Trip started the evening of March 13 by taking a Greyhound (actually Crucero) bus to the Tucson Greyhound station. Crucero bus was about 30 min. late leaving Phoenix, but still got into Tucson by about 9:45 which was OK.
The Tucson station has changed since I last took this trip for the 4th of July - it's been truncated! Maynard's, an upscale bistro, has taken over most of the space, leaving just the ticket counter and about 1/3 of the benches. One nice thing: I was able to access the restaurant's complimentary WiFi which was good. Downtown Tucson was undergoing a wave of redevelopment and gentrification which has slowed down a little because of the recession.
Train surprisingly arrived one hour early to Tucson, and was one hour early to El Paso (of course waiting both times until the scheduled departure time to get back underway). I was able to get a seat at the front of the car right in front of the door on the left side (aisle seat). This train was running quite full. The attendant made a quip that everyone wants to ride northbound during the spring and summer but not during fall and winter (made me wonder is that the case for Thanksgiving?)
Noticed one person who stated he was going to Austin for SXSW, which is a popular and influential music and film festival that has become an Austin tradition.
Had breakfast in the dining car while sitting in El Paso. Traditional dining car service with "community seating". I had the scrambled eggs with grits, biscuit and sausage. Free refills on orange juice and other beverages. Saw quite a few families with small children including single mothers with their kids.
Almost no electrical outlets in the viewliner car but in my coach car, every seat had an outlet (yea!) The downstairs cafe had a different configuration from my trip last year, more of a U-shape with refrigerated cupboards at eye level and all the food displayed for you to grab yourself (in the other configuration the attendant is behind the counter and all food is retrieved for you). Attendant, unlike the middle-aged men I usually see, was a cute 20-something young woman who looked like she's done some modeling in a previous life, or wants to in a future life.
Was able to get a WiFi connection when we stopped in El Paso, checked my e-mail and Yahoo news.
Once we left El Paso the ride got incredibly bumpy through Southwest Texas. The train was rocking back and forth, violently at times IMO. If I was on an airliner with this much motion I'd be praying, and I'm an atheist. It was hard keeping my balance as I walked through the cars and even hard typing this report on my iBook.
(I am writing the rest of this in late April, well over a month after the trip, so my recollection is a little muddy).
In San Antonio, because of the scheduled overnight layover, I left the train and walked to a Denny's restaurant on Commerce Street near the Riverwalk. The place was packed solid, but service was fast. I had an apple crisp with ice cream and orange juice.
I did not have to de-board the train permanently as I was ticketed as a Texas Eagle passenger and was ticketed through to Austin. Overnight, the passageways were sealed off and the Sunset Limited portion of the train de-coupled from our cars.
Arrived in Austin on time, the morning of March 14.
Going back was interesting, or at least at the very beginning of the return trip. On March 20, the day I was to leave, I posted on this forum a slight dilemma I had with ticketing: at the last minute, I decided I wanted to board the train in Taylor, Texas instead of the downtown Austin station as I was ticketed for (a more convenient drive for my ex-wife to drop me off as compared to going to downtown Austin in freeway traffic). I went on the Amtrak website, on the advice of one of the posters here ("Upstate", and thanks for the advice), and reserved an extra ticket from Taylor to Austin, payable on the train, and the conductor was kind enough not to collect the extra (I think it was something like) $11. I think she saw my son, ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law and was happy a dad took the time to visit family. But I don't know...
Another overnight layover in San Antonio, and not long after we left, the on-board crew came and changed the orientation of each seat so we were facing forward instead of backward, as the train "backed out" of San Antonio once it hooked up to the incoming Sunset Limited. Everyone had to get out of their seats as the conductor and attendant made their way down the aisle, lifted some sort of lever underneath each seat and swiveled it 180 degrees where it snapped into place (I may have seen this process one other time several years ago on an Amtrak train). At first I was seated next to a middle-aged lady but moved to the front of the car about an hour later, and had the seat to myself all the way to Tucson.
The rest of the ride into Tucson was great and without any major incidents, problems or concerns I can recall. I ate in the lounge café exclusively the rest of the return trip. I stayed in a Motel 6 along I-10 just west of downtown Tucson and took a Greyhound bus back to Phoenix.
