A B727 Captain described the effect that fatigue caused by hotel sleep disruption had on his performance during an early morning flight.

Narrative

Layover scheduled to provide adequate rest prior to XE00 showtime. However; loud banging noise (pipes?) in hotel awoke me at XA30. Banging continued intermittently until railroad train horns took over just around XC00. Called to cancel my wake-up call early due to inability to sleep. I felt exhausted; but okay to go during engine start and taxi. Caught myself repeatedly questioning myself and other crewmembers as to whether certain checklist items had been completed. On short flight; I was straining to overcome fatigue to stay ahead of the aircraft (e.g.; started a discretionary descent earlier than necessary due to situational awareness). When we called the field on a dogleg to final; we were given clearance for a visual. While configuring the aircraft; I fixated on cockpit instrumentation due to fatigue; and missed the fact that the aircraft had drifted one dot left of (LOC) centerline for Runway 18 due to higher winds at altitude. I had to arrest the drift; and then correct aggressively to establish the aircraft back to centerline. The winds died down below 1;000 FT AGL and a normal approach/landing ensued. During taxi; the Tower asked if we had experienced strong crosswinds during the approach. The wind was stiff; but I should have detected and corrected earlier on. I was beat; however. In hindsight; I should have shelved my can-do attitude and given the first leg to the First Officer until such time as I had recovered from the deep biorhythm dip aggravated by my lack of sleep. I don't believe that there were any ATC issues; but the lesson is learned.