I was asleep after the Switching, woke up @ 245pm as we rolled out Right on Time.
Woke up @ the Del Rio Stop, again Right on Time,Quick Pit Stop, Gentlemen of a Certainn Age understand, then back to Sleep till 7am when the Breakfast Announcement was made.
After cleaning up and walking the Train to fully Wake-up, headed for the Diner for Breakfast.
The consist was somewhat unusual for this Train, the Regular 2 P-42s, No Baggage Car,
the #1 Sleeper ( a Rehab I, no Transdorm),the Diner( a Regular Diner, not a CCC ),a Sightseer Lounge , 3 Coaches( 1 a Coach/ Bag) and the #421 Sleeper on the end where I was in Room #4.
All the Cars were really Clean, and in Good Shape! Everyone had Masks on.( there were Regular announcements ).
The 3 Coaches had about 15-20 in each Car, plenty of Seats, there were folks traveling together sharing seats.
The #421 Sleeper had the Family and H Bedrooms empty, and Bedroom B was the only Unoccupied Room Upstairs.
I ordered Coffee, Apple Juice and the Mix and Match Continental Breskfast.( Yogurt,Rice Krispies,Blue Berry Muffin which was Warm and came with Real Butter.
The Diner was fairly Full, ( only Half being used, with 2 LSAs, one taking Orders/ Serving, 1 heatin the Food up downstairs) )but if you wanted to sit by yourself, you could..
After finishing, I got a cup of Coffee and another Apple Juice to go( the LSAs earned their tips, great service!)
Went to the Sightseer Lounge( No Cell Service out in the Big Nowhere for Sprint/T-Mobile, others told me the same for other Carriers.
I talked with a couple of folks from my Car as we rolled along on a Brightning, but still Hazy/Smokey Morning.( theres been Fires in Big Bend)
My SCA, Andrea, an Amtrsk Veteranon this Route( 14+ Years)put up my bed, put Fresh Water in the Room andxshen I returned she was Downstairs Cleaning the Restrooms and Shower!
I talked with her awhile, shes First Rate, for those of you who know Leo from the Silver Trains, that Good! Amtrak will hear from me!
We did a Quickiestopped in the Semi-Ghost town of Sanderson, 1 off, None boarded.
As someone had posted here, they've built a " Station" to replace the torn down old SP one.
Between Sanderson and Marathon , we went into the Hole for 3 Long UP Freights, but they were moving Fast, so soon we got the Signal we hauled the Mail into Alpine artiving Right on Time!
There is a nice New ADA Platform @ the Station, but it's not Long enough for the consist, so we did 2 Spots, one for the Crew Change ( T&E) and One for us on the Tail.
I thanked my SCA, tipped her well, and was surprised to see about 20 people Detrain with their stuff.
Tourist season has begun in the Big Bend, lots of Van's, Mom and Pop Rent Cars, and people picking up in their Trucks and Cars.
It was a Nice 61 Degrees, with the Sun starting to burn through, going to 80 today, Clear and 50s tonight!
I went across the Highway to check out the Holland Hotel,an old Railroad Hotel, where I have stayed Several times, and and plan to when I bring my Grandaughter on a Star Party Trip to Ft Davis this Summer.( Driving so we have a Car).
The Really good Resturant is Closed, its Cashless, but the Lobby Bar is Open in the Evening.Theres plenty of eating places around close to the Hotel and Station, from Fast Food, to Mom and Pops, to White Table Cloth. Lots of Pubs and Clubs too, Alpine is a College Town( Sul Ross State U.)
Alpine is followng the Governors
COVID Guidelines, which pretty much leaves it up to Businesses to decide their policies, I used lots of folks in Masks, most places require them !( I'm wearing my UT Longhorn Mask, Hook 'em.
Having internet here allows me to see that as of Noon, ( CDT)#2/#422 is 44 Minutes Late. in Benson,AZ, but it's a long way from El Paso to here and their OTP for the Eastbound Sunset hasnt been good lately due to Freight congestion.
Time to head for Lunch, I'm gonna try a Food Truck called "Cow Dog" that gets raves on Line, will decide on Dinner later this evening, probably good West Tex Mexican Food or a Steak!
I'll finish this up tomorrow once I'm back in Central Texas since there wont be any internet during the nights journey.
