After seeing the damage from Hurricane Katrina in August, but less of Hurricane Rita in September, I decided that once the Sunset Limited returned to New Orleans, I would take the journey, selecting a pre-Christmas trip, leaving LAUPT on December 16th and spending one night there. I made my reservation travelling in coach before securing a hotel room and naturally, prices had gone through the roof at the few hotels which were now open, and played phone tag with the Quality Inn for two days before finally receiving a room at a higher-than-normal rate. The reason for choosing this hotel was that it was within walking distance of the station as I was unsure if taxis were back in operation. Sleeping car rooms were sold out east and an over $500 room west was not for me.
Two weeks of work at McFadden Intermediate and I was ready for another train trip.
Pacific Surfliner 573 12/16/2005
My mother drove me to the Santa Ana station where I waited for my train.
Construction had progressed well with the east platform being finished.
The structure for the east tower was up and coming along. Pacific Surfliner 573 arrived on time with cab car 6905, coaches 6403, 6407 and 6404, coach/café 6304 and Pacific Business Class 6852 with F59PHI 464 in push mode. We ran to Anaheim before stopping at Fullerton Junction, where Pacific Surfliner 774 passed us on its way to San Diego and BNSF 2736 West stopped before we reached Fullerton. We continued west to our Norwalk stop, part of the Rail-to-Rail Program and finished our run into Los Angeles Union Passenger Station, arriving a few minutes early. I walked over to Track 11 to watch Pacific Surfliner 578 depart and talk with Conductor Jeff. The Southwest Chief was still sitting on Track 12, having arrived at 12:55 PM then it departed to the yard and exposed the Altamont Commuter Express cars on Track 13.
The ACE trainset that had arrived on the rear of the Coast Starlight last night.
Metrolink Train 308 with a leased trainset from Seattle, Washington then arrived.
The Sunset Limited Train 2 12/16/2005
The Sunset Limited reversed in at 2:20 PM with P42DCs 82 and 26, baggage 1164, transition sleeper 39015, diner 38068, lounge 33042, coaches 34046, 34038 and 34101, sleeper 32015 and private car "Vista Canyon" on its way to Tucson. 34101 and 32015 are the Texas Eagle through cars. The westbound Sunset Limited arrived into LAUPT at 2:35 PM. A seat problem in 34101 further delayed our escape but we departed at 2:50 PM {2:30 PM} and proceeded east to start this adventure to New Orleans, crossing the Los Angeles River and travelling through the Alhambra trench.
Exiting the trench, we passed Mission San Gabriel as the sun popped out for a few minutes on a mostly cloudy day. Conductor George Rainey took my ticket as we made our way through El Monte and City of Industry. Back into the gloom, we made our Pomona and Ontario station stops. Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos' "Live at the Hollywood Palladium" took me just beyond Ontario then The Rolling Stones' "Flashpoint" took me through Colton Yard and we slowly made our way through Old Colton Yard, finally speeding up after crossing over at Ordway in San Timiteo Canyon.
We had been following the Norfolk Southern 8738 East as it began to get dark. My book for this trip was "More Than A Game" by Phil Jackson and Charley Rosen then I took a fresh air stop at Palm Springs on a very cool evening and we resumed our journey but a passenger had been left on the platform so the train stopped to let her back on. I had a 5:30 PM dinner reservation, dining with Tim and Elena, going to Houston, and Lani on her way to Yuma. I had a New York strip and a chocolate sundae, which lasted from Indio to Thermal as we took many freight train delays during this time. After dinner, it was time for "The Keith Emerson Christmas Album", followed by U2's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb". I turned in after Niland and slow running would take us into Arizona and a stop in Yuma.
