The car attendant has made up the room for two occupants. This is
the top bunk.
These top bunks come down a slide rather than being hinged on the wall
like Superliner II bunks. There is also a window to the outside
from the top bunk. The result is way more room between your face,
while lying on your back, and the ceiling in a Viewliner.
The bottom bunk, (two facing seats during the day). There was a
step to get into the top bunk big enough to hold my camera/computer bag.
The foot end of the lower bunk with the in-room toilet/sink
combination. It makes the lower bunk mattress very narrow.
I tipped the folding sink down over the toilet for this photo.
The water drains out the back when you tip the sink up..don't leave
anything in the water or you will never see it again. Note the
one plug, so bring a power bar if you have more than one thing to plug
in.
Ice water?
the sink folded up and a reflection of me and my iPhone in the mirror.
View from a seat during the day with the upper bunk retracted to the
ceiling and the extra window above.
Viewliner floor plan. No. 1 - 12 are roomette bedrooms. I
was in No. 5. A and B are deluxe bedrooms and H (Handicapped)
with wide door into the hallway.
Extra wide handicapped room's door from outside.
View through glass door into a Deluxe Bedroom.
You would think that the menus
across America would be different, but all 6 trains, all 5,000+ miles,
the menu was the same, only the cover changed. Needless to say,
we didn't have to look at the menu at this point on the trip to order -
we had it memorized. Even the "Specials" were the same.
Atlanta has 6 Interstates, a couple merge through downtown.
Atlanta skyline.
Atlanta downtown from the Amtrak Station.
Trails & Rails - Heritage Appreciation Onboard
An innovative partnership program
between the National Park Service and Amtrak, the Trails & Rails
program provides Amtrak passengers with educational opportunities to
foster an appreciation of a selected region's natural and cultural
heritage and renews the long tradition of associating railroads with
National Parks.
The Crescent offers a Trails &
Rails program operating from Atlanta, Georgia to New Orleans, Louisiana
and is operated by staff and volunteers of the Martin Luther King Jr.
National Historical Park.
From:
https://www.amtrak.com/crescent-train
After departing Atlanta, the next stop is not for 100 miles, at
Anniston, Alabama.
During that time we went from the Eastern Time Zone to the Central Time
Zone. I-20 parallels our route until Meridian, Mississippi.
Map from: https://www.amtrak.com/crescent-train
Lots of red clay and pine trees in Georgia. We crossed an
abandoned railroad and gated road crossing in Georgia.
Nice house facing the railroad. What about that chimney
though?
Typical small-town used car business.
I haven't seen a Gulf station since I moved to California.
Can you tell what state we are in by the outline of Hwy. 8 on the sign?
Sharp curves give a chance for a photo of the lead locomotive
where the trees are cleared along the right-of-way.
Small town brick store fronts still look good in this town.
Town murals are interesting. This must have been a theater or
opera house.
Barns are a favorite photographic subject of mine, but you rarely
see one that is not mostly covered in trees and vines.
There are many Baptist Churches in the south.
A golf course with pine trees makes a nice trackside vista.
If you do not have a GPS to keep track of location, a business
sign will give you a clue.
Norfolk Southern flyover. Rare to actually see a freight the same
time we passed.
A second photo allowed me to get the full name on the Illinois
Terminal locomotive.
Many towns along railroads in the US have murals, monuments, and
retired equipment on display honoring what made them a great town.
The mural on the left and the full street view from my Viewliner
window.
This abandoned bridge below our high railroad bridge caught my
eye. The following view from a few seconds later.
Another small town sign with a railroad history,
but it identifies photos on both sides as being near Irondale.
SLSF 4018 on
display at Sloss Furnaces
Power type Steam
Builder Lima Locomotive Works
Serial number 5872
Model USRA Light Mikado
Build date 1919
Specifications
Configuration 2-8-2
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia. 33 in (0.838 m)
Driver dia. 63 in (1.600 m)
Trailing dia. 43 in (1.092 m)
Adhesive weight 228,500 lb (103.6 t)
Loco weight 303,000 lb (137.4 t)
Fuel type Coal
Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 26 in × 30 in (660 mm × 762 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort 54,700 lbf (243.32 kN)
Factor of adh. 4.18
Career
Operators Frisco Lines
Class 4000
Number in class 23
Numbers 4018
Locale Birmingham District
Delivered 1923
Last run February 29, 1952
Current owner City of Birmingham, Alabama
Disposition Static display at the Sloss
Furnaces National Historic Landmark
SLSF 4018 is a class USRA Light 2-8-2 "Mikado" steam locomotive
which operated for three decades hauling freight between Bessemer and
Birmingham, Alabama (United States), on the St. Louis – San Francisco
Railway. It went on display at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in 1952
and is one of only a few locomotives of its type that survive. Current
Disposition - Static display at the Sloss Furnaces National
Historic Landmark.
Inside Sloss Property: DS4-4-660 c/n 73893, b/d 9/1948
Sloss Furnaces
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sloss Blast Furnace Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham AL
Built 1881
Architect James W. Sloss; Et al.
Sloss Furnaces is a National
Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States. It
operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971. After
closing it became one of the first industrial sites (and the only blast
furnace) in the U.S. to be preserved and restored for public use. In
1981 the furnaces were designated a National Historic Landmark by the
United States Department of the Interior.
