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.

On Saturday afternoon/evening, we go through southwest Texas. There is no wireless Internet access, nor do I even have cell phone access. I have Verizon for both; I can’t rip on them since the service has been great throughout the trip and we are in the middle of nowhere. There is not much to report during this time. About 50 miles Southeast of El Paso, Texas, we pass the Westbound Sunset Limited Train No. 1. They seem to be making a lot better time than our train. At Sanderson, Texas – the last stop before I go to bed – we are 5:38 behind.

I wake up this morning while we are in San Antonio and the Texas Eagle cars are being removed. We pull out of the station before I have a chance to walk outside, get some fresh air and update the consist. We are now 6:07 behind.

Our lounge car attendant, George, gets my early vote as MVP. He just made an announcement that he was up early today in San Antonio, helping the maintenance crew fix our refrigeration unit. They were successful and we now have cold food all the time in the lounge, as well as beer, I’m sure.

Entering El Paso, the train runs parallel to the Mexican border for a small stretch, about 100 feet away from the fences. Wow. It’s a different world on the other side of the border. I’ve heard the term shanty town before. Now I’ve seen one.

Stepping off the train for a brief stop in El Paso, we are hit by a sweltering wave of heat. Football practice at the University of Texas-El Paso, which we passed on the way to the station, must be brutal in late August.

After our extended stop outside of Deming, New Mexico, we didn’t stop at the Deming station for some reason. Must not have been any passengers getting on or off at that location. Anyway, I’ll count our siding stop outside of Deming as our station stop, which now puts us 6:22 behind schedule.

We’ve been following Interstate 10 all day. No longer. About 10 miles east of Deming, we begin heading southeast toward El Paso.

Time for a couple of semi-apologies. First, my Verizon card has been working like a charm, even in semi-remote parts of Arizona and New Mexico. So much for my comment about the service being a scam. If only it would work this well in Washington, D.C. Also, during our extended stop outside of Deming, George – our quality lounge car attendant – made an announcement that he had stockpiled some hot dogs, pizza and burgers in the dining car and they were available for purchase for a limited time. The streak continues. I had a dog and beer for lunch. You’re back in my good graces, Amtrak.

Outside of Lordsburg, New Mexico, we stop for an approaching signal. The UP dispatcher says on the radio that it will be about 10 minutes before the train passes. The dispatcher also tells our train of a Level 1 heat restriction from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The stop actually takes about 15 minutes.

At 11:20 a.m. MT, Outside of Deming, New Mexico, we stop on a siding for one hour, 17 minutes. The explanation on the intercom is that we are waiting for several freight trains to pass. (In fact, three do during this time). However, I later overhear one of the crew members saying that they reached their time limit at 11:30 and the new crew came from El Paso in a van to meet the train. Anyway, a crew change is the reason for this extended stop on the siding.

I think I need to go to a class called Time Zone 101. We are still in Mountain Standard Time, which is the same as Pacific Daylight Time, which means we actually left Tucson at 5:42 a.m. MST, which puts us 4:22 behind schedule.

The lack of cold food in the lounge car is becoming a problem. After a piss-poor breakfast – cold eggs and bacon, as well as grits in place of the potatoes I ordered – there is no pizza, burger or hot dog alternative. During the 40-minute stop in Tucson, I should have run to 7-11.

In between Bowie and San Simon, Arizona – where there is only one track – we stop for five minutes for CSX 7726 to pass.

During the stop in Tucson, I finally was able to record the complete consist of Sunset Limited 2:

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
9). Sleeper 34098 (Car 2215) – Passengers for Maricopa, Fort Worth, Dallas, Longview, Little Rock and Chicago
10). Sleeper 32104, Oklahoma (Car 2230) – Texas Eagle passengers

We stop at Tucson at 6:03 a.m. MT, just as the sun begins to make its way above Mount Lemmon and the mountains of the Coronado National Forest. During the stop, we take on water in the dining car and fuel for Engine 2 (the primary) and Engine 840. There was talk they would fix the refrigeration system and restock the food in the lounge car here in Tucson, but according to our car attendant, Rick, there were no mechanics. And thus, still no food requiring refrigeration. We leave the station at 6:42 a.m. and are now 5:22 behind schedule.

I wake up at 4:45 a.m. MT and quickly take a shower. When I get back to my sleeper car, we are on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Instead of making up time during the night, it appears that we lost some. I’ll know for sure shortly when we stop at the station.

After prime rib and some beers for dinner, it is time to call it a (long) day. Palm Springs, California is still about 20 miles away and it looks like we will be four hours behind schedule when we reach the station. Also, the maintenance crew in Tucson, Arizona is supposed to fix the refrigeration in the lounge car overnight. More delays could be ahead. I’ll let you know tomorrow.

