The crew led all the sleeping car passengers from the replacement lounge at 7:20 PM and I walked to my car as I recorded the consist of this train taking me to Hammond. We had P42DC 47, baggage 1208, transition 39014, diner 38001, lounge 33010, coach-baggage 31040, coaches 34042 and 34047, cleeper 34027 and dead-heading lounge 33008. I was in Room 8 with Marcie being my wonderful sleeping car attendant. Right on time, we reversed out of Chicago Union Station and out to the connection to the St. Charles Air line that will take us to the former Illinois Central Mainline of America, now Canadian National.
We joined the Metra Electric line for our exit through Homewood and out to University Park, where I went to the dining car and enjoyed the Chef's Special of beef tips with ice cream for dessert then turned in for the night after having such a great day. Marcie made an announcement over our car's public address system that all the toilets were out in our car. "Every trip is an adventure!"
6/23/2004 I awoke about twenty minutes before Memphis with views of the Mississippi River and a new streetcar line as we came into town and once there, I detrained for a picture of our train. Due to a freight train crossing in front of us, our departure was delayed. I enjoyed a French Toast and sausage breakfast with the same couple from the Bay Area whom I dined with last night. We entered the State of Mississippi as the City of New Orleans rolled south on this rainy morning. At Greenwood, the smokers took a soggy break while I enjoyed the fresh air from the door of the sleeping car. If I was still drinking and was offered free drinks in the pouring rain, I would have been the first one off the train but I have not done any drinking in 3,444 days and have no plans to ever start again. We departed Greenwood an hour and seven minutes late.
The rain let up as we rolled into Yazoo City, from which we departed at 11:00 AM {9:51 AM}. Some Canadian National track work slowed us on the way to Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, as we passed through the forests. We left there an hour late and I found the conductor to tell him what I was trying to do and he though we should arrive at Hammond prior to the arrival of my northbound Amtrak 58 train. I sat back and relaxed as the train was on a fast trip south, arriving at Hazlehurst then departing there at 12:53 PM {11:55 AM} and sprinting to Brookhaven at 1:12 PM {12:16 PM}. We passed some bayous on the way to McComb, the last stop in Mississippi, at 1:38 PM {12:40 PM}. I went to thank Marcie for a great journey and that most wonderful dining car staff on the City of New Orleans then relaxed as we crossed into Louisiana where I prepared to detrain when the City of New Orleans arrived at Hammond just an hour late.
That was until the train took the siding at North Hammond where we sat for over thirty minutes waiting for the northbound City of New Orleans I was supposed to be on. The conductor came to my room with a plan and Marcie would walk me to the transition car where I would exit the train, the conductor would roll my luggage down the ballast along the train, meeting me where I would exit. He led me rolling my bags to a sidewalk where I thanked him. From there, an off-duty engineer walked me the rest of the way to the Hammond station where the agent was waiting for me. My engineer gave me a Sprite but I asked if the station had a Coca-Cola machine since it was 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity and I was very hot. With no train in sight, the agent told me to walk across the tracks and street to Guy's Quality Foods Inc for some Coca-Cola, then I returned to the station.
The view down down the track for eight more minutes until I saw a headlight that took ten minutes to reach Hammond.
City of New Orleans 58 6/23/2004
The train arrived ten minutes late and my sleeping car attendant, Alonzo, greeted me. I was most surprised to board the sleeping car "Georgia" for the trip to Chicago since it had been on the Coast Starlight five days earlier. We departed five minutes late and I was glad to be aboard.
An above-ground cemetery, the norm for this area of the country. I then had a nice shower to freshen me from my unexpected walk between trains. This train was a combination of my Empire Builder and new equipment and for that reason, I will designate either SEA, PDX or New in the brackets. P42DC 33 [new], baggage 1261 [SEA], transition 39009 [SEA], diner 38011 [new], lounge 33048 [PDX], coaches 31513 {SEA}, 34037 [SEA] and 34085 [PDX] and sleeper 32076 "Georgia" [SEA and mine].
Talk about rough track between Hammond and McComb, as it was a struggle to walk through the train. McComb has an Illinois Central 2-8-0 2542, Illinois Central refrigerator car 51000 and a caboose on display. I had an excellent Delmonico steak, blackened to perfection, along with ice cream. I certainly have had excellent meals on the City of New Orleans. The second surprise of the day occurred when I walked out of the lounge car since who came walking in but none other than Al Ingersoll, world traveller from San Juan Capistrano. I sat with him in the lounge car until Yazoo City, where I showed him my Grand Excursion T-shirt before retiring to my room for the evening.
The train curved through northern Mississippi before a beautiful big sunset and after that great sight, I called it a night.
6/24/2004 I awoke at Effingham with the train running thirty minutes late then rode the lounge car watching the sunrise before enjoying French Toast and sausage as the train stopped in Matoon.
We stopped at the beautifully-restored Illinois Central station built in 1924 in Champaign-Urbana. We rolled north across the flat Illinois farmlands en route to Chicago.
Some slow running allowed me the opportunity to photograph Metra Electric and South Shore trains.
The train took the St. Charles Air Line which we shared with a Canadian National freight then diverted to a different route to reach the leads to Chicago Union Station. We ran along the CTA tracks, which gave me a little new mileage on the connection from the Air Line to the route of the Texas Eagle. A special thanks to Alonzo, my sleeping car attendant, as well as the entire excellent and friendly City of New Orleans crew and staff.
Chicago 6/24/2004I detrained at Chicago but waited at the gate to "Welcome Al to Chicago", which really surprised him then proceeded to the Food Court to read USA Today and to wait for Gold Coast to open. After three word fill-ins, I treated myself to two Gold Coast Char Dogs and met Mark from Wesson, Massachusetts, who was here to ride Milwaukee Road 261. Next I went in search of a new cassette player as mine was eating batteries daily and I tried eight different stores until the last Walgreens by Sears Tower had one.
On the way to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, I stopped by the bridge that overlooks the north entrance to Chicago Union Station and caught three Metra trains in ten minutes. At Ogilvie, I bought a round trip ticket to Kenosha and waited to board my train.
Metra 321 6/24/2004
This is "I have been here done that before". I listened to Emerson Lake and Palmer's "Live in Long Beach 1972" all the way to Kenosha and it started raining in Evanston and after Lake Bluff, there was a Union Pacific coal train waiting for us to pass on its way to southern Wisconsin. We arrived five minutes early after a pleasant trip and I always enjoy riding Metra.
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