Thursday Oct 26 2006
Night Stops on the Texas Eagle
Darkness overtook us on Train 22 somewhere east of Mesquite on October 9th, the first day of our Montana Trip. Our sleeping car attendant Phyllis had made us a dinner reservation for 5:30pm, and otherwise taken care of all our needs cheerfully and efficiently. The food was surprisingly good, and our random tablemates very entertaining. When we stopped in Mineola at 7:22pm, I braced my Canon 5D on the window ledge of our roomette for this shot of the deserted town gazebo.
A little less than an hour later found us stopped in Longview at 8:14pm where we boarded a number of passengers that had arrived from Houston on the Amtrak bus. Since this was an extended stop, passengers were allowed to detrain as long as we stayed close to our car. I used my monopod to steady the 5D for this shot on the platform.
Later on at 10:00pm after a very dark ride through the east Texas piney woods we arrived at Texarkana. The full moon gave the platform of the classic old depot a haunting look as Phyllis visited with other crew members before the conductor signaled our departure.
Soon after crossing the line into Arkansas, Phyllis stopped by and showed me how to lower the top berth when I was ready for bed, as Judy had already staked out the bottom for herself. I was still excited about the ride, and read a book until we stopped in Little Rock at 12:30am. Phyllis and I were all alone at the back of the regular train, and the private cars behind us were dark and silent.
Once we were under way again I checked the timetable to learn that sunrise should find us somewhere south of St. Louis. I pulled down the top berth and made my way up the small ladder. The track was reasonably smooth, but after reclining I still clipped the wide harness attached to the edge of the berth to the ceiling so I would not accidentally roll out or be piched out courtesy of the UP. My radio picked up each detector as we passed by at a steady 79mph along with the occasional crew conversation. I own a CD called “Falling asleep on the Train,” but now I had the real thing going for me!
