Dan Chazin Amtrak Rail Travelogue - Dan Chazin Amtrak Rail Travelogue
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Dan Chazin's Trip on the Amtrak San Diegans
Los Angeles-Solana Beach-Los Angeles
TrainWeb.com/travelogues/dchazin/1998k27a/1998k27a.html
It's 7:21 a.m. on Friday, November 27, 1998, and I've just
arrived at Los Angeles Union Station in an attempt to board the
San Diegan train #568 to San Diego. I'm in Los Angeles for my
cousin's wedding on Sunday, and I thought I would take advantage
of the opportunity to meet Tommy Batts (AmtrakTB1), an online
friend of mine who lives in the Los Angeles area. Tommy is a
dedicated railbuff and particularly loves to ride Amtrak trains.
He also has a comprehensive web site dedicated to Amtrak, and has
posted many of my Amtrak travelogues to his site. We decided to
take the train to San Diego, since this would be one stretch of
an Amtrak route that I would not be covering in my Coast
Starlight trip beginning on Monday. We exchanged e-mail
messages, and agreed to meet at Union Station around 7:00 a.m. to
take the 7:20 a.m. train to San Diego.
My day began around 5:00 a.m., when I got out of bed.
(Actually, I'm still pretty much operating on Eastern Time, so
that would be the equivalent of 8:00 a.m., which is later than I
normally get up, anyway.) I left my Beverly Hills hotel at 6:05
a.m. and caught the first #3 bus to downtown Los Angeles about
five minutes later. I had been told that the trip to downtown
should take about half an hour, so I thought that I would arrive
in Union Station with plenty of time to spare. But it turned out
that I had been given incorrect information by the concierge at
the hotel. In fact, the bus ride took nearly an hour. I got off
at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Grand Street at about 7:05
a.m., and was told that Union Station is about two or three
blocks further down the street. But the directions I was given
by the bus driver were confusing, and I made several wrong turns
before I finally found Union Station via a roundabout route. I
ran up the stairs to Tracks 9 and 10, where Tom and his mother
were waiting for me, just as the 7:20 a.m. train was pulling out
of the station.
Well, we just missed the train. But, part of our plan was
to ride a train with California cars, and the 7:20 a.m. train was
made up solely of Horizon and Amfleet equipment. In any event,
we now had an hour and ten minutes to wait for the next train,
which leaves at 8:30 a.m. That train arrives in San Diego at
11:25 a.m., and the next train back would arrive at Los Angeles
at 2:40 p.m. I had to be back at the hotel soon after 4:00 p.m.,
and given the fact that the bus ride back to the hotel would take
about an hour, I thought it would be a little risky to take that
2:40 p.m. train back to Los Angeles. So we decided to ride only
as far as Solana Beach, the next stop north of San Diego, where
we could catch a return train that would arrive back in Los
Angeles at 1:15 p.m.
We went downstairs, where I purchased my round-trip ticket
to Solana Beach from an agent. Then I used the ticket machine to
obtain the tickets for my trip next week to Portland, Chicago,
Washington and back to New York. I also walked around this
beautiful station, noticing the large, empty room in front which
was formerly the ticket office and waiting room. (The ticket
office is now further back in the station, and the waiting area
is in what apparently formerly functioned as the station
concourse). I also talked to Tom and his mother about their
forthcoming cross-country trip on Amtrak at the end of December.
At one point, I saw a notice posted explaining to passengers that
there will be delays on the San Diegan route during the year 1991
because of track work. It seemed incredible to me that no one in
this busy station ever thought of removing this notice, which was
now seven years old and completely out of date!
About 8:10 a.m., we decided to go up to the platform to
board our San Diegan train. We walked up to Tracks 9 and 10,
where we saw the Coast Starlight being pushed into the station.
It included five coaches and three sleepers. It looked like a
beautiful train, and I am really looking forward to taking it on
Monday. Since our train was not on either one of these tracks,
we walked down and then climbed up the next stairway, leading to
Tracks 11 and 12. Sure enough, our San Diegan train was on Track
11. The first thing I noticed when we got to the top of the
stairs was full-length dome car #9302, which was part of the
train. Could it be that we would actually have the opportunity
to ride in this car, with its fantastic views? I checked with
the conductor, and he confirmed that this car was in fact in
service as the lounge car on the train, and that it was open to
all passengers! Well, I was so glad that we had missed the 7:20
a.m. train. This was really an unexpected treat. It will be the
first time in nearly five years that I will be riding a dome car
on a regularly scheduled Amtrak train! And this will, I think,
also be the first time that I will have the opportunity to ride
any full-length dome car.