12/17/2005 We took over an hour to get into Tucson and finally departed there at 4:00 AM {2:20 AM} then it took another hour to escape from Tucson. I awoke at 6:45 AM finding us climbing the Dragoon Mountains and went to the dining car for breakfast, seated with Alan and Jennifer going to Houston, and Peggy heading to New Orleans then on to Florida. We stopped at Milepost 1041, formerly Sybil, while I enjoyed French Toast and sausage. Alan and Jennifer told us about evacuating Houston and coming home, only to find an old oak tree had been blown onto their roof.
Back at my seat, we sat while a total of eight westbound Union Pacific freights went by us.
Our train finally moved again and passed this freight. On the way to Dragoon, we passed three more westbound freights and came to Milepost 1056, where we stopped at a red signal which then turned yellow, meaning we were following some train east. We ran by Apache with a westbound local there before racing across the Wilcox Playa. I finished the U2 album and switched to Rod Stewart's "Stay With Me" as we finally ran around CEFX 2789 East with a long string of piggyback flats.
Later we entered New Mexico at Steins and stopped at Lordsburg to drop off four passengers before we left for Deming, or so we all thought. The crew caught the passenger two seats ahead of me smoking marijuana in the bathroom and we went to the east end of Lordsburg then reversed into the siding. The passengers were given a fresh air stop after an hour of waiting for the Lordsburg police to arrive. Two units finally arrived, as well as a Hidalgo County Sheriff. Two eastbound freights sped through here before anything could happen and law enforcement then removed the passenger.
Our former passenger who was going to New Orleans being removed from the train and pleading his case.
The conductor gave the officers his report. While all of this was occuring, our crew died on the Hours-of-Service laws.
Our train and the police departed, leaving the passenger sitting on his luggage as we finally took off for Deming. I called Let's Talk Trains, which was celebrating their Milepost 1,000 in the first segment and managed just a few minutes on the show before the signal dropped. Jethro Tull's "The Christmas Album" took me eastward.
The Sunset Limited crossed the Continental Divide at 12:40 PM.
We rolled through Deming at 1:10 PM, running over seven hours late, as Southwestern Railroad GP30 29, nee Phelps Dodge 29 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1963, and Southwestern Railroad GP40 9710, ex. CSXT 9710, exx. Seaboard System 6764, nee Seaboard Coast Line 1610 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1970, looked on.
Peaks south of Deming, the first one being Florida Peak.
We stopped as we passed Union Pacific's second track project and a Union Pacific crew died on the Hours-of-Service law so we had to wait for a patch (relief) crew to arrive before that train could continue east. Every trip is an adventure!
The train in the Middle of Nowhere.
A rim and tire but no axle to be found in the Middle of Nowhere.
Later, the Joshua Del Muestro Mountains to the northeast with the Rio Grande River at its base.
Looking into the Rio Grande Valley.
The descent to the Rio Grande River.
The shacks in Old Mexico just beyond the international boundary fence.
Crossing the Rio Grande River into Texas and El Paso, where we arrived at 3:18 PM.
After a quick picture of our train, we departed at 3:56 PM {9:00 AM} and escaped with no further delays then at Clint, we met a westbound Union Pacific freight.
We proceeded east towards Alpine as the sun was setting. I had a 5:00 PM dinner reservation and was seated with Wes, along with TJ and Danielle, going to Beaumont. The lone waiter was Bobby Chau and ended up being the only crew member to be on both my eastbound and westbound journeys aboard the Sunset Limited. We met the westbound Amtrak Sunset Limited at Sierra Blanca and I enjoyed a New York strip, with chocolate sundaes had by all at Table 12. "Songs from the Wood" by Jethro Tull was tonight's first musical choice. Amber, an eighth grader going to New Orleans, kept us all entertained with her accent and smile. Tull took me all the way to Alpine, where we switched both crews and time zones, changing to Central Time. We departed at 8:36 PM {2:20 PM} and I listened to "Greatest Hits, Jeff Beck featuring Rod Stewart" then called it a night as the train travelled towards Sanderson, Del Rio and San Antonio during the night.
