Weekend Amtrak trip proves best train ride yet

Caught the City of New Orleans at Memphis Central Station on Friday, returned on Sunday, and enjoyed every minute.
It had been almost two years since my last train trip and I needed to see what had changed.
As with most Friday and Saturday trips to and from New Orleans, the train was quite full when we rolled out of Memphis. It was a foggy, dismal morning on the outside but bright and cheery inside the rail cars as travelers transitioned from early morning to mid-day.
Southbound we went through fog and Delta bleakness, barreling through Crenshaw, Sledge and then Marks. Amtrak, CN Railroad, Marks and Quitman County have agreed on making it a stop. It’s just waiting now until the city and county get a platform built.
I subsequently spoke with Mayor Joe Shegog who said that city and county officials will meet later this month about liability insurance for the site before any construction can begin.
The highlight of the trip was getting reacquainted with Richard Taylor of Como. Richard was an alderman in Como when I first began covering the meetings of the mayor and aldermen there in 2007. His was a calm, measured presence when those meetings