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By Jack Daniel Drifting from Centralia to New Orleans, a distance of 671 miles, in twelve hours verges on the fantastic and is a far cry from the old Mississippi flatboat days that took weeks. But “‘drifting’’ was the sensation enjoyed by Mrs. Dan iel and I this week aboard the Illinois Central railroad’s new streamlined, diesel-powered train “The City of New Orleans,”’ also known as ‘‘The Daylighter.”’ Writing a story about ‘‘The Day lighter,’’ which travels from Chi cago to New Orleans in one day, is certainly no chore because it is a completely modern train that provides all that is new in the way of luxurious travel well with in the range of the average in come. Air conditioned throughout, it offers the maximum in com fort with foam cushioned seats, spacious windows that make every coach an observation car and smooth travel devoid of bumps and jerks. We can think of no better word than ‘‘drifting’’ to describe the movement of the sleek train as it speeds through the Southland, offering a scenic panorama of roll ing prairies and rivers in Illinois, wooded hills and bluffs in Ken tucky and Tennessee, cotton fields and cabins in Mississippi, moss covered trees and the wide expanse of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. Showered With Attention At first we thought we were be ing showered with attentions be cause we were special guests but we soon discovered that everyone aboard the train received the same friendly, courteous treatment. In this congenial atmosphere we were made to feel at home by the con ductor, flagman, porter, steward and stewardess, who stopped fre quently on their trips through the train to chat and ask if we were comfortable—all the while keeping a weather eye out for some baby or elderly person who might need attention. Needless to say this kind of attention made us feel important, and wonder if we might be mis taken for celebrities if only we had been wearing dark glasses. We agreed with the gentleman from Vicksburg who casually remarked in our presence: ‘‘They sheah do treat one mighty kindly on this train.” Tour New Orleans In sunny New Orleans we en joyed every minute of our stay, visiting many historical spots in cluding the always interesting French quarter, Antoine's world famous restaurant in a barn-like structure, Court of Two Sisters with its delightful pateo, the old French market, Louisiana state museum, French Opera site, Na poleon’s House, Absinthe House, St. Louis Cathedral and St. Louis cemetery, where all interments are above ground because New Orleans is below river level. Especially interesting to us were the scores of antique shops along Royal street, with their many trea sures, and a sight-seeing tour of New Orleans harbor, aboard the steamer ‘‘President.’’ The bustle of the great port was emphasized by the frequent whistling of busy tug and ferry boats and scores of ocean going vessels from many parts of the world tied up at the decks, loading and discharging car goes, while the heavily silted Mis sissippi waters rushed toward the Gulf of Mexico ninety miles away. Illinois Flows Past Aptly describing the muddy con dition of the river, the New Or leans Times-Picayune had this to say: ‘‘Why leave New Orleans for a vacation when parts of Ili nois, Missouri and Iowa are com ing down?” Like all landlubbers we were duly impressed by explanation of dock regulations and rules governing harbor traffic, one of which won the unqualified approval of Mrs. Daniel. She was ‘quick to see the advantage of requiring all ships’ lines to be equipped with rat guards to prevent foreign and disease-in fected rats from invading our ports. “We have too many rats in this country as it is,” she informed all within hearing distance. Dine At Antoines At Antoine’s we were also im pressed by the ceremonial dash ing of lights during the rites that accompanied the serving of blaz ing Cafe Brulet Diabolique and Crepes Suzette, when the lights were dimmed so that guests might gaze at the blue flame of the burning brandy. Over one hundred years old, Antoine’s gallery of celebrities contains more than 2,000 autographs and pictures of dis tinguished visitors who have dined there. We were conducted through the many dining rooms, including the ‘‘Dungeon,”’ so named because it was used as such during the Spanish occupation of New Orleans, according to our souvenir booklet which contains a wealth of infor mation concerning the 100 year old historical restaurant. The concluding paragraph reads: “Since 1840 the only heat in the dining room of Antoine’s Restau rant has come from the old gas mantles on the chandelier.” Ending our pleasant stay in New Orleans by shopping along Canal street, we returned home aboard ‘'The Daylighter’’ and were again accorded the same attention and hospitality we received on the trip south, which was made even more enjoyable when we became acquainted in the club car with a Texas rancher, who introduced us to his charming ‘‘Cajun”’ wife. He explained they had reared their three children and were now en joying a well-earned vacation. “You know,” he confided, ‘I first met my wife way down in Louisiana and she speaks ‘‘Cajun'’ fluently but in 26 years of our marriage she has never told me what a word of it means.” The lady smilingly acknowledged the truth of her husband’s state ment and explained: “It gives me the advantage: I can talk about him to my folks and he doesn’t know what I am say ing.’’ To the publisher of The Sentinel, Mr. Claypool and Mr. Farrar, dis trict passenger agent of the S. C. Railroad at New Orleans, we are deeply indebted for a most plea sant journey and assure them we long treasure the memory of our visit to the Crescent City. Jack Daniel
Newspaper Details
Centralia Evening Sentinel
Centralia, Illinois, US
Sat, Jun 14, 1947
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Johnmensajes D.
USA 27 Jun 2026
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