The Crescent, Amtrak's hidden gem! A journey through the US south
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Howdy folks,
Welcome to this trip report onboard the Amtrak Crescent service between Greensboro, North Carolina and New Orleans, Louisiana!
Enjoy :)
- TRIP INFORMATION -
RECORDED IN MARCH 2021
Railroad company: Amtrak
Train type : P42 #83 and #14, Amfleet and Viewliner
From : Greensboro to New Orleans
Time : 21h32
Price : $143 - 117€
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lol...those Are original wooden benches...I sat in them in 1949, and every summer until 1959. :) Many wonderful memories here. The main feature I recall about the Greensboro station was the continuous echo of called-out departures and arrivals... the Redcaps, and luggage trolleys. It was not as sterile as this view shows. It wasn't air-conditioned, and the warm, humid Southern air was thick with the promise of a wonderful summer of fun for this city boy. The people, especially thr Redcaps were superbly friendly and sweet...if I could travel back in time, I would go here. Those were the days.
I lived in Greensboro for a few years in the 70s and visited the station only once. I'm glad they refurbished it and kept it in use.
Your videos bring me so much comfort and happiness on days when my chronic illness makes me miserable. All I can do is sit and take in something calm. I just wanted to say thank you.
I love it that rail fans are so adept at photographing trains and so inter connected that a train vlogger can have his train photographed in transit by another rail fan. That's awesome!
Right? I'm always like "How is it that railfans always seem to know exactly where and when a specific train will be like that to be able to always capture it or even chase it down for multiple sets of photoshoots on it?" They blow my mind with it. Is there like a app that allows them to listen to dispatch or a website that publishes itineraries? Or maybe they're just Wizards who happen to be railfans and use their powers to sniff them down! Who knows! haha
@@trippinoutdoors most railfans use scanners which is just a radio that is programmed onto the frequency that the railroad uses. They then can hear all radio chatter from train crews and dispatchers and are able to tell where a train is and what it is doing just by listening. I really recommend getting one if you are interested in trains. It helps a lot.
And these days for amtrak in particular, they provide tracking services online
@@米空軍パイロット and ats is there with ns and other railroads
@@trippinoutdoors we just find out what train they're in and we look at the time and location
I think the “crazy weeds” is kudzu. It’s an Asian plant introduced to the southern US to prevent soil erosion, but it grew out of control.
I'm sure too. It's synonymous with the deep south. Pacific Northwest "Kudzu" is English Ivy and Himalayan Blackberries. They're absolutely everywhere, and slowly strangle trees, being nearly impossible to ever truly get rid of.
@@trippinoutdoors truly!!! so i moved to the pnw with my parents and when we went into our backyard... boy did we have to get the clippers out lol. took days!
Always the case with introduced species.
@@trippinoutdoors
Same with kudzu, however kudzu is edible, perhaps it could be used to produce feed for animals or veggies burgers, added to salads or made into smooties like kale or I don't know produce other things like fabric. If people started to use it commercially it would disappear in no time
That shot of the sunset over the lake is beautiful !!!
The way Thibault pronounced it in his sexy French accent made it sound even more exotic.
@@Eurobazz Well I mean, he's pronouncing it the correct way. xD
@@NozomuYume Indeed he is with his sexy French accent that complements his extremely good looks.
Made that trip between Atlanta and New Orleans twice during the 1960s before Amtrak. The train took a more southern route (on the L&N tracks) and involved crossing the nightmare bridge at Bay St Louis. The train had to travel at walking speed and rocked and swayed so violently that it was extremely frightening. Fortunately, Hurricane Camille erased that bridge from the face of the earth. (That was the only good thing about Camille.)
Camille erased a lot of things from the face of this earth.
Interesting how you’re talking in your video intros now. Great video as always and I want to ride this one day!
i've never been to America lol
Six years ago my son and I took the Crescent from Slidell to New York. We had a roomette which was run down and not very clean. Wifi was not available at that time. The dinning car was the highlight of the trip. The food was good, and the portions large. Too large really, because for two days we just sat and ate. When the train got up in speed it was really not a smooth ride, which is to be expected using freight tracks. That swamp you mentioned right before crossing the lake is a saltmarsh, and that lake is really a lagoon.
Wonderful videos and I particularly like your positive outlook to your travels. So many presentations by other only focus on the negatives while you see the charm of the old stations and point out how to enjoy each trip to the fullest.
A side note... the freight railroads own and maintain the track and give their trains priority as does Amtrak where they own and maintain the right of way.
Me and my family used to take this train from Washington DC to Mississippi to see my grandparents
Good to see you personally giving introductions. You're a very handsome guy;)
Incredibly handsome. I wouldn't mind accompanying him on a journey :)
@@Eurobazz show some dignity.
@@cjb8010 Ditto, bruh! And stop embarrassing our great navy.
