I used to ride this train a lot, and I miss the sleepers coupled behind the engines. I liked listening to the chugging of the Genesis (when they used to be the predominant locomotive on the CONO), and blowing its horn, especially when it arrived and departed Memphis.
Awesome video, thank you! We will be riding the same train to New Orleans from Memphis on May the 18th. The wife and I tried to book a bedroom but were sold out so we booked a roomette. I'm kind of disappointed to hear the quality of the food now, but still super excited about our 5 day trip to New Orleans! Thank you once again for your review, bravo!
I got an ALC-42 for my train from Seattle to Portland back in April! It was engine #309! What's special was it was the first ALC-42 painted in the Phase 7 scheme! It also had P42 #33. I stayed in the observation car the majority of the ride.
Used to take this from Memphis to New Orleans in the 1970s a couple times a year for a weekend. Was called the Panama Limited then. We would board about 6 am, go straight to the club Car, break out our vodka and Kuala (only served beer on board) and order coffee and OJ. We would be knee walking by the time we hit New Orleans. At round noon. One time about 30 of us went down for the King Tut exhibit, we drank the club car out of beer by the time we hit the Station. Those were the days.
an excellent report, one of the best i have seen. i am glad that amtrak has wisely loosened up its schedules so the trains are arriving on time more often. on the food front, you seem only to have had breakfast on this trip. as a saavy traveler, robert, you should have stuck with the dining car favorites for decades : french toast. i have heard a lot of good report on food, even on the lines featuring the limited choices. good news i read is that they are resuming full service dining on many long haul trains west of chicago this summer. hopefully they will continue to upgrade the food service. keep up the good work
p.s. to clarify, the illinois central ran a day train to new orleans, the city of new orleans, and an overnight 'limited' meaning no chair cars, at least for much of their history. the panama limited, the night train, was one of the great limiteds of the golden age of rail travel.
and i just found out that we are both alums of the university of missouri--columbia: mizzou. i loved my time in columbia, racking up 3 degrees there. well, the job market was not very good and thus my graduate studies. lol
Thank you Bruce! I had dinner inside the station before boarding, and to the best of my knowledge we didn’t get lunch onboard the next day. As for French Toast, it is an excellent railroad meal but it wasn’t on this menu. I didn’t even like my pancakes that much. Fun fact, 20 years ago the Empire Builder served French Toast in the Cafe/Lounge Car. Full dining service on trains west of Chicago has been a thing for a couple years now. It was last year when they opened it up to coach passengers. Glad to have met a fellow Tiger!!! I’ll kick off my freshman year in a few weeks majoring in Communication, but I might switch to Journalism in the future. Mizzou’s J School is one of the best in America, and I’m pumped for the next four! M-I-Z :)
Are you gonna ride the Amtrak Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited, Empire Builder, or Coast Starlight Passenger Train, Rob? It maybe a long haul ride going there, sir!
@@RobertKrebill thanks for the tip, you were correct left side gets more interesting when you enter Louisiana! the most scenic Amtrak trip I've been on has been Denver to Emeryville. Right side is best for that trip!
*NOTE: Please zoom in the video with your fingers to fill the screen.*
I used to ride this train a lot, and I miss the sleepers coupled behind the engines. I liked listening to the chugging of the Genesis (when they used to be the predominant locomotive on the CONO), and blowing its horn, especially when it arrived and departed Memphis.
Awesome video, thank you! We will be riding the same train to New Orleans from Memphis on May the 18th. The wife and I tried to book a bedroom but were sold out so we booked a roomette. I'm kind of disappointed to hear the quality of the food now, but still super excited about our 5 day trip to New Orleans! Thank you once again for your review, bravo!
I got an ALC-42 for my train from Seattle to Portland back in April! It was engine #309! What's special was it was the first ALC-42 painted in the Phase 7 scheme! It also had P42 #33. I stayed in the observation car the majority of the ride.
You stayed in the right car, my friend :)
I need to relive the Coast Starlight again!
Some of those Superliner cars (Dining, Sightseer, extra Sleepers and Coaches) are badly needed back on the Texas Eagle.
Awesome!! This is the same exact room we got for our trip back to New Orleans next week! That will be perfect for my husband ,son and I.
