7/19/09-7/20/09
After checking in @ our hotel in the FQ and some r&r,we meet Stacys son for a walking tour of the FQ(he is a tour
guide in NOL)and eat an outstanding dinner @ Coops/great food/very cold beer(many kinds to choose from)!Seems to be
mostly locals/regulars, more like Cheers than a tourist spot!We walk it off in the French Market/along the
Riverfront/of course Stacy does some shopping(but not moi! :lol: )!We then go on a ghost/haunted NOL tour(for free,
my favourite word! :lol: )and finis up @ Cafe du Monde before turning in for a great nights sleep,its been a long
three days and nights since SEA!!!Bourbon Street is louder and grosser than ever,a carvinal w/o the fun!!!
Awaken the next morning before the wake-up
,continental bkst in the lovely hotel courtyard(its 200 yrs old
but not telling the name,theyll raise the prices if anyone knows it! :lol: ,we pack/go to the only supermarket in the
FQ,stock up/go have one last round @ Cafe du Monde and hop a cab to Union Station!(Great driver,he only
charges $8 which he tells us is a special just for us! )Combo bus/train station,large crowd waiting on both sides/
We check our luggage/go to the Magnolia Room(show me the flowers!)/some coffee and juice/all the seats fill
up/An Amtral policeman comes and briefs the crowd/tells us that we should watch our valuables,they are having
problems with electronic items and other valuables disappearing in the station and on the trains in/out of here!!!
(goodbye to our camera on the CONOL/hence no pics :angry: )Soon we are taken past the long line of coach pax,
walk the long consist to sleeper 0130/room 07/our SCA Ken,a 30 yr. vet welcomes us/we stow our stuff in the
room and I step off to walk the train,the consist: 2 engines/baggage/transition sleeper/our sleeper/diner/ssl/
2 coaches.Ken says the train will be full most of the way,I believe it based on the crowds boarding!
We soon highball slowly out of the yards,climb slowly up and over the Huey Long Bridge(first time in
20+yrs and my first time on a train!Its a sunny,humid day(surprise! :lol: )as we roll westward,Ken tells us
to go on to the diner as the announcement comes/we have the salads and some icecream,go sit in the
ssl as we roll through the bayous and swamps and small La. towns!Wish wed get some of this water in Texas,
and it begins to rain hard,nice to see!!!We stop briefly in New Iberia/smoke and stretch stop in Lafayette,
roll up to Lake Charles past the lake and casinos/didnt realize the train took the low bridge beside the
causeway high bridge/guess theres a problem when the hurricanes hit here for sure!
We have an early dinner as we cross into Texas /the rain disappears but still humid and hot!
Pull into Beaumont,stop @ the infamous Cement Slab Station/its true,wouldnt want to be here in the
middle of the night in the rain!)We have a longer than expected smoke/stretch break as the crew change
van is late!Were running about 45 minutes early/not hardly any freight traffic so far!
After about 45 minutes(can you say padding?)we roll out for HOS and soon the Hi Rises of HOS come into
view as we pull into the Industrial looking and actually pretty sorry station!Since were early again Ken
says well probably be there about and hour/ends up being 1 1/2 hrs!Interesting boards in the station
with pics of old time trains/stations/rr brochures/timetables etc. At least the restrooms are clean(they
are kept locked and police are present!),we load up and pull out about 10PM for SAS!Ken makes
up (actually pulls down! :lol: )the top bed, Stacy climbs up and I settle down to read awhile!The tracks are very rough/
Ive never experienced such a rough ride in my life/since we cant sleep we go to the ssl and join the
"lounge lizards" as we roll through the dark and gloomy night!
