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The Westbound Trip on the Lakeshore Limited, Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited

I stored my bags in the Metropolitan Lounge before walking over to Rock Records to pick up some additional music for the trip home. Back at Union Station, I purchased a round trip ticket for the 9:30 AM Milwaukee District West Metra line to Big Timber.

To fill some of the layover time in Chicago, I decided to ride one of the Metra routes and be back in plenty of time for my Texas Eagle and would have half an hour layover at Big Timber, so would check in with my mother there. Amtrak's Hiawatha from Milwaukee arrived as we rounded the Canal Street curve. Our conductor was also being the Metra mailman, delivering and picking up the company mail at the manned stations along the route. A freight train was blocking our path short of Bensenville station and after that, it was stop-and-go until after Itasca, when we returned to track speed. We made our two Elgin stops along the Fox River before running the final miles to Big Timber Road where there was no pay phone, so I was glad not to be stuck out here in the winter or with a car problem.

I boarded Metra 2234 for the journey back to Chicago.

Chicago Gravel Company 0-6-0 18 1955, ex. East St. Louis Junction Railroad Company 18 1948, nee Studebaker Corporation 1, built by American Locomotive Company in 1922. Edward David and Eugene G. Hammond started the Chicago Gravel Company in 1889 and began operating a stone crushing plant at gravel pits in 1903. Spurs running from the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad carried the product to the main lines. Chicago Gravel cosmetically restored the steam engine after it was retired and donated it to the City of Bensenville in 1961 and was placed on display at Veteran's Park, where it has remained ever since.

Soo Line locomotives at the Bensenville Yard.

A Wisconsin Central locomotive. No Metra F40C's were at the shops.

A delay into Chicago Union Station allowed for a picture of Chicago. We then arrived at Union Station and I went the lounge for some phone calls then upstairs to Gold Coast for a pair a Char Dogs. Back in the lounge, I enjoyed six songs of Alice Cooper and when all the Empire Builder passengers departed, I moved in front of the wide-screen television to watch CNN. At 2:55 PM, they called all the 21, 321 and 421 passengers to go board their sections of the Texas Eagle. At the front door of the lounge, it became a joke when I added 921, 1321 and 2121 before we were led out to our waiting train.

Sleeping Car Attendant Mike Norton took my ticket at the door of the car and then I stored my luggage in Room 4 before venturing outside again to record our consist to San Antonio. We had P42DC 44, baggage 1260, sleeper 32000, diner 38042, lounge 33040, coaches 31035, 31543 and 34057 and sleeper 32115 "Washington" with private car "United States of America", Florida East Coast 3 "Northstar" PPCX 800289 bringing up the rear, and departed on time.

The Texas Eagle raced a Metra train out of Union Station.

Amtrak locomotives at their Chicago home.

One last look back at Chicago as we crossed the 21st Street bridge.

I went to lounge car 33040 and something did not look right at the far end.

Eight tables had been added to one end of this lounge car and I wondered if it was unique to the Amtrak system.

A Metra train in Joliet.

The Texas Eagle crossed the Kankakee River a few minutes later.

A car sped down Interstate 55 with typical Illinois scenery with an interesting sky. We continued to roll south to Pontiac, Illinois then onto Bloomington-Normal. I had a nice shower and now felt refreshed going into the evening and listened to Rush's "Retrospective 1974-1980." Lincoln came and went as the train made its way towards Springfield. I had a 7:00 PM dinner reservation and was joined by Rod, going to Maricopa, Arizona, Charlotte, on her way to Dallas, along with Sybil, going to Fort Worth. Yolanda was our server for this meal. I had the twin medallions of beef and a chocolate sundae then at Springfield, I visited the depot to pick up current Texas Eagle schedules for everybody transferring onto the Sunset Limited in our car.

We arrived at Alton well after dark and I had the light of my room out to enjoy the approach to St. Louis. Ddowntown stood out and the Arch was beautiful in the ever-changing night-time view and I could even see that horrible hotel that I stayed at during the 2001 National Railway Historical Society convention. The Texas Eagle crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri and stopped at the brand new Amtrak station in St Louis and I detrained to see the new station and what an improvement it was over the old temporary building that had been there for years. I then walked back and talked with the owner of the "Northstar", a former Great Northern sleeping car that Vice-President George W. Bush rode on October 31, 1988 between Baltimore and Washington. From the outside, it is a beautiful car which was going to San Antonio for some work. I returned to my room, made my bed up and called it a night right after we departed on time.

