The Nation's Capital - Almost

The 7am Crescent Train Service departed New Orleans promptly, and I noted that this was a different type of train - a single decker, and a bit more modern in appearance than the other Superliners I have been on. There was no observation car, but it had a lounge and a dining car, and once more all meals were included.

Again I was glad I had booked a roomette which allowed me to lie down and catch up on my sleep. Although fairly small, these are ideal for 1 or 2 passengers, although my neighbours did say that lying in the pull-down top bunk was like having an MRI scan. The addition here was that this tiny cabin had its own WC and wash hand basin, handy for those nocturnal visits when you reach a certain age, although you had to be a bit of a contortionist for anything other than ‘pouring the potatoes’ as Aunty Lesley would say!

We left Ol’ Man River, and crossed Lake Pontchartrain, the train appearing to float across the expanse of water. How they ever managed to build some of these railroads beats me. This train was much quieter, and the most relaxing to date, as we left Louisiana and travelled through the southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. I was excited to be passing close to the summer camp I worked at for 2 summers on the Camp America programme 45 years ago at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia.

My neighbours across the way were sisters on the wrong side of sixty, who were returning to their home in New York (‘well, it’s actually the Hamptons’ the older of the two clarified). I joined them for breakfast and they were good fun, reminding me of my friends Rea and Maggie. ‘Why don’t you keep Trump over there’ declared Rea loudly, at which point they both dissolved into uncontrollable laughter, ‘we’re fed up spending our weekends protesting outside the White House’. They were later reprimanded by the Conductor for being too loud and laughing like hyenas.

By the time Ashley, my short and stout cabin attendant, had converted my roomette into a bedroom, the train had been idling behind a freight train in Georgia for 3 hours. ‘Relax, just chill out’ Ashley assured, ‘we’ll make up that time by breakfast, no problem’. Sadly, Ashley’s optimistic predictions proved to be inaccurate, as I awoke at 7.30am to the Conductor’s announcement that this express service was now running 8 hours late! ‘If this causes any problems, just let us know, folks’, he added cheerily.

So much for my leisurely day exploring the nation’s capital. The novelty of admiring the lush green scenery waned, and the train eventually limped into the nation’s capital city at 6pm (instead of 10am) after a journey of 35 hours. I only had time for a quick walk outside (in the rain) before heading for the Lounge ready to board my final marathon train journey to Orlando, Florida on The Silver Meteor.Read more