Amtrak Cajun
OBS Chief
Hey fellow AU'ers. I just wanted to make a trip report about the week long trip that I took, and the interesting things that happened. Sit back, relax, and grab a snack because here we go!
Quick note: For those of you who think this trip report is a TL
R piece, then skip to the end for train gradings and reasons. Otherwise, enjoy.
New Orleans 9/8/2012
Train Northbound Crescent 20
Roomette 8 Car 2011
We boarded out of the Magnolia room at 6:30. We lined up at the gate and once tickets were scanned, or in my case, pulled, we were allowed to walk out to the train. You know, this being my first time on the Crescent, I realized that this train is quite long haha. I waited by the door of the 2012 sleeper, because our attendant Shana found it easier to board us through one sleeper rather than two, so I made my way to the 2011 car, found my roomette, and got settled in. Shana came by, introduced herself and gave me a nice rundown of the room, and all of the controls. She then informed me of breakfast and what time it would be serving. So far so good.
We pulled out of NOUPT at about 7:10, they were a bit slow getting people to board, no matter though. Well, we start rolling and Im sitting there thinking, YES, my first time on a new train with my first sleeper car. We roll all of about 200 feet then we stop. HEP goes bye bye. We sit there for about 15 minutes with no HEP, and then suddenly, it got rebooted. We are now about 35 to 40 minutes down, but we get rolling along.
For breakfast I had the omelette, with the potatoes, biscuit and sausage, and apple juice to drink. Delicious meal. So, the journey continued on, through the day, passing into Mississippi, Alabama, and into Georgia. I had supper, and then promptly fell asleep afterwards. so I didnt see most of the stops including ATL. I woke up the next morning in Virginia, so I had breakfast again, and then relaxed on the way up to DC. We had caught up time, arriving into DC early. The engines were switched and off we went to NYP. The rest of the trip was uneventful. If you ever ride the Crescent, and have Shana as your SCA, you are in for a wonderful trip. Shana made my first sleeper trip a wonderful one.
FUN IN NYP!!!!
I arrived into NYP at 1:20pm. I was met on the platform by none other than Alan B. Alan was gracious enough to take time out of his Sunday to meet me, and hang out with me between my train arrival, and bus departure. He took me into the Club Acela, which was very nice. I would say its quite comparable to the Metro Lounge in Chicago. We then went to a Deli across the street and had burgers for lunch. I bought lunch to thank Alan for taking the time to show me around. Alan showed me some Viewliner diagrams and 3d renderings, that was cool. I enjoyed that. We also talked quite a bit about Amtrak and general chit chat.
He walked me down to NYPA *port authority*, and waited with me for my departure from NYP to Binghamton NY. I wished Alan well and jumped on a bus to see my girlfriend.
I spent 4 days in a town called Sayre PA, visiting my girlfriend. She then brought me back to Binghamton for me to catch a bus to Syracuse, NY, to make my way home.
THE LATE FOR SURE LIMITED!!!!
Thursday 9/13/2012
449 Coach
This is where things kinda turned a bit sour. I waited for 10 hours in Syracuse between my bus arrival at 12:15pm, and my scheduled LSL 49 arrival of 9:41pm. The train did not arrive into SYR until 10:30pm. To add insult to injury, the train was packed solid. The train car was very stuffy, and very noisy aka people wouldnt shut the hell up so others could sleep. They turned on the AC, and I thought I would have been able to sleep, but no. One person complained that they were "cold", so they kept cycling the AC on and off all night. If you ask me, it would have been better to have that one person cover themselves up if they were cold, instead of making the rest of the car suffer through a warm, uncomfortable night. I really wish I could have afforded the sleeper on the LSL, because I assure you, that night in coach was the worst Ive ever had. We got to Chicago at 11am. I was hot, sleepless, and feeling very run down. I told Alan and Dave that I would do lunch at Lou Mitchells, but I failed to do so because I was so exhausted, and not feeling well at this point, so I decided to just try and relax in the lounge. I managed to grab lunch up at Gold Coast Dogs. I had a double bacon cheeseburger, and as far as for drinks, I had free soda in the lounge, so that was nice. I waited until 7:10pm for the last boarding of the trip. I was to board the CONO.
Ridin on the CONO!!!!
Friday 9/14/2012
Train 59 Roomette # 2
From the Chicago Metro Lounge, the sleeper pax got to do the kindergarten walk to the train, which was sitting on track 20 this evening. I had roomette number 2, car 5900. I settled in, finally happy to be back on a train, but in a sleeper once again. I met our attendant Tracy *Tracey?* I didnt get the spelling of her name. She gave me a quick rundown of the room, and asked me when I would like my bed put down, I told her while I was dinner would be fine by me. When I came back from dinner, my bed was waiting for me, and I quickly crashed out. After the wait in Syracuse and Chicago, and the LSL coach experience, I needed sleep badly, and I managed to get about 6 or 7 hours, so I woke up feeling a bit better. I had breakfast and lunch on the train, both were great.
