunch'in the diner, I have the turkey sandwich and tea (it's good, use the AGR MC for points, a trick I learned from the_traveler,we eat with a couple from SC going to LAX, then up the coast on the CS! Interesting folks, originally from NY, they love the South, dont miss the winters!Hytec and I then go take a nap, he to the sleeper, me to the comfortable coach seat which I have by myself! We meet up @6PM for dinner in the diner, I have the Veggie Pasta which is Spinach and is delicious, again pass on dessert watching my figure! :lol: Hytec and I discuss life experiences, tell a few war stories as we stop @ the infamous station in Beaumont,we'd been joined by a single lady from NY and a professor from Kansas traveling to SAS from NOL, interesting talk about the South vs. North with me disagreeing about some aspects of Southern Life but in a friendly way, dont think anyone was offended even if we had a different perspective! When rolled into Houston an hour early so had a 2 hour dwell in the old SP Station. Went in an looked @ the wall mounted pics and timetables/pics etc. of old time trains and stations in HOS and Texas. Hytec and I walked the train, talked some more about trains etc. A this time a guy came up and asked if we were Hytec and jimhudson, it was Varnish traveling with his wife to LAX on a great trip! Hes a Canadian and we discuss the VIA trains briefly vs. Amtrak, good to meet another friendly trainfan,especially a Canuck! It's time to roll, they board the sleeper, I get onto my coach (the train has filled up fairly full, the sleepers are full!)and go to sleep as we ll roll out through the yards and suburbs of Houston right on time! The tracks seem a little smoother, only a couple of switch bumps as we go over and I sleep until we enter the Kirby yards on the edge of SAS, we'd gone in the hole waiting on #2 to pass heading to NOL and a couple of freights but arrive right on schedule @3AM! (Darn it, was hoping wed be down on time due to the 4 Hr. layover!) Enter the small Sunset Jr. station, the chairs have been rearranged, the TV is playing a good movie instead of dreadful infomercials or kid shows and old sitcoms. The bathrooms have been painted and are clean, the homeless either have left for other places or are kept out, only see one out on the platform he asks for change, the agents run him off! Lots of folks waiting on #1 for LAX and also starting to come in already for #22 @7AM for points North! I see my bag taken off and placed for loading on #22 which is parked on track #2 next to the Sunset! The cut out sleeper and coach from last nights#21 from CHI is hooked up to the rear of #1! At 5AM they allow boarding of #1, by this time the station is full and more arriving! What a shame that the beautiful and historic Sunset Station is sitting empty next door, only used for banquets and concerts!
At 5:40AM #1 rolls out for LAX, we await #22 which is being switched to track #1, the luggage is loaded, all the tests are done, the OBS and crew show up (they stay next to the station in a nice high rise hotel),I know them all from so many rides on the Eagle out of Austin. Finally @ 6:30AM we are told to line up @ the Red Poles, seat checks are given, I snag a window seat in the last coach and right on time @ 7AM we roll out heading North (actually backing out of the station! :lol: )I go to sleep once we high ball through the yards heading North, wake up briefly @ the San Marcos stop (my old hometown), more board the train and we roll out for Austin on a Sunny warm morning! Pull into the station early @ 9:00AM (What UP trackwork? :lol: ),large crowd waiting to board, I pick up my bag (we have checked baggage in Austin now and 7 day service!) Stacy rolls up @9:30 (the scheduled arrival time), glad to see her, we head out,she takes me home and I hit the sack after a shower ,sleep all day! Wake up, start thinking about and planning the next trip! Another great journey over too soon and got to meet really fantastic people! (You too traveler! :lol: )
(Triple points for Bar-B-Q runs to TAY will commence Thursday, continue until 5/28/10, 7turnarounds, $84, 4,550 points, Priceless!!!
Boarding from the CA via elevator @3:30PM in 30th St. Station after a great NTD with the AU gang!(See NTD PHL post) Bill H has room#4 in Sleeper #1910,I'm in #4 in Sleeper #1911, Ocean View. We roll out on time heading South on a windy and partly cloudy day. My SCA will prove to be not quiet up to Bills in the other car as will be apparent farther on in this report! We stop briefly in Willmington (Amtrak Joe nowhere to be seen),roll down to Baltimore, an Acela blows past us which later on we find out had Ryan on it, and he took pics of us going past BWI, look forward to seeing them!Stop briefly in DC. the train fills up pretty quickly, a windy, cool day, have to get a jacket to stay on the platform! All the private varnish seen from the day before is gone, no sign of NTD on the platforms but Amtrak crews servicing the train say it was a huge crowd today!Roll on out, Bill and I take the first dinner call @ 6PM in the diner. Bill came back and got me since my SCA was nowhere to be seen and no announcement was heard!Enjoyed talking with Bill, we had the really delicious Crab Cakes and all the trimmings! Friendly efficient service from the diner crew on this train!
