L.A. to Emeryville on the Coast Starlight has been the best part of the trip so far.
LA to Emeryville. This has been the best part of the trip so far. We got up this morning and got everything packed up and ready to go and then we went out for breakfast. We found a nice little place the day before about a block from the hotel. After breakfast we went back to the hotel, picked up everything, checked out, and caught a cab to the station. The station in L.A. is one of the older stations built when rail transportation was “the” mode of long distance transportation. Watch any old movie that shows someone departing L.A. and it’s been filmed at this station. Today most of the trains are Metrolink, Amtrak operated commuter type trains, and CalTran trains. The Sunset Limited, the Southwest Chief, and the Coast Starlight are the three long distance trains that still served this station. It was quite warm in the station this morning and we were really glad to board our train.
Boarding a train in L.A. is more like boarding an airplane than any other place we’ve been. They actually wanted to see a photo ID. We didn’t have to go through metal detectors or take off our shoes or anything like that. One thing that really surprised me was the steps we had to go up to get to our train. Everyone had to go up about 30 steps with their luggage in tow, just to get to the train. There was a ramp you could take but it was out of the way and put you about 50 yards or more from where you needed to be to board your coach.
As soon as the coach attendant had taken our tickets, we moved to the observation car. We were luck to find two seats together on the left side of the train. The left side was the ocean side of the train. After a few stops, a group of guides from the “Rails to Trails” program boarded. Those guys were great. They really made the trip interesting. It was a beautiful ride and Frances said that this was much better than the other train (The Sunset Limited.) The train goes along the coast for a few hours. We saw beaches, kelp farms, oil drilling rigs, sea birds, and some expensive property. We went through Vandenberg Air Force Base and saw an Atlas missile sites, a Nike missile site, and other parts of the base that most people don’t have access to unless they ride through here on a train. There was a stretch of over 35 miles that has no other public access to view the beach other than on train.
As we continued northward we went through miles of farm land. The only excitement along the way was when the train went into emergency. The conductor announced that someone had put a bike on the track and the train hit it. While we were stopped a wine-o walked along side the train, drinking something from a paper bag (Rule G in railroad terms) and waved at us. I listened on the scanner while we were stopped. The engineer reported to the dispatcher that he had hit “A pile of metal stuff.” As the “stuff” bounced around under the train it broke the brake line in three places. The conductors walked the train and reconnected them. While they were doing that the engineer reported to the dispatcher that there was a bunch of hobo’s on the side of the track where the junk was piled up and he ask that the police be dispatched to clear them out.
As evening arrived the observation coach became the movie theater. This evening “The Pink Panther” was showing. We watched most of it but we had to get ready to detrain before the end of the movie.
We arrived in Emeryville about an hour late, not too bad for this train if you look at it’s recent record. A two block walk to our hotel and we’re ready for a night of ZZZZZ’s