12/18/2005 The train stopped in Del Rio at 1:00 AM and continued east to San Antonio at 4:24 AM {10:25 AM}, departing there at 5:38 PM {1:00 PM}. I slept until about 7:00 AM and following my morning preparations, went to the lounge car to get a Big City cinnamon roll then returned to my seat as the train ran through Flatonia.
Two mid-Texas scenes. I finished Jeff Beck and switched to the Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" and noted that we were very close to running on the former eastbound Sunset Limited schedule, so once again, was seeing the views that I should have passed through at night.
A bridge before East Benard, Texas.
We stopped while this train went into the siding at East Benard.
The BNSF crossing at Rosenburg. We made our way into Houston, arriving there at 10:15 AM {5:45 AM}.
The Sunset Limited at rest in Houston, after which I went inside the station for an ice cream.
Private cars of Creative Charters, the "Evelyn Henry" and dome car "Warren R. Henry". We departed at 10:33 AM {6:15 AM}.
The skyline of Houston. We stopped and on the bridge overhead, I saw two Houston light rail trains clamour along.
The Houston Riverwalk. We stopped at Tower 26 for ten minutes, crossed the Houston Belt Line and stopped again, with the crew announcing that we would be taking a different route to get to Beaumont and going that way we should not lose any time. I knew that meant the old Missouri Pacific line and I was a happy train traveller getting that new mileage so went to the rear door for the journey over this route.
We received a flashing red signal and we started our reverse move to get onto the Houston Belt.
Reversing with the Houston skyline.
About to enter the Houston Belt. The Houston Belt and Terminal Railway Company was chartered on August 31, 1905, to provide passenger and freight terminals in Houston for four railroads. Three of the lines, the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway Company, the Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway Company, and the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway Company, were part of the system being constructed by Benjamin F. Yoakum. The fourth participant was the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company. Each railroad owned a 25 percent interest in the Houston Belt and Terminal.
Construction began in 1905, and the Houston Belt and Terminal opened for operations on January 1, 1908. Construction of Union Depot began in 1909. Designed by the New York firm of Warren and Wetmore, the three-story station opened on March 1, 1911. Within two years an additional two stories were added. In order to build the passenger terminal, twelve blocks of land had to be cleared of some of the finest homes in the city. In mid-1916 the company operated twenty-three miles of main track and sixty-one miles of all tracks and owned seven locomotives and two cars.
The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company of Texas was a tenant at Union Station for several years around 1912. During World War I, the United States Railroad Administration took control of the railroads and moved the passenger trains of the International and Great Northern to the depot. This arrangement was formalized in 1921, and the International and Great Northern and its successor remained as tenants as long as the carrier existed. The last passenger train left Union Station on July 31, 1974. However, the station building remains in use for railroad offices, and the Houston Belt and Terminal continues to provide freight facilities for the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, and the Burlington Northern Railroad Company.
The train, now running forward, crossed the Sunset Route.
Passed CP Colin.
Passing through Freight Junction.
The major railroad junction called Belt Junction. We continued to roll east through Gold Coast Junction.
The train rolled through Settegast Junction.
For the most part, the route is straight as an arrow as it runs through the forest.
We crossed Houston Lake on a long low wooden trestle, which was the scenic highlight of this route before we passed through Huffman.
East of Huffman.
Fields east of Huffman. The west switch for the siding at Martha had been removed.
At Milepost 416, we crossed Bowle Creek.
Our route took us across the bayous before Hull.
Hull, Texas. While unincorporated, it became a station on the Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway and was named after W. F. Hull, a railroad official.
More bayous along our route.
At Grayburg, CSX 7356 East was in the siding.
Rounding the odd curve on this line.
Our train crossed the Marsh Bayou.
Amelia, Texas. The Amelia post office was established in 1885 on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. A section house built by the Southern Pacific system was located here and soon after the construction of the Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway in 1903, a depot in Amelia was named Elizabeth, in honor of Elizabeth McClain, daughter of a nearby resident.
