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Just returned yesterday from a round trip from San Marcos to El Paso, TX on #421/422 for my annual trip home from college for Thanksgiving. Was in the same Roomette in literally the same Sleeper (06 of the 32028) both ways. I was pleased that my Sleeper actually belonged on the Empire Builder as it had new everything (LED Blue light on Night mode, bigger restrooms, improved lighting). It was a roamer though apparently, as the upper car numbers (by the door to the next car) had Zephyr numbers, and half the timetables in the car were for the CofNO. Westbound had me a bit scared after finding out of the derailment at Rosenfeld, TX. I thought they were going to "bustitute" us from San Antonio to Alpine but apparently they just held #2 in Alpine and it wound up creeping into San Antonio at 4am. The switching in San Antonio still seems to be a hit or miss on gentleness. Going west they must enjoy slamming the cars together because my tennis bag woke me up when it came toppling down as the Sunset attached itself to us. Despite #2 and #1 being in the station at the same time, San Antonio handled it very well and our late departure was cited as a medical emergency as they held us up an extra half hour or so. Food was decent (anything is better than college dining hall food) and was pleased to see the new platform almost complete in Alpine. Only incident we encountered was going east a little before Hondo, TX. Freight train in front of us discovered a broken rail and we sat for about an hour as repairs were completed. Pulled back into San Antonio only 20 mins late. Now going eastward I must of been either incredibly tired or we had a new switching crew, as I did not feel a thing as they cut us from the Sunset and added us to the Eagle. The Diner crew on the northbound Eagle tried to mess with me a little since I was wearing my Texas State sweatshirt and they confused it for Texas A&M (Our colors are Maroon and Gold, theirs is Maroon and White). Of course everyone knows that UT beat A&M on Thanksgiving to close their rivalry as A&M prepares to head to the SEC. Apparently they were longhorn fans and weren't letting A&M kids in to have Breakfast. When asking what I want for breakfast our waiter asked if I'd also like a new quarterback (HahaHa, though Texas State is moving to a new conference we actually do have A&M's old Head Coach). After quickly correcting him that I go to Texas STATE instead of A&M did they lighten up a bit. Overall a good trip and the next outing will be Spring Break most likely. Pictures are displayed over on Trainorders if anyone has that membership as well.
Posts: 250 | From: Texas State University-San Marcos, Texas (Hometown El Paso, TX) | Registered: Jul 2005
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Thanks for the report, Sunset. Good to see some young blood on this forum. Who knows, maybe 30 or 40 years from now you will be recalling some of your trips on a forum like this - as a few of us seem to do.
Did Texas State have another name long ago as I believe that's where my father in law graduated after WWII.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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It's been through many names changes, the most recent was in 2001 when it was changed from Southwest Texas State to just Texas State. Before that it was known Southwest Texas State Teachers College, then Southwest Texas State College before becoming Southwest Texas State University.
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Thanks for keeping us updated with the state of things regarding the Texas Eagle-Sunset through car operation. I'm glad that you are able (and do)to use Amtrak for your basic transportation needs!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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