Recent content by nolatron

Stopped at New Orleans UPT today to check out the Exhibit Train. Had pretty much the same table exhibitors from National Train Day in the concourse along with a Large Lionel layout and a Chuggington area for the kids. My 3yr daughter made a beeline for the playset, heh. The Sunset Limited was...

Follow up story: http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2012/01/norco_father_son_killed_in_ken.html Victims were father and son said to be on their way to get a king cake. It's presumed they took the private road to avoid local traffic. It'll never be known if they even saw/heard the train or...

:( This is about 2 miles or so from the house. Here's a local story on it: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/01/one_person_has_been_killed_in_1.html http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Two-dead-after-train-hits-car-near-Kenner---St-Charles-line-137994768.html Occurred on private road, so...

My first ride was shortly after Katrina in 2005. I needed to return to New Orleans by myself for a few days from Houston so I took the opportunity to take a roomette on the Sunset Limited home (and the return the trip too). My first "trip" was in 2010 when I took the Crescent from New Orleans...

Yup. The SSL only runs from Houston to San Antonio on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I checked every MWF from today forward and I get the trip to Dallas with bussing from Fort Worth until Feb 1st. After the 1st the Texas Eagle goes all the way to Dallas.

Oh god. I couldn't agree more. Ride home from Chicago last year I got sandwiched between two people. Quite an uncomfortable dinner. I need my happy space/elbow room. Those tables get pretty small too once you get 3 people's worth of plates on them.

I took an Amtrak weekend trip in 2010 and stopped off for a few hours in Washington D.C on National Train day. Boy was it crowded. I mainly was interested in the equipment display so it was cool getting to walk through an Acela for the first time. For 2011 I stopped at Union Passenger Terminal...

Foam Earplugs work wonders. I used them in my sleeper to drown out ambient sound (car rattles, track noise, people, train horn, etc..).

Looks like one that sat abandoned on the NOPB line here in New Orleans. The LA Steam Association actually owns it though. Pic is from 2005.

Few articles are saying lightning struck a train and disabled power on it. A 2nd train came from behind and struck it. Death toll is up to 32 as well.

I stopped at a Giordano's during a layover in Chicago last year. Best deep dish I've ever had. Too bad my roomette didn't have a mini fridge for leftovers!

You know, I really couldn't say. I think at the time of the trip I was still on the old unlimited data plan so I didn't pay much attention to it.

Man, I'd love to make a mini vacation of the GCR but the cost of simply getting to Williams, AZ is like triple the cost of their packages. Bah!

That might be your cup of tea, but not mine. I go to the diner to eat, not socialize with strangers. You don't sit at table with strangers when you go out to a restaurant do you? If I had the choice I'd dine alone in the dining car if I could. But regarding the topic, I've ate several times...

This articles says people are/were trapped in the burning cars and that the truck driver and a Conductor died. http://www.rgj.com/article/20110624/NEWS/110624012/Passengers-trapped-semi-truck-driver-Amtrak-conductor-killed-150-injured-Churchill-Co-crash-?odyssey=nav|head