ehbowen
Engineer
Aboard the Sunset Limited: We got off to a late start; the train was over an hour late into Houston. With the generous station dwell time cut as far as possible we left only 30 minutes late, but lost time again while on the ex-Missouri Pacific line to Beaumont (on which the speed limit is only 60 mph). Since then, though, we've been consistently between 45 minutes and an hour down and with the generous padding into New Orleans we're likely to arrive close to on-time.
The crew has been very good. I had Carl as my waiter in the dining car for lunch and dinner; he was efficient and professional. I was seated for lunch even before we pulled out of Houston; I had the Caesar salad with chicken...aren't Caesar salads supposed to have Caesar dressing and no tomatoes? I had a choice of Balsamic Vinaigrette and Ranch (I chose the Ranch) and it came with four cherry tomatoes (after I told them I didn't want any!). The chocolate Bundt cake for dessert was very good although it would have been even better had I thought to ask for it a la mode.
Our sleeping car attendant has been invisible (save for boarding) but in a good way; the coffee is always fresh and the restrooms on this last day of a three-day transcontinental trip are all immaculate. That doesn't “just happen”. He'll get a tip.
I've decided to pay homage to old railroad tradition on this trip and dress for dinner. I brought a sport coat and slacks along with a dress shirt and tie and a more casual silk pullover. I wore the pullover tonight with the sport coat and a new pair of shoes. Dinner started with the appetizer salad which now costs (for coach passengers) but which is in fact more appetizing than the old bowl of lettuce with a cherry tomato; it includes bits of carrots and onion and comes in a larger bowl. The entree was the flat iron steak, medium, cooked just right and with sides of baked potato and green beans. Dessert was cheesecake with strawberries accompanied by a cup of hot tea.
I've been taking snaps for Facebook throughout the day; while most of them are just for friends on my timeline I am posting some of them to the Streamliner Schedules group (which is public) and the ATSF group (which is not). Feel free to pay a visit!
The crew has been very good. I had Carl as my waiter in the dining car for lunch and dinner; he was efficient and professional. I was seated for lunch even before we pulled out of Houston; I had the Caesar salad with chicken...aren't Caesar salads supposed to have Caesar dressing and no tomatoes? I had a choice of Balsamic Vinaigrette and Ranch (I chose the Ranch) and it came with four cherry tomatoes (after I told them I didn't want any!). The chocolate Bundt cake for dessert was very good although it would have been even better had I thought to ask for it a la mode.
Our sleeping car attendant has been invisible (save for boarding) but in a good way; the coffee is always fresh and the restrooms on this last day of a three-day transcontinental trip are all immaculate. That doesn't “just happen”. He'll get a tip.
I've decided to pay homage to old railroad tradition on this trip and dress for dinner. I brought a sport coat and slacks along with a dress shirt and tie and a more casual silk pullover. I wore the pullover tonight with the sport coat and a new pair of shoes. Dinner started with the appetizer salad which now costs (for coach passengers) but which is in fact more appetizing than the old bowl of lettuce with a cherry tomato; it includes bits of carrots and onion and comes in a larger bowl. The entree was the flat iron steak, medium, cooked just right and with sides of baked potato and green beans. Dessert was cheesecake with strawberries accompanied by a cup of hot tea.
I've been taking snaps for Facebook throughout the day; while most of them are just for friends on my timeline I am posting some of them to the Streamliner Schedules group (which is public) and the ATSF group (which is not). Feel free to pay a visit!