#19 Crescent

[boxcar479]

Will be on the Crescent CVS- NOL in a couple of days. What kind of scenery can we expect to see,is the food offerings good. Hoping for a good trip any tips are appreciatted. Thanks

 

[Bob Dylan]

Will be on the Crescent CVS- NOL in a couple of days. What kind of scenery can we expect to see,is the food offerings good. Hoping for a good trip any tips are appreciatted. Thanks

:hi: Stacy! Since yall will be riding through Va. and the Carolinas in the dark, not much to see till you get close to ATL where youll parallel the Interstate 85, be able to see downtown from the Station area! The Station is small, steep stairs/slow elevator up to the waiting room from the platform! (BTW-Bill Haithcoat lives very close to the station, if you havent met him hes our Old- Timey Trains/Time Table Guru!)

Mostly small towns, lots of trees through Ga./Eastern Alabama! The Army Ammo Depot in Eastern Alabama is besides the tracks/ Birmingham is a fairly large dying old time Steel town with a dungeon for a station! (You go downstairs from the platform, its a waiting room with NOTHING outside! ) You will get to see a Big Honda and Mercedes Plant in Alabama, look at Tuscalosa as you rolll through, there was lots of Tornado Damage there as Im sure you kinow! The small MIssissippi towns are all pretty routine small Southern Towns,(Heat of the Night, the Movie comes to mind!) yoll will have an abbreviated dinner with a short menu, might want to wait to eat in NOL, scene of Great food! The swamps through Southern Miss/La. are worth a look, if its still light the ride across the Causeway into NOL will remind you of being on a Ship, and the back-up move into NOL Union Station takes awhile after you wind throught a lot of the more "unpretty" parts of NOL! It's not a great ride but its a Viewliner, the OBS are usually friendly (even the NY Diner Crew) and sometimes the food can be pretty good! YMMV! Im envious, be sure and give us a full Trip Report upon your return to Texas!

 

[pennyk]

Thanks Jim. I will be on the Crescent for the first time in two weeks and I was curious also.

 

[TishaNola]

Thanks Jim. I will be on the Crescent for the first time in two weeks and I was curious also.

When I rode the number 19 in august to new orleans we went through the Carolina's at night and we came into atlanta at breakfast. The Crescent serves great food breakfast is served around when you pull into atlanta .

From there to New Orleans you go through miles of little towns and see fields and trees , you can think of all the history you are passing thru.

As you cross the lake its like your floating in the water. You will see the beauty of the water it looks like the train is almost on top of it.

You can have an early dinner as you pass thru Mississippi ..

I was in a sleeper and had A man name Claude as my attendant he was great .

 

[dlagrua]

IMO the best part of the trip is the last 5 miles or so before you arrive at NOL station. As you go over the causeway on Lake Ponchartrain, all you can see is water and boats on both sides of the train. Kind of feels like you are riding on the water. You should be passing over the lake around 6:30PM going South. In the summer months there is still daylight but it fall/winter yoou could be traveling in the dark. However, going Northbound you will be going over the Lake at 7:45AM. Passing through Tuskaloosa, AL is like going through a war zone. It was sad to see such incredible widespead devastation. The trips though some of the small towns offer a glimpse of an America 30 years ago.

 

[boxcar479]

Thanks for all the replies, I hope we get to cross in the daytime, I thought that I had heard thats the highlight of the trip. Any views from a train are good views Does anyone know if I can take the northbound to Slidell and use another affordable means to get back to NOL in the same morning, like a ferry or a bus (sorry) hboy: The OTP of the #19 has been good lately and the clocks switch the next weekend after we get there. Does the CONO cross the same same bridge?

 

[GaSteve]

There is one tunnel on the route, about 300 feet long, in Alabama (you might be surprised how curvy the road is between Ga line and Birmingham).