Right now, if the train was on schedule, we would be pulling into New Orleans, Louisiana. And one hour from now, I would be eating Jambalaya on Bourbon Street drinking an ice cold beer. It looks like our six-and-a-half hour stop in New Orleans may be reduced to thirty minutes. In an effort to satisfy my Cajun cravings, I still may attempt a Jambalaya run. I’m sure the scenario involving a last-minute plane ticket from New Orleans to Orlando to meet the train has happened more than once.

You gotta love the good, ole South. Yesterday afternoon in Texas, we went through Jeff Davis county. This afternoon in Louisiana, we are going through Jefferson Davis parish.

On Tuesday, just outside of Washington, D.C., the Silver Star will run parallel to U.S. Route 1 – also known as Jefferson Davis Highway – for a short stretch in Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia. Nearby, the train will also go past Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Guess which of the two had its name contested by the locals?

The consist of Sunset Limited 2 from San Antonio to Orlando is pretty simple – they dropped the last two sleeper cars leaving:

1). Engine 2
2). Engine 840
3). Transition Sleeper 39017 (Car 0210) – half passengers, half crew
4). Sleeper 0230, Mississippi, (Car 0230) – I am in Room 5
5). Dining Car 38062
6). Sightseer Lounge Car 33038
7). Coach 34107 (Car 0213) – Passengers for Tucson, San Antonio, New Orleans, Atmore and Pensacola
8). Baggage Coach 31005 (Car 0212) – Passengers for Ontario, Palm Springs, Yuma, El Paso, Del Rio, Houston, Beaumont, Jacksonville and Orlando

On the way out of Beaumont, Texas we stop for 22 minutes to let two westbound Union Pacific trains cross the Neches before our train. This delay puts us 5:50 behind schedule as we leave Lake Charles, Louisiana.

While the station in Houston is unimpressive, the station in Beaumont, Texas is non-existent. After crossing under Interstate 10, that familiar stretch of highway, we come to a siding behind some baseball fields and a soccer field. The small concrete walkway next to the tracks turns out to be the station. After an eight-minute stop, we leave the “station” 5:29 behind schedule.