3/30/2005 I woke up somewhere in southern Arkansas, dressed and went to the dining car after we passed through Hope and enjoyed my usual French Toast and sausage with Les, who was going to Dallas.

Texarkana was a fresh air stop and here is the rear of the Texas Eagle with "Northstar" bringing up our markers. Its history is Florida East Coast 3, ex. Rail Force One, exx. Wheeling and Lake Erie 3 "The North Star", exxx. PPCX 800289, exxxx. Burlington Northern 1198 "St. Croix River", exxxxx. Great Northern 8 duplex roomette-2 double bedroom-buffet lounge "Manitoba Club", nee Great Northern 16 duplex-roomette-four double bedroom "Oberlin Glacier") built by Pullman-Standard in 1947.

The Presidential Seal of the United States in the drumhead. We departed on time and proceeded southwest into Texas. Led Zeppelin's "Early Days and Later Days" was my next musical choice as we rolled through the forests and hills until Jefferson, Texas, where we slowed while a Kansas City Southern freight cleared the crossing there. Minutes later, at Woodlawn, we took the siding to meet Norfolk Southern 8970 East and Union Pacific 9147 East then arrived at Marshall.

The beautiful Texas and Pacific Marshall station built in 1912 and contained a waiting room as well as the company's eastern regional administrative offices. The three-story, 7,500 square foot structure is the only survivor of a once bustling 66 acre shop complex comprised of 75 buildings that included a roundhouse, car shops, a water tower and a warehouse. Today, the restored depot houses an Amtrak stop and the Texas & Pacific Railway Museum.

The exterior has remained essentially the same since its construction. The striking red brick building is outlined in white and features a projecting center bay with a prominent porch, giving the station a homey-feel. The interior has been significantly altered over the years to meet modern railroad needs. During a major rehabilitation in 1999, whitewash was removed and the original red brick restored. Former Texas and Pacific 2-8-2 400 and a Union Pacific caboose stand on the surrounding grounds. From the depot's upper level balcony, visitors can survey the town, including the Harrison County Courthouse (1901) and the historic Ginocchio Hotel (1896).

Marshall, which was named in honor of United States Chief Justice John Marshall, was founded on January 30, 1841. Located in a primarily agrarian area, Marshall grew wealthy and boasted the first telegraph office in the state. However, it was not until the arrival of the railroad that the town experienced its greatest prosperity. The first railroad in Marshall was the Texas Western, chartered in 1852, which changed its name to the Southern Pacific Railway Company (no relation to the larger Southern Pacific) in 1856. The Southern Pacific faced the loss of its charter if service did not begin in Marshall by 1878, and thus was forced to use oxen to pull the first train since the steam ocomotive had not yet arrived.

I jumped back on and the train reversed from the platform until our official departure time of 9:35 AM.

The beautiful purple wisteria blossoms in Marshall. Later at Lansing Junction, we took the south mainline into Longview, arriving there at 9:50 AM for a long fresh air break.

The front and rear of the Texas Eagle at Longview, where I had time to visit the station. We departed on time and continued west towards Mineola then at Greggston, went around Union Pacific 4817 East holding the mainline. The last of my unlistened music was Deep Purple's "Under a Gun" and from now on, I would be repeating my music so no more reporting on this journey. We crossed the former Cotton Belt at Big Sandy and I lucked out with a beautiful clear spring day in Texas as our train made it to Mineola on time. We had a long slow order for tie replacement as we passed through Terrell and for a few miles west then ran to Dallas, arriving there thirty minutes early.

A Trinity Rail Express train with two RDC's.

Trinity Rail Express RDC-1 2005, ex. VIA 6112, nee Boston and Maine 6110 built by Budd Company in 1955.

Our train and a TRE train before we departed.

Union Pacific 4992 West.

A Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail train bound for Parker Road.

Another Trinity Rail Express train arrived on its way to Fort Worth with F59PHI 569, coaches 1057 and 1056 and cab car 1004.

Trinity Rail Express F59PHI 569, built by Electro-Motive Division in 2001.

