NativeSon5859
Conductor
After killing a long layover in Chicago by going to the Sears Tower, walking around Navy Pier for awhile, and catching an IMAX 3D presentation of The Polar Exress (kids movie...yes it was...but it was well made and the animation was incredible), and just basically walking around the downtown area, it was finally time to board #59 to New Orleans.
Boarding commenced at 7:35pm through gate D. The consist of the train was as follows: 1 P42 "Toyota Tundra" loco, 1 baggage car, 1 Transition Sleeper, 1 Dining Car, 1 Sightseer Lounge, 3 Coaches (one of which was not in revenue service), and 1 Sleeper at the rear. There was a line about fourty people deep wautung to board.
Push back was on-time at 8:00am. We moved thirty feet and came to a stop. We waited for about five minutes, where we then backed up another fufty feet or so, and stopped again. Five minutes later the conductor came across the p.a to annjounce that we eould be pulling back into the station to get a new engine, as this one was having problams. He said the delay would last about an hour probably. The coach attendant said that they were expecting a large crowd through the night so single riders in coach may have to end up sitting next to someone.
First and only call for dinner was made at 8:30. I decided to treat myself tonight. Diner was full. I sat with two ladies, one going to MEM and the other to NOL. I had Chicken Fried Steak, and it was decent. Service was outstanding. I went back to my seat at about 9:25 just as we started moving...for good this time. I spotted the conductor and asked him if it was a HEP probalem with that first engine, and he said that it was both a HEP problem and a traction problem.
We were now running with a reverse consist, with the loco hooked right in front of the regular Sleeping Car, and the baggage car was now the last car on the train. We had to do quite a bit of track switching to get on the CN mainline to NOL. The entire process was finished by 9:40pm, when we started cruising at 75 mph + for the remainder of the night pretty much.
I was sleeping by 11:00pm, and missed every station stop after Homewood and before Memphis. It was a bumpy ride through the night, but I managed to sleep well. I awoke somewhere in Tennessee,...about 45 min. outside of MEM. We got to MEM at 7:50am and departed at 8:00am. Slow running for the first 25 minutes out of Memphis. We finally got up to speed by about 8:25.
At around 9:00am the Cafe attendant announced that she would replay the two movies from last night (Bourne Supremecy and Shark Tale). That's a nice feature. Greenwood came and went at 10:26am. Yazoo City at 11:20am, and Jackson at 12:25pm, where we stopped for about 5 minutes. At around 12:45pm I hit the Cafe for a burger and a Pepsi.
We made good time for the remainder of the route. Our Northbound sister train was held up at Pass Manchac on a siding to let us pass. She was probably there for at least twenty-five minutes. It was a nice day as we all got great views of bayou country, as we crossed the trestles over the Bonnet Carre Spillway and the edge of Lake Pontchartrain. I spotted at least two alligators, which is an unusual sight this time of year. As we were about twenty minutes late, we did not back into the station, instead we pulled straight in, which is a rare occurance in New Orleans.
Another day, another great Amtrak trip.
Boarding commenced at 7:35pm through gate D. The consist of the train was as follows: 1 P42 "Toyota Tundra" loco, 1 baggage car, 1 Transition Sleeper, 1 Dining Car, 1 Sightseer Lounge, 3 Coaches (one of which was not in revenue service), and 1 Sleeper at the rear. There was a line about fourty people deep wautung to board.
Push back was on-time at 8:00am. We moved thirty feet and came to a stop. We waited for about five minutes, where we then backed up another fufty feet or so, and stopped again. Five minutes later the conductor came across the p.a to annjounce that we eould be pulling back into the station to get a new engine, as this one was having problams. He said the delay would last about an hour probably. The coach attendant said that they were expecting a large crowd through the night so single riders in coach may have to end up sitting next to someone.
First and only call for dinner was made at 8:30. I decided to treat myself tonight. Diner was full. I sat with two ladies, one going to MEM and the other to NOL. I had Chicken Fried Steak, and it was decent. Service was outstanding. I went back to my seat at about 9:25 just as we started moving...for good this time. I spotted the conductor and asked him if it was a HEP probalem with that first engine, and he said that it was both a HEP problem and a traction problem.
We were now running with a reverse consist, with the loco hooked right in front of the regular Sleeping Car, and the baggage car was now the last car on the train. We had to do quite a bit of track switching to get on the CN mainline to NOL. The entire process was finished by 9:40pm, when we started cruising at 75 mph + for the remainder of the night pretty much.
I was sleeping by 11:00pm, and missed every station stop after Homewood and before Memphis. It was a bumpy ride through the night, but I managed to sleep well. I awoke somewhere in Tennessee,...about 45 min. outside of MEM. We got to MEM at 7:50am and departed at 8:00am. Slow running for the first 25 minutes out of Memphis. We finally got up to speed by about 8:25.
At around 9:00am the Cafe attendant announced that she would replay the two movies from last night (Bourne Supremecy and Shark Tale). That's a nice feature. Greenwood came and went at 10:26am. Yazoo City at 11:20am, and Jackson at 12:25pm, where we stopped for about 5 minutes. At around 12:45pm I hit the Cafe for a burger and a Pepsi.
We made good time for the remainder of the route. Our Northbound sister train was held up at Pass Manchac on a siding to let us pass. She was probably there for at least twenty-five minutes. It was a nice day as we all got great views of bayou country, as we crossed the trestles over the Bonnet Carre Spillway and the edge of Lake Pontchartrain. I spotted at least two alligators, which is an unusual sight this time of year. As we were about twenty minutes late, we did not back into the station, instead we pulled straight in, which is a rare occurance in New Orleans.
Another day, another great Amtrak trip.
