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This was to be my first time on Amtrak and my wife & I were scheduled to depart San Antonio at 6:00 A.M., Nov. 23, 2003. I was firmly convinced that a more civilized departure time would actually occur so that I would avoid getting up in the middle - of - the - night. After monitoring the Sunset Limited #2 for days before then and noting the late times, I knew that I was correct. Before I turned in, I checked again on the train status and it was estimated that the departure would be 8:44 A.M. I then talked to an agent and was told that the safe thing to do would be to call at 5A.M. Being a smart guy I figured that it would still be late. After all the train was nearly 3 hours late. Confident that I would be able to climb back in bed, I called Amtrak at 5 A.M. and was stunned that the train had made up over 2 hours. Fearing that more time would be made up, I frantically did some last minute packing and left for the station. 10 minutes later my wife inquired about the tickets. After returning for them, we arrived at the station at about 6:08 as the Texas Eagle was preparing to depart. On seeing it I immediately thought that the Sunset was somehow on schedule and would quickly depart. (I know now that the words "quick" and "Amtrak" are mutually exclusive.) The Sunset finally rolled in about 8 A.M. and I excitedly boarded. We were seated in the Lower Level in seats that were mounted flush against the end of the car facing the other seats that were arranged in 2 rows. We couldn't recline but had more than ample leg-room. (Later we sat elsewhere) At about 8:30 A.M. our train pulled out. We made our way to the dining car for breakfast where I ordered the much praised french toast and was not disappointed. For lunch, the Angus Burger proved to be even better. By the time dinner time rolled around, nothing else but a steak would do and I topped that off with cheese-cake smothered in fudge sauce. I don't recall actually deciding to go to sleep because an over-nite trip in coach is an endurance contest where you just slip in and out of consciousness throughout the night. Soon after we left San Antonio it became apparent that Amtrak's schedule was the greatest work of fiction in this millennium. We stopped A LOT. In fact it took over 12 hours to get out of Texas! My destination was Pensecola, Fla.and we arrived the next morning a little frazzeled 10 hours late. On the return trip Dec. 1 a freight train derailment somewhere in Alabama prevented the train from traveling past Pensecola so Amtrak bussed us to New Orleans leaving 51/2 hours after telling us to be at the station at midnight. From New Orleans the Sunset was amazingly on schedule. Early Dec. 2 we arrived in San Antonio ahead of schedule. The return trip was remarkably uneventful but, then I was a Railway Veteran.
Posts: 113 | From: San Antonio, Texas,USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I've been tempted to try coach overnight but I think it would wear me out. Glad to see you got through it all even if you did have a bus-filled gap.
Posts: 874 | From: South Bay (LA County), Calif, USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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My first two long distance trips were overnight in coach, and I'm no worse off. I looked forward to the "Amtrak Adventure" (or misadventure as the case might have been). Glad to read that you had a positive experience overall.
Posts: 506 | From: Wisconsin | Registered: Mar 2002
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Your experiences sound extraordinarily hellish! However, you sound like you had a pretty good attitude in spite of all of the setbacks.
I liked how you described sitting up all night in coach as being akin to drifting in and out of consciousness. At least that was confined to the night. I have to contend with that all the time!
Next time, Go West! Fly to Denver, and then ride The California Zephyr across The Rockies. Or try The Coast Starlight between LA and Seattle.
No train is going to be 100 percent free from problems, of course, but I think these two are good bets. So is The Crescent.
David
"Oops! I said the quiet part loud, and the loud part quiet." --Krusty The Klown
Posts: 284 | From: Ithaca, NY USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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