NativeSon5859
Conductor
I had a Sleeping Car booked on train #59 on 8/27, but since we were so late into Chicago, I missed that train by about fifteen hours. So, I had to take the train out on Saturday the 28th. I was told that all Sleepers were sold out on the 28th so I would have to take Coach and would get a refund for the sleeper fare I paid. Not a big deal, it’s only an overnight ride. Boarding for Train #59, “City of New Orleans”, commenced at 7:40pm from Gate F. It was a scene of near chaos in the South boarding area, which comprises Gates C,D,E, and F. Gate C was seeing the delayed boarding of the Lake Shore Limited to Boston/New York City. Gate D was seeing the boarding of the delayed Capital Limited to Washington D.C. And Gate E was seeing the boarding of the Cardinal to New York City. All the trains (mine included) had huge lines of people waiting to board. So at 7:45 I made my way down the track platform past the Superliner, and took note of the consist: 1 P42 locomotive, 1 Express Baggage Car, 1 Transition Sleeper (revenue space was sold in this car), 1 Dining Car, 1 Sightseer Lounge, 3 Coaches, 1 Sleeping Car, and 1 Coach (probably a deadhead car). I took a seat in the 3rd Coach. This car was full of people going to just Jackson and New Orleans. All three coaches had at least 40 to 50 passengers in them, which is a pretty good load.
“The City” pushed back on time at 8:00pm. We went in reverse for a few minutes before heading forward onto the historic tracks of Canadian National (formerly Illinois Central). We got some dramatic views of the Chicago skyline, as well as the new Soldier Field, upon leaving the Chicago downtown area. We were five minutes early into our first station stop at Homewood, IL. I put on my Arlo Guthrie cd and listened to the song “City of New Orleans” several times. It just added to the experience. I decided to skip the Dining Car tonight and to get a light meal in the Sightseer Lounge instead. They were showing "Shrek 2" in the Sightseer Lounge so they had quite a few people in there watching it. We were on-time into Kankakee at 9:23pm. It started to rain a little here, but not too much. The track is smooth as silk, and, as my “Rail Ventures” book says, “straight as an arrow”. The Superliner pulled into Champaign/Urbana some six minutes early. Passengers got to de-train here for a quick smoking break. This was turning out to be a very relaxing, comfortable ride. We left Champaign on-time at 10:34pm. I fell asleep for a bit and awoke as we pulled into Carbondale to see the Illini parked on the track next to us, waiting for its morning run back up to Chicago. I again fell asleep shortly thereafter but awoke in time for our ascent of the spectacular Ohio River Bridge near Cairo, IL at about 3:30am. The view of the crossing was decent thanks to the moonlight. It was a pretty impressive bridge, long and high. Once again, I fell back asleep, and slept through our station stops at Fulton and Newburg. I awoke to find that we were in Memphis about ten minutes early. Even though I was pretty tired I got my camera and stepped outside to get some footage of the new Memphis station and of the train itself.
After a good long while in Memphis we departed on-time. Next stop was Greenwood, MS, in the heart of the Mississippi River Delta region. We were delayed about ten minutes into Greenwood, as we had to stop midway between the two cities’ to let a couple of freights pass. I was quite pleased with the dispatching on this route. We stayed pretty close to schedule for the vast majority of the way. We departed Greenwood at 9:15am. I spotted the “Welcome to Yazoo City” sign at 9:58am, and we pulled into that station at 10:03am. It was my first time passing through Yazoo, and I was surprised to see several national chain restaurants in the town. Th final approach into the station brought us down an oak-tree lined stretch of track passing through the back yards of some very nice homes. A “Yazoo City Welcomes Amtrak” sign was proudly posted next to the station. Always a nice sign (pun intended) of community support. We departed Yazoo at 10:04pm. Next stop, the capital city of Mississippi, Jackson.
In between Yazoo and Jackson, two members of the U.S National Park Service announced that they would be with us all the way down to New Orleans to provide commentary along this historic rail line. They were set up in the Sightseer Lounge Car and they had quite a few books, maps, and brochures of many places along this part of the route. We really made up some time here, doing 79 for much of the way to Jackson. We came to a stop ten minutes before entering the newly renovated Jackson station to let a freight pass. We ended up arriving in Jackson fifteen minutes early at 11:05am. This was the last schedule smoking break on the route before we reached New Orleans so quite a few passengers got off to take advantage. We departed Jackson on-time at 11:20. The first call for lunch was made at 11:30 and, seeing that I skipped breakfast, I made my way to the Dining Car one last time. I sat with a man and his son whom were bound for Hammond, LA after visiting relatives in the Pittsburgh area. I had a burger for lunch (which I found to be a little better than the one’s I had on the California Zephyr to Chicago) and finished it off with a railroad classic: hot, homemade, deep-dish Apple Pie. I returned to my seat just before pulling into Brookhaven, MS. The next two station stops (McComb, MS and Hammond, LA) all came and went on time.
Now for the most scenic part of the trip: the approach into New Orleans through the swamps, over trestles, and skirting the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Just a few minutes after we crossed the draw bridge over Pass Manchac, we were put on a siding to let our sister train, the Northbound City of New Orleans #58, pass us. There’s only single track for most of this route, so every day 59 has to wait for about 15 to 20 minutes for 58 to pass. It didn’t delay us at all, as we were running very early. We picked up speed as we crossed the Bonnet Carre Spillway and raced the cars on the I-10 bridge next to us. Since we got up to 79 on this stretch of track we passed the vast majority of the vehicles. We passed the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, just a stone’s throw away actually. Next we took to the suburbs, passing the New Orleans Zephyr’s stadium, the New Orleans Saints training facility, and the vast rail yards of Canadian National before making our way downtown. We made a big loop around Amtrak’s Coach and Engine facility here, then backed up into the station right next to the Louisiana Superdome and New Orleans Arena.
Thus concludes my boldest rail adventure yet. I enjoyed every second of it.
“The City” pushed back on time at 8:00pm. We went in reverse for a few minutes before heading forward onto the historic tracks of Canadian National (formerly Illinois Central). We got some dramatic views of the Chicago skyline, as well as the new Soldier Field, upon leaving the Chicago downtown area. We were five minutes early into our first station stop at Homewood, IL. I put on my Arlo Guthrie cd and listened to the song “City of New Orleans” several times. It just added to the experience. I decided to skip the Dining Car tonight and to get a light meal in the Sightseer Lounge instead. They were showing "Shrek 2" in the Sightseer Lounge so they had quite a few people in there watching it. We were on-time into Kankakee at 9:23pm. It started to rain a little here, but not too much. The track is smooth as silk, and, as my “Rail Ventures” book says, “straight as an arrow”. The Superliner pulled into Champaign/Urbana some six minutes early. Passengers got to de-train here for a quick smoking break. This was turning out to be a very relaxing, comfortable ride. We left Champaign on-time at 10:34pm. I fell asleep for a bit and awoke as we pulled into Carbondale to see the Illini parked on the track next to us, waiting for its morning run back up to Chicago. I again fell asleep shortly thereafter but awoke in time for our ascent of the spectacular Ohio River Bridge near Cairo, IL at about 3:30am. The view of the crossing was decent thanks to the moonlight. It was a pretty impressive bridge, long and high. Once again, I fell back asleep, and slept through our station stops at Fulton and Newburg. I awoke to find that we were in Memphis about ten minutes early. Even though I was pretty tired I got my camera and stepped outside to get some footage of the new Memphis station and of the train itself.
After a good long while in Memphis we departed on-time. Next stop was Greenwood, MS, in the heart of the Mississippi River Delta region. We were delayed about ten minutes into Greenwood, as we had to stop midway between the two cities’ to let a couple of freights pass. I was quite pleased with the dispatching on this route. We stayed pretty close to schedule for the vast majority of the way. We departed Greenwood at 9:15am. I spotted the “Welcome to Yazoo City” sign at 9:58am, and we pulled into that station at 10:03am. It was my first time passing through Yazoo, and I was surprised to see several national chain restaurants in the town. Th final approach into the station brought us down an oak-tree lined stretch of track passing through the back yards of some very nice homes. A “Yazoo City Welcomes Amtrak” sign was proudly posted next to the station. Always a nice sign (pun intended) of community support. We departed Yazoo at 10:04pm. Next stop, the capital city of Mississippi, Jackson.
In between Yazoo and Jackson, two members of the U.S National Park Service announced that they would be with us all the way down to New Orleans to provide commentary along this historic rail line. They were set up in the Sightseer Lounge Car and they had quite a few books, maps, and brochures of many places along this part of the route. We really made up some time here, doing 79 for much of the way to Jackson. We came to a stop ten minutes before entering the newly renovated Jackson station to let a freight pass. We ended up arriving in Jackson fifteen minutes early at 11:05am. This was the last schedule smoking break on the route before we reached New Orleans so quite a few passengers got off to take advantage. We departed Jackson on-time at 11:20. The first call for lunch was made at 11:30 and, seeing that I skipped breakfast, I made my way to the Dining Car one last time. I sat with a man and his son whom were bound for Hammond, LA after visiting relatives in the Pittsburgh area. I had a burger for lunch (which I found to be a little better than the one’s I had on the California Zephyr to Chicago) and finished it off with a railroad classic: hot, homemade, deep-dish Apple Pie. I returned to my seat just before pulling into Brookhaven, MS. The next two station stops (McComb, MS and Hammond, LA) all came and went on time.
Now for the most scenic part of the trip: the approach into New Orleans through the swamps, over trestles, and skirting the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Just a few minutes after we crossed the draw bridge over Pass Manchac, we were put on a siding to let our sister train, the Northbound City of New Orleans #58, pass us. There’s only single track for most of this route, so every day 59 has to wait for about 15 to 20 minutes for 58 to pass. It didn’t delay us at all, as we were running very early. We picked up speed as we crossed the Bonnet Carre Spillway and raced the cars on the I-10 bridge next to us. Since we got up to 79 on this stretch of track we passed the vast majority of the vehicles. We passed the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, just a stone’s throw away actually. Next we took to the suburbs, passing the New Orleans Zephyr’s stadium, the New Orleans Saints training facility, and the vast rail yards of Canadian National before making our way downtown. We made a big loop around Amtrak’s Coach and Engine facility here, then backed up into the station right next to the Louisiana Superdome and New Orleans Arena.
Thus concludes my boldest rail adventure yet. I enjoyed every second of it.
