Los Angeles to El Paso part II

Woke up in the middle of the desert, somewhere between Benson, AZ and Lordsburg, NM. Got up and went to breakfast in time to pass through Lordsburg. Had breakfast with a family of three ... daughter, mother and grandmother. They were on their way to Texas to visit great-grandmother. The resemblance between the three was striking. Back to my room to prepare for arrival in El Paso. When we arrived in Deming, NM I alerted my friend in El Paso, who was to pick me up, that we were about an hour 45 mins late. I guess that with my arrival in El Paso, my Amtrak Adventure is officially over. Still have to get back to Austin with my trailer but that should be just a lot of driving.

The End ...

Thanks for watching.

Los Angeles to El Paso

Slept late .. 8am. Messed around with my computer and headed to El Paseo Inn to see if Chilaquiles were the same as Migas. They're not but were very good anyway. In fact, both meals I had at El Paseo Inn were quite good. Check out time for the hotel is noon and the train leaves today for El Paso at 2:30 so I think I'll hang out in the hotel lobby for awhile. Los Angeles Passenger Terminal is one of the few major Amtrak stations that doesn't have a first class lounge. Got to the station just in time buy a couple of Cokes and sit down. They called my train and I was aboard 30 minutes before departure time. Departed at 2:32, already late. <G> First stop Pomona, CA. Departed there at 3:20, 9 minutes late after just 32 miles. Next stop Ontario, CA. Departed there at 3:37, now 13 minutes late. Looks like I might be having dinner in Palm Springs. Now stopped at the east end of the Ontario airport. Don't know why. Just watched a plane land that had TED in big letters on the fuselage. Need to find out what that is. Well, we just met a UP freight and have now started moving. I guess freight delays will be pretty common on this trip. While I was at dinner we waited for two freights then pulled into Palm Springs, actually North Palm Springs and departed there at 6:47. We are now one hour and forty-six minutes late. We are now skirting the Salton Sea. Our elevation, according to Topo USA is approximately 160 ft below sea level. Hope the dam doesn't break.

Here we are in Yuma, AZ. Too bad I can't jump off and ride the Yuma Valley Railroad. That is the only full size excursion train I missed this summer and some time I'll have to make an opportunity to ride it just 'cus. Departed Yuma at 9:50, one hour twenty-six minutes late. Seems we made up some time. Tucson was in the middle of the night. Looked out the window but didn't check the time. This is another place I would like to jump off and ride a couple of park trains I missed. Someday ...

I awoke in Arizona. It was hard to tell how far behind we were as I was confused by the time. Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings time so essentially we were already on Pacific Daylight time. The train timetable was not clear if the station times reflected this or you had to adjust for it. Eventually we settled that by passing into California and we were about two hours behind the timetable. Amtrak timetables have a lot of pad built into the last station stop so actual arrival time was about one hour late.

