The Sunset Limited (4) - US Rail Journeys Series 2 Episode 15
Leaving Houston:
The Sunset Limited (4) starts as we leave Houston, where the station is located below motorways. The city has the sixth largest population in the US with over 2.3 million residents.

The station opened in October 1959 when it replaced Houston Grand Central Station. Passenger numbers rose to 20,460 in 2019.
Through the night:
After leaving Houston, and passing through the outskirts of the city, I have dinner and, after a long day, have a good night's sleep.

We stop at St. Antonio where carriages from the Texas Eagle join our train. The Texas Eagle runs daily between Chicago and St. Antonio and then, three days a week, continues to Los Angeles as part of the Sunset Limited.

I awake as we reach Del Rio; we are two hours late! We must have been delayed during the night.
Onward through the desert:
You meet new friends at meals when travelling with Amtrak. A group of less than four is joined by others. I breakfast well, the charge is included if you're a sleeper. One of my new friends is a stand up comic taking the trip in order to rest.

It is a beautiful day and the desert is stunning but I wouldn't like to be out there in the heat. We continue our journey with only a few stops because we're living up to the 'Limited' part of the train's name.

I meet a regular traveller on this route. They're regulars because he and his wife are relocating from California to Louisiana and so they use the train for their journeys.
The photographs that accompany the podcast:
Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

Next up:
I hope that you've enjoyed this podcast. If so, please join me in two weeks time for the next episode where the journey continues on the Sunset Limited  along the southern border of the United States towards Los Angeles.
Links:
To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify and Stitcher.

Music:
AKM Music has licensed the theme, Steam Railway, for use in this podcast.

Storyblocks has licensed Twang in Texas by Keith LeBrant and Border Town by Nathan Krieswirth for use as incidental music in this episode.

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