Although there was an incident that shouldnt have happened in the first place. Here is what happened. At about 8am, I was sitting in my room, and suddenly I hear a kid crying from the rear of the car, I heard voices talking as well, so I stepped out to see what was wrong, and if I could be of any help. This kid was apparently left alone by the mother and daughter who had gone to get breakfast. This kid had no diaper on, and had evidently peed on either himself and the floor. The kid was apparently still asleep when the mom decided to take the daughter to get breakfast. I would never ever ever leave a kid alone in a sleeper car, especially on the top bunk. Especially if the kid needs the restroom, People were ringing for the attendant, and Im not sure if she showed up. But the mother did return a few minutes later, and didnt seem too worried about the situation. I felt bad for this kid, he was pretty young, and to wake up and find yourself alone, with no mom and sister, and needing to use the bathroom, he obviously couldnt get down from the top bunk himself. A couple of other moms that were in the car tried to help the kid while waiting for the mother. Has anyone ever had this sorta thing happen on their trips?
Otherwise, we pulled into New Orleans at 3:20pm on Saturday 9/15/2012. I purchased a bus ticket to Lafayette, and arrived back into Lafayette, LA at 9:25pm. Im going to grade the trains for those who dont want to read the whole trip report.
Crescent # 20 *sleeper*: A Easily the best train Ive ridden so far. The scenery and the first time in a sleeper really made this trip wonderful for me.
LSL #449 *coach*: D the conditions werent the best, and it really made me feel horrible, A packed, noisy, hot and late train does not make for fun times.
CONO #59 *sleeper*: B The trip was the usual CONO scenery, generally great passengers and crew. The downside was the incident that happened. That sorta bummed me out a bit, but there wasnt much I could do personally to help the situation.
Overall trip experience? Id rate it a solid B. The LSL didnt ruin my trip by any means, it just made me realize how much I prefer the sleepers over coach. I now do really see the difference that everyone here on AU talks about. Before I only rode coach, so there was no difference for me to see. Also, due to the Syracuse and Chicago layovers, I will probably book the Crescent both ways for my next trip up to see my gf. Id much rather ride the Crescent twice than have to do two long layovers with very little sleep.
Sorry for the novel of a trip report, I just figured Id give as much details as I could, I know you all love details. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and feel free to leave comments, suggestions and tips for any of the segments. I am a member of AGR also, so no matter how I travel, I will be earning points.
Anthony
Quick note: For those of you who think this trip report is a TL
R piece, then skip to the end for train gradings and reasons. Otherwise, enjoy.New Orleans 9/8/2012
Train Northbound Crescent 20
Roomette 8 Car 2011
We boarded out of the Magnolia room at 6:30. We lined up at the gate and once tickets were scanned, or in my case, pulled, we were allowed to walk out to the train. You know, this being my first time on the Crescent, I realized that this train is quite long haha. I waited by the door of the 2012 sleeper, because our attendant Shana found it easier to board us through one sleeper rather than two, so I made my way to the 2011 car, found my roomette, and got settled in. Shana came by, introduced herself and gave me a nice rundown of the room, and all of the controls. She then informed me of breakfast and what time it would be serving. So far so good.
We pulled out of NOUPT at about 7:10, they were a bit slow getting people to board, no matter though. Well, we start rolling and Im sitting there thinking, YES, my first time on a new train with my first sleeper car. We roll all of about 200 feet then we stop. HEP goes bye bye. We sit there for about 15 minutes with no HEP, and then suddenly, it got rebooted. We are now about 35 to 40 minutes down, but we get rolling along.
For breakfast I had the omelette, with the potatoes, biscuit and sausage, and apple juice to drink. Delicious meal. So, the journey continued on, through the day, passing into Mississippi, Alabama, and into Georgia. I had supper, and then promptly fell asleep afterwards. so I didnt see most of the stops including ATL. I woke up the next morning in Virginia, so I had breakfast again, and then relaxed on the way up to DC. We had caught up time, arriving into DC early. The engines were switched and off we went to NYP. The rest of the trip was uneventful. If you ever ride the Crescent, and have Shana as your SCA, you are in for a wonderful trip. Shana made my first sleeper trip a wonderful one.
FUN IN NYP!!!!
I arrived into NYP at 1:20pm. I was met on the platform by none other than Alan B. Alan was gracious enough to take time out of his Sunday to meet me, and hang out with me between my train arrival, and bus departure. He took me into the Club Acela, which was very nice. I would say its quite comparable to the Metro Lounge in Chicago. We then went to a Deli across the street and had burgers for lunch. I bought lunch to thank Alan for taking the time to show me around. Alan showed me some Viewliner diagrams and 3d renderings, that was cool. I enjoyed that. We also talked quite a bit about Amtrak and general chit chat.