Indeed, the consist of today's San Diegan #570 is certainly
rather unusual. At the front of the train is Amtrak West engine
#459, followed by three Horizon coaches, a Horizon dinette and an
Amfleet cab car. Then, behind this equipment, are two more
Horizon coaches, the full-length dome lounge car, another Horizon
coach, a 60-seat Amfleet I coach for Custom Class, a baggage car,
and -- at the rear -- Amtrak West engine #463. (I might also add
that this will be the first time that I will be riding a train
powered by these new engines purchased by Amtrak West.)
We initially boarded one of the Horizon coaches, but when I
noticed that the dome car was already open to passengers, Tom and
I moved our belongings up there, since we knew that we would want
to ride there for the entire trip. The upper level of this dome
car is equipped with table seating, and there is a piano (covered
with a plastic shield) on one side in the front of the car.
Another railfan had already appropriated the seat by the piano,
but we took the seats immediately behind him. The front windows
were a little dirty, but you could certainly see through them
reasonably well. (One of the conductors mentioned to me that,
beginning November 30th, this car is supposed to be assigned to
this train on a regular basis.)
We departed Los Angeles on time at 8:30 a.m. Besides the
dome car and the Custom Class car, only the three rear Horizon
coaches were open to passengers. Tom explained to me the various
features of interest along the route, including the Amtrak coach
yard and roundhouse, as we proceeded on our way south. The first
part of the trip out of Los Angeles passes through an industrial
area, but even this was interesting to observe from the vantage
point of the dome.
At 8:45 a.m., we stopped at the Commerce station. Our train
is not scheduled to stop there; in fact, this station is a stop
for only Metrolink trains, not for Amtrak. A number of
passengers boarded the train, nevertheless. The conductor
subsequently informed me that there was a problem with the
Metrolink train that was scheduled to precede our train on this
route, and that our train was therefore instructed to make all
Metrolink stops and pick up all Metrolink passengers. Thus, ten
minutes later, we also stopped at the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs
station.
We arrived at the Fullerton station at 9:06 a.m. Here, the
old Santa Fe station -- a beautiful pink stucco building in
Spanish Mission style -- serves as the Amtrak station. Mounted
on the building are video cameras installed by Steve Grande to
provide a constant panorama on his web site of the trains passing
through the station. We stopped here for three minutes, so I had
a chance to step off the train briefly. Just to the west is the
former Union Pacific station, now converted to a restaurant (the
Union Pacific and Santa Fe lines used to run right next to each
other here, and each railroad decided to build its own station.)
Our next stop, at 9:16 a.m., was Anaheim. Here there is a
new station constructed by Amtrak. This station is located
immediately adjacent to the Anaheim Stadium, and is quite a
distance south of the original Union Pacific Anaheim station,
which was visible from the train as we passed by. Then, several
minutes later, we made another unscheduled stop at the Orange
station, also normally a stop only for Metrolink trains.
I did not have a chance to eat anything before boarding the
train, so I went to the lower level of the car and purchased a
bottle of orange juice, a blueberry muffin, and a cup of coffee.
Tom followed me, and he purchased a turkey dinner, which to him
would be lunch. We brought the food upstairs and continued
watching the views from the dome.
We arrived at the Santa Ana station, denominated a "regional
transportation center," at 9:28 a.m. This station is a huge,
magnificent Mission-style building. On the scanner, I heard the
conductor mention that a wheelchair passenger will be boarding
the train. Since the platforms here are low-level ones, it is
necessary to employ a hand-cranked lift to raise the wheelchair
to train level. I knew this would take a while, so I stepped off
the train. It turned out that there were two wheelchair
passengers, each of whom had to be lifted onto the train
separately, so our stop here took five minutes.
After we left Santa Ana, I walked through those coaches that
were open to passengers, and found that the three coaches open at
Los Angeles were quite full, and that the Amfleet cab car ahead
of them had now been opened to passengers. The dome car was also
quite full. Subsequently one of the conductors told me that
there were 302 passengers on the train. It should be noted that,
despite the relatively heavy passenger load, the Friday of
Thanksgiving weekend is considered an off-peak day by Amtrak (and
the price of my ticket reflected this fact).
I also had the opportunity to step off the train at the next
station, Irvine, which features a very modern station building.
