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  Fear not!  I have taken the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited between Dallas and LA, Tucson or El Paso numerous times.  Both ways!  The scenery from Del Rio to El Paso makes the trip worthwhile.  And the new friends that you are likely to make on the train will double your pleasure. The schedule performance for the Heartland Flyer at Fort Worth this year has been pretty good.  The train has been late by an average of 20 minutes with a median of 10 minutes.  Thus, the probability that you will miss your connection with the Texas Eagle is very low.  And you should have plenty of time to check you bag at the Amtrak Ticket Office in the Fort Worth Intermodal Transit Center.  The Eagle is a different story, although it is getting better.  It has been late, on average, by 95 minutes, with a median of 77 minutes, since the beginning of the year arriving at Fort Worth.  But from November 1st through November 17th it has been on time 14 out of the 17 days posted.    The schedule performance for the westbound Sunset Limited in Texas has improved significantly this year.  It has been late, on average, by 35 minutes at San Antonio and by 37 minutes at El Paso.  Interestingly, the medians are 0 and 10 minutes, which means the train is on time as often as it is late at San Antonio and less than 10 minutes late half the time for its El Paso arrival. You don't have to worry about the San Antonio connection.  The Eagle is scheduled to arrive in San Antonio at 10:25 p.m.  The Sunset Limited does not leave until 5:40 a.m.  Your through car will be coupled to the Sunset Limited while hopefully you sleeping.  If you are like me, a glass of wine or two in the dinner before retiring will help ensue a sound sleep.  As a first class passenger, your meals on the train are included in the price of your ticket.  But you must pay for wine, beer, etc.  I only record the schedule performance data for the Heartland Flyer, Texas Eagle, and Sunset Limited at key points in Texas.  Therefore, I don't have detailed information about schedule performance at Maricopa.  However, according to one source, the westbound Sunset has been late, on average, at Maricopa by 8 minutes over the last two weeks.  It appears that you have a good chance of arriving in Maricopa on time or nearly on time.  I presume that you realize your scheduled arrival time at Maricopa is 2:22 a.m., which means that you will be getting off the train in the wee hours of the morning. The service for the lower level roomettes is just as good as the service for the upper level rooms.  However, the ride is a little nosier.  And because you are a little closer to the lavatories, as well as the stairs leading down from the upper level, the passenger movement noise level can be a little higher, but if you keep your door shut, you will probably not notice it. Traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday means that the train will be more crowded than usual.  However, there is a chance that a passenger who has booked space on one of the upper level rooms will cancel his or her reservation at the last minute.  Accordingly, I recommend that you call Amtrak every couple of days between now and your travel date to see if there has been a cancellation so you can request an upper level room.  If you don't strike pay dirt before train time, don't hesitate to ask the conductor in Fort Worth, before boarding the train, if any of the upper level roomettes are available.  It's worked for me on several occasions. The Eagle and Sunset Limited have Sightseer Lounge cars, which are great platforms to watch the scenery roll by.  I recommend you find seats in the Sunset lounge car to observe the scenery between Sanderson and Marfa.  This is the most scenic part of the journey in Texas. You can find additional information, including sample menu items, at <A href="http://www.amtrak.com/" mce_href="http://www.amtrak.com/">http://www.amtrak.com/</A>.  Click on Traveling with Amtrak for a menu of helpful hints on what to expect for your trip.  For example, if you click Onboard, Sleeping Accommodations, you will get a description of the types of accommodations offered on Amtrak's sleeping car.  Better yet, if you click on the icon of a sleeping car, you will get a tour of your car.  Ok, it won't be your car, but it will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
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