@@nelsonricardo3729 because in the Navy the first response to a quality presentation is “you’re so handsome - I want to go on a trip with you”?
No, armchair sailor, service personnel don’t do that.
@@cjb8010 I never said they did. I was merely responding to your rudeness toward Barry F. Are service personnel judgmental pricks? Not in my experience. But there's always one in every bunch, guess.
i hope when you returned the phone to the conductor you told them to remind the girl who said it was stolen that she carelessly left it in the toilet
I like the trains in the USA. They are monstrous, powerful and incredible trains. Great video as well.
And slow as hell compared to other trains around the world.
@@westwoods7675 no one cares
Amtrak are brilliant trains. Except that they are very slow. Probably maximum average of about 55 mph. Here in England, on the new High Speed 1 railway (Dover to London St Pancras) we have regular trains travelling at 200 mph 👍
@@francishuddy9462it’s more like 70-110 MPH in many parts, but in some states you aren’t getting above 60. The NER gets up to 125 in many parts (hopefully the NEC will be able to support 125 mph track speeds throughout the entire route).
Also, is HS1 used for domestic services as well? Last time I checked it was only the Eurostar and the shuttle.
When I rode it home in a sleeper an employee gave me one of their keys and I think it's for the door in between the 2 family rooms
Ha! You can't have healthy food in the south! It's against the law. 🤪
I had no idea crossing Lake Ponchartrain was so epic! It looked like you were crossing the ocean via train.
A long train trip through beautiful scenery and "Trailer Park Boys"? Now that's my idea of a great trip!
The Charlotte station was also built by the southern railway in 1962 but it is being replaced by a Much bigger station in central Charlotte called the gateway station it will Amtrak light rail and bus the fist part of this complex which includes the station and several buildings will completed in 2024
And the station in Charlotte is tiny and ugly
I also live 45 minutes from Charlotte nc
Great to see you’ve been to Greensboro, that’s my home sweet home and I’ve traveled in and out of the passenger station many times. And actually in July, I did the same exact trip from Greensboro to New Orleans as I went on a journey across the country to LA on Amtrak
Such charming views of the Deep South...which makes it a pity that the Crescent has such a short consist with no dining car. I used to watch this train come and go on my visits to Atlanta in the mid-1980's, when this was an impressive sized train with at least 10 cars including diner and lounge (railfans used to call this "Mr. Claytor (then Amtrak CEO)'s train" back then, but that's another long story).
On the other hand, it's encouraging to see people continuing to ride this train. Hopefully the infrastructure legislation will help bring about the much needed improvements.
Great documentary as always!
I was just on it, with 3 sleeper cars, so only 4 coach cars would make 10 (including lounge, cafe, and baggage).
They are using half the cafe car for staff and prep. They probably could do dining if the next generation of cafe car were rearranged so that the concession was at the lounge end. Or they could add a car back and get some revenue out of it with a couple more handicap-accessible rooms in addition to the dining.
The Crescent is on my list of Amtrak trips, mostly because I have a close friend in NYC, and I think it would be a fun way to get there...I'd have to take The City of New Orleans down from Memphis to catch it. Thanks for giving us a great look at what seems to be a really nice station at Greensboro...I never get tired of viewing all the cool stations around the US, first time for this one. Seeing them from the outside always makes me want to see the interiors as well; I'm often surprised at how nice and well-preserved or well-restored many stations are. Possibly I'm sensitive to this matter because, until recently, Central Station here in Memphis was a disaster, but has undergone a major renovation. I don't know if you've ever travelled aboard The City of New Orleans (the only Amtrak service we get in Memphis), but if you do so in the future, I'd really enjoy seeing and hearing your impressions of Central Station.
Also, you may have convinced me to take the Coach option next time, for the City of New Orleans from here to Chicago (an all-nighter), or to New Orleans (a day trip). But for a long-distance trip, such as the Crescent, Southwest Chief, or Empire Builder, I still think the Roomette (or bedroom if you can get a good deal) is the way to go.
I was excited to see the old 2-8-2 Mikado coal-burning engine from the Frisco Lines (St Louis and San Francisco Railway, although it never went anywhere near San Franciso), because one of my grandfather's worked for the Frisco all his adult life, retiring in the early 1960s. The Frisco had a number of named trains in its heyday, most notably The Texas Special; there's an overpass here in Memphis on which you can still see a sign for the Frisco passenger service to St Louis and Kansas City painted onto the concrete; considering the fact that they stopped carrying passengers in the late 60s, and were absorbed by the Big Nasty (Burlington Northern, now BNSF) in 1980, that's some very durable paint! Frisco TX is named for the Frisco and uses their classic logo as their own; it's supposed to represent, or so I'm told, a stretched raccoon skin...why, I don't know!
Again, thanks for another informative and very enjoyable video journey!
