Amtrak Cajun
OBS Chief
Hi everyone, I know its been a while since I've been on. I just got back from a trip to Houston to see some friends. Oh, do I have a story to share. Without further ado, lets begin.
First Segment, Lafayette, LA to Houston, TX, Saturday April 2nd, 2016
I booked this trip earlier in the week. I was excited to go and see a few friends in Houston, they invited me out to have some BBQ. (The two Joe's would be proud of me on this one.)
I arrived at the Lafayette terminal at 11:45am, happily awaiting the arrival of The Sunset Limited, train #1. I had a chat with some of the passengers also waiting to board. Met some good folks heading home to Arizona. I met a veteran heading to Houston. Well, this guy would end up sitting with me....more on this shortly.
The train arrived 25 minutes late. I got my seat assignment, seat # 21, window seat (yesssss). Well, who ends up sitting next to me but the veteran guy. fine. (or so I thought). We roll out of Lafayette, and cruise out towards Lake Charles, our next scheduled stop. I head to the lounge car to see Merrol, my favorite Lounge Car Attendant. (If you ever meet him, hes hilarious). I grab a burger and a Pepsi and hang out downstairs, chatting with Merrol. I noticed this old guy, and my seatmate buying beers every so often....thought nothing of it. Well, then I noticed that things were getting a bit loud upstairs. Well, I really got concerned when my seatmate, and his obviously sloshed 'friend' decided to come downstairs, and box me in at said table. They were both talking to each other in drunken slurred speech. Ohhhhhh boy, here we go, I thought, and as soon as Merrol came downsotairs, I made the (hand across neck) motion to not serve them anymore drinks, he nodded, acknowledging that he had already realized what was happening. The conductor soon came downstairs. Merrol had already cut the guys off from buying anything more and he had already warned the conductor about these 3 guys. There was another guy, but the 2 I was dealing with at my table were the worst off. The conductor warned the two guys that were blocking me in, that if they didnt cool it, they would be put off of the train at Beaumont. The older guy understood, and sorta chilled out. My seatmate however, did not. He continued to be rude and obnoxious, even to the point of cussing Merrol out because he wouldnt serve him more beer upon demand.
As we approached Houston, the guy just kept getting worse and worse. I had gone back to my seat to grab my bag to prepare to detrain in Houston. The conductors had grabbed the guy, and were bringing him back to his seat. He was so bad off that he couldnt remember where he was sitting. I told the conductors that he was my seatmate, and that this bags were above our seat. They thanked me for letting them know. We headed downstairs and the guy was just rambling about how he owned the train and should get what he wants and so on. The assistant conductor looked at me and said. Im sorry you had to be this guys seatmate. I smirked and replied with, "Thats why I was hiding in the lounge car most of the trip!" He laughed. And that was my trip to Houston.
I enjoyed my time in Houston by having some friends take me to a nice BBQ Joint called Rudys. I had some moist brisket, jalapeno sausage. potato salad, and some other delicious items. Anyone who has been to Rudy's will understand how good this place is. The two Joes would love this place.
Return trip. Houston to Lafayette, Sun April 3rd 2016.
My return trip was both better and worse than my outgoing trip. I will explain why.
I arrived at the Houston Amtrak station at 10:30am, in preparation for the 11:10am arrival of the EB SL #2. Well, that wasnt gonna happen. The train pulled in 45 minutes late. We are off to a good start already!!!!!.
I board the train, and get my seat assignment, seat # 56, window seat again (yessssss). This time, my seatmate, is a mother and her two daughters, heading home to Alabama after spending a week in Houston. I had a great time chatting with them on this trip, which is a good thing, because this is where the Sunset Limited, became the Sunset (Un)Limited. we hit Beaumont and had to sit there for an hour due to a BNSF freight ahead of us that had mechanical failure of some sort. Well, the upside to that is that I got to chat with my new friends a bit more. After reboarding the train, we continued heading for Lake Charles, but lo and behold, right at the border, we stop again. This time, for another 30 to 40 minutes, due to....you guessed it, more freight failure. Im afreight we are having problems.....yes, my lame pun is lame. After that, our timetable was just wrecked. I said goodbye to my friends and wished them a safe trip back to Alabama, and prepared to detrain in Lafayette. We pulled into Lafayette 2 hours and 22 minutes late. Arrival time 7:26pm. I stepped off of the train and made it home safely. So ends another chapter of the Amtrak adventures.