We spent four minutes here because a number of passengers were
waiting at the wrong area of the platform and had to walk several
car-lengths to board the train. When we departed the Irvine
station at 9:45 a.m., we were nine minutes late.
A few minutes south of Irvine, the line becomes single track
and we begin running right along the beach which borders the
Pacific Ocean. This is by far the most beautiful stretch of the
route. It was a somewhat hazy out, but the views from the dome
car -- with the beach and the ocean on the right, and homes
precariously perched on the cliffs to the left -- were really
great. If it had been a sunny day with a clear blue sky, the
views from the dome would have been absolutely spectacular.
Our next stop is San Juan Capistrano. Right before reaching
the station, the buildings of the historic mission are visible on
the left. The old brick station has been converted to some other
use (apparently, a restaurant), and the Amtrak ticket office is
now located in a converted boxcar at the northern end of the
platform. Quite a number of passengers got off and on here, so
our stop lasted for three minutes, and we departed at precisely
10:00 a.m.
Eight minutes later, we stopped at the San Clemente station.
While the other regular stops on this route are made by all or
most of the 11 daily San Diegan trains, our train is the only
southbound train that stops at San Clemente. (Why this is so, I
am not sure). A man who was hanging out with us at the front of
the dome car explained that Amtrak trains used to stop right at
the San Clemente pier, but now they stop some distance to the
north at the new Metrolink station (also constructed in the
Mission style), where parking is available. The scenery along
the coast here is particularly beautiful.
Around this time, the batteries in my computer were running
low. Quite conveniently, I found an outlet alongside the aisle
immediately adjacent to my seat, and I was able to plug the
computer in. I might add that the trip was so exciting that I
hadn't even started to write any of these memoirs yet, but I did
use the computer to add the numbers of the cars on the train into
my list of Amtrak equipment that I have traveled in. (I might
add that I had never previously ridden in or even seen any of the
cars on this train, which presumably are regularly assigned to
short-haul California service.)
Our next stop, at 10:28 a.m., was Oceanside. Here there is
a low, modern, spread-out station, which resembles a shopping
mall. The station apparently functions as a regional
transportation center. On the adjacent platform was northbound
Amtrak Train #575 (scheduled to leave Oceanside at 10:13 a.m.),
made up of California cars, with two Superliner coaches included
in the consist. I had hoped that our San Diegan train would be
made up of these cars, which I have never yet ridden, but having
the opportunity to ride in the full-length dome was certainly
more than sufficient.
Since we would be detraining at Solana Beach, the next stop,
I gathered my belongings together and took one last walk through
the train. I found, to my surprise, that the Horizon dinette car
on the train was now open and serving passengers -- in addition
to the dome lounge car. It is quite unusual for two food service
cars on a train to be open simultaneously to all passengers.
When I mentioned this to the attendant in the dome car, she
indicated that it was probably because of the expanded business
on this holiday weekend.
We arrived at Solana Beach at 10:44 a.m., four minutes late.
Tom and I detrained and walked into the modern station, shaped in
the form of an upside-down "U." The area between the platform
and the station was being bulldozed, and a sketch posted in the
station indicated why. Apparently, the tracks in this area are
being lowered so as to create a grade separation and thereby
eliminate grade crossings in the area. It seems that the
existing track and platforms are only temporary.
I looked around the station and noticed a bulletin posted
regarding the requirements for purchasing and using tickets with
the 10% AAA discount. Then I discovered that the paper was
signed by none other than my good friend Carleton MacDonald!
This was the first time I have seen his name appear on a notice
posted at a station. (I might add that, in my experience, the
requirements set forth in the notice about presenting AAA
membership cards on trains and signing the back of tickets have
never been followed, and can in any event be evaded by using a
ticket machine to obtain the tickets.)
We didn't have too much time to spend there because our
return train was due at 11:03 a.m. So we went back out to the
platform and waited for the train, which arrived one minute late.
This northbound Train #577 was pulled by California West engine
#462 and included a baggage car, a Custom Class car, four Horizon
coaches, a Horizon dinette and an Amfleet cab car. We boarded
the train and found seats in one of the coaches. Then I walked
down to the dinette car, which I found to be pretty empty. So
Tom and moved our belongings down to the dinette car, where we
ending up spending the rest of the trip. However, I left my
jacket at our coach seats, since I thought that we might want to
come back there.
