I had to reschedule my trip to stay at the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata from December to February because I made the trip to Texas to ride the Texas State Railroad before it shut down for good. I later learned that it received an extension of life until August 31st, 2007. I picked Saturday, February 10th as the date I would stay at the Depot Inn & Suites and this would be my opportunity to really enjoy the hotel relax there before I returned to La Plata on my Million Mile Trip in late April, which would be a major media event. Needless to say, I had been looking forward to my first stay at the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Missouri.
2/8/07 I worked at McFadden Elementary all day on February 8th, 2007, then coached track having a long practice. By the time I returned home, it was 4:10 PM and I still needed to finish packing so had an early dinner before driving to the Santa Ana station and quickly went into the station to turn in my parking permit to park in the lot for more than 72 hours. I returned to the car, unloaded my bags and crossed to the east platform at the Santa Ana Boulevard grade crossing just before Metrolink 686 arrived.
As Metrolink 686 departed, I heard a horn blow from the south.
Pacific Surfliner 583 2/8/2007
Pacifc Surfliner 583 came into the station.
I was greeted at the door by the ever-friendly and smiling Jeffrey McConnell, who welcomed me aboard as I started my second trip to La Plata. This train had Surfliner cab car 6903, coaches 6412 and 6414, coach/café 6303 and Pacific Business Class 6806, with F59PHI 461 pushing. I took a downstairs seat and we were off and running to Los Angeles Union Passenger Station, at which we arrived a few minutes early.
I walked from Track 10 down, over and up to Track 12 to wait for the Southwest Chief.
Southwest Chief 4 2/8/2007
At 5:30 PM, this train reversed into LAUPT with a consist of P42DCs 68 and 141, baggage 1753, sleepers 32047, 32093 "Missouri", 32076 "Delaware", diner 38016, lounge 33001 and coaches 34016 and 31042. Rudy, the coach car attendant, started to board our car at 6:05 PM and I was assigned seat 47, a large right-side window seat. I settled in for the trip, listening to a solo album by Paul Stanley of Kiss called "Live to Win". We departed on time and by the time we reached Fullerton, I had listened to the CD twice. I inquired about upgrading to a sleeping car room and received a positive response then listened to Kansas' "Live at the Whiskey" and after Fullerton, Conductor Joe Knappe sold me Room 13 in the "Missouri". I hauled my bags through the lounge, diner, "Delaware" and into the "Missouri" and settled into my room for a much more comfortable trip to La Plata.
Henry Ford would be my sleeping car attendant for this trip and I enjoyed the view from my darkened room as we made our way east to Riverside and San Bernardino.
We had a fresh air stop at San Bernardino and once we were on the move again climbing Cajon Pass, I made up my room and called it a night.
2/9/2007 I awoke with the train stopped just east of Flagstaff on a bright sunny morning and went to the dining car where I enjoyed French Toast and sausage patties on a motionless train as we sat behind a few BNSF freights. Once we were on the move again, we passed a parade of westbound trains, running on each other's block signals. I enjoyed the view from the lounge car to beyond Canyon Diablo then returned to my room and started my day off musically with John Mellencamp's "Freedom Road" as I read USA Today while the train was en route to Winslow and beyond. Once that was finished, I napped until after Grants before returning to the lounge car for the views as far as Dalies.
I returned to my room for the rest of the trip to Albuquerque and as we arrived, I remembered that a unique rail item had been shipped back to its long-time home and I went to the vestibule hoping to see it.
Coming into Albuquerque, we passed Santa Fe motor car M-190, still on a flat car, after arriving from the California State Railroad Museum the previous week. We would see more of this unique trainset when we returned west through here on Monday. The Southwest Chief arrived late for the first time in years.
Randy Jackson, a local friend of mine, was waiting on the platform for a visit during the layover.
The Missouri state name lives on the side of my sleeper.
Passengers enjoyed the sixty degree fresh air during our service stop here. We departed at 1:59 PM {12:55 PM} and proceeded to Lamy as I listened to Jethro Tull's "Crest of the Knave".
Passing the on-time westbound Southwest Chief as we took the siding at Waldo. As we left Lamy, I switched to the Rolling Stones' "Bridges to Babylon." We climbed through snow-covered Apache Canyon then up and over Glorieta Pass. Rob Quist and Jack Gladstone's "Odyssey West" was my next musical choice of the afternoon.