The site currently serves as an interpretive museum of industry and
hosts a nationally recognized metal arts program. It also serves as a
concert and festival venue. Construction is also underway on a new $10
million visitors center. The furnace site, along a wide strip of land
reserved in Birmingham's original city plan for railroads and industry,
is also part of a proposed linear park through downtown Birmingham. An
annual Halloween haunted attraction called "Sloss Fright Furnace" is
held at the site.
I asked my car attendant if I could take his photo, and he made
this Napoleonic profile pose.
I think the vertical lighting where he stood made an interesting photo.
The Viewliners clearly label their cars. This one being Train 19
Car 11.
A telephoto scene from Birmingham.
Anyone know what this company this logo represents?
At lunch at Birmingham,
Alabama, they seat only 2 per table. My
seat mate was a young lady from Perth, Australia. She was coming
from
New York City. She had the waitress read the menu to her. I
found out
that she had only peripheral vision. She was heading to New
Orleans
also and planned a swamp/plantation tour and was staying on Canal
Street. She works in communications, web pages and such.
About 20 minutes west of Birmingham Station, we flashed past this nice
classic station.
Small eating area on the Viewliner and still two tables reserved for
crew.
Viewliner cafe back bar.
Viewliner Cafe Car
Viewliner Diner/Kitchen
Beautiful clouds as we crossed a river with interesting strata on the
right.
"Cuba Mercantile Co." perhaps on the storefront.
A quick check of my iWatch confirmed that we were in Cuba, with the
weather, current date and temperature and sunset time.
Approaching Meridian, Mississippi a closed factory. Cotton and
lumber were the main industries in the area and Meridian was a railroad
center.
Meridian Amtrak Station
Some vintage cars at the Meridian, Mississippi Station
Kansas City Southern 2971 idles in Meridian, Mississippi
LAUREL
proclaims itself to be “The City Beautiful,” referring to its oak tree
lined streets and its early 20th century architecture. The city was
founded in 1882 and grew as a rail center for shipping timber products
from the area. Oil was discovered in the area in the 1950s and today
there are over 150 companies providing services to oil and gas drillers.
From:
https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/680/728/Amtrak-Crescent-Train-Route-Guide.pdf
Laurel town clock from my Viewliner.
Maybe a VFW since it says, "Support our Troops" on the door.
Typical rural home in the south - pickup in the front yard, front
porch, tin roof, electric fan on the porch for evening sittin'.
When I was a child in the '40s, an icebox, or refrigerator might be on
the front porch.
Next stop, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
HATTIESBURG
is another town that got its start due to the lumber industry and the
railroad. The presence of several rail lines yielded the moniker the
“Hub City.” The University of Southern
Mississippi (where Brett Favre played), William Carey University and
Camp Shelby, the largest National Guard training base east of the
Mississippi River are located here. The Italian Renaissance style train
station was restored and re-dedicated in 2007. Singer, songwriter,
author and movie producer Jimmy Buffett played guitar here during his
college years at Southern.
From:
https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/680/728/Amtrak-Crescent-Train-Route-Guide.pdf
This 0-4-0F
(Fireless) locomotive #21 was built by the Heisler Locomotive Works of
Erie, PA, in 1935. It was one of two that worked for the Hercules
Powder Co., an explosives manufacturer, at its Hattiesburg plant from
1946 until 1958. It was donated to the City of Hattiesburg in 1968.
From:
http://www.rgusrail.com/msbhs300.html
Bonhomie & Hattiesburg Southern #300
The Bonhomie
& Hattiesburg Southern gained fame with rail fans by continuing to
operate the line with steam locomotives #250 and #300 until 1961 when
both were finally replaced by two used EMD SW1s. The line then merged
into the Illinois Central Gulf in 1972, and is now part of ICG
successor Canadian National's route from Jackson, MS, to Mobile, AL.
#300 is a 160,700 lb coal burning Mikado (2-8-2) type locomotive with
52" drivers and 19" x 26" cylinders. Operating at a boiler pressure of
200 psi, it delivered 30,700 lbs tractive effort.
From:
http://www.rgusrail.com/msbhs300.html
Next Stop, last one in Mississippi, Picayune
(How do you spell that, time to check my iWatch.)
iWatch is a good way to remember, date, time (even when you cross time
zones), city weather temperature and sunset time.
PICAYUNE
was founded in 1904 and named after a Spanish coin that had
historically been used by inhabitants of New Orleans. The landscape
around here grows more subtropical. The city has become home to many
who moved north from the Gulf Coast and New Orleans searching for a
safer place to live after Hurricane Katrina.
From:
https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/680/728/Amtrak-Crescent-Train-Route-Guide.pdf
Norfolk Southern Lake
Pontchartrain Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge
Carries Norfolk Southern rail line
Crosses Lake Pontchartrain
Locale New Orleans, Louisiana
Owner Norfolk Southern Corporation
Characteristics
Total length 30,264 ft (9,224 m)
History
Construction end 1884
The Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge is a bridge that
carries a single-track of Norfolk Southern rail line between Slidell
and New Orleans, Louisiana. At 5.8 miles (9.3 km) long, it is the
longest railroad bridge in the United States and likely the longest
rail bridge over water in the world. The Huey P. Long Bridge in nearby
Jefferson Parish has sometimes been given that title, but at about 4.4
miles (7.1 km), that bridge is considerably shorter than the Norfolk
Southern bridge.
The bridge is heavily used by Norfolk Southern freight trains. In
addition, Amtrak's Crescent passenger train crosses the bridge once
daily in each direction.
From:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Southern_Lake_Pontchartrain_Bridge
