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I just returned from my Sunset Limited trip. Westbound I had to drive to New Orleans since trackwork had the Thursday westbounds not originating in Florida. By the time I booked my trip to Maricopa the only room available in the regular sleeper was room 10, a no-no to me due to being over the wheels and beside the end door. Surprisingly, sleep came easily and the main jolts I felt were just west of Houston. We lost over 2 hours just east of Houston due to freight congestion and were 3 hours late out of Houston. By morning we were almost back on schedule. Eventually we reached Maricopa 20 minutes EARLY thanks to the newly padded schedule. It was a great trip. The food was super as always and the sleeper was in fine shape (good a/c, etc). My return trip started over an hour late and I had dreaded riding in the crew sleeper. It worked out great as a regular Superliner sleeper substituted for it. I had room 6 and again my sleeper a/c worked fine. The ride was even smoother than westbound and I slept great. The economy bedrooms were at the forward end of the sleeper so the engines were right ahead of me. Amazingly the throbbing motors lulled me to sleep and the horn was not a bother. With no baggage car, regular crew sleeper, or first sleeper, I was 3 cars closer to the engine than usual. Meals were good though not up to the westbound trip's standards. We made up time easily once again and never took a siding except to meet the westbound Sunset(!) all across the UP. We got to NOL almost an hour early so there was ample time to sightsee (I rode the St. Charles Ave streetcars) then come back to the train for a stationary dinner. CSX did a lousy job of dispatching and we got back to north Florida 2 1/2 hours late which still beats the 14 hours late last July when we returned from San Antonio. Two more notes: Sleeper attendant Henry Ford (!) on the return trip keep the car spotless, even frequently cleaning toilets, and the coach-baggage car is not suitable for checked bags. It was crammed in the small baggage compartment and will be a problem in the busy summer.
Posts: 561 | Registered: Jul 2003
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