I always travel with earplugs, just in case. You never know what alien sounds are going to conspire to interrupt your sleep. On my recent Amtrak journey the horn is the unwelcome sound that bellows throughout the night, warning cars at junctions that the train is approaching.

It’s so persistent it sounds like an orchestra, which is the soundtrack to my dreams. Then there’s the rocking motion, which click-clacks throughout the night, sometimes lulling me to sleep, other times jolting me awake.

Considering these sleep deprivations, being in the sleeper car has its benefits. It means I am able to lie flat and rest in privacy in my small Superliner Roomette, which I am able to lock from the inside. By day, its two seats face one another and at night it can be arranged into bunk beds. The sleeping car attendant Terry carries my heavy suitcase up the stairs when I board and prepares my bed while I’m at dinner.

Cabin grades higher than this are slightly bigger and feature private washing facilities, while the rest of the train is filled with coach-style reclining seats with a leg rest and a folding tray table.

"It’s a good tip for adventure-loving clients who want to pass through some rural backwaters while swapping notes with fellow travellers"

My journey starts in Chicago, Illinois, where the train leaves on time at 8.05pm and heads due south through Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. I first open my curtains at 6.30am just as we’re leaving Memphis. From then on the view is largely flat farmland and woodland turning to swampland. The bright lights and the skyscrapers of Chicago fade into a distant memory.

I didn’t plan to surface that early - especially after such a broken night’s sleep - but we are advised attend the first sitting of breakfast to get what we want to eat. I stumble bleary-eyed into the dining car at 6.40am but even that isn’t early enough to order the cinnamon raisin toast and I settle for oatmeal instead. Lunch works in a similar way - the first sitting is announced at 11.30am and latecomers have to wait for a table.

For those passengers in the sleeping car, meals are included in the Cross Country Cafe, which has traditional meal service. Only alcoholic drinks cost extra.

Social dining

Diners are seated four to a table, so groups can sit together, and couples and singles find it easy to strike up conversation. Chat comes naturally; we start with the obvious questions to ask on a long-distance rail journey, such as where are you from and where are you going?

Passengers are a mix of Brits on holiday and Americans, taking their own trips or visiting family. One Brit has paired Chicago with New Orleans to visit jazz clubs in both. Another couple started in Chicago, broke their journey in Memphis and will join a Royal Caribbean cruise in New Orleans.

This is not a luxurious product - the food reminds me of unappetising school dinners, and the toilets are even smaller than those in a plane. But the train is clean, the staff are friendly and it’s efficient - on this occasion at least. Eighteen hours and 20 minutes after leaving Chicago we arrive in New Orleans - on the dot.

Although the train journey takes 16 hours longer than a flight, Amtrak feels like an integral part of my trip, whereas flying from Chicago to New Orleans would be just a way of getting from A to B. The train is a good tip for adventure-loving clients who want to pass through some rural American backwaters while swapping notes with fellow travellers. A book, a camera and earplugs are all the essentials they need to enjoy the ride.