I had a hotel reservation in LA but arriving so early, I knew there was going to be a problem. I walked the three blocks to my hotel and presented myself about 9:30. Sure enough, the lady at the desk informs me that I can't check in until four o'clock. Perhaps I might like to explore China town or Olvera street nearby. Well I settled down in the lobby with my laptop and started catching up with email. I can read email from my iPhone easily enough but complicated replies I put off if I can. Took care of all of that, checked on my credit cards, anything I could think of. So then nature calls, I look around a little, don't see a restroom in the lobby so I ask at the desk. "No we don't have a restroom here" she says," you can go down the street to" somewhere I didn't catch, "it's only a minute away." Well, that didn't appeal to me so I decided to go to the Subway I had seen next door and eat lunch then use their facility. Had lunch but this turns out to be the only Subway I've ever been to that didn't have a customer restroom. Things are getting serious so I decided to walk back over to Union Station and while I was there I would browse their bookstore. No problem finding the restroom but the bookstore I thought I saw had only magazines. I stopped at the Information Desk at the entrance of the station and a very nice gentleman there told me he bought all his books at a store in Santa Montica. However, if I didn't want to ride the bus out there, I could take the Red Line subway to Macy's Plaza and they had a Borders Express there. Sounds like a plan. $1.25 for a ticket, third stop and off the train and up the escalator. At the top I encountered a metro security guard so I checked with him. Well, "there are two Macy's Plaza'a he says, which one do I want? " "The one with the bookstore." I say so he says" turn right." Went up another escalator and straight out the door and turned right. Walked a block or so and saw no Macy's Plaza. Hmpt! I saw another security guard standing in front of a bank so I asked him if he knew where Macy's plaza was. "NO" he replied with no further explanation. Kept walking a little bit and encountered something called 7 + Fig. Sure enough, lots of stores around a central courtyard and a Macy's department store is one of them. No book store however. So I backtrack. Maybe he meant go left after all but checking down the street that way got me nowhere. Now I'm standing across the street from Metro entrance and trying to decide what to do. Hate to waste a trip but asking for help hasn't been very useful. Then I notice that the entrance to the station is on a corner. I came out the door onto Figueroa street. The other door opens onto 7th street. Coming out the 7th street door, 7 + Fig is on the left and sure enough, a block and a half down 7th street to the right is Macy's Plaza. Found the book store, bought a book and headed back to the hotel. At the hotel there was a crowd around the desk so I plopped back down in the same chair and prepared to wait until 4 pm. Then I realized, even though most of the conversations were in Chinese, that these folks were checking in. I waited until things settled down a little bit and walked over to the desk. I looked at the lady behind the desk. She looked at me. I said, "do you have a room for me yet?" "Sure" she says, "where'd you go?" She handed me the key and I headed for the room. First thing I did was take a nap.

Despite the confusion in the lobby, I can recommend the Metro Plaza Hotel for anyone laying over in Los Angeles on an Amtrak trip. The hotel has been recently renovated, the facade, the lobby and the rooms. The room are nicely done with mahogany doors and furniture and the rooms and bathrooms are spacious and clean. Although the room AC worked well, the lobby and the halls are not air conditioned which seemed a little strange.

Went over to Olvera street for dinner. Olvera street is a small piece of old Los Angeles that contains mostly markets selling Mexican souviners but also a number of nice resturants and small street resturants. One building dates back to 1818. I had my usual Enchiladas Suizas at the El Paseo Inn and now I'm going to bed. They also serve breakfast, starting at 9:30. If I can wait that late I may try their Chilaquiles Sabrosa which they claim is the same as Migas. We'll see.

Up at 6:30 again. Train running about 2 hours late. Over night we paused at Kansas City but I slept through it. Not much to say about Kansas farm land either. Crossed into Colorado about 10:00 am. Eastern Colorado is about the same as Kansas. We arrived in Trinidad at 11:45 and started up Raton Pass. Here I start retracing part of my journey from earlier this summer as we roughly follow I-25 and the Santa Fe Trail from Trinidad to Albuquerque. It's nice to be able to watch the scenery instead of the road. We crossed the summit of Raton Pass at 12:10. After Raton, things sort of flatten out again and the area appears to be mostly ranch land. We just passed a tree off in the distance. Not a very big tree but the ONLY tree that I can see for miles and miles. There has to be a story there somewhere. Las vegas, NM ... they have a unusual building here, next to the depot. It's mission style but built of bricks and had the name Castanada on the center section. First guess is that it's an old Harvey House Hotel but I'll have to look it up.

(Got on the web and sure enough ... check out http://harvey.library.arizona.edu/finding_aid/8nm/3/gr8-3-2.html )

Lamy, NM ... I've been here on a train before this summer, just not this train. Lamy was the destination of the Santa Fe Southern excursion railroad that I rode back on July 26th. Seems like a lot longer ago than that. I had lunch there last time, this time I almost had dinner as we are running a little over 2 hours late and just about a half hour before my dinner reservation time.