Station was probably built by the Southern Railway System; class act. When they ran the Southern Crescent, it was a class act train.
We just got back tonight after taking the Crescent as part of a Connecticut to Florida to N. Carolina and back to Connecticut trip. Had a great time and every train was on time. There is some great scenery on the Crescent route, especially through Virginia. Our portion was coach from Charlotte to Washington.
8:47 Just going by the central city size is misleading in the States, because of how we tend to sprawl away from the city center. The city of Atlanta has about half a million residents, ranking it 37th in the States in population. But the metro area including Atlanta (and its suburbs) has over 6 million residents, the 9th largest metro area in the U.S.
Just going by center city size, Milwaukee, WI has nearly 100,000 more residents, making it appear to be the more "important" city. But its metro area has only 1.57 million residents, ranking it 39th, and functions more as an extension of the Chicago metro area (9.46 million residents) than its own metro area due to its close proximity.
Great video! I was waiting for this one! I am taking this train from Baltimore (BAL) to New Orleans (NOL) in July! Thanks for the report!
Thumbs up for watching trailer park boys! That show is hilarious.
Aye Trailer Park Boys! I was gonna like the video no matter what but that me pause it right away and drop it 👍🏼. I used to take the silver meteor from Penn Station to West Palm Beach every spring break
Respectfully, when the people in authority of such, power and say so, they're not going to beckon one bit, of complaints duration of passengers' travel. Not interested nor considered reformation, to improve. No matter what. It's a politic thing, first & foremost. Just like the New York City subway system. Civilians complain all the time. Same thing with the airlines. Cruise lines may consider possibly.
I just know for myself, if & when I should ever, travel by Amtrak rails, I'll gauge everything. I plan on long distance travel, with bedroom accommodations for sure. I'll definitely check it out. The dynamics & logistics have altered completely, since the COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
Understandable too. Amtrak is still the #1 train ever, for me period. It's like no other in the world. Competitive, lucrative, and demanding as it may be. It'll always be a mainstay to me. The locomotive itself, diesel engine which its sole purpose, is to move along the tracks.
Keeping in sync of those gigantic wheels. In motion consistently with the precision brakes. Clanging sound of the bell, horn sound etc.
Lovin it! Yess!! KUDOS!! CHEERS!!
I have the utmost regard and admiration, for the Amtrak
"get fresh crew" because Amtrak is soo historic. Monumental, extraordinary, exclusive, 24/7.
Thank yuu soo very much. AMTRAK
you've done it again. Smile. Lol
Happy pre holiday to all of, Amtrak's
dedicated personnel.
Sleeper car, here I go.
Another great video Thibault, enhanced by your handsome on-screen appearances. Did you take the time to teach them proper French in Louisiana?
I recently took a multi-train trip that started with the Crescent (Atlanta to New Orleans) and later ended with it (Philadelphia to Atlanta). The first train left ATL on time, but because we had to stop for 45 minutes south of Tuscaloosa to wait for a freight to pass, we arrived, like you, about 30 minutes late, which is not bad. But the schedule has been changed, so we crossed the lake after dark. The DiGiornio pizza is no longer offered, so I had an excellent turkey and cheese sandwich on an oat roll for lunch, and a decent (but under-baked) cheese stromboli for dinner. At least this was a day trip, in coach. On the later train, I took a roomette (Viewliner I); this train left PHL a bit late but we arrived in ATL on time. The "flexible" dining is definitely inferior to the traditional dining car service, and I hope that returns. For dinner I had the beef short ribs, which were decent, served with a salad, green beans, a roll and a brownie, and I ate them in the lounge car to "simulate" a dining car experience! For breakfast I had pancakes with sausage, which were just fine, and I again ate them in the lounge car. Since the Viewliner I roomette has a toilet, if I had elected to have the meals delivered to my room, I could have gone the whole trip without ever leaving it, but what fun is that?
Well, I have not yet been on the Crescent route on Amtrak! I've rode most of the west routes: Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Coast Starlight and California Zephyr! Other routes I've been on once, or more times is Capitol Limited, City of New Orleans, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Hiawatha to Milwaukee, WI, Northeast Regional to Newport News, VA, Carolinian and Heartland Flyer to Oklahoma City, OK. Your Crescent trip video looked and seemed very awesome, IDK about that Lake going into Slidell, LA....that is a very long ride over that huge body of water, on a train, nearly touching the surface of the water level, though not. I hope that one day I can travel on the Crescent, don't know where I may take it to.👍😃🤗👏❤🚆
Metro Atlanta is the ninth largest and one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the nation. Home to 6 million people in 2019, metro Atlanta experienced the fourth-largest population increase of all MSAs in the nation-an increase of approximately 734,000 people from 2010 to 2019. More than 500 thousand. A lot more
14:52 you should visit the mountains of East Tennessee/Western South Carolina. While not as tall as the Rockies, in my opinion they're more beautiful, especially in the fall - it's breathtaking.
