I get to LA and find the TRAX Lounge getting set up. I head over and don’t find wifi. I head back and sit on the ground outside Starbucks, the busy terminal moving all around me to upload some more blog posts. Then I go for a walk and return to TRAX around 9:00. The bar is pleasant with the bar man serving coffee and tea in styrofoam cups (not the usual compliments of Amtrak ones) There aren’t any nibbles. Signage for the TRAX bar calls it the Coast Starlight “Welcome Reception” nothing else.
At 9:10, a whole hour early they announce were ready to board. I decline red cap assistance and walk down to Track 10. I walk down to the front of 3 Superliner Sleepers with the Transition Dorm in front. I find my friendly attendant who checks my ticket at the front sleeper. It’s Superliner II Deleware, not a Superliner-I like all my previous Sleeper trips have been on. I tell her my friend is on Metrolink and due to arrive at about 9:25. I stow my luggage and head back to platform. I find my friend, Robbie who is joining me on the train (as far as Minneapolis), climbing up the ramp to the platform, we both board and walk the train that has five coaches. The rear one appears to be deadheading.
- 10:07 – The welcome aboard announcement for an on board departure at 10:10. We leave 1 minute late at 10:11.
- 10:13 – Our attendant, who’s name is Mary Lou and Hispanic comes and introduces herself over the PA locally
- We leave passing the gold line the Metrolink Yard with its car wash.
- 10:26 – We skip Burbank and the friendly conductor comes to scan and collect our tickets.
- 10:36 – Arrive in Burbank Airport as our attendant offers us and drops off two splits of bon voyage California Champagne. She includes plastic cups (not mini wine glasses).
- 10:42 – arrive in Van Nuys,
- 10:49 – leave Van Nuys 10 minutes late as we drink our bubbily.
- 10:55 – Arrive at a siding to wait for Metrolink to pass. The conductor gives us a fun fact that the budwiser plant was where the original Bush garden once was.
- 11:02 – Metrolink passes as we finish our California Champaign.
- 11:03 – We leave.
- 11:05 – Pass Van Nuys Airport. We haven’t left yet to explore the train and the parlor car because were waiting for the dining car stewart to come so we can make meal reservations
- 11:08 – Northridge that we bypass
- Talking to the dining car steward about reservations. 1:00pm for lunch and 7:00 for dinner. We pass Chatsworth. We go up to the Parlor and Sightseer Lounge cars but their both full.
- 11:25 – Arrive Simi Valley, only coach stops.
- 11:34 – Pass Waste Management dumpsters.
- 11:38 – Bypass Moorpark with its island platform and where a bunch of Bombardier BiLevel coaches are in storage and some of the tracks that Metrolink also uses.
- 11:47 – Bypass Camarillo. We keep going through the fields of Ventura.
At 11:56 we arrive in Oxnard, if this is not your stop, please stay on the train. We leave at 12:03, a delay for luggage service I presume.
Go along a path and empty lot. I want to try and see the sections of the wye for East Ventura. We can only find seats in the sightseer lounge.
- 12:07 – Pass two out of place high-rises.
- 12:09 – See the wye that forms the East Ventura Station that is basically directly in the small 3 track Metrolink train yard. This is used by the 3 Metrolink trains per day that make it this far into Ventura County (the rest terminate at Moorpark). Trains clearly only use the southern track of the wye judging from rust on the northern one. Then we start passing a few fields and a bus repair facility..
- 12:14 – Bypass Ventura Station with the county fair going on.
- 12:15 – Get our first cloudy views of the ocean.
- 12:18 – Pass an RV Park of swimmers and the surf. We walk back to the Parlor car and find empty comfy swivel chairs. The swivel chairs are a lot more comfortable than those in the Sightseer Lounge.
- 12:34 – Go through Carpenteria Station
We keep going along US-101 towards Santa Barbara and come to real civilization again. We hug the cliffs.
At 12:48 we slowly arrive in Santa Barbara, our first stop for air. Hear a prerecord boarding announcement for welcome aboard the Coast Starlight listing many of the station stops. The baggage car is awkwardly stopped directly over the grade crossingWe get the “All Aboard” at 12:58. At 1:01 we slowly leave Santa Barbara
From 1:00 to 1:40 we go and have lunch with a couple just finishing up. There relatively chatty though. I have the spaghetti and meatballs. It is a good hearty lunch. I finish with the new brownie which is better than expected. Lunch takes us to Hollister Ranch along the ocean We go and sit in the parlor car.
- 1:52 – Jalama Beach County Park, the only publicly accessible part of the beach for miles.
- 2:01 – Pass two houses off in the distance
- 2:04 – Enter Vandenberg Air Force base into the clouds.
- 2:10 – Pass a Space X Building:
- 2:13 – Go through Lompac-Surf Station with new signage all over the platform. We’re too fast for photos.
- 2:20 – The last call for lunch in the diner. We return to civilization, regaining cell service.