Nice video 😊
Used to take this from Memphis to New Orleans in the 1970s a couple times a year for a weekend. Was called the Panama Limited then. We would board about 6 am, go straight to the club Car, break out our vodka and Kuala (only served beer on board) and order coffee and OJ. We would be knee walking by the time we hit New Orleans. At round noon. One time about 30 of us went down for the King Tut exhibit, we drank the club car out of beer by the time we hit the Station. Those were the days.
Thanks for sharing your story!
an excellent report, one of the best i have seen. i am glad that amtrak has wisely loosened up its schedules so the trains are arriving on time more often. on the food front, you seem only to have had breakfast on this trip. as a saavy traveler, robert, you should have stuck with the dining car favorites for decades : french toast. i have heard a lot of good report on food, even on the lines featuring the limited choices. good news i read is that they are resuming full service dining on many long haul trains west of chicago this summer. hopefully they will continue to upgrade the food service. keep up the good work
p.s. to clarify, the illinois central ran a day train to new orleans, the city of new orleans, and an overnight 'limited' meaning no chair cars, at least for much of their history. the panama limited, the night train, was one of the great limiteds of the golden age of rail travel.
and i just found out that we are both alums of the university of missouri--columbia: mizzou. i loved my time in columbia, racking up 3 degrees there. well, the job market was not very good and thus my graduate studies. lol
Thank you Bruce! I had dinner inside the station before boarding, and to the best of my knowledge we didn’t get lunch onboard the next day.
As for French Toast, it is an excellent railroad meal but it wasn’t on this menu. I didn’t even like my pancakes that much. Fun fact, 20 years ago the Empire Builder served French Toast in the Cafe/Lounge Car.
Full dining service on trains west of Chicago has been a thing for a couple years now. It was last year when they opened it up to coach passengers.
Glad to have met a fellow Tiger!!! I’ll kick off my freshman year in a few weeks majoring in Communication, but I might switch to Journalism in the future. Mizzou’s J School is one of the best in America, and I’m pumped for the next four! M-I-Z :)
Nice trip Robert
I rode the via rail one from Toronto to Kingston recently
Awesome
This was very well done Robert!
I wanna take the San Antonio to New Orleans train soon. I’ve never been on a train before
Trust me, you will really love it!
I’ll be taking this same route in a roomette. I’m excited! I’ve never been to New Orleans. Any tips on what’s a must-see there?
I thought there was an observation car-not just the dining car. For me the trip is about the view and mingling with passengers.
It’s almost like New York City to Boston
Fun fact. At about the 30:50 point you passed the southern terminus of US61.
I'm going to miss the amfleet and superliners such long lived and successful cars
They still got a couple years left
Are you gonna ride the Amtrak Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Texas Eagle, Sunset Limited, Empire Builder, or Coast Starlight Passenger Train, Rob? It maybe a long haul ride going there, sir!
@@RobertKrebill Rob, do you riding on Amtrak Routes by yourself?
@@joshuadominictoling5310 Yes I do!
@@joshuadominictoling5310 I hope to go back on all those trains!
Oooh fun. I go on trips to clone myself 💀
Im about to do this trip right now, what side of the train is more scenic??
Might go with the left side if you’re riding 59
@@RobertKrebill thanks for the tip, you were correct left side gets more interesting when you enter Louisiana! the most scenic Amtrak trip I've been on has been Denver to Emeryville. Right side is best for that trip!
What hotels would you recommend close to the New Orleans train station?
Here are my top 5:
- Four Seasons
- Ritz-Carlton
- Le Méridien
- Maison Saint Charles by Hotel RL
- Hyatt Regency Downtown
is this true tell me no. MIcrowave food that is unfit for my dog? Is that what they are serving up?
Unfortunately that’s the case… I don’t even like Amtrak’s flexible dining pancakes. They look and taste bad
TY for info. took a trip when covid was at its peak. The microwave meals = as bad as food gets. @@RobertKrebill
It is pronounced Ill-lie-ni.
Thanks
Put a full service dining car back on. 👍🏽😎❤️🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃
Sometime after I took this train, the dining car menu was changed to something that looks very similar to the cafe menu.