The train took the famous "S" curve at Chappelle. We continued onto Las Vegas and I went to the lounge car to wait to be called into the diner for dinner. I was seated with a gentleman going to Raton, then the bus to Pueblo, and another young man returning home to Alderson, West Virginia. I enjoyed the pork chop and the delicious chocolate cake the back in my room, it was Billy Joel's "Stormfront" which took me to Raton, the next fresh air stop.
Fresh air stop at Raton. I then had a refreshing shower and was back in my room as we exited the Raton tunnel into Colorado. As I sat in my darkened room, it was time for Deep Purple's "Under the Gun". The train paused at Trinidad and after that, I made up my room with us running an hour-and-a-half late on this clear Colorado night.
2/10/2007 I woke to a clear morning as the train finished refuelling in Argentine Yard. I enjoyed French Toast and sausage patties as the train was stopped in Kansas City, from which we departed at 8:15 AM, half-an-hour late as I took in in the views of the Kansas City metro area.
We crossed the Missouri River bridge at Sibley, where I plan to pass the Million Rail Mile Mark in late April.
C.A. Junction could be a backup location for that big event. The train stopped at a red signal at Ethel as we waited for BNSF 5504 West to clear the mainline then arrived in La Plata at 10:41 AM {9:57 AM}, ending a relaxing and quiet eastbound train trip.
The Depot Inn & Suites La Plata, Missouri 2/10/2007
I was picked up by the owner, Tom Marshall, who drove me to their hotel. Once inside, he picked up my key to the Pullman Suite and led me to the room.
He opened the door and showed me my room and all its features. I walked back with him to the ticket counter {front desk} to sign my registration papers then returned to the Pullman Suite to photograph it in detail for any of you who wish to stay in this wondeful room.
In one corner is a desk and nighstand complete with drawers and a lamp.
There is a very large and comfortable bed with artwork above.
Each of the four suites has a bath/sauna tub.
Between the bed and sauna is another chest of drawers, bed lamp and a step box to get up onto the bed.
A big-screen wall television and DVD player is above the room's fireplace.
A collage of St. Louis Union Station pictures and information.
A painting above the bed.
The vanity area with the bathroom and shower behind the wall.
Finally, there is a very comfortable couch with a tall lamp next to it. That is the Pullman Suite. Now I will describe the interior of the hotel which features a long hallway with various railroad displays on each side.
A look into the General Store area.
There is plenty to see in the display case, including conductor's uniforms.
Various railroad items, including timetables and insulators.
Steam-era photographs and a roundhouse map.
have Santa Fe timetables, along with model trains.
Also here are Burlington Northern employee timetables and Rio Grande models.
More railroad memorabilia.
More pictures and track equipment.
Dining car china.
More pictures with more tools below.
Even more pictures.
Santa Fe passenger train poster.
Additional picture displays.
One does not expect to see a switch broom for clearing snow out of the switch points.
Model trains.
A collection of railroad lanterns.
You can spend plenty of time browsing the halls of the Depot Inn & Suites. Now to the lobby.
A pool table in one corner and behind it, a selection of books, including some on railroads, that guests can read during their stay.
To the right is the fireplace, with the famous May 10th, 1869 picture of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Point, Utah, above and several very comfortable chairs.
To the right of that, mounted in a bookcase, is a big-screen television set.
In the wall that separates the lobby from the heated indoor pool is a very large train along with more railroad memorabilia on the ledge above.
The ticket counter is the front desk of the hotel and there are more pictures behind it. Next, the hotel grounds on this 18 degree late morning with a 15 mile-an-hour wind blowing from the northeast.
A handcar on a track sits outside the main entrance.
A railroad crossing signal at the south end of the building. The eaves of the building read "northbound, eastbound, southbound and westbound".
Next I walked along the former Wabash Railroad right-of-way to where the future train watching platform would soon be built.
The view from here includes the BNSF mainline, the Trainweb.com building on the left and the Amtrak station down the tracks on the right. I walked back down the old grade to the hotel.
The rear of the Depot Inn & Suites.
On my way back inside to warm up, I passed this baggage room scale in front of the hotel.
Returning outside, there is aplayground area for the visiting children near the back door.
One of the many baggage carts on the property.
A Railway Express Agency baggage cart.
Two more baggage carts near the former Wabash Railroad grade.
A baggage cart with railroad ties on it.