We departed Dallas on time and next passed the Texas School Book Depository Building where Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy from the sixth-floor window on November 22nd, 1963 about 12:30 PM. A day almost all Americans alive still remember!

The Texas Eagle left Dallas behind and crossed the Trinity River on the way to Fort Worth. At Tower 55, we took the southeast leg of the wye before reversing into the Fort Worth Transportation Center forty minutes early.

The Heartland Flyer awaited its evening departure to Oklahoma City with Amtrak non-powered control unit 90229, hi-level coach 39940, Superliner lounge 39940, hi-level coaches 39957 and 39952 with P42DC 184.

The rear of our Texas Eagle.

Fort Worth Transportation Authority interurban coach 25, nee Northern Texas Traction 25 1913-1935 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1913. The first streetcar appeared in Fort Worth in 1876 when the Texas and Pacific Railroad came to town. Fort Worth experienced such a boom at that time that the trolley system was a necessity. People had to have a way to get from the train station to the central square. Until the year 1880 all streetcars were pulled by mules.

The first electric rail line grew out of the Fort Worth Trolley System that began service in 1890. The old electric cars look more like traditional train cars but were powered by an electrical motor like a trolley. In 1924, these trains were updated with bright red colors and new upholstery. The Crimson Limited series of train cars began in 1924 and due mostly to the competition with the automobile. The North Texas Traction Company promoted the theory that its mass transportation system was needed for community development. Express service was offered which meant that there were no local stops between the two cities. These were the cars with refurbished interiors to add comfort to travel.

The Loram rail grinding train on the BNSF.

The eastbound Texas Eagle arrived a few minutes late then I walked through and around the rear of the station for another Trinity Rail Express picture. At the front of the station I noted there was now an Enterprise car rental office.

Trinity Rail Express going east through the Tindall Storage building, after which I walked back to the train to wait for our on-time 4:00 PM departure.

As we departed Fort Worth, I noticed that the Holiday Inn is now the Plaza Hotel and it overlooks Tower 55 and the station area. I obtained a 5:45 PM dinner reservation, the second and last seating as our dining car staff detrains at Austin. This was a vast improvement over that horrible boxed dinner I had the last time I rode the sleeping car from here. KFC would have been a far better choice and thank Heaven for that wonderful Lounge lead service attendant who took care of me there. I went to the lounge car to listen to some of the Rails to Trails Program then I was called in for dinner and seated with Karen and Emily going to Los Angeles, along with Holly, going to San Antonio. I had the beef medallions and a chocolate sundae. Yolanda, with her fantastic smile, who served me all my meals, was excellent. A special thank you to the entire dining car staff of the Texas Eagle.

We arrived at Temple, Texas, a fresh air stop, right in front of the Temple Railroad Museum, whose prized engine is Santa Fe 4-6-2 3423, built by Baldwin in 1921. It was retired in 1952 and donated to City of Temple in 1955.

Santa Fe HH600 2301 built by American Locomotive Company in 1937. It is the oldest surviving Santa Fe diesel. The first HH series, demonstrator 6600, was built in 1931. After demonstration on a number of railroads, the unit was sold to the New York, New Haven & Hartford who numbered it 0900. After retiring in 1964, 2301 was sold to Palo Duro Grain and by 1970, it was working for Tulia Grain at Tulia, on the AT&SF line from Lubbock to Amarillo, still painted in its zebra stripe paint scheme, although all Santa Fe markings had been painted out. By 1992, 2301 had been pushed out to a side line, its duties having been taken over by an EMD switcher. It was rescued and cosmetically restored to AT&SF colours by the museum. It had originally been planned to make the unit operational, but the cost proved prohibitively high.

Santa Fe 2301 along with Santa Fe caboose 1556, Missouri-Kansas-Texas caboose 140 and several passenger cars. All of this equipment and more is part of the ongoing museum project.

The Santa Fe Temple station, an example of Prairie-Beaux Arts architecture completed in 1911, served as the Southern Division headquarters for the Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe, the AT&SF subsidiary in Texas.

