Traveling from the Big Easy to Hollywood via Amtrak Sunset Limited

If 30 hours on the train was long, how about 50 more hours? This is the second part of the train traveling journey from New York to Los Angeles. Traveling from New York to New Orleans took about 30 hours with one night sleep on the train, and this trip, from New Orleans to Los Angeles is about 50 hours, and two nights were spent on the train.

The Route

The train travels from New Orleans, Louisiana to Los Angeles, California, passing notable cities such as Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Tuscon. Not many states involved comparing to the first leg of the trip. There are only Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

If you look at the Amtrak System map, it is a hub for three long distance Amtrak routes, Sunset Limited, Crescent and City of New Orleans (between Chicago and New Orleans). Next hub is San Antonio. The Sunset Limited is used to extend to Jacksonville, Florida. But due to Katrina, the service is suspended.

The train travels close to the United States and Mexico border, sometimes, it was very close, like in El Paso. I was able to see the Mexico side from the train.

The Train

The type of train in this route is called Superliner, a double decker train. We were staying on the second floor, on the left side, able to see the border between the United States and Mexico.

Superliner has a sightseeing lounge, where two decks of windows on each side of the car. And you can turn the chair facing the windows. This provides a really comfortable scenery view along the route.

The Room

The Superliner roomette we booked still has two beds, one is assembled by pulling the seats together, and the other one can be pulled down from the ceiling. But it has no sink and toilet like the one from the last leg. And we have to use the shared toilet on the end of car. By the way, there is a shower room to use. Feeling taking a shower on a moving train?

Our Superliner Roomette is ideal for one or two passengers, with two comfortable reclining seats on either side of a big picture window. At night, the seats convert to a comfortable bed, and an upper berth folds down from above. Roomettes are located on both upper and lower levels of our double-decker Superliner train cars.

No in-cabin toilet or shower; restrooms, showers nearby in same train car

The View

Leaving New Orleans, when the train moved on the [Huey P Long Bridge] across the Mississippi River, SuperDome and the Big Easy, Bayous of Louisiana behind us.

Riding across Huey P Long Bridge leaving New Orleans

Bayous of Louisiana:

Bayous of Louisiana

The first stop in Texas is Beaumont, TX.

In the South, it is truck dominant area:

The Conclusion

The biggest problem is the Internet access.

☑ Travel from the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States by train

Where the journey will take me next?