That will be a good trip. There's some good scenery in west Texas.
Unfortunately, the railroad that owns the tracks - the U.P. - chokes the line up with freights. Guess what happens! Amtrak trains are often put on the siding and made horribly late.
But guess who gets the blame for the tardiness.
Just understand that the private railroad owners for the most part dislike Amtrak and the country's political leaders won't fund it so you get what you pay for.
Originally Posted by ssullivan
Thanks for the report! I have my first overnight Amtrak journey coming up in a few days, New Orleans to Los Angeles on the Sunset Limited. Of course I'm going into it with the attitude that it's an adventure, and that I'm not going to let anything really ruin the trip. I know the Sunset is almost always late, the food has been downgraded significantly, the equipment is not as maintained as well as it should be, and the staff isn't always the most pleasant. Still, I'm mainly looking for the chance to get the experience of taking an overnight, cross-country train in a sleeper compartment, something I've always wanted to do. And this is really a mini-vacation and break from work where I want to be able to relax, catch up on some pleasure reading, watch a couple of DVDs, and maybe meet a few new people, all while I watch the world go by.