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.

Houston’s Amtrak station may qualify as one of the most unimpressive train stations in the United States, especially considering the size of the city. During our 10-minute stop, I get some ice cream from the vending machines in the station. I talk to George and he says he received a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call in San Antonio for the refrigeration unit. It turns out the problem was pretty simple; the circuit breaker had tripped. He definitely gets my MVP vote. As for my complaint of the day, the state of Texas gets the early nod. When I get my dog from George for lunch at 11:15 a.m. CT, George is unable to sell me a beer as Texas doesn’t allow such behavior before noon. When we pull out of Houston, we are now 4:55 behind schedule.