Second Day on the Texas Eagle

In the morning, about 5:30, I head down to the diner.  Walt has an urn of coffee made at a little station by the stairs, and I draw some into a paper cup as I pass.  The kitchen won’t be open until 6:30.

In the diner, I sit down at a table to read the news.  Out the windows to the east, the sun is rising over the Mississippi.  The sky glows a soft orange.

Breakfast comes.  I have an omelet, home fries, and sausage links.  Not bad.

Todd and I talk about the state of the railroad and the way it got this way.  For the first time in decades, there is hope.  Amtrak Joe pumped a tank of billions into the system.  A lot of deferred maintenance will be done, but more difficult is the restoration of a train industry in the U.S. after decades of underfunding.

Lately, during the pandemic, Amtrak cut operations way back.  Then their parts suppliers went out of business.  So now there are no parts to repair the trains.  That’s no way to run a railroad.

After breakfast I retire for a respite in the room.  I make some notes.  I nap a little.  I read a little.  Soon I pick up the macbook and head for the diner.

In the diner, I find the table with my room number on a slip of paper and sit down.  I have at least an hour until lunch.  I open the macbook and start drafting.

Lunch was forgettable.

Amtrak took all the full-service diners off the trains during the pandemic.  After the pandemic, Amtrak did not have enough cars to restore full dining to all trains.  The Texas Eagle was one of the losers.

One thing, the food is plentiful.  You won’t lose weight eating in first class.

Soon after I’m done, I have to vacate the table for the next hungry seating.

Back in my room from lunch, I read a little.  Then I turn myself to organizing and packing for the train change.

I listen to crew members chat as they pack up their rooms.  We’re near the end of the trip.  Everyone on the crew is thinking of the chores they must do to shut down the train.  Their paid time stops when the train stops.  If they’re not finished with their chores, they will finish on their own time.

Goodbye again.