NativeSon5859
Conductor
I woke up on the 23rd anxious to get back on the Sunset Limited (hopefully not for the last time). I had been checking with Julie all morning from around 7:00am until 10:00am and the status of #1 had not been updated. All it told me was that "at last report in Atmore,AL, it was running one hour and forty-two minutes late", but did say it was still expected to arrive NOL on-time. Yea, right. I decided to get to the station for my usual time of 11:15am just in case the train made up the time between Mobile and New Orleans, which it usually doesn't.
Once I got to the station at 11:15, I asked the ticket agent about the arrival status of the Sunset, as the train was not at the terminal yet. The man told me that she would be here in about ten minutes. Not too bad, I figured. Sure enough, at just about 11:25, train #1 pulled into the station. I did not make out its entire consist, but it had a Transition Sleeper on the end of the train. At least fifty passengers got off the train, but out of that total, only about five had checked baggage. After a pretty quick turn, boarding started at 11:45am from track #4.
The conductor gave a general "all aboard" call, as there were only about 30 or so people getting on the train here. I made my way down to the first coach. The coach attendant gave me a seat check and instructed me to take seat #5. I was praying that it was a window, and it was. My Superliner 2 coach #34139 (car number 0112) was probably about half full, with quite a few LAX-bound passengers. The coach in front of us was probably a little more full than our's was.
We departed NOL in a heavy downpour at 12:15pm. The heavy rain continued as we started our ascent up the Huey P.Long Bridge. I made sure that I was in the Sightseer Lounge for the ascent. The first call for lunch was made at 12:45pm. I probably went in there at about 1 or so. The dining car was full, and after I sat down, they started a waiting list. I was seated with a family of three on the way to LAX. They were in the middle of a cross country, all-sleeper rail journey which set them back a cool $3000. Very nice people. They were asking me some questions about the train and about New Orleans and the general area which I was more than happy to answer. I enjoyed my cheeseburger and apple pie as we started our journey into bayou country.
Back in coach, I noticed that we had left the lone Transition Sleeper behind in NOL, so the car I was in was now the last car on the train. Sure enough, I had a great view out of the rear. I probably spent at least a couple of hours back there. What an awesome view. Our first station stop in Schriever, LA came at 2:09pm. We picked up a few passengers here. Schriever may seem like an odd, out-of-the-way stop, but it's only a couple of miles from the larger city of Thibodeaux, home of Nicchols State University, and not too far away from Houma, making Amtrak service fairly convenient for people living in the general area.
At around 2:30pm the LSA came around to take dinner reservations. I made mine for 7:30pm. We reached New Iberia at 3:36pm, and man, the town was flooded! The streets looked like they were rivers. The ground is so low in this part of the state that any significant rainfall will flood streets easily. It was bad down in New Iberia today though. I don't think anyone boarded or de-trained here. We pushed the pedal to the metal and made it to Lafayette (neat little city) by 4:01pm. This was the first designated smoking stop. I got off and got a nice picture of the train, and enjoyed the fresh air, although it was still drizzling. We were on the move shortly thereafter.
Just about halfway in between Lafayette and Lake Charles, while we were doing a good 60mph through some crop fields, the emergency brakes kicked in, and we came to a screeching stop. I was very impressed with the stopping power of the train. Apparently, we almost hit a car. Missed it by inches. The driver was on a cell phone and I guess did not hear the train and he/she chose not to look and see it approaching. The engineer initially thought we hit it so we were stopped for about ten minutes or so. I guess they went out to look for any damage. We didn't lose much more time after that and arrived into Lake Charles by 5:35pm.
Apparently Beaumont has decided not to rebuild its Amtrak station. All that's left is a big concrete slab with a lone light pole. Not even a sign that says "Amtrak" anywhere. It was like this in 2003. Needless to say I wouldn't feel safe getting off here by myself without having anyone there to meet me, especially since it's usually pitch black by the time #1 gets there. The train stopped in Beaumont for just a minute, then pressed on towards Houston. I made my way to the Sightseer Lounge at 7:15, and hung out there until my dinner reservation was called at 7:30.