Albuquerque ... managed to finish dinner before we arrived in ABQ. I didn't get off even though we had an extended stay. From the train I noticed a building very close to the tracks that had all the doors and windows sealed shut with plywood and signs on the outside warning of asbestos danger, "do not enter without respirators and protective suits." It would have made a perfect place for the Amtrak station which is located instead a long walk away and in a cramped little build near the street. Wonder how long that building was used before someone noticed the asbestos problem.

After Albuquerque we turned west and followed the route of another trip I had taken two years ago. With two friends, we drove to California following the tracks of previous Santa Fe Railroad as closely as possible. Darkness soon prevailed however and I saw little more until the next morning when ...

Washington to Chicago Part II then on to LA

Woke up in Indianapolis just as two cars were coupled on the the back of our train. Referred to as the Hoosier State, these two cars run on their own one day a week and are tacked onto the back of the Cardinal three days a week. I headed into the diner for breakfast just in time as I was followed in by a bunch of rowdy middle age Indianapolis businessmen going to Chicago for a Cubs game. They took all the rest of the seats in the diner. Turns out it was a customer appreciation thing paid for by a shipping company. Several of them started breakfast with a Bloody Mary. Train was a little late into Chicago but not too bad.

Chicago

With plenty of time to wait, I checked my luggage and settled down to use the free wifi in the first class lounge. No luck. I had a good signal and no request for a password or anything, it just wouldn't work. The ladies at the reception desk knew nothing and were no help at all. So, no blog up date. I ventured out on the streets of Chicago long enough to find some supplies for the next two days and settled down in a comfy chair with my book. I checked on the wifi a couple of times and consulted with some fellow passengers but never got on.

Chicago to Los Angeles

Train 3, The Southewest Chief left on time and we headed through the suburbs of Chicago and out into the farm land of Illinois. This is the third train I've never ridden before. Not much to say about the farm land of Illinois except there's lots of it and the farmers are very neat.

Crossed the Mississippi River from Illinois to Fort Madison, Iowa at 7:30 pm. Iowa farm land was pretty much like Illinois land. It got dark so nothing else to see.

Washington to Chicago

Got up early, packed and headed to Union Station for breakfast. The first class lounge, called the Acela lounge in Washington, has a wifi setup so I worked my email and browsed the web some. Pre-boarding for train 51 the Cardinal, was called at 10:40. The Cardinal is the second train I'm riding that I've never been on before, the first being the Crescent from New Orleans to Washington. I got to my room, set up my computer, hooked up my GPS and waited for departure. The Cardinal departed at 11:20, about 10 minutes late. Since we departed by going into the tunnel under Washington, I lost my GPS fix. Sometimes it's hard to get that back while moving at a high speed.

Well, I guess we were moving slow enough so the GPS hooked up right away. Windows Vista however choose that time to automatically install an update and then restart. I think I have that option turned off now. For lunch I got to experience "Diner Lite." In an effort to save money, Amtrak has reconfigured some of it's diners so there is a lounge in one end of a car and diner seating in the other with a preparation area in the middle. Two people are used to run the snack bar and prepare and serve food in the diner that has been precooked and is heated up. The hamburger I had was okay, even though I ordered chicken, so we'll see how it works for dinner tonight.

After an eleven minute stop in Charlottesville, VA we left there at 2:25, about 30 minutes late. It seem strange that a train headed from Washington to Chicago would be as far south as Charlottesville but I guess that has a lot to do with finding a way through the mountains. After after another dip to the south, we cross UNDER the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway in a tunnel. Out of Staunton, VA at 3:38, about 40 minutes late. I've actually been to Staunton before, on my way to the N-scale convention in Chantilly, VA several years ago. I stopped here and parked my trailer in a local RV park so I could visit the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia via roads that I would never take my trailer on. Staunton is a pretty little mountain town and they have a library with a nice genealogy dept. and free wifi.