There used to be an Amtrak excursion between Birmingham and Chattanooga during the fall but they stopped doing it years ago. Wish they'd bring it back!
Also 18:55 I wish Amtrak would bring some healthier/fresh foods back. That microwave stuff is so embarrassing!
I was hoping to hear you pronounce Pontchartrain in French, and you did not disappoint. Now, go reclaim Louisiana for France!
Just one train serves Atlanta ? It's high time for America to up their game They used to have an immense railway network (bigger than Europe), maybe America should rekindle its old love... for the train.
We rode in a bedroom from Greenville, SC to New Orleans back in 2017 when the Viewliner dining cars were brand-new. With no more full dining service, we won't be riding the train again - that pathetic food service you show is worse than awful.
thank you for this post! It's so informative and helpful. (I especially like the captions for the locations.)
32 minutes late; much better than the 2 hours and 10 minutes on my last amtrak trip from Chicago to Nyc, but absolutely God-awfull for any rail service. And about your review of the food; I am a "senior citizen" with the time and financial resoarces as do many other "seniors". A great many of us do not ever consider amtrak travel due to it's inability to run on time but even more so due to it's horrible food service.
the southbound crescent usually had the sleepers in the front I guess they changed or something
The sleepers are usually underneath the train. A joke! In the UK and Australia, railroad ties are called sleepers.
Amtrak doesn't bother to shunt the cars in any order except for a coach and sleeper on the trains they do shunt somewhere besides the terminus of a route. The locomotives will pull the train anyway. Like the Lake Shore Limited in Albany, the Texas Eagle in San Antonio, and the Empire Builder in Spokane...
@@ronclark9724 I honestly hate that the sleeper cars are always in front on the trains I take, because that means the horn is louder while I'm trying to sleep. =( I mean coach has to sleep too but I'm paying extra specifically because I want the best sleep.
The Crescent passes under my window. The sleepers are always in the back. I think they are in the front on Superliners.
@@johnadams6535 on the northbound or southbound crescent
When I rode the Crescent we were 4 hours late into New Orleans. Now Amtrak is issuing a new schedule for the train lengthening the journey time and guaranteeing a late evening arrival into New Orleans.
@@deepnation10009 looks permanent to me
The freight lines are to blame.
The Huey P. Long Bridge is a pinch-point for freight traffic crossing the Mississippi river. It's common to get stuck in a long queue on the north side of the river. We waited for a couple hours after crossing Lake Pontchartrain the last time we rode this (early 2000's).
Back in 2018, Amtrak began to issue report cards to the freight lines as to how they handle Amtrak trains with delays and whatnot. In that initial report card, our friends at Norfolk Southern got a big fat "F." As did Canadian National.
Yeah and it sucks!! If you're connecting you get stuck overnight in New Orleans.
He's so handsome. Nothing will convince me to drink that Amtrak water though.
At about the 6:00 mark when they're passing through the town, that's Buford, GA. I live on just the other side of the tracks.
Bonjour Thibault, Thank you very much for your trip logs. I enjoy every one. When I first crossed the US, there was no Amtrak. the next year 1971 it began. Please come back to California
Sleeping in coach is only comfy if you don't have another passenger beside you. I did it once and will never do it again. Although the seats are roomy, some people don't understand personal space and have large body parts that will be in your seat or touching your body. The next time I travel overnight by train I would have to get a room or fly instead.
OMG how many memories! I did that trip in 2003! (I traveled in coach and was very comfy to sleep) from NY to Atlanta!! 😍😍😍😍
How many hours is that trip and how was it for not be able to shower for that long,
I used to ride in coach on the Empire Builder (Milwaukee, WI to Fargo, ND) to get to and from my undergrad college back in the 1970s. It always seemed to run 3 hours late, not so much departing Milwaukee westbound, but always arriving Milwaukee eastbound and arriving westbound/departing eastbound at Fargo. I was comfortable enough in coach, but thought the dining car food was overpriced, and really didn't like the plain potato chips which always seemed to be a side dish with lunch/supper meals on the train.
Where I work, the Texas Eagle passes by my office window every afternoon (but doesn't stop), right when it's time for me to head home for the day. Would love to take one of the Silver Service trains to visit my sister in South Carolina sometime!
The Southern Crescent was last privately owned inter-city train when it was handed over to Amtrak in 1979. Greensboro Station has an interesting design. Two platforms heading in different directions. The Crescent is well known for having an incredibly high On-Time ratio. I think NS takes pride in hosting it. Passengers have been complaining about the size of Atlanta Peach Tree Station. The Station was original designed as a commuter station. Most inter-city traffic went through Terminal Station. The station wasnt designed for the amount of traffic it sees.
