# Local Trips, San Francisco Bay Area



## p&sr (May 12, 2008)

This is the second of three one-day trips my wife and I did during March of this year.

Driving to Martinez, we caught the Corridor Train to Oakland Coliseum just before Sunrise. Breakfast on board. Then we transferred to BART and rode to Fremont, crossing the route used by the ACE Train (and Capital Corridor) there. Staying on board, we headed back to San Francisco. At the Embarcadero Station we transferred to the T-Third Light Rail, south along the Waterfront, getting off at the CalTrain Depot (4th and King). We caught the next CalTrain South to San Jose.

There we had lunch in the Station and boarded the Noon ACE-Train (Altamont Commuter Express) to Stockton. The route heads north-east from San Jose, across the Salt Flats of San Francisco Bay (and through the ghost town of "Drawbridge") and through Fremont to Niles, where the route separates from the route of the Capital Corridor.

Climbing up Niles Canyon is quite scenic, with a very remote feel to the countryside. Just to our left (often across the creek) was another rail line, now used for the Niles Canyon Tourist Railway (between Niles and Sunol) http://www.ncry.org (running mostly on Sundays). They run on reconstructed track along part of the original Trans-Continental Route (when that was first extended by the Central Pacific, later Southern Pacific, from Sacramento to San Francisco around the South End of the Bay).

The ACE Train follows the tracks of the former Western Pacific (now UP), through the towns of Sunol, Pleasanton, and Livermore, then another scenic section climbing over Altamont Pass to the Great Central Valley of California. Once onto the valley floor, the train serves Tracy and ends at Stockton. The ACE Station there is historic and nicely restored, and also serves those San Joaquin Trains which go to Sacramento.

We had a couple of hours free to walk around downtown Stockton, finding our way to a pleasant park on the waterfront (within view of the San Joaquin River's Deep Water Port), and enjoying some dough-nuts along the way. There are a lot of interesting fountains in that part of town. We saw the historic Fox Theater and a number of other early buildings with interesting architecture, including the Saint Mary's Church (1861). A few blocks further south (through rather poor neighborhoods however) was the Santa Fe Depot (1900), now used for the San Joaquin Trains to Oakland.

Late afternoon we caught the Westbound train back to Martinez. We had an excellent dinner on board (Spanish Omelette with salsa, sausage, hash browns, and biscuit). The train was delayed while crossing the Delta, so our arrival was after dark. The oil refineries were brightly lit, and we could also see the new highway bridge across the Straits to Benicia.

So on this trip we travelled on both of the Commuter RailRoads of the Bay Area, circled the southern part of San Francisco Bay, and circled a large area of the East Bay (including Mt. Diablo, our local landmark). The Amtrak portion of the itinerary was the kind that always makes the agents stop to wonder... a morning run West from Martinez to Oakland, then an evening run West from Stockton to Martinez... But it made sense to us! And made for a fine day's travel.


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## Green Maned Lion (May 13, 2008)

Do the California trains have different food than the rest of the system?


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## p&sr (May 13, 2008)

Green Maned Lion said:


> Do the California trains have different food than the rest of the system?


We have three corridor runs in California financed by the State.

In Southern California, the Surfliner (San Diego, LAX, Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo).

In Northern California, the Capitol Corridor (Sacramento to Oakland or San Jose with connections to San Francisco).

Both of these lines have a Cafe Car offering "sandwiches, snacks & beverages" which are pretty typical for Amtrak.

The third line is the San Joaquin Train from Bakersfield through Fresno and Stockton, continuing either to Sacramento or Oakland. This one has a Cafe Car which, in addition to the usual, also offers a "gourmet menu" of California-type specialties (and really good coffee).

All three trains use special equipment (photos are shown in the Amtrak System Timetable), two-level, similar to the SuperLiners but roomier. They appear clean and modern, and often run on schedule.


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## AlanB (May 13, 2008)

p&sr said:


> Green Maned Lion said:
> 
> 
> > Do the California trains have different food than the rest of the system?
> ...


I haven't tried the food on the Surfliner, but personally I found the food on the Capitol corridor train that I rode last summer to be not only different, but superior to standard Amtrak cafe food. It wasn't hugely superior, but it was definately better IMHO.


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## jackal (May 14, 2008)

p&sr said:


> The third line is the San Joaquin Train from Bakersfield through Fresno and Stockton, continuing either to Sacramento or Oakland. This one has a Cafe Car which, in addition to the usual, also offers a "gourmet menu" of California-type specialties (and really good coffee).


Oh geez...now I'm going to have to do _another_ LAX-SAC run on the SJ just to try the California specialties and the good coffee! (I didn't know about that last time I took it...)

I really love the cafe car on the SJs, too--it's its own separate car (whereas the PS is just a lower-level cafe in the bottom of a coach). The tables and stools are very roomy and the decor is very tasteful.


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## p&sr (May 14, 2008)

jackal said:


> I really love the cafe car on the SJs, too--it's its own separate car (whereas the PS is just a lower-level cafe in the bottom of a coach). The tables and stools are very roomy and the decor is very tasteful.


I think the Capitol Corridor also uses a dedicated cafe car, with the food service upstairs.


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## AlanB (May 14, 2008)

p&sr said:


> jackal said:
> 
> 
> > I really love the cafe car on the SJs, too--it's its own separate car (whereas the PS is just a lower-level cafe in the bottom of a coach). The tables and stools are very roomy and the decor is very tasteful.
> ...


It does, or at least the one that I rode last summer did.


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## jackal (May 15, 2008)

OK, I wasn't sure about the CC. I suspected it did because it uses the same type of cars the SJ does (which are similar to, but not exactly the same as, the PS trainset--I think even different builders). Good to know.


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## p&sr (May 15, 2008)

jackal said:


> I suspected it did because it uses the same type of cars the SJ does (which are similar to, but not exactly the same as, the PS trainset--I think even different builders).


Yes, the PS cars are different.

Both of the Northern California Trains share the same type of cars, and the same blue-and-gold livery (State Colours).

On the outside of each car you will find the name of the car. Each car is named after some geographic feature in the State of California, in the following four classes:

River -- Regular Coach

Bay -- Coach & Baggage (SJ Trains only, as CC does not handle checked luggage) [downstairs is "Crew Only"]

Mountain -- Cab Control Car (for the engineer when in push mode...eastbound)

Valley -- Cafe Car

It's fun when train-watching to check the cars for names of familiar landmarks, and places close to home...


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