My Great American Rail Journey - Part 1 - Amtrak Crescent from Charlotte, NC to New Orleans, LA

In the summer of 2024, I took advantage of Amtrak's USA Rail Pass, where you get 10 trips on the train for $499. One catch is, all 10 legs have to be completed within 30 days. Another catch is all of your travel has to be done in coach. That means even sleeping on the train, I would have to do it sitting in a coach seat. For months I studied different Amtrak routes, planned which ones I wanted to ride, and what places I wanted to see along the way. Finally, I put together an itinerary I was happy with. One that would put me on 10 different Amtrak routes, take me through 36 states, allow me to see things I had never seen and go to places I have never been.

This first leg of my journey took me from my home city of Charlotte, NC to New Orleans, LA. It was Amtrak's Crescent, which originates in New York City. The Crescent was scheduled to leave Charlotte at 2:55 a.m. on Memorial Day, May 27, 2024 , thus starting my 30 day clock. I had some friends drive me to Charlotte and drop me off at the Amtrak station. The train, however, was delayed by about one hour. This would be an ongoing theme of my 30 day journey. I finally got on board and found two empty seats, which helps when trying to sleep on the train in coach.

I traveled through towns in my county in the middle of the night, seeing them for the first time in the darkness through the viewpoint of the train window. After doing that, I was able to relax and get some sleep. I woke up just as we were leaving South Carolina and crossing into Georgia. Our first fresh air stop was Atlanta, but it was raining really hard. I got off the train for a few minutes, but not not too long as I didn't want to get too wet. The train made another fresh air stop in Birmingham, Alabama, and finally arrived in New Orleans about an hour and a half late.

This video shows me riding Amtrak's Crescent and also my time visiting New Orleans. I hope you enjoy it!