- 2:35 – Meet the southbound Surfliner that is single level cars, a mix of Amfleets and Horizons. We then stop for dispatchers permission since we’re in dark territory. We take a nice curve as we pass it.
- 2:41 – Start moving again as the southbound Surfliner does as well. We go into hills and see some cows.
- 2:55 – Go through Guadalupe and I miss seeing the little station. Then we go into the fields.
- 3:03 – Continue by agricultural fields
- 3:06 – A nice historic depot in Oceano (not an actual stop)
- 3:07– Go through Grover Beach
We then rise up into San Luis Obispo
As we get the arrival announcements for San Luis Obispo we are told that the wine and cheese tasting will occur between 3:30 and 4:00. Just before we leave the parlor car for the fresh air stop the attendant announces that the wine and cheese tasting will begin. This means we skip the fresh air stop and enjoy our first white wine sitting in the station. We arrive SLO at 3:27 and leave at 3:42.
We go through the valley with its hills and fields and rise up towards Paso Robles around the horseshoe curve while sipping another white wine followed by two reds. Our parlor car attendant apologizes that she doesn’t normally do the tastings and reads from a script. Unfortunately their no Amtrak trivia questions to win bottles. Wine is for sale.
- 4:42 – Go up past a cement factory.
- 4:46 – Arrive at Paso del Robles. We leave at 4:50, 13 minutes late to continue north
- 5:09 – crossover a nice steel bridge across a wash of some sort.
- 5:15 – Continue through the fields with foothills around us.
From 6:07 to 6:10-We come to a stop waiting further authorization from the UP since we’re in dark territory. We have a non-verbal conductor and are told nothing. It’s just trees and fields.
We arrive in Paso Robles at 6:48, just enough time for some air before our 7:00 dinner reservation. We take a walk and re-board at the coaches when we get the “All Aboard” at 6:54. We leave at 6:55. We then wait in the sightseer lounge until our dinner reservation is called. The chairs feel less comfortable we have now been spoiled by the swivels in the Parlor Car.
During dinner we dine with two friendly women from coach both traveling alone. The conversation is decent as we both enjoy our steaks included in our sleeping car fare (I won’t pay for an Amtrak steak, not worth $25.75). I finish with the cheesecake that is surprisingly decent. During dinner we pass Gilroy as the final of 3 Caltrains to make the southbound journey is entering its fenced off yard to spend the night before going back north tomorrow. I enjoy speeding along all the Caltrain stations that I have visited on previous trips.
At 8:17 we arrive San Jose, I need a walk but one our friendly dinner guests has ordered dessert and I don’t want to seem rude. We leave four minutes late at 8:27.
We leave San Jose and stop to let the last southbound Capital Corridor of the evening that goes to San Jose pass us. We go through Santa Clara-Great America and get an awesome view of the sunset over the bay.
- 9:06 – See a great reflection in the bay and slow down for a track split. In Newark we switch away from the Capital Corridor/ACE route to take a more coastal route through the bay. The only reason I know this is from paying attention to my iPhone and enjoy this new trackage fact I’ve just figured out.
- 9:11 – Pass a mini storage and some houses. We sit in our nice, quiet roomette enjoying the last rays of sunlight. We regain speed. It’s a trip that makes me want to go southbound in daytime. There some houses but plenty of port activity. I see some planes in formation.
- 9:22 – More marshland as we see the bay off in the distance.
- 9:25 – Go under a road near the airport.
- 9:26 – See the Bay Bridge off in the distance and slow down
- 9:28 – Switch back onto the Capital Corridor Main line. We slow to go through South Oakland
- 9:31 – Bypass Oakland Coliseum not along its platform since that platform is basically on a siding with a fence separating it from the Main Line.
- 9:33 – The dining car Stewart makes his good evening that you for joining us announcement and the times for breakfast.
- 9:35 – Follow the highway towards Jack London Square.
We arrive in Oakland-Jack London Square at 9:39 for an evening walk. I first think a locomotive is coming to remove the dead heading coach. I then see two private vanish cars, one a Pullman Sleeper, one a dome car with an outdoor viewing platform attached to the back attach to the back of our train. We’re outside as the train looses HEP to hook up the new cars. We eventually reboard in the coaches and are walking through them when we regain HEP at 9:57. We’re on the station track. A Capital Corridor Train enters to terminate while we’re in the station, I guess it’s passengers were directed to walk around the front of our train via the street grade crossing. At 10:09 we finally leave Jack London for street running
- 10:11 – the Giant port.
- 10:13 – Pass the Amtrak Yard with a new Sprinter Electric Locomotive inside it.
At 10:20 we arrive Emeryville. I’m downstairs getting ready for bed. The attendant isn’t at the door. I hear banging because someone is boarding. She is very appoligetic. We leave at 10:30, 25 minutes late.
We turn off the lights and head to bed as we leave Richmond. The roomette with 2 is a lot warmer than with one. Heading to sleep the lights are really impressive. I want the bottom bunk tonight to wake up to Mount Shasta.