A local at Elizabeth, Texas.
Elizabeth Control Point.
Curving along side the Sunset Route.
We now returned to the Sunset Route, ending my new mileage for now; it was a nice detour over the former Missouri Pacific line.
I learned after the trip, that effective with the resumption of service east of San Antonio on November 4th, 2005, Union Pacific established directional running of the Sunset between these two points using this former Missouri Pacific routing eastbound. Thank you to Bob Phillips for this information.
Passengers enjoying the fresh air stop at Beaumont during the crew change.
Hurricane Rita after peaking in strength at 175 mph in the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana, at 02:38 CDT (07:38 UTC) on September 24, 2005 as a Category 3 hurricane, with wind speeds of 120 mph and a storm surge of 10 feet.
The BNSF and Kansas City Southern railroad crossings in Beaumont.
The Neches River drawbridge.
Sabine River and Northern Railroad locomotives.
The former Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans ) depot at East Orange, built in 1902.
Crossing the Sabine River and entering Louisiana.
After a bit of reading, we crossed the Calcasion River into Lake Charles.
Boats beached by Hurricane Rita along the railroad fill.
Another smaller bridge across Lake Charles. I had seen plenty of rooves with blue tarps covering the damage from Hurricane Rita.
Iowa Junction, where the BNSF train operations start on the Sunset Route until Live Oak outside of Avondale.
A damaged building from Hurricane Rita.
The Mermentau River drawbridge. We arrived at Lafayette and departed at 3:50 PM {11:39 AM} before making our way to New Iberia, departing there at 4:11 PM {12:05 PM}.
Louisiana and Delta Railroad CF7 1500, nee Santa Fe F3A 2700 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1948.
Louisiana and Delta Railroad GP38 2000, ex. Golden Isles Terminal Railroad 2000, exx. Helm Atlantic Leasing (HATX) 107, exxx. CSXT 2069, nee Chesapeake and Ohio 3869 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1967.
An above-ground cemetery at New Iberia.
Sugar cane fields as we neared Baldwin.
The Channenton Canal drawbridge was crossed and with the light fading, that was the last picture of the day and I would photograph the other three drawbridges on the westbound journey. I listened to Lucia Micarelli's "Music From A Further Room"; Lucia had played with Jethro Tull during the last tour and is an excellent violin player. Darkness took total hold as we continued east, crossing the Atchaflaya River and Bayou Boeuf drawbridges. We made it to Schriever at 5:44 PM {1:26 PM} and twenty-five minutes later, crossed the Bayou Des Allemands drawbridges.
Aerosmith's "Rockin' the Joint" was my final musical selection of this eastbound trip and we approached Avondale before the Sunset Limited crossed the 4.2 mile Huey Long bridge across the mighty Mississippi River at 6:45 PM. We ran through western New Orleans before we wyed to reverse into New Orleans Union Station, arriving there at 7:20 PM {4:00 PM}, which ended yet another excellent Amtrak adventure with new mileage included.
New Orleans 12/18/2005After my bag tags were checked by a New Orleans police officer, I was allowed to enter the station which I walked through and a gentleman whistled me a taxi and told me about the $11 minimum for all taxi cab rides in post-Katrina New Orleans. I would taxi to the Quality Inn on St. Charles Street tonight and walk back to NOUPT in the morning. The driver drove me to the Maison St. Charles Quality Inn and to get onto their property, I had to walk through a gate on a side driveway off Thalia Street. Once I was in the office, I told them I had a reservation to stay there and learnt that I was the first post-Katrina guest. They upgraded me to the Mardi Gras suite above the office and I went upstairs and found a three-room, two-bathroom suite much to my liking, with a balcony that overlooked St. Charles Street and a dormant streetcar line. I made a few phone calls and watched "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" with Jim Carrey in the title spot before calling it a night.