We wound through the mountains and met the east bound Cardinal at Goshen, VA. Went to dinner, had the salmon, it was very good. During dinner we passed into West Virginia, I'm not sure exacly where. We followed the Greenbriar river for quite some time then connected with the New River. The New River Gorge is said to be quite spectacular. Too bad we will be doing most of it after dark.

Out of Hinton, WV at 7:39, one hour 38 min. late. Finally at Hinton, it looks like we may be headed north for the rest of the trip.

Genealogy research in Washington

I've known about the Civil War service of my Great Grandfather Simpson Jones Nash for some time. He was a Confederate soldier captured at Gettysburg and imprisoned at David's Island in Long Island Sound. I also knew my maternal Great-Great Grandfather, John McIlheran, had served for the Confederates but really didn't know much about his time in the service. I decided to use my time in DC to visit the National Archives and look up his records.

The records themselves are not actually available and would be hard to use if they were. What the government has done is created a sort of event card from each entry of every sort of military record where a Confederate soldiers name appears. Some came from Confederate enlistment records, some from musters or roll calls during service, others from Confederate hospital admission and discharge records and many from Union prisoner of war records. I'm sure there are many other categories. Once these cards were complete, they were brought together as military units then sorted by name then date. This creates a mini-history for each soldier. These cards have been microfilmed in order and are available for researchers to look up and print copies.

Upon finding my McIlheran ancestor, I discovered that he had been a prisoner of war also. He joined up 11 Nov 1862, a member of the 23rd Battalion, Tennessee Infantry, Company D. He was captured on 11 September 1863 during the run-up to the battle of Chickamauga. According to the records, he went first to a prison in Louisville, KY and ended up in the Rock Island Barracks in Illinois. On May 11th, 1865, a few days after the Confederate surrender, he signed an Oath of Allegiance to the United States and was released. He lived to be 98 years old and is buried in the McIlheran Cemetery near Cowan, TN.

More Boston to Washington

The lead loco on my train was 2006, although I didn't take this picture until we arrived at Washington.

Breakfast was served at our seat, I had eggs and sausage. I think we get lunch also. We were on time until we left New Haven, there seemed to be some sort of delay getting away. We are now leaving Stamford, CT about 9 minutes late. Maximum speed I've seen to this point is 125 mph. Next stop New York City.

Arrived New York Penn Station at 12:45 pm, right on time, departed 1:01 pm, I'll call that on time. Went under the river and emerged in New Jersey.

Lunch was served ... small slices of roast beef served cold with a spicy corn and pea salad and a dinner roll.

Departed Philadelphia 2:15, 5 minutes late.

It's truly amazing how many people like to entertain themselves on the train by talking on their cellphone. I was within earshot of two and I expect there were more farther away. I'm not sure how happy the folks on the other end were as most of the talking was being done on the train and by most I mean 90 to 95 percent. I think if I were on the other end I would discover an emergency.

Out of Wilmington, DL 4 minutes late.

They actually have a "quiet" car on the Acela and on the other NEC trains. Unfortunately it's not the first class car but one of the business class cars ... no cell phones and no loud talking.

Out of Baltimore 3 minutes late.

Arrived Washington a couple of minutes early.

I never did see that 150 mph speed that was advertised. My GPS lost it's connection a few times but mostly worked. I guess we could have hit 150 during one of those misconnects but not for very long.

Found my hotel after a little misstep. It was actually closer than I thought.

The Phoenix Park Hotel, 520 N Capitol S NW is due west of the entrance to Union Station, past the National Postal Museum. I veered off to the south too much and missed the first time. Internet is not free ... $9.95 a day, but at least it starts the time you first log in, not noon to noon like at the Marriott that I just left.

Manhattan

Taken from the approach to Hell's Gate bridge.

New Haven

This where I got off to go to Hartford on the way to the convention.

Inside Acela

iPhoto of Acela First Class car.