I want to thank all of you for reading this, and I look forward to the comments.
Anthony (Amtrak Cajun)
First Segment, Lafayette, LA to Houston, TX, Saturday April 2nd, 2016
I booked this trip earlier in the week. I was excited to go and see a few friends in Houston, they invited me out to have some BBQ. (The two Joe's would be proud of me on this one.)
I arrived at the Lafayette terminal at 11:45am, happily awaiting the arrival of The Sunset Limited, train #1. I had a chat with some of the passengers also waiting to board. Met some good folks heading home to Arizona. I met a veteran heading to Houston. Well, this guy would end up sitting with me....more on this shortly.
The train arrived 25 minutes late. I got my seat assignment, seat # 21, window seat (yesssss). Well, who ends up sitting next to me but the veteran guy. fine. (or so I thought). We roll out of Lafayette, and cruise out towards Lake Charles, our next scheduled stop. I head to the lounge car to see Merrol, my favorite Lounge Car Attendant. (If you ever meet him, hes hilarious). I grab a burger and a Pepsi and hang out downstairs, chatting with Merrol. I noticed this old guy, and my seatmate buying beers every so often....thought nothing of it. Well, then I noticed that things were getting a bit loud upstairs. Well, I really got concerned when my seatmate, and his obviously sloshed 'friend' decided to come downstairs, and box me in at said table. They were both talking to each other in drunken slurred speech. Ohhhhhh boy, here we go, I thought, and as soon as Merrol came downsotairs, I made the (hand across neck) motion to not serve them anymore drinks, he nodded, acknowledging that he had already realized what was happening. The conductor soon came downstairs. Merrol had already cut the guys off from buying anything more and he had already warned the conductor about these 3 guys. There was another guy, but the 2 I was dealing with at my table were the worst off. The conductor warned the two guys that were blocking me in, that if they didnt cool it, they would be put off of the train at Beaumont. The older guy understood, and sorta chilled out. My seatmate however, did not. He continued to be rude and obnoxious, even to the point of cussing Merrol out because he wouldnt serve him more beer upon demand.
As we approached Houston, the guy just kept getting worse and worse. I had gone back to my seat to grab my bag to prepare to detrain in Houston. The conductors had grabbed the guy, and were bringing him back to his seat. He was so bad off that he couldnt remember where he was sitting. I told the conductors that he was my seatmate, and that this bags were above our seat. They thanked me for letting them know. We headed downstairs and the guy was just rambling about how he owned the train and should get what he wants and so on. The assistant conductor looked at me and said. Im sorry you had to be this guys seatmate. I smirked and replied with, "Thats why I was hiding in the lounge car most of the trip!" He laughed. And that was my trip to Houston.
I enjoyed my time in Houston by having some friends take me to a nice BBQ Joint called Rudys. I had some moist brisket, jalapeno sausage. potato salad, and some other delicious items. Anyone who has been to Rudy's will understand how good this place is. The two Joes would love this place.
Return trip. Houston to Lafayette, Sun April 3rd 2016.
My return trip was both better and worse than my outgoing trip. I will explain why.
I arrived at the Houston Amtrak station at 10:30am, in preparation for the 11:10am arrival of the EB SL #2. Well, that wasnt gonna happen. The train pulled in 45 minutes late. We are off to a good start already!!!!!.
I board the train, and get my seat assignment, seat # 56, window seat again (yessssss). This time, my seatmate, is a mother and her two daughters, heading home to Alabama after spending a week in Houston. I had a great time chatting with them on this trip, which is a good thing, because this is where the Sunset Limited, became the Sunset (Un)Limited. we hit Beaumont and had to sit there for an hour due to a BNSF freight ahead of us that had mechanical failure of some sort. Well, the upside to that is that I got to chat with my new friends a bit more. After reboarding the train, we continued heading for Lake Charles, but lo and behold, right at the border, we stop again. This time, for another 30 to 40 minutes, due to....you guessed it, more freight failure. Im afreight we are having problems.....yes, my lame pun is lame. After that, our timetable was just wrecked. I said goodbye to my friends and wished them a safe trip back to Alabama, and prepared to detrain in Lafayette. We pulled into Lafayette 2 hours and 22 minutes late. Arrival time 7:26pm. I stepped off of the train and made it home safely. So ends another chapter of the Amtrak adventures.
I want to thank all of you for reading this, and I look forward to the comments.
Anthony (Amtrak Cajun)
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