Hmm . . . well, this thread has offered a number of suggestions. My wife and I take long distance trips on Amtrak, and I would agree with those who suggested a hotel. Staying in the station at NOL is misdirected frugality. I can guarantee that it will be a miserable night. A good restaurant for supper and a good hotel are worth the expense.
Since you have chosen to ride west via the Sunset Limited, I assume that you are intending to attend your granddaughter's graduation at Tucson (University of Arizona) or Tempe (Arizona State University). University of Arizona is on-line for the Sunset, and ASU is a short (by southwestern standards) drive from the station stop at Maricopa. If she is graduating from Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff, the Southwest Chief is the train to ride.
Since you are going to change trains at New Orleans:
- The station is late construction (1954) for a Union Station.
- The track is ballasted with sea shells, which, at one time, was not uncommon in the South.
- The engine facility is on the right side of the train immediately after departure.
- You'll rock and bounce along, on the New Orleans Public Belt Railway until you have crossed the Huey P. Long bridge.
- Be sure to be at a window when the train crosses the Huey P. Long bridge not long after departure.
- Do not expect the Sunset to arrive on time at Tucson.
- I personally recommend a bedroom instead of two roomettes on the Sunset. The extra room, the private toilet and shower are definite advantages. We find Superliner roomettes confining by comparison, with almost no closet space and very little room to change into and out of night clothes. Mejor que nada, as they say in San Antonio. While getting into and out of a roomette upper berth requires dexterity, you have a clear shot at climbing the ladder to the upper berth in a bedroom. But, if you are sure you want nothing to do with an upper, then the lower in the bedroom will accommodate two adults, very snugly, as long as they are not overweight The two roomettes are probably the answer for those who don't sleep right next to each other, or who snore, or are of generous girth.
- Traveling on a long distance Amtrak train is a great way to fondly remember your mother, who instructed you in good posture, keeping shoes off of furniture, using decent language, dressing decently, never wearing shirts with suggestive or vulgar art or wording imprinted on them, and many other things that the mothers of a growing number of chair car passengers neglected to instill. As a sleeping car passenger, you will likely encounter these individuals if you choose to use the Sightseer Lounge. When you have enjoyed enough of their company, the private quarters of the sleeping car can be a pleasant refuge.
- Every dining car is different because every dining car crew is different. There are some superb chefs, and some merely adequate ones. Some servers make the dining car delightful, while others make you wonder why Amtrak still employs them. In my experience there are more good ones than poor ones.
Amtrak no longer puts a route guide in each sleeping car compartment, and they do not seem to be available to print from the Amtrak website. Maybe somebody else knows where to find them on the web.