Acela - Boston to Washington

I had planned to ride the MBTA Red Line from my hotel to Boston South Station but decided to forgo the rush hour with my luggage in tow and took a cab instead. With an over-tip it cost me $15 but I expect it was worth it. I'm now in the ClubAcela lounge, reserved for First Class passengers, and waiting for my 9:15 departure. The lounge is quite, has large soft chairs with soft drinks and snacks available as well as wireless internet. The Redcap informed me we would board at 8:45. I should be in Washington by 3:45. I hope to take a few pictures in-route and post them with my iPhone.

NSC Convention - Wrapup

Today was the n-scale manufacturers breakfast. Reps from each company get up and discuss their future plans. Usually you can get the same information from them at their booth so not much is really new.

My ride to Boston was arranged with Neal Carnaby of Neal's N-Gauging Trains so after breakfast I helped him pack up and load up his room full of merchandise. I ended up riding with his wife, Erica, and and son Norman, which was okay because Neal's van doesn't have any AC. We had a little trouble finding the hotel in Boston but Erica got directions over the phone and we were soon there. The hotel was near a shopping center which I visited then ate supper nearby. Tomorrow I ride the Acela Express from Boston to Washington, top speed 150 mph.

NSC Convention - Day four

Today at the convention was for for the public train show, a trip to the Connecticut Trolley Museum, clinics and the banquet. But first I walked over to the Walmart, about 1.6 miles, to replace my lost razor. Not really a good idea as the area is not pedestrian friendly.
I finally spent some money at the trainshow, buying some of the Branchline Trains kits I had seen during the tour yesterday and a set of Kato stack cars. Branchline makes some really nice laser cut building kits and I'll probably buy some more. Didn't make any clinics.
Did laundry so I would have clean clothes for the rest of the trip.
The banquet was fun though I didn't win but one door prize.

NSC Convention - Day three

The Swap-O-Rama started at nine am. All N scale stuff just for convention attendees. A few clinics today and tonight the Essex Dinner Train. It's supposed to rain all day so we'll see how that works out. Got a tour of Branchline Trains but missed the rest of the Swap-O-Rama and lunch. Went to my room for some junk food since the hotel restaurant was so expensive. It was a nasty rainy day all day and still going when we left for the Essex Clipper Dinner Train. Our bus windshield kept fogging up and the driver would wipe a little hole in the fogged up windshield to see. Made everyone very nervous. We arrived at the train station intact and a bit early so we had to wait for them to bring the train up. We were assigned to specific cars, even specific tables and were escorted to our table by a nicely dressed waiter. Now they knew exactly when were were coming and exactly what each person at each table had ordered so at this point, maybe after serving the salad, they should have been able to set our food in front of us. Not so. We waited and waited for food, finishing the appetizer, the salad and the bread then waiting some more. I just don't understand what the delay could have been. The waitress took drink orders and I ordered a coke, not knowing that a 8 oz. coke would cost $2.50. Dessert was also long in coming but eventually we finished our meal and de-boarded only to find that our busses were not there and after a call to the bus dispatcher it was determined that the dispatcher had no order to send busses. It was cold though not raining. Many were not prepared for standing around outside and some of the ladies used the hand dryers in the restroom to try to stay warm. The bus company recovered quickly however and our buses soon appeared. All in all, it was not the most fun I've ever had at a train show.

NSC Convention - Day Two

We loaded up at 9:15 this morning for a field trip. First stop was the Essex Steam Train. They have an interesting combo trip where you ride the train to a river landing and then board a boat for a trip on the Connecticut river. Lunch was served, bag style, while we cruised a few miles on the river, then back onto the train and back onto the bus. Next we went to the Groton Submarine Base Museum and a tour of the original nuclear submarine, the Nautilus. Not a life I would have enjoyed.
Tonight was the live auction of n-scale trains but in all the years I've been to these conventions, I've never even bid on anything. I skipped the auction to play with my computer.