About 2:30AM we pull into the yards east of SA/stop/sit for about 15 minutes/back-up/switch and proceed
to pull into Sunset Station right on time @ 3AM!The TE#22 is stting there next to SL#1 as we detrain/
Ken tells us someone is waiting for our bedroom for LAX,another full train!We go into the crowded small AMSHAK,
no room @ the inn/prepare for a loooooooooooooooong night in a not so fun place as we await
our last magic carpet ride home!(The TE#22)in the morning!To be continued!!! :blink:
After checking in @ our hotel in the FQ and some r&r,we meet Stacys son for a walking tour of the FQ(he is a tour
guide in NOL)and eat an outstanding dinner @ Coops/great food/very cold beer(many kinds to choose from)!Seems to be
mostly locals/regulars, more like Cheers than a tourist spot!We walk it off in the French Market/along the
Riverfront/of course Stacy does some shopping(but not moi! :lol: )!We then go on a ghost/haunted NOL tour(for free,
my favourite word! :lol: )and finis up @ Cafe du Monde before turning in for a great nights sleep,its been a long
three days and nights since SEA!!!Bourbon Street is louder and grosser than ever,a carvinal w/o the fun!!!
Awaken the next morning before the wake-up
,continental bkst in the lovely hotel courtyard(its 200 yrs oldbut not telling the name,theyll raise the prices if anyone knows it! :lol: ,we pack/go to the only supermarket in the
FQ,stock up/go have one last round @ Cafe du Monde and hop a cab to Union Station!(Great driver,he only
charges $8 which he tells us is a special just for us!
)Combo bus/train station,large crowd waiting on both sides/We check our luggage/go to the Magnolia Room(show me the flowers!)/some coffee and juice/all the seats fill
up/An Amtral policeman comes and briefs the crowd/tells us that we should watch our valuables,they are having
problems with electronic items and other valuables disappearing in the station and on the trains in/out of here!!!
(goodbye to our camera on the CONOL/hence no pics :angry: )Soon we are taken past the long line of coach pax,
walk the long consist to sleeper 0130/room 07/our SCA Ken,a 30 yr. vet welcomes us/we stow our stuff in the
room and I step off to walk the train,the consist: 2 engines/baggage/transition sleeper/our sleeper/diner/ssl/
2 coaches.Ken says the train will be full most of the way,I believe it based on the crowds boarding!
We soon highball slowly out of the yards,climb slowly up and over the Huey Long Bridge(first time in
20+yrs and my first time on a train!Its a sunny,humid day(surprise! :lol: )as we roll westward,Ken tells us
to go on to the diner as the announcement comes/we have the salads and some icecream,go sit in the
ssl as we roll through the bayous and swamps and small La. towns!Wish wed get some of this water in Texas,
and it begins to rain hard,nice to see!!!We stop briefly in New Iberia/smoke and stretch stop in Lafayette,
roll up to Lake Charles past the lake and casinos/didnt realize the train took the low bridge beside the
causeway high bridge/guess theres a problem when the hurricanes hit here for sure!
We have an early dinner as we cross into Texas
/the rain disappears but still humid and hot!Pull into Beaumont,stop @ the infamous Cement Slab Station/its true,wouldnt want to be here in the
middle of the night in the rain!)We have a longer than expected smoke/stretch break as the crew change
van is late!Were running about 45 minutes early/not hardly any freight traffic so far!
After about 45 minutes(can you say padding?)we roll out for HOS and soon the Hi Rises of HOS come into
view as we pull into the Industrial looking and actually pretty sorry station!Since were early again Ken
says well probably be there about and hour/ends up being 1 1/2 hrs!Interesting boards in the station
with pics of old time trains/stations/rr brochures/timetables etc. At least the restrooms are clean(they
are kept locked and police are present!),we load up and pull out about 10PM for SAS!Ken makes
up (actually pulls down! :lol: )the top bed, Stacy climbs up and I settle down to read awhile!The tracks are very rough/
Ive never experienced such a rough ride in my life/since we cant sleep we go to the ssl and join the
"lounge lizards" as we roll through the dark and gloomy night!
About 2:30AM we pull into the yards east of SA/stop/sit for about 15 minutes/back-up/switch and proceed
to pull into Sunset Station right on time @ 3AM!The TE#22 is stting there next to SL#1 as we detrain/
Ken tells us someone is waiting for our bedroom for LAX,another full train!We go into the crowded small AMSHAK,
no room @ the inn/prepare for a loooooooooooooooong night in a not so fun place as we await
our last magic carpet ride home!(The TE#22)in the morning!To be continued!!! :blink:
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