I return to the Flagstaff Train Station at the stroke of 8:30 as I’ve checked that the trains late. The reason I returned at 8:30 is because the friendly ticket agent asked me to return at that time. She immediately says that as she expected the train has encountered some freight traffic and is running about a half hour late. It’s clear that I could have come back later to retrieve my luggage. I find a seat by one of two outlets in the small station and recharge my phone that has died. Eventually I get antsy and head outside to the platform to wait for the train to pull in.
At 9:22 I see the agent driving out with the luggage cart and down to the front of the platform where the Baggage Car of the westbound Southwest Chief will be.
Train #3 comes in at 9:41 and there is the usual confusion on the platform of Coach versus Sleeper. I go up to the Sleeper closest to the dinner and hand the attendant my ticket. She rips it so I guess the conductor won’t have to come by later. She also says “Aren’t their two of you?” I reply no, just one, a friend is joining me in LA on the same reservation. She tells me she thought there were two of us and made both births. Once we leave the station she will come up to my room to put the upper birth up. I stash my backpack on the lower level luggage rack and head upstairs. I immediately figure out how to put the birth up and don’t wait for her. I sit down in my sleeper and draw the curtains closed. We leave Flagstaff at 9:48. I sit up in bed and enjoy the nighttime views.
Soon there is a knock on my door, its the conductor. He asks for my ticket. I show him my stack of four tickets (that the agent in Flagstaff has stapled together) and tell him my attendant has already lifted my ticket. He scans a different ticket of my reservation anyway. The attendant is nearby and has clearly forgotten the fact she ripped my ticket on the platform. Luckily she immediately finds my ticket in her pocket. The conductor gives her a look of don’t do that again. I know before eTicketing it was quite common for the attendants to collect tickets in the sleepers and give them to conductors. They haven’t been given iPhones yet.
I enjoy the nighttime views and at 10:27 we arrive in Williams Junction. I’m by the door to get a picture of the nothing platform (out the door) and shuttle bus to the Williams rail station out to the canyon. The photo doesn’t come out so well. I then put my PJs on while we’re doing a double-spot leaving at 10:36 and head back up to my room to relax and enjoy the moonlit night, with the occasional passing freight. We’re clearly in forests as I can tell from the moon sleeping at up to 90mph speeds. Cell service is week.
I sleep and wake up again in Western Arizona. I knew I wouldn’t sleep that well, the excitement of the first night. I fall back asleep through Kingman.
At 2:03 I’m awake for Needles and its platform with barbed wire to close off the transcon from trespassers. The platform is brand-new and has one exit that I miss. There is an abandoned 2 story depot along it, missing all of its windows. We leave with the double toot at 2:08. I see a bunch of signs with a wheelchair logo next to Exit along the rest of the platform indicating the direction to the end of the platform with the exit. We’re clearly in the desert as I notice sand I have trouble falling back asleep, the door to my roomette keeps rattling. It’s just a factor of our high speed on the transcon. It’s amazing how many freights we pass, like every 15 minutes.
- 4:30 – I think I fall back asleep with the lights of rolling through the Barstow Yard. We arrive at the Barstow Station at 4:32 and immediately start moving again. Definitely no business for the train at Barstow tonight. I’m sitting on the wrong side of the train.
- 4:37 – The yards finally end along our car but there is an engine shop in the distance.
- 5:07 – Hear faint announcement from the dining car about breakfast. I think we’re stopped in Victorville.
I throw some pants on over my PJs and head to the dining car. I have a breakfast of perfectly good french toast from the Express Menu (continental and scrambled eggs other options). I’m not all that chatty, although my seat mates are connecting to Starlight like me and heading up to Salem. My plan is to try and go back to bed but I get back to my roomette to my bed made! My attendant is too efficient. We slowly descend the mountains, passing quite a few freights and following I-10. It’s relatively scenic. I notice a speed limit sign: P-40, F-35. Their places the two tracks separate from each other. I open the upper birth to grab a pillow and notice all my linens have also been stripped so I couldn’t remake my bed if I wanted to. I recline the seats a bit nearly to the bed position.
- 5:54 – Into a narrower canyon with a dry wash as we keep going downhill.
- 5:59 – The valley gets wider, my room doesn’t squeak on this quiet terrain.
- 6:01 – Finally cross under I-10.
- 6:03 – Pass a Fed-Ex hub full of their tractor trailers. Then around another distribution hub as we enter Muscoy and pass a double-stack
- 6:07 – Vermont interlocking and another distribution hub. The sun has risen and is in my eyes. We’ve entered the industry and distribution centers of San Bernardino.
- 6:11 – A golf course provides some green as we get the announcement for San Bernardino and that we may step off the train for a minute. We then follow I-215 into town, the same freeway I drove on this trip with tons of construction.
- 6:18 – Curve off the freeway and past our first Metrolink train of the day.
We arrive in San Bernardino at with coach passengers having to walk along the Metrolink train to leave the platform. It’s a fresh air stop and I get some photos, “All aboard” is at 6:24. I go downstairs and have a shower.
- 6:43 – Finish my shower and were between two freight trains; one a UP double-stack.
- 6:50 – Pass a metrolink train in a yard and at 6:52 arrive one of the two island platforms at Metrolink’s Downtown Riverside Station full of rush hour commuters. It’s a quick stop and were on the move almost immediately again.
- 7:06 – Skip Riverside-La Sierra, two side platforms with an overpass full of rush hour commuters since a Metrolink train is right behind us. Unlike my confusing routing ride out of LA two nights ago, this time were simply following the Metrolink 91 Line into L.A. The suburbs continue.
- 7:12 – Pass more BNSF autoracks and under the 91 and 15.
- 7:13 – North Main Corona with a strange overpass.
- 7:16 – West Corona with an overpass
- The line becomes more hilly as we go over CA-91s pass. A northbound Metrolink passes as we wrong rail.
- 7:20 – A golf course and the hills rise up. The short pass is brief and not all that exciting
- 7:22 – The valley becomes bigger again as we go through the Anaheim Hills passing subdivisions and houses.
- 7:24 – Pass another train of auto racks.
- 7:27 – My side of the train gets a nice view of the sound wall of a subdivision. It’s the suburbs of Orange County.
- 7:31-A line splits to the south, the Inland Empire-Orange County Line, that doesn’t enter Union Station. We pass a junkyard.
- 7:33 – Pass some new rails and construction work in Placenta. I wonder if this is the new Metrolink Station under construction.
- 7:34 – Another construction site.
- 7:36 – Fullerton announcement. I see a trespasser.
- 7:37 – Reach Fullerton Junction with a Metrolink Orange County Line train letting us get ahead.
- 7:38 – Arrive Fullerton
- 7:42 – As we leave Fullerton, my attendant makes a local announcement about how we’re 35 minutes from Los Angeles and how she’s about to dump to coffee and its been a pleasure serving you as an attendant. She makes a long welcome to Los Angeles announcement. She then makes an announcement for Ramp Assistance in the 30 car to the conductor since a wheelchair is in the H room (that boarded with me in Flagstaff)
- 8:05 – Enter LA passing the Red Line’s yard, then Amtrak’s followed by Metrolink’s Yard with some trains that have
- boarded up windows. Then it’s the curve into Los Angeles.
We arrive on Track 12 at 8:15 exactly on time!
I get off the train, hand my attendant my tip and head into the station. I show a station staff member my ticket and tell her that I’m boarding the Coast Starlight in a sleeper. I’m told to go to the TRAXX bar at the other end of the concourse.