NSC Convention - Day one

Well, started the day without my electric razor. In thinking about it, I believe I lost it on the platform in DC. I heard a noise and noticed an open zipper on my bag but looking back down the platform I saw nothing so I zipped up the bag and went on. Fortunately I have a spare. Originally sold by WalMart for $3.95, I bought a bunch of Shaveman razors for $1.00 each on close out. They run on AA batteries and the two batteries were worth a dollar. It's not much of a razor but it will do until I get to the store to buy a replacement.

Went to the Mall for lunch and while there visited the Apple Store to buy a copy of the just released iWork and iLife. Several new features but in particular a spreadsheet for iWork. I would guess that that was the only store in the mall that was identified only by it's logo.

On getting back to the hotel and starting to load the new software I was somewhat disappointed to learn that the brand new, super duper iMovie requires a G5 or Intel machine to run. Guess that gives me another reason to buy a new laptop.

Registration for the convention is at 1 pm today but until the 7 pm reception, there is nothing else scheduled. Had a nice nap. Presentation at the convention turned out to be a long, loud description of the development of the New Haven Railroad logo back in the 50's. I left until it was over. Desert afterward was good and stayed in Kim Saign's room until midnight watching him sell trains.

New Orleans to Hartford - part II

Still running late this morning but perhaps not too late to make my connection in DC. Conductor thinks we will be there at 11:20. I will now move from the luxury of a compartment to the confines a coach seat for the next 6 hours. Hope they have an outlet to plug my laptop into.

Hooray, made the connection with no problem. Even had time to drop my luggage in the first class lounge and do some shopping in the Union Station Mall. Train 176 left Washington, DC on-time and I have passed through the large cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia with the next big city being New York City. We just pulled out of Trenton, NJ, right on time. We arrive in New Haven, CT at 5:06 and I switch to a shuttle that takes me to Hartford, CT arriving at 5:58. With any luck I will have a ride waiting for me but I might take a cab to the hotel in Farmington, CT where the convention is being held.

Arrived New York City at 3:20 about 2 minutes late. Cell phone and EDGE data network seem to function fine in the depths of the underground station but not in the tunnel approches. Every seat on the train seems to have a 110 electrical outlet available. Wish they did that on all their trains. Bunch of people got off in NYC but even more got on. May have to give up the other half of my double seat. Left station at 3:31, one minute late. Lady just walked by my seat who absolutely could not walk down the aisle without turning sideways because of her hips. She also had fingernails that were about 6 in. long. Whoa!

Arrived in New Haven on time. Transfered to train 476 for the trip to Hartford along with a large number of other folks. Ended up with an aisle seat facing backwards. Didn't have time to play with any of my toys. Arrived at Hartford a few minutes late after a passenger failed to get off at an earlier station and they had to stop twice. My ride to the hotel was waiting so we stopped for dinner and I treated.

New Orleans to Hartford

Finally got to sleep about 12:30 am. A 7:20 am train made for a short night and I was back at the train station at about 6:45. Bought two cokes in the station for $1.75 each as there are no Coca-Cola products sold on Amtrak trains.

We left New Orleans on train 20 right on time at 7:20 am. No time to get breakfast so I was pleased to learn that the diner will be open later for breakfast. As we move out of New Orleans the Katrina damage and effects are still very much in evidence with boarded up homes or trailers parked in the front yard. Many homes have been restored however and look almost new.

We made our way north to the shore of Lake Ponchartrain and headed east at 80 mph. Eventually we turned more north and crossed the eastern neck of Ponchartrain and arrived at Slidell on time. We crossed the Pearl river into Mississippi and stopped at Picayune on-time. Next arrived Hattiesburg, MS at 9:40, still on time. For some reason I'm intrigued by that name and will have to look it up when I have a chance. Arrived Laurel, MS on time. At Meridian we had a "smoking break" which I usually take advantage of to stretch my legs and take pictures. We changed train crews here and said goodbye to Conductor Tommy Wood.

We reached Meridian, MS on time. They have a very nice station there, much larger that you would expect. A number of years ago, the Meridian mayor was very prominent in Amtrak advocacy. Amount other things he proposed a passenger route that would go due west from Meridian and connect to Dallas. It would have taken a lot of money to upgrade the track and signal system and nothing came of it. Don't know what happened to the mayor.