I was seated with a couple en-route from Sanford,FL to Lordsburg,NM and another lady on the way to Los Angeles. I had a nice conversation with them, and I enjoyed the Chicken Montrachet (stuffed with goat cheese, it was well done), and of course, Apple Pie one more time. I swear I am addicted to that stuff. It's just the best i've ever had! Anyway, I spent a good hour at least in the diner talking and relaxing. I had noticed that we weren't making very good time. One stop seemed to last for at least thirty minutes. I made my way back to the lounge at around 9 and watched a good bit of the movie "Wimbledon" before heading back to my seat for some reading.
I got through a few chapters of my new book (Dean Koontzs' Frankenstein) before succombing to some sleep. I woke up at around 10:15 and we still weren't in Houston. I tried to stay awake but couldn't. I was out like a light by 10:45 just as we were nearing the downtown area. Oddly enough I slept through our stop in Houston and woke up just as we started leaving the station at 10:55pm. I didn't see anyone new get on our car here, but I overheard the conductor saying that a group checked thirty bags. I adjusted the leg rests some and made it a point to sleep the whole way to SAS, which was expected to take four hours and forty minutes, according to the coach attendant.
We were really flying during much of this segment. 79 easily. The weather was pretty bad as well, lots of lightning and heavy rain. The track was pretty bad in spots and it woke me up a couple of times. Those huge "thuds" (probably occurs while hitting a low section of track?) still take some getting used to. I woke up around 1:00am, then again at 2:30am. I was thinking we would get to the station in San Antonio for 3:45am. That was my best guess anyway. Once again, I was wrong. I was told that we were stopped for :40 minutes waiting for a freight to clear. I woke up for good at 4:30am just as the conductor told me that we should be in SAS in thirty minutes. The coach attendant took my pillow away, and I got my things together. Sure enough, just about thirty minutes later, the Tower of the America's came into sight, signifying our arrival into SAS. We came to a final stop after hooking up to the two Texas Eagle cars waiting for us. I stepped off of the train in a severe downpour and made my way inside the fairly full station to call a cab for the short fifteen minute ride to the airport. My flight back home left at 7:10am...perfect timing.
Just another day in the life if an Amtrak fanatic. I enjoyed every minute of the ride. I'm sure i'll be hitting the rails again in a couple of months. That's all for now, I hope you guys enjoyed this journey on the Sunset...one of America's classic trains.
Once I got to the station at 11:15, I asked the ticket agent about the arrival status of the Sunset, as the train was not at the terminal yet. The man told me that she would be here in about ten minutes. Not too bad, I figured. Sure enough, at just about 11:25, train #1 pulled into the station. I did not make out its entire consist, but it had a Transition Sleeper on the end of the train. At least fifty passengers got off the train, but out of that total, only about five had checked baggage. After a pretty quick turn, boarding started at 11:45am from track #4.
The conductor gave a general "all aboard" call, as there were only about 30 or so people getting on the train here. I made my way down to the first coach. The coach attendant gave me a seat check and instructed me to take seat #5. I was praying that it was a window, and it was. My Superliner 2 coach #34139 (car number 0112) was probably about half full, with quite a few LAX-bound passengers. The coach in front of us was probably a little more full than our's was.
We departed NOL in a heavy downpour at 12:15pm. The heavy rain continued as we started our ascent up the Huey P.Long Bridge. I made sure that I was in the Sightseer Lounge for the ascent. The first call for lunch was made at 12:45pm. I probably went in there at about 1 or so. The dining car was full, and after I sat down, they started a waiting list. I was seated with a family of three on the way to LAX. They were in the middle of a cross country, all-sleeper rail journey which set them back a cool $3000. Very nice people. They were asking me some questions about the train and about New Orleans and the general area which I was more than happy to answer. I enjoyed my cheeseburger and apple pie as we started our journey into bayou country.
Back in coach, I noticed that we had left the lone Transition Sleeper behind in NOL, so the car I was in was now the last car on the train. Sure enough, I had a great view out of the rear. I probably spent at least a couple of hours back there. What an awesome view. Our first station stop in Schriever, LA came at 2:09pm. We picked up a few passengers here. Schriever may seem like an odd, out-of-the-way stop, but it's only a couple of miles from the larger city of Thibodeaux, home of Nicchols State University, and not too far away from Houma, making Amtrak service fairly convenient for people living in the general area.