When I look on the food choice on Amtrak, I'm glad of the Polish choice in WARS restaurant cars. Much healthier... :D
@kbieniu7 Wsłuchaj się w 28:30
Atlanta metro actually has almost 6 million people-making the one train in each direction per day even stranger!
Great journey across the American South the scenery was amazing especially the lake as if it was crossing the ocean. The greensboro station looks very good including the train interior. It must have been a great experience to travel across America by train when you were there
Does anyone know when the Crescent will get the Viewliner II's? I want to take it sometime, but I won't pay for a Viewliner I.
No idea. CAF has been building them since 2012, and delivery was expected to be completed by 2017
I want the Viewliner I because I don’t want to use the communal bathroom. Many Amtrak passengers are inconsiderate and trash the bathtprooms.
Oops. Bathrooms.
One of my first memories of *any* kind is of taking the Southern Crescent with my mom in the 70's, in an open section car! That was an interesting setup that you don't really see much anywhere anymore, although VIA Rail Canada still have some I think (also using the same old Budd equipment). I still have pictures from that trip, including the several dome cars on that train and the *four* E-8's pulling us. It was a great trip and the scenery in your video looked very familiar! Still wish Amtrak hadn't discontinued diner service, or the domes, but progress, I guess.
Amtrak has one of the most comfortable coach seats, even better than coach on the Euro Rail......and those trains are fast and sleek. I love European trains
When the Claytor brothers (W. Graham and Robert) ran Amtrak and NS respectively in the 1980s and early '90s those delays would not have happened, or heads would have rolled. The Crescent did have a diner and separate lounge car at one time. Thirty years ago #19 and 20 only operated from ATL to NOL tri-weekly and the lounge and a sleeper came off at ATL the days it ran to NOL and turned for the northbound that evening, the diner serving both functions on to NOL. Of course those were "heritage" cars back then, from the equipment Amtrak started with. The Amfleet cafe car you had was built as a Dinette/lounge car in the early '80s, with lounge-style tables and seating at the restroom end of the car that allowed smoking, and meal service at the eight four seat tables on the other side of the counter, and was run by three OBS workers (lead, assist and server) serving frozen, pre-plated meals (airline-grade, glorified TV dinners, but better than the stuff they are serving now).
Going back to the declining days of pre-Amtrak passenger trains myself, after the bulldog-nosed EMD E and F units, the EMD F40PH was definitely a better looking (and performing) locomotive than the GE P40/42. Indeed, former Amtrak president Paul Reistrup called the F40s one of the two locomotives (the electric AEM7 being the other) that saved Amtrak. I miss the "screamers" coming into a station at night with it's roof-mounted strobes flashing, and the second unit roaring away at full-throttle generating head-end power with it's two-cycle 16 cyl. 645 prime mover burning 150 gal/hr of #2 Diesel, which is a major reason they went to the 4 cycle GEs, they are a little easier on fuel, but totally fuggly (f-ing ugly), like coyote ugly. However, they are part of Amtrak's history, and some should be preserved, unlike the earlier GE P30CHs, of which none exist. They were Amtrak's first HEP-equipped units, and proved the concept.
The Lake Pontchartrain trestle is the longest railroad bridge in the U. S., and the longest railroad bridge over water in the World, but nowhere near as long as the 24 mile parallel I-10 causeway/bridge. Hurricane Katrina wiped the track off the bridge in 2005 and NS restored it to service in only 16 days. The lake itself is actually a 630 sq/mi brackish estuary averaging only 14-16 ft. deep.
Just get high speed trains already man take notes off Europe
New Orleans has some of the best cuisine in the US! I hope you got to try some of the food there.
I know that your channel is about rail transportation, but it would also be nice to see what you experience at your destinations.
Thank you very much for this video. I have loved traveling on trains since I was a little kid. Everything about the trip was special... scenery, relaxed pace, the cozy roommette, the welcoming staff etc. Now I am old and have a terminal illness. I still hold on to the hope that I will be able to take on last train trip In the meantime I love these videos - they bring back wonderful memories and bring me peace.
Amtrak used to stock fresh fruit in cafe cars but no one was buying.
I laughed when I heard Pontchartrain pronounced.
I love seeing my country through your eyes!
They way u pronounce the lake it sounds better with a french accent
That train was rocketing into that station and slammed on its brakes!
Wow, on my normal route the coach seats usually have a nasty, uncomfortable fabric. Those look great.
you said ponchitrain like a true frenchman lol
I miss Pepsi products on Amtrak. And real meals in the dining car.
They’re supposedly bringing them back when the people in charge realize covid is at it’s end
@@AmericansAlwaysFree So far they've only announced that it's coming back to the western routes. Remember that they first started the microwave meals on the eastern routes before COVID even happened. I'm not holding onto much hope. Protip though, if you bring your own spices with you the microwave meals can be greatly improved. The meals themselves aren't bad-tasting, just aggressively terribly bland, so adding some spices can make them edible.