He walked me down to NYPA *port authority*, and waited with me for my departure from NYP to Binghamton NY. I wished Alan well and jumped on a bus to see my girlfriend.
I spent 4 days in a town called Sayre PA, visiting my girlfriend. She then brought me back to Binghamton for me to catch a bus to Syracuse, NY, to make my way home.
THE LATE FOR SURE LIMITED!!!!
Thursday 9/13/2012
449 Coach
This is where things kinda turned a bit sour. I waited for 10 hours in Syracuse between my bus arrival at 12:15pm, and my scheduled LSL 49 arrival of 9:41pm. The train did not arrive into SYR until 10:30pm. To add insult to injury, the train was packed solid. The train car was very stuffy, and very noisy aka people wouldnt shut the hell up so others could sleep. They turned on the AC, and I thought I would have been able to sleep, but no. One person complained that they were "cold", so they kept cycling the AC on and off all night. If you ask me, it would have been better to have that one person cover themselves up if they were cold, instead of making the rest of the car suffer through a warm, uncomfortable night. I really wish I could have afforded the sleeper on the LSL, because I assure you, that night in coach was the worst Ive ever had. We got to Chicago at 11am. I was hot, sleepless, and feeling very run down. I told Alan and Dave that I would do lunch at Lou Mitchells, but I failed to do so because I was so exhausted, and not feeling well at this point, so I decided to just try and relax in the lounge. I managed to grab lunch up at Gold Coast Dogs. I had a double bacon cheeseburger, and as far as for drinks, I had free soda in the lounge, so that was nice. I waited until 7:10pm for the last boarding of the trip. I was to board the CONO.
Ridin on the CONO!!!!
Friday 9/14/2012
Train 59 Roomette # 2
From the Chicago Metro Lounge, the sleeper pax got to do the kindergarten walk to the train, which was sitting on track 20 this evening. I had roomette number 2, car 5900. I settled in, finally happy to be back on a train, but in a sleeper once again. I met our attendant Tracy *Tracey?* I didnt get the spelling of her name. She gave me a quick rundown of the room, and asked me when I would like my bed put down, I told her while I was dinner would be fine by me. When I came back from dinner, my bed was waiting for me, and I quickly crashed out. After the wait in Syracuse and Chicago, and the LSL coach experience, I needed sleep badly, and I managed to get about 6 or 7 hours, so I woke up feeling a bit better. I had breakfast and lunch on the train, both were great.
Although there was an incident that shouldnt have happened in the first place. Here is what happened. At about 8am, I was sitting in my room, and suddenly I hear a kid crying from the rear of the car, I heard voices talking as well, so I stepped out to see what was wrong, and if I could be of any help. This kid was apparently left alone by the mother and daughter who had gone to get breakfast. This kid had no diaper on, and had evidently peed on either himself and the floor. The kid was apparently still asleep when the mom decided to take the daughter to get breakfast. I would never ever ever leave a kid alone in a sleeper car, especially on the top bunk. Especially if the kid needs the restroom, People were ringing for the attendant, and Im not sure if she showed up. But the mother did return a few minutes later, and didnt seem too worried about the situation. I felt bad for this kid, he was pretty young, and to wake up and find yourself alone, with no mom and sister, and needing to use the bathroom, he obviously couldnt get down from the top bunk himself. A couple of other moms that were in the car tried to help the kid while waiting for the mother. Has anyone ever had this sorta thing happen on their trips?
Otherwise, we pulled into New Orleans at 3:20pm on Saturday 9/15/2012. I purchased a bus ticket to Lafayette, and arrived back into Lafayette, LA at 9:25pm. Im going to grade the trains for those who dont want to read the whole trip report.
Crescent # 20 *sleeper*: A Easily the best train Ive ridden so far. The scenery and the first time in a sleeper really made this trip wonderful for me.
LSL #449 *coach*: D the conditions werent the best, and it really made me feel horrible, A packed, noisy, hot and late train does not make for fun times.
CONO #59 *sleeper*: B The trip was the usual CONO scenery, generally great passengers and crew. The downside was the incident that happened. That sorta bummed me out a bit, but there wasnt much I could do personally to help the situation.
Overall trip experience? Id rate it a solid B. The LSL didnt ruin my trip by any means, it just made me realize how much I prefer the sleepers over coach. I now do really see the difference that everyone here on AU talks about. Before I only rode coach, so there was no difference for me to see. Also, due to the Syracuse and Chicago layovers, I will probably book the Crescent both ways for my next trip up to see my gf. Id much rather ride the Crescent twice than have to do two long layovers with very little sleep.
Sorry for the novel of a trip report, I just figured Id give as much details as I could, I know you all love details. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and feel free to leave comments, suggestions and tips for any of the segments. I am a member of AGR also, so no matter how I travel, I will be earning points.
Anthony
Last edited by a moderator:
