Tracks on #59 City of New Orleans?

How is the ride down to New Orleans from Chicago? Rough tracks? It mostly travels at night, so I want to prepare everyone for whether they are going to be able to sleep or not!

I just took that trip a month ago. I didn't notice any particularly rough tracks. It wasn't smooth by any means, but as far as trains are concerned, it seemed pretty normal.

I was in the transdorm, so the horn was a bit loud, but earplugs helped.

If you're in a roomette, put a pillow between your hip and the tray table. It helps a lot.

IMHO, the CONO has to deal with some of the roughest tracks in the entire Amtrak system, but I've never had a problem sleeping. Don't worry, everyone sleeps all day in New Orleans anyway, so that they can drink and listen to jazz all night.

Some of the roughest tracks on this route is from Memphis and South through the Mississippi Delta which will be in Daylight so you should sleep pretty well through Illinois and the Little Bit of Kentucky you cross till you get to the Big Bridge that crosses the Big Muddy close to the Fulton stop!

Nothing compares to the tracks between DYE and IND... Dear lord.. That was the only time I had trouble sleeping in a bunk. That's how rough the trackage was.

Since we're offering rough track stories, I thought that much of the trip from SAC to SEA was rough, but it could be because the engineer had the throttle set on "Ridiculous Speed" most of the time. And I was in roomette 9 right above the trucks, which I'm certain had a flat wheel. The banging of the flat wheel on the straight sections lessened as we were careening around the sharp corners, probably since that wheel was no longer in contact with the tracks! Of course there was some sort of high-pitched squeal in the corners, so there was really no quiet time.

But what kept me awake was this awful tapping noise from the hallway-side of my bunk, which I learned in the morning was those damn plastic hangers slapping against the inside wall of the "closet". At least I will know what to look for next time.