AAARGH!
Conductor
Warning: This is a long trip report as it was a long trip (8,859 miles).
Overview: I built this trip to take as many trains that I had not been on before. The itinerary allowed me to include ALL the long distance routes I have not been on. The only segment I had ridden before was the Coast Starlight between LAX and Oakland. But I was forced to do it again.
This whole trip would have cost me over $4,700 at the time I booked it. But I used two 2-zone bedroom AGR awards and two 1K special route awards for a total of 62,000 points (minus the 10% redemption on 32K of it, so take of 3,200 points). It ended up being a value of 8.06 cents per AGR point! This was the first time I have been in bedroom(s) and I LIKE IT!
I had asked on this forum if anyone wanted to spilt the costs/points and join me. RAIL_FREAK from Tampa, FL (abbreviated from this point forward to RF) replied quickly. Turns out he had the same idea about taking untraveled routes and his list was very close to mine. So he called me and we figured out we would be good travel companions as he and I have much in common besides trains. It turns out he was an excellent travel companion. Anyway, he and I met in New Orleans (we both flew, I know… sacrilege).
Now on to the trip report, which I will split into multiple segments….
Pre-trip: New Orleans:
RF and I met at the MSY airport and took a cab to our hotel, the Hotel LeCirque. It is a railfans dream! It is only .3 miles from the Amtrak station, a very nicely appointed hotel, and right on the St. Charles streetcar line.
After checking in, we took the St. Charles streetcar line to Canal and into the French Quarter. We ended up eating at Mr. B's at the corner of Iberville and Royal. It was a very good choice. We then returned to the hotel, again via the St. Charles streetcar.
The next day we took the entire St. Charles streetcar line from our hotel and back. The trip took about 1 ½ hours and was well worth the time and $2.50 each. The old rickety streetcars harkens back to the old days, when windows were wide open and you had to pull a rope to let them know you wanted off at the next stop. The various neighborhoods the line passes through range from downtown, to commercial, to the most beautiful old houses in New Orleans. This is most definitely recommended.
Overview: I built this trip to take as many trains that I had not been on before. The itinerary allowed me to include ALL the long distance routes I have not been on. The only segment I had ridden before was the Coast Starlight between LAX and Oakland. But I was forced to do it again.
This whole trip would have cost me over $4,700 at the time I booked it. But I used two 2-zone bedroom AGR awards and two 1K special route awards for a total of 62,000 points (minus the 10% redemption on 32K of it, so take of 3,200 points). It ended up being a value of 8.06 cents per AGR point! This was the first time I have been in bedroom(s) and I LIKE IT!
I had asked on this forum if anyone wanted to spilt the costs/points and join me. RAIL_FREAK from Tampa, FL (abbreviated from this point forward to RF) replied quickly. Turns out he had the same idea about taking untraveled routes and his list was very close to mine. So he called me and we figured out we would be good travel companions as he and I have much in common besides trains. It turns out he was an excellent travel companion. Anyway, he and I met in New Orleans (we both flew, I know… sacrilege).
Now on to the trip report, which I will split into multiple segments….
Pre-trip: New Orleans:
RF and I met at the MSY airport and took a cab to our hotel, the Hotel LeCirque. It is a railfans dream! It is only .3 miles from the Amtrak station, a very nicely appointed hotel, and right on the St. Charles streetcar line.
After checking in, we took the St. Charles streetcar line to Canal and into the French Quarter. We ended up eating at Mr. B's at the corner of Iberville and Royal. It was a very good choice. We then returned to the hotel, again via the St. Charles streetcar.
The next day we took the entire St. Charles streetcar line from our hotel and back. The trip took about 1 ½ hours and was well worth the time and $2.50 each. The old rickety streetcars harkens back to the old days, when windows were wide open and you had to pull a rope to let them know you wanted off at the next stop. The various neighborhoods the line passes through range from downtown, to commercial, to the most beautiful old houses in New Orleans. This is most definitely recommended.