Coke a Cola is now a bummer.
Most important thing congrats again for 100k and 1st video after this.....as understanding and seeing the fab and awesome Amtrak's Eastern Corridor with more than you expected...as New Orleans and Chicago is good place for and act as hub for Amtrak operation.The Crescent is a thrice a week train it operates between Pennsylvania Station in New York City and Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans as train numbers 19 and 20 and daily services resumes June 7, 2021 as intercity train operating between 100 to 150mph through scenic way of Pearl river in Mississippi connecting southbound train by Acela from Boston or Washington DC to NYC or etc.. or from Chicago as Blue line or Lake shore limited or Cardinal or northbound train from New Orleans by many ways good and fascinating video.....need videos on California Zephyr or Coaster trains to commuter train from MBTA or Caltrain or Maple leaf to Toronto
Welp, I just had a stroke.
You started off in the hometown of one of my OTHER favorite travel bloggers, Jeb Brooks , who has also branched out into American Train travel vlogs this past year!
Yep! Also one of my faves when it comes to trainsit RUclips (yes, the misspelling was intentional, so was the pun it makes)
I find it incredible that Atlanta a city of 500k has one train a day. Presumably one in each direction. Small villages in Geoff Marshall’s series on least used stations in the UK have more. And check your own French Laura Cox version of Sweet Home Alabama hahaha
Yeah. Pretty ironic how the City with the busiest airport in the world is also only served by one train in both directions. Hopefully Amtrak’s plan to improve service there gets the necessary funding and backing by freight railroads.
@@banksrail That would be brilliant. I am sure it would change people’s lives
Big airport hub, plus in the US we don't get that much vacation time, so we can't take 3 days to get to our vacation spot, and 3 days back. Plus most places are not on a train route.
@@1978dakdog I wasn’t using it as an excuse, I was using it as an ironic point. Most places in the US are connected by train. Hence the reason why the US has the largest freight network. Also these trips don’t take 3 days unless you want to travel across the whole country. Amtrak’s plan is to increase regional service around Atlanta, with Atlanta to Charlotte being the most prominent on their list.
Looked at train from my area to Denver, 2 days there and 2 back. I can drive it 13 hrs one way and way cheaper.
As always a great video! I can't believe the plane is preferred to train when you travel in so much comfort...
Time and price
@@TheLostfoundation Spot on... Beyond 3 hours no matter what the train's speed is, airlines win the ridership battle with the trains, EVEN IN EUROPE. How many of the French ride a train to Moscow from Paris? Very, very few. The vast majority fly... There is a reason why the USPS terminated the railroads mail contracts and chose to fly the mail instead long distances more than 50 years ago. There is reason why FedEx and UPS do the same...
@@ronclark9724 So is that why the post office is operating with such a growing debt and has to keep raising postal rates to try to cover some of that loss? If you rail fan, you may have noticed that both FedEx and UPS ship their trailers on piggyback rail. It's more cost effective and quicker than driving long distances overland. It's also quite pricey to maintain those aircraft with all the costs involved in keeping them flying (the kitty's pal-allen from Ga)
I love to watch the landscape go by. It seems as if the rivers are loaded with algae. I'm so happy that people videograph their train trips and share them with us.
Heh. From a Canadian, I’m delighted to see the appreciation of Trailer Park Boys. Canadiana at its finest.
😁
My Old Friend, for the last month and a half I haven't been able to be with you in company, but for the last few days I have made up for everything that has been missed.
I just arrived in New Orleans with you and I see all the impressions from the trip through the deep US south.
I am glad to be able to say that you have made a huge step forward in the preparation and release of the video. The most beautiful of all is that with all your knowledge and passion, your creativity has finally come to the fore, which leaves true and strong impressions.
I'm preparing to embark with you on a magnificent journey of the perfectly good California Zephyr. I would be lying if I didn’t confirm that I expect a spectacle from this trip. Also, I believe that a great movie and a wonderful experience awaits me, on the way to San Francisco.
Great Thibault, thank you for excellent company and perfect adventures on the steel tracks!
très bonne vidéo, si c'est ton métier de nous faire partager tes voyages je crois que c'est l'un des plus beaux métiers.
8:45 Currently, Amtrak has proposed a plan to introduce new service from Atlanta to Montgomery, Savannah, and Nashville beside of increasing frequency from Atlanta to Charlotte and Birmingham (if Amtrak manage to get the fund needed).
Known as Atlanta Hub in their recently-published 15-year vision plan.
It will only happen if Georgia agrees to pay for the operation of the trains, which seems unlikely. Most of Amtrak’s map is fantasy.
