SUNSET LIMITED
Limited, tomorrow means an early start.
The next morning at 9am, the train hauls
out of New Orleans’ Union Passenger
Terminal, clattering past the curves of
the Superdome, crossing the 4.35-mile
Huey P Long Bridge and heading
west towards Louisiana’s backwaters.
City streets fade into creeks and bayous.
Old oaks lean over the water, and willow
trees droop along the mud-banks,
festooned with curtains of moss. Herons
strut in the shallows, and somewhere in
the murky water, alligators lurk.
Inside the viewing car, passenger Travis
Siewers has settled in for the trip. A veteran
traveller, he takes the train whenever he
can. ‘People have forgotten how to travel,’
he says, watching bayous pass the
carriage’s windows. ‘They catch a plane
across the world in a few hours, and never
stop to think about how deeply weird that
is. On the train, you’re a participant in the
journey; you feel every bump of the tracks.
It’s the purest way to travel.’
As the afternoon rattles along and the
Sunset Limited crosses into Texas, the
swamps dry up and the desert begins.
Oak trees turn into mesquite bushes,
willows become cactus. The high-risesof Houston come and go. Dry plains and
rocky hills fill the train windows, and a
green skyline turns tangerine. Night falls
and everyone beds down in their bunks,
lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of the
tracks. Overhead, stars spangle the sky.Mile 959
It’s 10.38am the next morning when the
Sunset Limited creaks into Alpine, an old
stagecoach town that’s less than a day’s
journey from New Orleans, but feels like a
different world; 150 years ago, this corner
of Texas marked the gateway to the Wild
West. The town grew as a service stop for
settlers and freight-wagons travelling
along the old San Antonio–El Paso road.
It was a notoriously perilous route and
many never made it: war parties of
Apache, Comanche and Kiowa exacted
a heavy toll, while bandits and mountain
lions accounted for several more.Opposite the train station, a series of
murals recounts the area’s history. In one
corner, an Indian warrior stalks the hills
on horseback; around him, Mexican
troubadours serenade a señorita and
cowboys run a moonlit cattle drive,
while a black locomotive looms from
the distance, its iron wheels churning
white steam.
The depictions are a favourite landmark
for conductor Gerry Ontiveros, who often
works the stretch of track between San
Antonio and El Paso. ‘The paintings are
like old friends,’ he says. ‘The railroad has
been here since 1882, and it’s nice to think
you’re part of all that history.’
Twenty-five miles northwest of Alpine,
the old garrison of Fort Davis provides
a more tangible reminder of the area’s
fractious past before the railway came,
bringing with it a small measure of safety
for travellers. From 1854 to 1891, six
companies of the US 8th Infantry were
stationed here, charged with guarding
the El Paso road against Indian raids.
Now a National Historic Site, many
of its buildings still stand, including the
barracks, general store and governor’s
house. Marooned in an extra-terrestrialCLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
A performer at SouBu’s ‘Legs and
Eggs’ brunch in New Orleans;
a breath of air as the train stops
in San Antonio; Bourbon Street in
New Orleans’ French QuarterKeen train traveller Travis
Siewers watches the world go
by from the Sightseer Lounge
Car’s panoramic windowsALPINE &
FORT DAVIS,
TEXAS