At the east end of Colton Yard, we stop again because of a red light. After a 42-minute delay we are moving again. During this stretch of track we are parallel to Interstate 10.

After a half-hour stop in Ontario, we stop again 500 yards east of the station. The engineer reports an all red at the east switch. We begin again after seven minutes with no explanation on the radio. False alarm on the beer. An announcement is made that the beer also will have to be disposed of. Ouch. Delays are bearable. No beer on a Friday night is criminal. We move through Union Pacific’s Colton Yard and on the radio, our train is instructed to not exceed 10 MPH.

The Ontario, California stop is now 25 minutes and counting. There is a red light east of the station, causing the delay. According to the chatter on the radio, the refrigeration went out in the lounge car. According to our car attendant Rick, all frozen items not sold in the next hour to be disposed of. Luckily, the beer will survive. Unfortunately, for lunch the next couple of days, I’ll have to trade my customary two hot dogs and beer in my sleeper car for a sit down lunch in the dining car.

We stop in Pomona, California at 4:43 p.m. PT, and we are now running 1:32 late. A freight train passes us as we are stopped in the station. Heading into Ontario, California, the Union Pacific dispatcher advises our train not to exceed 30 MPH.

The boarding process began around 3 p.m. and after standing in line for about 10 minutes I made my way to my car. I am in Car 230, Room 05. A consist will follow later. We left the station at 3:39 p.m. PT, which is the official departure time according to radio chatter on the scanner.

At 1:55 p.m. PT, the big board at Union Station shows that the Sunset Limited is delayed. At 2:05 p.m. PT, an announcement is made that boarding has been delayed and further information is upcoming. As of 2:10 p.m. PT, Amtrak’s Web site says the train is on time as scheduled. The good news is that there are electrical outlets in the waiting area; the bad news is that it is hazy, hot and humid outside and there is no air conditioning.

I arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport at 7:55 a.m. ET and immediately check in using the JetBlue self service kiosk. I am not checking my baggage (a laptop case and a backpack) due to the short turn-around time between my flight arrival and train departure.

(I am scheduled to arrive at Long Beach at 12:20 p.m. PT; Amtrak’s Sunset Limited Train No. 2 is scheduled to leave from Union Station in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. PT. Originally, the Sunset Limited was scheduled to leave L.A. at 10:30 p.m. PT. However, several months ago – after I had already scheduled my trip – the departure time was moved eight hours earlier, due I’m sure to the fact that the train was chronically late in arriving to its destinations.)

The line through security is fairly long; however, it moves quickly and I make it to my gate at 8:34 a.m. ET. My plane is already at the gate and boarding is scheduled to being at 10 a.m. ET – 30 minutes before the departure time.

While waiting at the gate, I attempt to log on to the Web using my Verizon CDMA 1xEVDO Wireless Internet card, but there is no signal. (I believe this service to be a scam; in numerous locations in Washington, D.C., I am unable to either a). get a signal or b). stay connected for more than a minute.) When I perform a scan of available access points in the airport, “B45” is the only one that comes up and it has WEP security protection.

The plane leaves the gate on time, but the pilot says due to weather (it is overcast and rainy), only two runways are open instead of the customary three and we will be have to wait in line for about 20 minutes before being cleared to take off. We eventually take off at 10:15 a.m. ET. I have a window seat but immediately upon takeoff, the rain and clouds obscure the view.

At 10:48 a.m. CT, we cross the Mississippi River. Using the JetBlue flight tracker, I can see that we cross the river in the Southwest part of Kentucky heading into Arkansas, which ranks as my least favorite state in the U.S. (My dislike for Arkansas is due to a cross-country trip by car two years ago during which Interstate 40 was in poor condition and under construction throughout the entire state, yet mysteriously, it was in fine condition through both Tennessee and Oklahoma on either side.)

Despite the delay during takeoff, the plane arrived on time, around 12:30 p.m. PT. The cab ride from Long Beach to Union Station in Los Angeles took 45 minutes, due to heavy traffic on the freeways, and cost $50. (My plane ticket from Dulles to Long Beach cost $105.)

Surprisingly, my Verizon card works at Union Station and as of 1:30 p.m. PT, my train is on time.

On Friday, May 20, I will fly from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. In L.A., I will board an Amtrak train bound for Orlando. From Orlando, I will take an Amtrak train back to D.C. , arriving on Wednesday, May 25. I will attempt to document my six-day trip using a laptop computer with a wireless Internet connection, a GPS tracking program, a hand-held radio scanner and a digital camera.