@@chriswalker1993 Spot on. Nor does the Atlanta station presently have any real estate for more platforms adjacent to a freeway. Unlike New Orleans and Chicago, among other cities, there is NO Amtrak locomotive or rolling stock infrastructure in Atlanta... One siding off the Norfolk Southern mainline does NOT cut the mustard...
@@amfan_17presentations87 You have been gas lighted... There is NO Amtrak locomotive or rolling stock infrastructure in Atlanta that Chicago and New Orleans do have. One siding off the Norfolk Southern mainline does not cut the mustard... Keep in mind the former Atlanta downtown station is no longer in existence. That site is now the location of the Atlanta downtown federal building... Where is your suggested mythical location for a new Amtrak hub infrastructure facility in downtown Atlanta? How quickly do you think Amtrak could get a EIS study done, and how quickly do you think it will take Amtrak to build it? Five years, ten years?
@@ronclark9724 Improvements like a better station would likely be bundled into a new local network, not just for one new Amtrak line. The plan's never been implemented due to anti-transit forces in suburban Georgia, but the politics have been changing a bit so it could happen. Regional rail is also more palatable to the suburbs than MARTA extensions, as MARTA has a bad (and largely undeserved) image as a crime carrier in the suburbs.
Ive never taken this train south of Atlanta, Its been on my list for a while 👀
Watching Trailer Park Boys while eating breakfast on a great train. Doesn't get better!! :-)
Greensboro station built 1927, "reopened 2005." Southern and Amtrak musta used smaller stations before 2005.
Charlotte's station opened in 1962, likely replacing a bigger station.
Atlanta's station was originally a suburban stop that became Southern's only Atlanta station after the Terminal station downtown closed in 1969-70 and later demolished.
Amtrak switched from a separate Southern depot to the one it was using in Birmingham in 1979 when it took over the Crescent from Southern Railway.
You must be lucky with your time in coach. We've always experienced people listening to music, talking, etc through the night and not respecting the quietness. Then the Amtrak crew just hides in the snack car the entire time, not helping reduce the noise.
A large portion of the crew is sleeping overnight, not hiding in the cafe car, which is configured to have a conductor workplace
@@AVeryRandomPerson no, we saw it. Went into the cafe car, at least six train crew were in there, all loudly talking and joking around. Meanwhile, there were people playing their music on speaker, the toilet were not getting tidied up, etc.
We never have this problem when we travel in sleeper. The attendants are always around and willing to help.
Can you review the texas eagle?
Good job. Track appears to be pretty smooth. With a career in the travel industry, I have ridden on almost every US train. Much of it Amtrak. A lot of Canada and the Copper Canyon of Mexico. Again, good job on this video.
I think I finally know how to CORRECTLY pronounce "Pontchartrain." :)
And that is indeed the longest railway bridge over water in the world.
This was the first long distance train I ever took (NY to Atlanta). I rode in one of the Viewliners :) Awesome trip. Our steward on the ride north was exceptionally friendly and talkative about his life riding the rails.
Your pronunciation of Lake Pontchartrain is by far the best I've heard from apart from locals here in Louisiana. Honestly, probably better than many here. Lol. But anyway, great video and I hope you enjoyed your stay in my home state.
That's because he's pronouncing it the way it was originally named when it was a French colony. xD
The breakfast cost is very reasonable !! 👍👍Apples 🍎 are GMO unless they're organic .I only buy organic apples ! Very nice views from the windows , I always bring my own snacks !! Your friends did very good jobs on filming from different locations & angles !! Very nice video ! 👍💜🥁🐉🎤🎶🚈💕💞
At 8:49 Amtrak is planning to start more intercity trains in a program their calling “Amtrak Connect US” as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act. One of these corridors is Atlanta to Nashville. If Amtrak were to ever start that corridor, it will be their first time in Nashville since the Floridian was discontinued in 1979.
man your sleeper videos make me regret not taking the sleeper train when i was in Japan. when the pandemic is over, you should give that (and the famed Shinkansen bullet train) a try as well.
question: if you buy the sleeper tricket (roomette or bedroom), are you allowed to goof around in the coach cars without getting told to return back to your car?
I think it's fine. However if you are a coach class passenger I don't think you are allowed to enter the sleeper cars.
@@edisonz2006 I've been told off for going into coach to hang out with someone I met in the dining car. The lounge car was full, so we had gone back to their seat since nobody was sitting next to them. Basically nobody is going to stop you from going into coach, but if you actually sit down it screws up their head count so they don't like that.
One solution to this situation though is just paying to upgrade a new friend into your room. e.g. I met a couple cool people traveling together, going to the same destination as me, and I was alone in a full bedroom, so I just paid to add them to my room. Because of how Amtrak's pricing works (you pay for room cost, plus full price coach for each occupant), it actually cost less to upgrade them than their now-free meals would have cost, since I was just paying the difference between discount coach and full price refundable coach. Obviously I would only do this on a day trip since inviting a stranger to come share your bedroom at night is kind of creepy, and if you're a guy you probably shouldn't offer it to a young woman traveling alone -- common sense.