I'm riding in an Amtrak Viewliner car for the first time. The name Viewliner comes from the fact that the upper bunk has it's own window therefore it's own view, a feature not found on the older Superliners. I may sleep in the upper bunk tonight, just to try it out. Another feature of the Viewliner bedroom is an in-room toilet. It's very convenient with just one person in the room, I don't know how you would work things out if there were two people who were not VERY good friends. A side effect of the toilet is that one of the two facing seats is rather narrow. I my case, that is also the seat facing forward so it's a little cramped.

We are deep in the land of Kudzu now. Kudzu is a large leaf vine that was imported by the railroads many years ago to help hold the soil on earth fills and cuts. Like many foreign species, it found things to it's liking and soon began to spread. It can be founds miles from any railroad now. It is not a parasite but it can climb and cover a tree until it blocks enough light to kill the tree. Anytime you see a tree in this area that seems to have exceptionally luxurious foliage, especially along the trunk, it's likely Kudzu you see.

Just went through Cuba, AL. I would guess the population at about 50. Sometimes I wonder how people decide to name their towns. (Well I was wrong ... just looked it up and Cuba had a population in 2000 of 363.)

The forest we are passing through, combined with the Kudzu I assume, is playing havoc with my GPS. Excessive foliage can make it difficult for a GPS to get a good fix and especially when the GPS is traveling at a high speed. The trees here grow right up next to the right-of-way and are quite tall. The current location of the GPS satellites can make a difference also so I guess there are too many of them east and south of me right now. Hanging from a suction cup hook on the window of my compartment, my GPS can only "see" well to the north and west. Sometimes it is able to maintain a 2-D fix, meaning it can calculate latitude and longitude but not altitude and other times it is fooled into miscalculating the 2-D fix and shows the position way off the railroad track on the map. As we come into a clear area and it gets a good fix, the little yellow 2-D arrow will suddenly turn green and snap back onto the correct path.

Lunch was a tasty pepperoni pizza and even though we were no longer in Mississippi I had the Mississippi Mud Pie for desert.

We have been on time mostly but are slowly starting to fall behind. We waited quite some time south of Tuscloosa, AL and finaly started again after meeting Amtrak 19, the south bound version of this train. Had we been on time, we would have been in and out of Tuscaloosa before 19 got there.

Twenty minutes late out of Birmingham.

Departed Anniston 4:59, 42 min late. Interesting depot, looks like it once served two railroads right at a sharp junction of the two lines. Depot is being restored.

The Atlanta depot is out in the suburbs rather than downtown, a place called Brookwood Station, which is underneath I-85. I went into the depot to look for some Coca-Cola and when I came back out, the folks waiting to get on decided to follow. A very stern station announcer stopped them but I ignored him and kept going. I think a lot of people were consternated.<G> BTW, in the national headquarters town of Coca-Cola there were no Cokes available in the depot. Departed Atlanta at 9:30 EDT, 1 hour and 9 m late. I have a two hour connection in Washington so I am a bit concerned.Departed Gainsville, GA at 10:31, 1 hr 15 m late. Time to go to bed and see what the morning brings.

El Paso to New Orleans Part II

I was asleep when we arrived in San Antonio and never left my room. We departed at 3:48am, 2 hr 48 m late. Houston depot had a Pepsi machine but closer examination revealed it held Coca-Cola products. Bought three cans at fifty cents a piece. Hooray.