I will be doing this (most likely) again in August.
The Tucson station has changed since I last took this trip for the 4th of July - it's been truncated! Maynard's, an upscale bistro, has taken over most of the space, leaving just the ticket counter and about 1/3 of the benches. One nice thing: I was able to access the restaurant's complimentary WiFi which was good. Downtown Tucson was undergoing a wave of redevelopment and gentrification which has slowed down a little because of the recession.
Train surprisingly arrived one hour early to Tucson, and was one hour early to El Paso (of course waiting both times until the scheduled departure time to get back underway). I was able to get a seat at the front of the car right in front of the door on the left side (aisle seat). This train was running quite full. The attendant made a quip that everyone wants to ride northbound during the spring and summer but not during fall and winter (made me wonder is that the case for Thanksgiving?)
Noticed one person who stated he was going to Austin for SXSW, which is a popular and influential music and film festival that has become an Austin tradition.
Had breakfast in the dining car while sitting in El Paso. Traditional dining car service with "community seating". I had the scrambled eggs with grits, biscuit and sausage. Free refills on orange juice and other beverages. Saw quite a few families with small children including single mothers with their kids.
Almost no electrical outlets in the viewliner car but in my coach car, every seat had an outlet (yea!) The downstairs cafe had a different configuration from my trip last year, more of a U-shape with refrigerated cupboards at eye level and all the food displayed for you to grab yourself (in the other configuration the attendant is behind the counter and all food is retrieved for you). Attendant, unlike the middle-aged men I usually see, was a cute 20-something young woman who looked like she's done some modeling in a previous life, or wants to in a future life.
Was able to get a WiFi connection when we stopped in El Paso, checked my e-mail and Yahoo news.
Once we left El Paso the ride got incredibly bumpy through Southwest Texas. The train was rocking back and forth, violently at times IMO. If I was on an airliner with this much motion I'd be praying, and I'm an atheist. It was hard keeping my balance as I walked through the cars and even hard typing this report on my iBook.
(I am writing the rest of this in late April, well over a month after the trip, so my recollection is a little muddy).
In San Antonio, because of the scheduled overnight layover, I left the train and walked to a Denny's restaurant on Commerce Street near the Riverwalk. The place was packed solid, but service was fast. I had an apple crisp with ice cream and orange juice.
I did not have to de-board the train permanently as I was ticketed as a Texas Eagle passenger and was ticketed through to Austin. Overnight, the passageways were sealed off and the Sunset Limited portion of the train de-coupled from our cars.
Arrived in Austin on time, the morning of March 14.
Going back was interesting, or at least at the very beginning of the return trip. On March 20, the day I was to leave, I posted on this forum a slight dilemma I had with ticketing: at the last minute, I decided I wanted to board the train in Taylor, Texas instead of the downtown Austin station as I was ticketed for (a more convenient drive for my ex-wife to drop me off as compared to going to downtown Austin in freeway traffic). I went on the Amtrak website, on the advice of one of the posters here ("Upstate", and thanks for the advice), and reserved an extra ticket from Taylor to Austin, payable on the train, and the conductor was kind enough not to collect the extra (I think it was something like) $11. I think she saw my son, ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law and was happy a dad took the time to visit family. But I don't know...
Another overnight layover in San Antonio, and not long after we left, the on-board crew came and changed the orientation of each seat so we were facing forward instead of backward, as the train "backed out" of San Antonio once it hooked up to the incoming Sunset Limited. Everyone had to get out of their seats as the conductor and attendant made their way down the aisle, lifted some sort of lever underneath each seat and swiveled it 180 degrees where it snapped into place (I may have seen this process one other time several years ago on an Amtrak train). At first I was seated next to a middle-aged lady but moved to the front of the car about an hour later, and had the seat to myself all the way to Tucson.
The rest of the ride into Tucson was great and without any major incidents, problems or concerns I can recall. I ate in the lounge café exclusively the rest of the return trip. I stayed in a Motel 6 along I-10 just west of downtown Tucson and took a Greyhound bus back to Phoenix.
I will be doing this (most likely) again in August.
