NYP/NOL NYC/MSY - Which way?
Oct 1, 2017, 5:17 pm
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2000
Programs: UA Million Miler (lite). NY Metro area.
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NYP/NOL NYC/MSY - Which way?
I'm headed to New Orleans next spring. I'll be departing from NYP. This will be my 3rd long distance train ride. 
Which direction is best on the Crescent? I'll book a roomette.
If I were to depart from NOL and head to CHI, then fly back to NY, would that change your mind? Is the ride on the City of New Orleans prettier? I'm flexible on direction and trains.
My last trip was CHI/WAS/NRO in the spring on the Capitol Limited #30 .
Thanks.
Which direction is best on the Crescent? I'll book a roomette.
If I were to depart from NOL and head to CHI, then fly back to NY, would that change your mind? Is the ride on the City of New Orleans prettier? I'm flexible on direction and trains.
My last trip was CHI/WAS/NRO in the spring on the Capitol Limited #30 .
Thanks.
Oct 2, 2017, 11:00 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Denver, Colorado
Programs: DEN: WN or UA, AA LT Gold, VIA Preference Preferred
Posts: 1,550
I would favor the Crescent eastbound only because of crossing the Lake Pontchartrain causeway in daylight.
If you were going to ride the Cardinal, Capitol, or Lake Shore from New York to Chicago it would be worth taking the CONO from NO to Chicago, to complete the routes you haven't ridden.
But, if you're going to fly to/from Chicago anyway, might as well fly home from MSY. The CONO itself isn't the best train, and has little scenery to recommend.
Daze
If you were going to ride the Cardinal, Capitol, or Lake Shore from New York to Chicago it would be worth taking the CONO from NO to Chicago, to complete the routes you haven't ridden.
But, if you're going to fly to/from Chicago anyway, might as well fly home from MSY. The CONO itself isn't the best train, and has little scenery to recommend.
Daze
Oct 12, 2017, 8:36 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Programs: American Airlines Platinum, National Executive
Posts: 3,790
Northbound on the Crescent is better than southbound because on a northbound trip, when you wake up, you're rolling through Virginia, which is pretty. Breakfast in the dining car while zipping through verdant pastures and charming small towns is quite nice.