Departed Houston at 8:53, 2 hr 38 m late. Departed Beaumont "depot" around 1:00 pm but soon stopped at the approach for the Neches River drawbridge and sat for over an hour and a half. My room sat right on top of the convergence of Park and Orleans streets where they share an underpass.
We finally crossed the river at 2:45 making us about 6 1/2 hrs late. Left the State of Texas at 3:25. Almost 14 hours getting across the state. Lake Charles, Louisiana ... departed 4:02, 6 1/2 hrs late so were not losing any more time but we still have 219 miles to go. It appears Lafayette has chosen to preserve their old train station by making it a central transportation hub as many others have done. Looks very nice. Departed Lafayette at 5:45, 6 hrs and 25 m late, we gained 5 minutes. Well, I guess we didn't have anybody getting on or off in New Iberia, 'cus we just cruised right past the station. In and out at 6:10 ... 6 hrs 24 minutes late, gained 1 minute! One more station before New Orleans but still 127 miles to go. Another delay ... waiting in a siding at Bayou Sale for a freight to meet us ... another 42 minutes behind. Another roll by at Schriever. We slowed to 6 mph then went right on through at 8:23. So by the timetable, this puts us 7 1/4 hours behind. BUT ... the timetable also shows 2 hours and 52 minutes to get fron Schriever to New Orleans and only 1 1/2 hours to get from New Orleans to Schriever. Looks like a bit of padding built into the end of east bound schedule. We will soon see. Arrived New Orleans Union Station at 10:28. 6 hours and 28 Minutes late. Hotel by 10:45, WIFI works good if you are reading this.

El Paso to New Orleans, 1177 rail miles.

El Paso to New Orleans

Train 2 arrived El Paso 11:26. I boarded sleeping car 32110, the Tennessee, to find that my room had just been vacated by arriving passengers and it was not ready.

Photo courtesy of Kathie Lopez who also delivered me to the depot.

I went to the diner to have lunch. The train departed El Paso at 11:53, 2 hr 52 m late. After lunch, I returned to my room and set up my computer with Delorme Topo USA and a GPS and began tracking the progress of the train. We seemed to stay at 80 mph most of the time but at 3:20 CDT we stopped on a siding just west of Valentine. At 3:23 we started moving again and we were soon back up to 80 mph. Not much to see in this part of the world but it was a lot greener than I expected. We stopped to meet a freight just west of Alpine at 4:22 CDT, then we BACKED UP for some reason. By 4:38 we were moving again, never learned what the delay was. Then there was a long delay at the station in Alpine. After sitting there for a several minutes the conductor declared a "passenger courtesy stop" and let folks off to smoke or stretch their legs.

After the train moved forward for a second and then a third spot to board some passengers on rear cars, we finally departed Alpine at 5:24. We also got a new train and engine crew here. Scheduled departure was 2:22 so we are now 3 hrs and 2 m late. Passed through Marathon at 6:45. Met a freight at Rosenfeld at 7:32. Departed Sanderson at 8:04, 3 hr and 53 m late.

Crossed the Pecos High Bridge at 9:42 but could only tell from the sound as it was quite dark. Del Rio had coke machines inside the depot but all the doors were locked ... bummer. Departed Del Rio at 10:42, 4 hr 5 m late.

Amtrak 2 arrives in El Paso

This post was originally made from my iPhone. I took the picture as the train arrived, then emailed it to a special address that posts it on the blog. Kind of slow but cool. I edited the text later from a hotel with my laptop.

Waiting for the train.

Well, it's 6:23 on departure day. The scheduled arrival of Train 2, The Sunset, into El Paso is 8:16 am and the Amtrak site already shows an estimated arrival of 10:22. Pretty typical of the Sunset so we'll see how it goes. Plenty of time for breakfast though.

What to expect ...

Almost anything!

During the period from August 4th until August 20th, I'm going to be on Amtrak for most of 10 days and 6 nights. I'll also be in five different hotels across the country and travel approximately 7500 miles by rail. Somewhere in the middle of that, I'll be at the national N-scale convention in Hartford, CT. Whatever strikes my fancy will get reported in some way on the blog. No theme this time. All the hotels have wifi so I can post from there with my laptop. I also have the capability to take a picture with my phone and post it and some text directly from the phone. Pictures won't be very pretty and there won't be much text since I'm not very good at typing on this gadget yet. Doesn't sound interesting ... oh well.