At around 2:30pm the LSA came around to take dinner reservations. I made mine for 7:30pm. We reached New Iberia at 3:36pm, and man, the town was flooded! The streets looked like they were rivers. The ground is so low in this part of the state that any significant rainfall will flood streets easily. It was bad down in New Iberia today though. I don't think anyone boarded or de-trained here. We pushed the pedal to the metal and made it to Lafayette (neat little city) by 4:01pm. This was the first designated smoking stop. I got off and got a nice picture of the train, and enjoyed the fresh air, although it was still drizzling. We were on the move shortly thereafter.
Just about halfway in between Lafayette and Lake Charles, while we were doing a good 60mph through some crop fields, the emergency brakes kicked in, and we came to a screeching stop. I was very impressed with the stopping power of the train. Apparently, we almost hit a car. Missed it by inches. The driver was on a cell phone and I guess did not hear the train and he/she chose not to look and see it approaching. The engineer initially thought we hit it so we were stopped for about ten minutes or so. I guess they went out to look for any damage. We didn't lose much more time after that and arrived into Lake Charles by 5:35pm.
Apparently Beaumont has decided not to rebuild its Amtrak station. All that's left is a big concrete slab with a lone light pole. Not even a sign that says "Amtrak" anywhere. It was like this in 2003. Needless to say I wouldn't feel safe getting off here by myself without having anyone there to meet me, especially since it's usually pitch black by the time #1 gets there. The train stopped in Beaumont for just a minute, then pressed on towards Houston. I made my way to the Sightseer Lounge at 7:15, and hung out there until my dinner reservation was called at 7:30.
I was seated with a couple en-route from Sanford,FL to Lordsburg,NM and another lady on the way to Los Angeles. I had a nice conversation with them, and I enjoyed the Chicken Montrachet (stuffed with goat cheese, it was well done), and of course, Apple Pie one more time. I swear I am addicted to that stuff. It's just the best i've ever had! Anyway, I spent a good hour at least in the diner talking and relaxing. I had noticed that we weren't making very good time. One stop seemed to last for at least thirty minutes. I made my way back to the lounge at around 9 and watched a good bit of the movie "Wimbledon" before heading back to my seat for some reading.
I got through a few chapters of my new book (Dean Koontzs' Frankenstein) before succombing to some sleep. I woke up at around 10:15 and we still weren't in Houston. I tried to stay awake but couldn't. I was out like a light by 10:45 just as we were nearing the downtown area. Oddly enough I slept through our stop in Houston and woke up just as we started leaving the station at 10:55pm. I didn't see anyone new get on our car here, but I overheard the conductor saying that a group checked thirty bags. I adjusted the leg rests some and made it a point to sleep the whole way to SAS, which was expected to take four hours and forty minutes, according to the coach attendant.
We were really flying during much of this segment. 79 easily. The weather was pretty bad as well, lots of lightning and heavy rain. The track was pretty bad in spots and it woke me up a couple of times. Those huge "thuds" (probably occurs while hitting a low section of track?) still take some getting used to. I woke up around 1:00am, then again at 2:30am. I was thinking we would get to the station in San Antonio for 3:45am. That was my best guess anyway. Once again, I was wrong. I was told that we were stopped for :40 minutes waiting for a freight to clear. I woke up for good at 4:30am just as the conductor told me that we should be in SAS in thirty minutes. The coach attendant took my pillow away, and I got my things together. Sure enough, just about thirty minutes later, the Tower of the America's came into sight, signifying our arrival into SAS. We came to a final stop after hooking up to the two Texas Eagle cars waiting for us. I stepped off of the train in a severe downpour and made my way inside the fairly full station to call a cab for the short fifteen minute ride to the airport. My flight back home left at 7:10am...perfect timing.
Just another day in the life if an Amtrak fanatic. I enjoyed every minute of the ride. I'm sure i'll be hitting the rails again in a couple of months. That's all for now, I hope you guys enjoyed this journey on the Sunset...one of America's classic trains.