Since Bill had loaned me some old Southern RR Timetables from the 50s,60s and 70s per my request we discussed them, and equipment and routes from the old days! Most enjoyable, Bill and I had some similar experiences, different roads but similar times!I learned alot from Bill! After the Lyncburg stop we went to our rooms, Bill to sleep and me to study more of the timetables, took a shower, put down the top bunk like I always do on a Viewliner (the Vanishing SCA was nowwhere to be found!)Slept good, only woke up once, in Charolette,NC, awoke as we approached ATL @ 6AM, we were going to be early which is not good on a LD train IMHO!
Bill and I ate breakfast (French Toast for me, juice and coffee, good as usual, it was even hot!)We waited a few minutes close to the station, as we rolled in Bill showed me the building he lived in! We detrained, I went up to the station with Bill, it was my first time, not bad, it was bigger than it looked from down below, a fairly large crowd waiting to board! Bill left for home on a sunny and warm day, I went back down and watched the coach pax board, a couple of people boarded the sleepers, we rolled out on time heading for NOL!My car had no juice,coffee or ice, I went to the 1911 car, found plenty of all three and the SCA was making up beds, talking with the new boarders etc. She told me my SCA was probably "asleep" since she was always tired! I rode in the cafe/lounge, met and talked with some very interesting folks including an Aussie couple touring America, they were loving it they told us!Talked with a Vietnam vet from Alabama, worked @ the Anniston Depot, said that that and the Honda and Mercdes plants and the Space Center and Army base were the only decent jobs in Alabama!Also some couples heading for NOL for party vacations and the usual suspects (no alcohol, it's Sunday in the South!
)some whom were friendly and some who were out of it!Rolled into BHM, I went down into the "station", the_traveler and Bill H are right, theres no there there anymore! Downtown BHM seems like a Ghost town!We roll out on time, have a light lunch of Turkey sandwich and Ice Cream as we roll through Tuscaloosa (Roll Tide!), wheres the town, seems small!
On into Mississippi on a sunny,breezy day, into Meridian, a quick stop, step off for some fresh air, it ends upo being a 30 minute dwell while we wait on a freight! Then it's on down the line to Laurel,Hattiesburg where the only call for diner is announced, I have the chicken all by itself, will eat a late dinner in NOL! We then go into the hole waiting on freights, sit for an hour right outside Hattiesburg! Finally roll out,heading for NOL!
Once we reach Picayune we are 2 hours down so Highball on down the line after deboarding a fairly large number of coach pax! As we cross a bridge on the Ms/La border the train goes into Emergency Stop! Turns out some kids were playing on the bridge and had to jump off as the train speed by! After the conductors checked the train we rolled out for Slidell, dropped a few more pax and started the long run across the Causeway into NOL which seems like being on a boat to me!Its growing dark, we are 2 1/2 HRS down, wind our way through the city, back into the Station and hit the stop @9:45PM,2 HRs. and 15 minutes down! A fairly good trip on the Crescent!For the second time ever No tip for the Invisible SCA!
Catch a cab to the La Quinta Inn and Suites on Camp St. , great deal from Orbitz for $64,its listed as a $300 Suite! Quick shower, unpack, go over to Coops Place for some Oysters, Rabbit Jambalaya and a couple of cold adult beverages! Very good and a nice price for the Quarter, highly recommended!(Its on Decatur past Jackson Square!)Back to the hotel, watch the weather, check AU on the free computers in the biz center, hit the hay for a good nights sleep! (Why isnt the bed moving? :lol: )Monday 5/10/10 Sunset Ltd. #1 NOL-SAS/ Tue 5/11/10 TE#22 SAS-AUS
After a free breakfast @ the hotel, take a walk on a sunny, cool (for New Orleans!)morning over to Cafe Du Monde for some plasma!(Bet you can't eat just one!