Also you obviously can only do this if they are getting off at your stop or an earlier stop.
Wrapping up a trip to NOL. As of May 2024 the consist is:
3 coach
1 cafe
!still NO dining car!
2 Viewliner I sleepers
1 Viewliner II bag dorm*
*The bag dorm seems to have about half of the 9 roomettes in revenue service the remaining half for crew. For those that don’t know the bag dorm has the train’s check luggage compartment in the back instead of the accessible & deluxe bedrooms.
Nice video! I hope to be traveling Boston to Atlanta this summer and riding the Crescent. Thus gave me an idea of what to expect! I loved the scenery. Great job!
366 comments noice
25:30 good ole Slidell! Been in those marshes plenty of times! That crossing before you got to the lake was “Car Drive”. Beautiful little stretch, but gets BLASTED by hurricanes. The bridge In between the train trestle and I10 is the highway 11 bridge. During your ride it was under construction, and it just reopened after 3 years of construction lol. But that ride is a fun ride. I once rode on a just for fun trip. Slidell has an Amtrak station, and depending if anyone had tickets they’ll stop.
Atlanta Georgia which I refer to as the New York City of the South is home to major companies like Coca-Cola, UPS, Home Depot, Delta Air Lines, and Chic-Fil-A. Plus is the home of the Atlanta Braves (MLB), Atlanta Falcons (NFL), Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Atlanta Dream (WNBA), and Atlanta United FC (MLS). Sorry that one AMTRAK train route which is The Crescent is the only train that serves Atlanta. BTW: That train leaves Trenton, NJ (Where I live) as the train to New Orleans leaves around 3 pm from Trenton Transit Center, and the train arrives from New Orleans around 12:45 pm in Trenton.
Nice review!! Yes the scenery in the West is different from scenery in the South. Each has its own charm and beauty. 👍👍💚💚😄😄
Yep! And the food is better in the South...
@@claudiahansen4938 Absolutely!!
I've been taking the Crescent from DC to NOLA once or twice a year for thirty years. I used to take just sleepers but one year waited too late and they sold out. I was shocked at how smooth the coach ride was and was never again pressed about choosing between the two. It does make a the difference however if coach is sold out! Going to Atlanta and Birmingham both ways increases the number of passengers. So I learned that I could comfortably do a twenty four hour trip in coach but I would not like to do much more than that. You wee generous about the scenery on this trip. You caught pretty much every water scene on the trip. Leaving DC, seeing Manassas and Charlottesville makes good viewing. After that it is usually dark so there are just night shots until approaching Atlanta. After Atlanta for about fifty minutes you go through great small town shots but once you hit Anniston Alabama you have some of the most boring view of the same terrain for hours until you get to Birmingham. After that there are several small towns that are very quaint and the train is right next to main street so all traffic has to wail for passengers to unload . Some have beautifully restored cars at the stations. The reason the on time rate is so bad on the Crescent is that the freight trains have right of way since its their tracks, and can make your train pull over for them to pass especially if they are late. In thirty years I have only been within an hour of on time arrival in NOLA but usually pretty close when going back to DC. Slidell is the last town before the lake and you want to video it and the boathouses and docks as you leave it. Remember the best views are during the months when the days are long. You cannot see the lake when its dark!!! While to me this route is not a gem is has it's moments and will be even more fun when the dining car returns! Breakfast and dinner in the diner totally enhances the experience. KB
This video deserves 1.000.0O0 stars. I watched before an extraordinary video from Deutsche Welle about The Crescent and this one have nothing to envy it. I´m very glad about yor opinions because when you're on a train you are living an adventure and it doesn´t matter what happens. IT´S AN ADVENTURE and that is the reason why we love trains and the people who works there. Greetings from Osorno, Chile.
8:50 that’s so crazy! Atlanta has the biggest airport in the world (by number of aircraft movement I think), but only 2 trains a day, lol… what a shame. Let’s hope Amtrak makes it a Southeastern hub, because what I have seen there are some plans for new trains to/from Atlanta (for example to Tennessee).
Before Atlanta was an aviation hub, it was a railroad hub. Unfortunately, most of the passenger trains got cancelled in the pre-Amtrak era to the extent that the main stations in Atlanta were demolished.
I'm planning on taking The Crescent from Anniston, Alabama to Danville, Virginia to watch my brother play baseball. Thanks for your review on Coach class. Will be definitely worth the money paid for!
All Aboard Amtrak
I sure hope Amtrak, in some century, elevates the dining experience. That’s part of the experience!
Yeah dining cars need cook to order food again. After trumps airline food downgrade
It’s returning to the long distance trains in the west coast starting June 22nd, 2021
Love from Southeast Asia 💕 thanks friend for watching ❤️