How Amtrak makes the longest route in America work - San Antonio Amtrak
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- Опубліковано 19 жов 2024
- Via catching a ride with the 21 Texas Eagle and the 1 Sunset Limited, the 421 Texas Eagle is the longest route on Amtrak's network. Here's how it transfers between one train and the other in San Antonio.
This is part of a larger trip to Texas, which you can find here: • Trains, plains, and So...
What a fantastic nighttime video of Amtrak and the city skyline. Beautiful drone footage. I was captivated. Thank you.
I swear the TX Eagle is NEVER on time to San Antonio and its usually delayed by UP. 4 years ago, we came in at 430 AM and they close the snack bar so we were hungry AF. Most of us passengers went to Dennys a couple of blocks away and ate that place out of food.
We got lucky with how late/early the trains were that night. We actually wanted to go catch the Texas Eagle in Texarkana during our Texas Grand Tour. And it was well on it's way into town. Then it stop just outside the outskirts of town. We waited two hours for a train that never came. The real kicker was that it was running on time just before it got to town. Unfortunately, we couldn't stick around much longer since we had to get to Oklahoma on the same night.
Super nice angles and editing!
Once in a blue moon I take to watching the trains in this area.
Envious videography! The drone, commentary and music just nailed it. Great job!
San Antonio before Amtrak had two stations, a Missouri Pacific station on the west side of downtown and a Southern Pacific station on the east side of downtown. Usually the southbound Texas Eagle circles around to the east side station via a wye on the southside of downtown thus arrives at the Amtrak station adjacent to the former Southern Pacific station facing north. Usually later the west bound Sunset Limited arrives to this station facing south. After shunting two cars, a sleeper and a coach, the westbound Sunset Limited departs before the northbound Texas Eagle departs. These two cars are flipped and flopped, what was once the port side becomes the starboard side of the train, and vice a versa. What was forward is now aft. Its a bit confusing going westbound with those two cars basically joining the Sunset Limited, but not at all going northbound with the Texas Eagle, as the Eagle reverses back to that wye to get off the former Southern Pacific tracks to get on the former Missouri Pacific tracks. Going northbound these two cars are not flipped and flopped with the shunt. Some nights the Sunset Limited gains two cars going westbound, and some nights loses two cars going eastbound at San Antonio... Both trains are shorter when they don't have these two cars on their consists...
Yep, pretty much a summary of what you see on screen 😅
Just to clarify, San Antonio actually used to have 3 passenger stations. The MKT had a station beyond Sloan yard (neither exists anymore) also on the Southwestern corner of the downtown area. Back in the day my grandfather operated tower #112 which doesn't exist anymore that controlled where the MKT and the Southern Pacific tracks crossed over each other. As a young kid I loved visiting him and getting to flip switches in the tower, handing out train orders to passing engineers etc.... Many fond memories.
Everything is now under the control of Union Pacific and they have reworked both areas where the SP crossed the MKT and MP lines. The former MP station, still stands I believe but was turned into a bank years ago. I don't know if it still is. I've seen pictures of the old MKT station but it was torn down before I was alive. There is a hotel now where it resided. Both were nice nice station buildings but neither compared to the beautiful Sunset Station which I'm happy that they have preserved. If you've never been inside you should.
Thanks for sharing your video. Brought back alot of memories for me of that area of operation.
@@jeremywills9303 - The former Missouri-Pacific station was a bank for a while, but now is owned by the local transit authority (VIA) which is currently using it for office space but plans to one day turn it into a multi-modal terminal.
There actually was a fourth passenger station in San Antonio -- the Monte Vista suburban station on the MP just south of Hildebrand Ave. It operated from 1926 to 1961.
Excellent aerial work - Thanks, most appreciated. I've been on the Sunset Limited, but that was before the east of New Orleans disaster. Haven't done the Texas Eagle yet, but I live in Houston (HOS), so it's on my bucket list.
Papa Geoff - UP Spring Subdivision / Houstonians Texas - Here we go on a clear 🚦🚦
Great work on the drone footage!!! It's real well-edited too ^^
Took the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to LA back in March. I slept through the whole process. Slept through the whole process in Spokane on the Empire Builder too. The Lake Shore Limited seems to be the only train that does this process during day/early evening.
GREAT RIDE !!!!! I RODE I FROM NEW ORLEANS TO SALINAS., CALIFORNIA!!!!
Nice shots!
Great job!
Cool western music.
I was kinda surprised that it was available on YT
Thank you for an excellent video, I have done several trips from Chicago and also Dallas to LA, But what about the trip from Dallas to New Orleans? I know I have to get off the train to change cars but does one have access to the station to wait for the Sunset to arrive from LA?
I believe so, they may close the station though. I'm not a local you would have to look it up
I've done the route going eastbound, but not west.
If Amtrak arrives early or in time then they did something wrong.
Especially since it was the Sunset Limited which feels like it never runs on time thanks to UP. But alas, it happens lol