South of Temple, we switched from the former Santa Fe to the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas and later the former Missouri Pacific then stopped in Taylor and later in Austin, the capital of Texas, for our last fresh air break of the the Texas Eagle. I made my bed with my feet facing the engine as I always do and called it a night. We arrived into San Antonio really early and shuffled our through cars around so we would be the last car on the Sunset Limited when they picked us up in the morning. Then we sat with freight trains passing all night. At one point, I woke up and realizing that we would now be going in the opposite direction, I flipped the mattress around and went back to sleep.

I awoke about 6:30 AM, still in San Antonio, and walked into the station where I received an estimated time of arrival from Julie, Amtrak's automated agent.

The San Antonio Southern Pacific station, designed by the railroad's architect Daniel J. Patterson in the Spanish Mission Revival style and built in 1902. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The station still carries the Southern Pacific herald and Texas and New Orleans 2-8-2 794 is on display.

The station area. I met my new sleeping car attendant Mr. Jones as we waited for the Sunset Limited to arrive.

Union Pacific 3820 East with the Alamodome behind.

A last view of "Northstar" waiting to be transferred to the shop.

The Sunset Limited arrived at 7:15 AM {3:00 AM}.

One last freight, BNSF 9644 East passed through before we departed.

Brand new BNSF grain cars with their new logo.

I went to the dining car with Robert Berry as my server and ordered pancakes and sausage. We departed at 7:57 AM {5:40 AM} and escaped the San Antonio area with no delays. I learned from my fellow Sunset passengers that it had been delayed by freight train congestion just west of New Orleans and east of Houston. West of Locust, we had a nice slow order.

I went to the rear door for pictures west of Seco showing vegetation typical of this part of Texas then napped until an announcement for Del Rio that mentioned just about every trip they leave someone behind, so take your belongings with you and your next train is Saturday.

Approaching Del Rio.

We passed Union Pacific 4478 West in Pinto siding and following a nice fresh air stop at Del Rio after I visited the station, we departed there at 11:23 AM {8:35 AM}.

The Rio Grande River with Mexico to the right.

A few minutes later, the Sunset Limited crossing the Amistad Reservoir.

After all the side views I have taken crossing the Pecos River, how about a rear door view for a change? I walked the train and talked with our conductor in order to get the train's consist, which was P42DC 836 and P32-8 507, transition/aleeper 39017, sleeper 32093, diner 38063, lounge 33034, coaches 34137, 31005 and 34057 with my sleeper 32115 "Washington" bring up the markers. I had to have something else to do in west Texas other then listen to music or doing word fill-ins.

A nice rock cut with wildflowers.

An interesting rail bridge east of Sanderson. We slowed for the flag stop at Sanderson but with no passengers, just passed through at 2:03 PM {11:10 AM} with the former Southern Pacific station still standing, although in bad shape.

Later, we caught up to a freight and followed him west until we overtook him at Longfellow.

Further on in the afternoon, our train continued to climb towards Alpine, where we changed crews and departed there at 4:05 PM {1:24 PM}.

Cclimbing Paisano Pass.

Paisano Pass. The train passed an eastbound Union Pacific freight with both CSX and Norfolk Southern locomotives. Marfa may be best known for its "ghost lights" but today it was "ghost signs along the tracks" which delayed us for no reason other than to do just that.

Train 2, the eastbound Sunset Limited, was found in the siding behind a freight train at Quebec running over four hours late. I rode in the lounge car for over an hour before going to the dining Car for my 5:00 PM dinner reservation and was joined by Brenda, Jess and Betty, going to Ontario, California. I had the best T-Bone steak I had ever had on Amtrak, along with a chocolate sundae. My sleeping car lost its vacuum for the toilet system so we would have to use the toilets in the through coach. Union Pacific had a lot of trains out on their line today, but kept most of them out of our way until we neared El Paso where we slowly followed Union Pacific 4930 West, stopping and going until we passed him at Iser. Freight train congestion delayed us again twenty minutes from El Paso and I wondered if this black hole was going to swallow the Sunset Limited.

With no toilets and another Union Pacicic black hole, it was time to think "Every trip is an adventure!" We sat for fourteen minutes just short of Tornillo before continuing west, passing Union Pacific 3381 East in the siding there. We went about ten miles when I put on the second Led Zeppelin CD "the Latter Years" again to see if the train could beat the CD to its end before reaching El Paso. We stopped again with the CD playing "Kashmir" which was the fifth song on the disc. We finally overtook Union Pacific 4547 West with two songs left. The CD finished before we reached El Paso at 8:18 PM {5:10 PM} and a nice touch on the way was the Wells Fargo building decorated in fluorescent lights, making it look like an American flag.