Hoping #2/#422 rolls in close to on time this evening!
Woke up @ the Del Rio Stop, again Right on Time,Quick Pit Stop, Gentlemen of a Certainn Age understand, then back to Sleep till 7am when the Breakfast Announcement was made.
After cleaning up and walking the Train to fully Wake-up, headed for the Diner for Breakfast.
The consist was somewhat unusual for this Train, the Regular 2 P-42s, No Baggage Car,
the #1 Sleeper ( a Rehab I, no Transdorm),the Diner( a Regular Diner, not a CCC ),a Sightseer Lounge , 3 Coaches( 1 a Coach/ Bag) and the #421 Sleeper on the end where I was in Room #4.
All the Cars were really Clean, and in Good Shape! Everyone had Masks on.( there were Regular announcements ).
The 3 Coaches had about 15-20 in each Car, plenty of Seats, there were folks traveling together sharing seats.
The #421 Sleeper had the Family and H Bedrooms empty, and Bedroom B was the only Unoccupied Room Upstairs.
I ordered Coffee, Apple Juice and the Mix and Match Continental Breskfast.( Yogurt,Rice Krispies,Blue Berry Muffin which was Warm and came with Real Butter.
The Diner was fairly Full, ( only Half being used, with 2 LSAs, one taking Orders/ Serving, 1 heatin the Food up downstairs) )but if you wanted to sit by yourself, you could..
After finishing, I got a cup of Coffee and another Apple Juice to go( the LSAs earned their tips, great service!)
Went to the Sightseer Lounge( No Cell Service out in the Big Nowhere for Sprint/T-Mobile, others told me the same for other Carriers.
I talked with a couple of folks from my Car as we rolled along on a Brightning, but still Hazy/Smokey Morning.( theres been Fires in Big Bend)
My SCA, Andrea, an Amtrsk Veteranon this Route( 14+ Years)put up my bed, put Fresh Water in the Room andxshen I returned she was Downstairs Cleaning the Restrooms and Shower!
I talked with her awhile, shes First Rate, for those of you who know Leo from the Silver Trains, that Good! Amtrak will hear from me!
We did a Quickiestopped in the Semi-Ghost town of Sanderson, 1 off, None boarded.
As someone had posted here, they've built a " Station" to replace the torn down old SP one.
Between Sanderson and Marathon , we went into the Hole for 3 Long UP Freights, but they were moving Fast, so soon we got the Signal we hauled the Mail into Alpine artiving Right on Time!
There is a nice New ADA Platform @ the Station, but it's not Long enough for the consist, so we did 2 Spots, one for the Crew Change ( T&E) and One for us on the Tail.
I thanked my SCA, tipped her well, and was surprised to see about 20 people Detrain with their stuff.
Tourist season has begun in the Big Bend, lots of Van's, Mom and Pop Rent Cars, and people picking up in their Trucks and Cars.
It was a Nice 61 Degrees, with the Sun starting to burn through, going to 80 today, Clear and 50s tonight!
I went across the Highway to check out the Holland Hotel,an old Railroad Hotel, where I have stayed Several times, and and plan to when I bring my Grandaughter on a Star Party Trip to Ft Davis this Summer.( Driving so we have a Car).
The Really good Resturant is Closed, its Cashless, but the Lobby Bar is Open in the Evening.Theres plenty of eating places around close to the Hotel and Station, from Fast Food, to Mom and Pops, to White Table Cloth. Lots of Pubs and Clubs too, Alpine is a College Town( Sul Ross State U.)
Alpine is followng the Governors
COVID Guidelines, which pretty much leaves it up to Businesses to decide their policies, I used lots of folks in Masks, most places require them !( I'm wearing my UT Longhorn Mask, Hook 'em.
Having internet here allows me to see that as of Noon, ( CDT)#2/#422 is 44 Minutes Late. in Benson,AZ, but it's a long way from El Paso to here and their OTP for the Eastbound Sunset hasnt been good lately due to Freight congestion.
Time to head for Lunch, I'm gonna try a Food Truck called "Cow Dog" that gets raves on Line, will decide on Dinner later this evening, probably good West Tex Mexican Food or a Steak!
I'll finish this up tomorrow once I'm back in Central Texas since there wont be any internet during the nights journey.
Hoping #2/#422 rolls in close to on time this evening!
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