Ten minutes later, we came to a stop. As I mentioned
previously, this is a single-track line, and we had pulled onto a
siding to permit another train to pass. A few minutes later, a
southbound Coaster train passed us, and we soon moved on. It is
interesting to note that the entire line from Los Angeles to San
Diego is also used by local commuter services -- Metrolink trains
operate from Los Angeles to Oceanside, and Coaster trains operate
from San Diego to Oceanside. So it is possible to cover the
entire San Diegan route from Los Angeles to San Diego by using
these two commuter trains. This is kind of like the Northeast
Corridor, where one can travel from New York to Philadelphia by
Amtrak, or one can choose instead to take NJ Transit to Trenton
and then change to a SEPTA train to Philadelphia. I know a
number of people who do this because the price of a combined NJ
Transit/SEPTA ticket is less than half the price of an Amtrak
ticket. But, unlike the situation with the NJ Transit/SEPTA
combination, here there are relatively few commuter trains, and
they run primarily during rush hours. This particular Coaster
train was supposed to have left Oceanside, our next stop, at
11:00 a.m., so it is somewhat late.
Both Tom and I got something to drink, and I took out my
computer and started writing the story of the trip. After a
while, my batteries started running low. I remembered from my
previous trips on Horizon cars that there are outlets in these
cars, but they are awkwardly located and very hard to find. Sure
enough, I located an outlet near the floor underneath the table
in front of the one we were sitting at, so we moved our
belongings to that table where I could plug in my computer.
At 11:24 a.m., we stopped at the Oceanside station. Then,
at 11:43 a.m., we passed southbound Amtrak Train #772. This
train was scheduled to have arrived at Oceanside at 11:31 a.m.,
so it is about half an hour late. (Train #772 originates at
Goleta, north of Santa Barbara, so it might have been delayed by
track conditions north of Los Angeles.) During this time, when
we were running along the ocean, Tom and I sat on the left side
of the Horizon dinette, which offered excellent views of the
beach and the ocean right beyond. The relatively small windows
of the Horizon equipment don't offer the kind of expansive,
panoramic views that you get from the dome car, but you actually
got to see more detail of the close-up views.
Around this time, it became apparent that we would not be
returning to our coach seats, so Tom volunteered to go back to
the next coach and retrieve my black jacket. He came back and
reported that it was not there. I then looked very carefully,
and also could not find it. It seems that someone walked off
with it, either intentionally or accidentally. The jacket was
not very valuable, and there was nothing in it, but I decided to
inform the conductor so that if anyone reported it, I might get
it back. He also looked for it, to no avail.
Unlike the southbound train, this train was pretty empty
north of Oceanside. All four Horizon coaches (plus the dinette)
were open to passengers, but I counted only about 50 passengers
or so aboard. We stopped for three minutes at Santa Ana to let
off a wheelchair passenger, and left there at 12:25 p.m., five
minutes late.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, and we arrived on Track
12 at Los Angeles Union Station at 1:15 p.m., exactly on time.
After walking around the station with Tom for a little while, I
decided to report the missing jacket. First, we went to the
baggage claim area, where the attendant instructed us to take an
elevator to the second floor. We did this, and found ourselves
in a hallway with several doors. One was labelled "Baggage," so
we opened that door, only to see a large open area where baggage
was being stored. That didn't seem right, so we pushed a buzzer
labelled "Personnel." The employee who answered the buzzer told
us that we were right the first time, so we again opened the
"Baggage" door, looked around, and eventually found an office in
one corner of this huge expanse of open space. (This set-up is
certainly not user-friendly to people who want to report lost
objects.) An employee saw us and gave me a form to report the
loss. We will see if it ever is found -- I doubt it.
We went back down again, and this time Tom located his
father, who had come to pick him up. We said goodbye, and I
walked down the street to catch my #3 bus for the hour-and-ten-
minute ride back to my hotel, where I arrived at about 3:20 p.m.
I used the time on the bus to continue writing this story, until
the batteries ran out.
This trip turned out much more exciting than we had
expected, due to the unexpected presence of the dome car on our
San Diegan train. This should be a great plus for ridership, and
for a good part of the way there is scenery that can really
benefit from the inclusion of this car on the train. Amtrak West
should be commended for taking the initiative to restore this
beautiful car to regular service. It was also great to meet Tom
Batts, whom I had talked to online many times before but had
never met in person. Now I'm looking forward to my trip on the
Coast Starlight, beginning Monday!
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