Nine illegal aliens boarded our sleeping car with proper Mexican identification which gave me cause to wonder if there was some reason the Border Patrol does not check sleeping cars? I obtained some new clean sheets and was making my bed as the Sunset Limited departed El Paso at 8:35 PM {5:55 PM} and I called it a night after we crossed the Rio Grande into New Mexico. During the night, we arrived at Tucson at 3:45 AM and departed at 4:30 AM {12:59 AM}.

4/1/2005 Sunrise this morning as we climbed the grade to Shawmut. I enjoyed the Saguaro cacti as I talked with Bob from Fort Worth then the dining car opened at 6:00 AM Pacific Time and I dined with Bob, Guillermo and John. Guillermo had a very interesting motorcycle story to tell about his cross-country trip and what happened to put him on the train instead and he was on a Deming-to-Los Angeles round trip. I had the final French Toast and sausage of the journey as we rolled across the Sonoran Desert then through the Gila River Narrows out into the Yuma Valley, meeting Union Pacific 3839 at Fortuna. Once he passed, we sped west to our next station of Yuma, from which departed at 7:51 AM {5:19 AM} and crossed the Colorado River into California.

Miles later, the Chocolate Mountains off to the northeast before we held the mainline at Cactus for Union Pacific 4971 East.

The Glamis Sand Dunes from Cactus. Bob came back to my room to talk as we rolled west along the Salton Sea until I had to excuse myself for another picture.

The Salton Sea on a beautiful clear spring morning. The Sunset then ran through the Coachella Valley, Indio and to Palm Springs, departing there at 10:16 AM {6:37 AM}. It was then time for the trip over Beaumont Hill on this fantastic clear morning. We stopped at the Beaumont crossovers for Union Pacific 4790 East to pass before we crossed over the south track for the ride down San Timiteo Canyon.

After a ten minute delay, the Sunset Limited started down San Timiteo Canyon and after passing two more eastbounds at Hinda, we crossed back to the north track where Union Pacific 9610 East worked hard climbing the grade passing us.

The Arrowhead, the historic emblem for Arrowhead Springs Water, had not been seen in years until the forest fires burnt off the growth that covered it. The Sunset crossed the Santa Ana River before we crossed the BNSF at Colton. It was then up the short hill to the West Colton Yard, which we flew by on the north side, passed two more westbound freights around South Fontana and followed Union Pacific 2942 West to Guasti before stopping at Ontario at 12:17 PM {8:05 AM}. We had slow orders and had to stop at a red signal before reaching Pomona at 12:40 PM {8:15 AM} and we had been following Union Pacific 4376 West that went into the siding at Walnut to clear the mainline for us.

The Sunset Limited had a red signal at Bassett before proceeding on the Metrolink line down the middle of the San Bernardino Freeway. At East Bank Junction, we waited for Metrolink to clear before we crossed the Los Angeles River and ran into Los Angeles Union Station, arriving there at 1:32 PM {10:10 AM}. It had been a very good trip west on the Sunset Limited.

Pacific Surfliner 774 arriaved at the same time we did, running over two hours late from San Luis Obispo. The real 578 equipment was used on an on-time Pacific Surfliner 774 out of Los Angeles at 12:25 PM today and this way, once it gets to San Diego, it departs on time as Pacific Surfliner 785 bound for Goleta. This causes Pacific Surfliner 578 to have a very heavy passenger load as it has all of Pacific Surfliner 774's passengers from north of Los Angeles, as well as the normal Pacific Surfliner 578 passengers. Add in that today is Friday and we were standing room only.

However, we departed LAUPT on time and I said goodbye to the now-emptied Sunset Limited on Track 11. The eastbound Sunset Limited was reversing in for its 2:30 PM departure to Orlando and had F59PHI 460, Pacific Business Class 6803, coach/café 6306, coaches 6411 and 6401 with cab car 6907. We made our way to Fullerton and Anaheim before making the "Rail-to-Rail" stop at Orange then rolled into Santa Ana on time. A taxi ride home ended this fantastic Amtrak trip to the New River Gorge, all the way across America and back!

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