A miniature train on wheels.
The Trainparty.com gift shop that was closed until spring.
The view of the Depot Inn & Suites from out along the highway.
A railroad crossing device protects the northern entrance.
Looking south down the driveway.
REA baggage cart with three barrels.
By the entrance, there is a derailer at the end of a track panel along with a tool car.
A tool car rests by the derailer.
A speeder by the Depot Inn & Suites sign.
A handcar at the south end of the track panel.
Next door, the Bank of La Plata sign read a balmy 18 degrees on this late morning so I returned to the warmth of the Pullman Suite to watch Blackmore's Night's "Castles and Dreams" on the television screen.
What a great picture that television provided me. After the concert, I decided to try the heated indoor pool.
The pool.
There are various railroad memorabilia surrounding the pool. I stayed in the water for about five minutes, but since I was here to relax, decided to leave because of the noise from the children. I returned to my room and changed clothes before taking a few more pictures out in the hallway.
Framed posters of diesels and steam engines.
A Union Pacific Big Boy diagram.
A steam train inside the wall between the lobby and the pool.
One last picture back in the hallway to my Pullman Suite. I bought a Depot Inn & Suites T-shirt before watching "Blade Trinity" on a movie channel then went to dinner at the Red Rooster Restaurant, which is two buildings south of the hotel and ordered a Porterhouse Steak, baked potato and cottage cheese, plus a chocolate shake. With the temperature reaching only 26 degrees today, I returned to my suite and used that wonderful sauna and boy, did I feel relaxed. It does not get any better than this in a hotel room.
I next watched my "Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest" on that fantastic large screen then called it a night after a great first day's stay at the Depot Inn & Suites.
2/11/2007 I slept so well in that bed that I did not awake until 8:30 AM, which is considered very late for me. Looking out of my window, after a great shower, I saw more sunny skies then called Julie, Amtrak's automated agent, to learn how the eastbound Southwest Chief was doing today as I wanted to take a picture of it here. She had it arriving at 10:20 AM so I walked over to the Red Rooster for breakfast, passing the Bank of La Plata sign that read 26 degrees, with a southwest wind blowing the flags. I ordered waffles and sausage patties and after breakfast, returned to my room and watched ESPN Sports Center before walking down to the road bridge that crosses over the BNSF mainline. It is a few minutes walk and offers a great view of the tracks.
First, an eastbound BNSF freight train came through.
That was followed by a westbound freight passing the eastbound.
A few minutes later, another westbound freight came by
The Southwest Chief next arrived and made its station stop in under a minute before passing my location for points east. I returned to the hotel with the temperature now 34 degrees, so at least it got above freezing while I was here. I rented a trio of movies, of which I had seen parts of two and none of the third. The first one was "Cars" and during it, I received a phone call asking if I would mind changing rooms since someone had the Pullman Suite reserved for that night and it needed to be cleaned, so I said okay. After finishing watching the film, I went to the front desk and changed to Room A.
The vanity area.
The room has a television, DVD player, chest of drawers and desk.
There is a nice comfortable chair next to the window with another chest of drawers, telephone and bed lamp.
The room has a very comfortable bed with a picture of B&O steam engine 867 above.
There is a desk area with a drawing of Western Maryland Shay No. 6 above. The next rented film I watched was the new version of "King Kong", after which I called home then checked to see what time the westbound Southwest Chief was expected, and it was running on time. I started the last film, "Open Season", and watched the first 45 minutes of it before walking back over to the Red Rooster for my last meal in La Plata on this trip.
The Bank of La Plata sign read 38 degrees, which was the high for today.
I decided to try the grilled chicken breast, home-cut French fries, cottage cheese and a chocolate malt. The weather turned mostly cloudy late this afternoon, with freezing rain in tomorrow's forecast. I wished I could have stayed here one more day as I had never experienced that kind of weather. After dinner, I returned the three rental DVDs and at 7:00 PM, returned the key to Room A and looked at the railroad books in the lobby. Then at 7:30 PM, Tom Marshall arrived and after a cup of coffee to warm himself up, drove me back to the station. I said goodbye to Tom and thanked him for a very relaxing stay at the Depot Inn & Suites. I highly recommend staying at this unique railroad-themed hotel in La Plata, Missouri.
The La Plata Amtrak station where I waited for the Southwest Chief to take me home.
An eastbound BNSF freight came through.