)Walk through the Quarter on the way back, stop for supplies @ the Quarter grocery (I dislike Pepsi, Diet Coke is better! )return to the hotel, check out and walk the six short blocks to Union Station, check my suitcase and notice the inside restrooms are finished and they are clean and in fine shape! No signs of street people, lots of law around the station, a Greyhound loads, our train set is being supplied and made ready out front! The coach attendant sets up by the gate about 11AM, gives out seat assignments (I get a good window seat in the back 1/3 of the train on the good (left side),only 2 coaches on the train!The train is mostly full they say which is good news, perhaps itll help keep a daily train to SAS when the new Eagle CHI-LAX starts someday! In a few minutes a guy in a Crescent T-Shirt (they are sold on the train) asks me if Im who Iam, it's Hytec, hes riding to LAX for his grandsons graduation in the sleeper! We talk a little, he goes to the magnificent Magnolia Room (well there's one painted on the sign! :lol: )it's over full, lots of folks sitting in the main lobby to have a seat, avoid the crowding in the small room!Soon it's time to board, the sleeper crowd goes first, then us!Hytec and I will meet in the SSL once aboard to have good seats for crossing the Huey Long Bridge! We roll out on time, the coach attendant (Joe) is pretty sharp, he has a route map taped by the stairs with a clock and time that each stop will be coming and keeps it updated as we roll down the line. Passes out pillows, checks with everyone, hes working two cars but doing a bang up job, best Ive ever seen! (Amtrak will hear from me about his Superior service!)As we roll out I go to the lounge, Hytec is already there, has his camera ready and we roll slowly through the city, start the climb up and over the HueyLong which is still a thrill to cross even after so many times in both a car and the train! (The train is better!
) After the crossing we go have lunch'in the diner, I have the turkey sandwich and tea (it's good, use the AGR MC for points, a trick I learned from the_traveler,we eat with a couple from SC going to LAX, then up the coast on the CS! Interesting folks, originally from NY, they love the South, dont miss the winters!Hytec and I then go take a nap, he to the sleeper, me to the comfortable coach seat which I have by myself! We meet up @6PM for dinner in the diner, I have the Veggie Pasta which is Spinach and is delicious, again pass on dessert watching my figure! :lol: Hytec and I discuss life experiences, tell a few war stories as we stop @ the infamous station in Beaumont,we'd been joined by a single lady from NY and a professor from Kansas traveling to SAS from NOL, interesting talk about the South vs. North with me disagreeing about some aspects of Southern Life but in a friendly way, dont think anyone was offended even if we had a different perspective! When rolled into Houston an hour early so had a 2 hour dwell in the old SP Station. Went in an looked @ the wall mounted pics and timetables/pics etc. of old time trains and stations in HOS and Texas. Hytec and I walked the train, talked some more about trains etc. A this time a guy came up and asked if we were Hytec and jimhudson, it was Varnish traveling with his wife to LAX on a great trip! Hes a Canadian and we discuss the VIA trains briefly vs. Amtrak, good to meet another friendly trainfan,especially a Canuck! It's time to roll, they board the sleeper, I get onto my coach (the train has filled up fairly full, the sleepers are full!)and go to sleep as we ll roll out through the yards and suburbs of Houston right on time! The tracks seem a little smoother, only a couple of switch bumps as we go over and I sleep until we enter the Kirby yards on the edge of SAS, we'd gone in the hole waiting on #2 to pass heading to NOL and a couple of freights but arrive right on schedule @3AM! (Darn it, was hoping wed be down on time due to the 4 Hr. layover!) Enter the small Sunset Jr. station, the chairs have been rearranged, the TV is playing a good movie instead of dreadful infomercials or kid shows and old sitcoms. The bathrooms have been painted and are clean, the homeless either have left for other places or are kept out, only see one out on the platform he asks for change, the agents run him off! Lots of folks waiting on #1 for LAX and also starting to come in already for #22 @7AM for points North! I see my bag taken off and placed for loading on #22 which is parked on track #2 next to the Sunset! The cut out sleeper and coach from last nights#21 from CHI is hooked up to the rear of #1! At 5AM they allow boarding of #1, by this time the station is full and more arriving! What a shame that the beautiful and historic Sunset Station is sitting empty next door, only used for banquets and concerts!At 5:40AM #1 rolls out for LAX, we await #22 which is being switched to track #1, the luggage is loaded, all the tests are done, the OBS and crew show up (they stay next to the station in a nice high rise hotel),I know them all from so many rides on the Eagle out of Austin. Finally @ 6:30AM we are told to line up @ the Red Poles, seat checks are given, I snag a window seat in the last coach and right on time @ 7AM we roll out heading North (actually backing out of the station! :lol: )I go to sleep once we high ball through the yards heading North, wake up briefly @ the San Marcos stop (my old hometown), more board the train and we roll out for Austin on a Sunny warm morning! Pull into the station early @ 9:00AM (What UP trackwork? :lol: ),large crowd waiting to board, I pick up my bag (we have checked baggage in Austin now and 7 day service!) Stacy rolls up @9:30 (the scheduled arrival time), glad to see her, we head out,she takes me home and I hit the sack after a shower ,sleep all day! Wake up, start thinking about and planning the next trip! Another great journey over too soon and got to meet really fantastic people! (You too traveler! :lol: )
(Triple points for Bar-B-Q runs to TAY will commence Thursday, continue until 5/28/10, 7turnarounds, $84, 4,550 points, Priceless!!!
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