City of New Orleans - Information and Impressions

[canoe86]

Our trip is approaching and the tips and info. you folks have provided have been invaluable. Never would of thought of a scanner without ya.

Now , a more pointed topic for you experts out there. We will be on 'The City of New Orleans' train 58 and 59. Any impressons and information that you could shine a light on would be appreciated. We are curious about how the crew is, the service, the food and any points of the ride. The station in New orleans and any points along the way and the ride in general. Anything you can think of would be great. WE have read some trip reports, but everytime I post, I get so much more inside info. than the trip reports give. Thanks!!!

 

[gswager]

When I'm in the sightseer lounge, I usually find a brochure that show highlights on its' entire route and information.

I don't know if it is still there or not because I haven't ride Amtrak for two years. A lot of things have been changed in an effort to trim the costs.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

You asked about the station in New Orleans. It was built in 1954, which makes it "new" (yes, really) by U.S railroad standards. It is still in reasonably good shape, has enough trains to be interesting. Fairly decent repair. Shares with the Greyhound(thus, it is "inter-modal").

For sleeping car passengers there is a private waiting room called the Magnolia room, which has coffee, comfortable chairs, etc. The station is next door to the Super Dome.

The station is a little scruffy around the edges (the neighborhood even more so) but it still looks.like a train station and gets the the job done.There is one restaurant there, a Subway, I believe. Not for the gourmet taste.

It was quite a newsmaker when it was built in 1954, not only were railroads not building stations anymore but it actually replaced a number of smaller stations, now all the trains rolled into one big "union" station. I was ten years old at the time and it was well written up in railraod publications , made a big impression.

Some on this forum have ridden in and out of New Orleans and noticed a lot of backing, and other such moves....this is because historically trains approached the city from all various directions and termnals were built accordingly. When they all started going into the new station in 1954, this made for such strange yard moves to all eventually head the same place.

 

[amtrakmichigan]

My family and I were just there in November. We did not explore too much of the city, but was not impressed at all with what we did see. Taxi cabs seem to be expensive and dirty compared to Chicago standards. Expect a $10.00 flat rate for a 1.5 mile trip into the French Qtr. The city itself has potental in my opinion, but just not my cup of tea. I would rate the station itself as "fair". The restrooms in there are pretty bad. I think there is a big problem with homeless people using the restrooms as "bath"rooms. There is a Subway in the station as mentioned by another member of this forum. I wouldn't let small children stray away from you too far anywhere, especially the restrooms. We had a cup of coffee in a Mcdonald's and they seem to have a problem with homeless people taking the place over.

As for the train ride itself, it was pretty good. Not too much intresting scenery however. The onboard crew seemed to enjoy there jobs. A attendent by the name of Mike White took very good care of my family while in his sleeper. Mike was by far the best attendent I have ever encountered on Amtrak.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

While my emphasis was different, I agree totally with amtrakmichigan about the homelessness problem and the restrooms being bad. I should have said more along those lines, in addition to the historical points I made.

As to the city itself, I enjoy it, but it can take a stay of a few days to better appreciate it. And it is VERY muggy almost always so far as I can tell. Far more than we usually are in Atlanta.

 

[canoe86]

Good to know about some of the aspects about the station. The last vacation i took, 1983, yes 1983, I actually was in New Orleans for a day. Not a place then for kids really, so we will be staying on the north side of town for the 2 days we will be there and go to Six Flags, on one of those days.

You know for us northern folks, there is nothing worse than humidity. Many of us don't have AC since we would only typically use it for 5-10 days a year. But those 5-10 days are pure torture. I can handle the 5 feet of snow we had until last week (now more like 2-3), but not mugginess! :blink:

 

[panamaclipper]

They invented mugginess in NO.

 

[GG-1]

They invented mugginess in NO.

My family and I were just there in November. We did not explore too much of the city
Aloha

What a little hummidy, nothing a trade wind can't stop.

I am going to NO on business 9/19-23/04 I want to go part way by train any suggestions for a cheap good hotel. The one I will be at is too much to stay over to get the Sunset Limited to/from LA

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

GG1, you asked about a good cheap hotel in New Orleans. There at least used to be a Howard Johnsons just about three blocks away. Check it out.

Also check EARLY because New Orleans gets lots and lots of conventions and special events and the whole city gets booked up rather quickly, mugginess notwithstanding.

 

[Guest]

Try the St Charles Inn on.......St Charles Ave. RIght on the streetcar line in the upper Garden district. Perfect location.

Rooms go for $80-$100. Don't expect too much from New Orleans hotels. It's kind of like Paris in that the rooms are small. Who would want to stay in their room in New Orleans anyway?

I don't see how you cannot like New Orleans. Is it dirty? Yes. Hot? Yes. Kind of sleazy? Yes. However, the food is wonderful, the locals very friendly, and tons of stuff to do. One of my favorite cities in the world.

 

[Steve4031]

Check the Hyatt Regency website. Sometimes they have cheap, around 130 a night, website rates. Note that these are often non refundable. Howver, the Hyatt is close to Union station. You can see it from the train as you arrive. I do not know about the walk to the hotel though.

 

[battalion51]

Check Expedia. You can search by distance to the station, and I find they generally have pretty good rates.

 

[denmarks]

I'll be staying at the downtown Hampton Inn on June22, which is about a block from the French Quarter. Is it a reasonable walk from the train station while rolling a suitcase?

 

[Bobby S]

Hmmm...New Orleans terminal peaked my interest. Where was the "old" terminal in relation to the one that is there now? Or was it just rebuilt? pics? maps? thanx

 

[Musicians4Trains]

The last few times I've been in NO, I have stayed twice at the Holiday Inn Express at 231 Carondelet. I also stayed at the Hilton on Poydras. The Holiday inn runs about $80.00 through Hotels.com. The Hilton was $106.00 through Hotels.com.

I prefer the Holiday Inn. The rooms are very clean and comfortable. And best of all it's only a one and a half block walk to Bourbon Street. The Hilton is a longer walk to the French Quarter but it's right across the street from the Riverwalk attraction. So it's a matter of what you prefer.

Be sure to eat at Mike Anderson's on Bourbon if you like seafood. the Bourbon House Seafood restaurant is very good also.

 

[tp49]

I'll be staying at the downtown Hampton Inn on June22, which is about a block from the French Quarter. Is it a reasonable walk from the train station while rolling a suitcase?

It all depends on what you consider a reasonable distance. IIRC the Quarter is about a mile from Union Station and the area isn't the best for walking especialy at night. However, if you walk along Poydras Street then continue down Canal Street towards the river you should be ok. Then again at night think taxi as the saftey of the area can be questionable.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Hmmm...New Orleans terminal peaked my interest. Where was the "old" terminal in relation to the one that is there now? Or was it just rebuilt? pics? maps? thanx

Check out my earlier post, the third one on this subject. There were a number of other stations before 1954, I do not know where they were. But the 1954 terminal(the present one) replaced all the major downtown stations, and that was big news for its day.

Too bad it is somewhat scruffy today, but it does have a neat history.

If you are really serious about knowing where they were before 1954, I could possilby look it up at home.....let me know.