AU Friends take the Tehachapi Detour

[CHamilton]

The six-person "loop group" -- including AU members CHamilton, Anderson, and No.6 -- left Seattle on Sunday, March 24 and took the detour route through the Tehachapi Loop on Monday, March 25. Commentary and more pictures to come, but here are a few from my phone as an appetizer.

 

[Blackwolf]

Wish I could have joined in!

 

[oregon pioneer]

Yes, Charlie, I want to see the rest of the photos when you have them ready for us!

 

[railiner]

Nice photo's. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Acela150]

Hope the Detour was great Charlie! Photos I was seeing on your FB page looked great!

Steve

 

[CHamilton]

I've now posted the unedited and uncaptioned photos. Credit to MK for taking most of them -- his camera was not working, so I lent him mine, figuring that he is a better photographer than I am. The unfortunate side-effect is that there are some pictures of me in there...

I've also invited Anderson and No.6 to add commentary here.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The six-person "loop group" -- including AU members CHamilton, Anderson, and No.6 -- left Seattle on Sunday, March 24 and took the detour route through the Tehachapi Loop on Monday, March 25. Commentary and more pictures to come, but here are a few from my phone as an appetizer.

Nice Pics Charlie, we're all Envious! And that looks like a Distinguished Group in the PPC, is the Old Guy standing the LSA on the PPC??? :giggle:

 

[Railroad Bill]

You guys out West have all the fun on your DETOURS.

Still waiting for a Capitol Ltd detour via Fort Wayne, Defiance Ohio, Akron to Pittsburgh. Then I could wave at an Amtrak train outside my house

 

[chakk]

Looks pretty empty in coach.

 

[gswager]

They weren't in coach. They were in PPC.

 

[railiner]

They weren't in coach. They were in PPC.

Right, but they did show a few shots of the coaches towards the end of the photo's. Great show, guys....thanks again!

 

[Anderson]

The coaches were likely fairly empty due to the lack of any intermediate stops between OKJ and LAX. A couple of my thoughts from the trip:
(1) The Starlight has my vote for nicest train and best scenery in the system. I'm basing this off of the northern (regular) leg and the on-board amenities.

-I took the Cap and the Builder out, the Sunset LAX-TUS, and I'm taking the Chief FLG-CHI and then the Cap back to WAS. IMHO, the Builder is a somewhat overblown train, and the wine tasting serves primarily to break up the monotony of Montana.

--In terms of ranking scenery: Starlight, then Zephyr, then Builder and Chief, then Cap. In terms of OBS/amenities: Starlight, then Cap, then Builder, then Zephyr and Chief.

--I'll ride the Builder again to nail the SPK-PDX leg, but that's probably about it for long runs on the Builder if I can help it. Honestly, it's probably my least favorite LD experience for a whole host of reasons, full stop.

(2) Tehachapi was amazing. No, really, it was something that everyone ought to try and do at least once. The run down the SP tracks was also nice, too.

(3) I'm in love with the PPC and I want to do that again. I took all my meals except breakfast in the PPC (mainly because I was loving it, but also because it's not quite standard Amtrak fare).

(4) Really, there's nothing quite like a first class lounge full of foamers in full form shooting trivia and observations back and forth. That's also something I recommend, even if most folks would get a little lost.

Other than those runs, I got to take the Surfliner LAX-SAN (which actually edges out the Adirondack in terms of scenery IMHO, though it's a close run) and the Blue Line down to Long Beach. I got some photos of the Tucson Streetcar line...about 80% of the paving and 40-50% of the wiring seems to be done. Tomorrow, I'm probably going to ride the Phoenix light rail line as well, time permitting.

 

[CHamilton]

Some highlights of the trip for me.

On Saturday, March 23, No.6 and I met up at King Street Station to meet Anderson as he arrived on the Builder. The train would have been on time, but it had to sit in EVT for an hour of so to wait for the 48-hour mudslide moratorium to expire. Dumb. But at least the passengers got a leisurely breakfast and the views along Puget Sound rather than a bustitution on I-5.

While we were waiting, we got a sneak peek at King Street's almost-completely-renovated waiting room, which is spectacular. The word is that it will reopen April 24 -- about a month ahead of schedule.

We spent the day giving Anderson some quick Seattle highlights, including a visit to the Fremont Troll, some shopping, and Volunteer Park. Then we ordered some dinner from one of my local Italian restaurants, and waited for MK to arrive.

He arrived by air on time, and took the light rail to Beacon Hill, where another friend picked him up and brought him to my place. We crashed for a short night, and were up in time to catch the 7:19 bus to downtown on Sunday morning.

 

[CHamilton]

On Sunday, March 24, the four of the group that had assembled so far took the bus to downtown Seattle, then the light rail to International District/Chinatown for the short walk to King Street Station. I guarded the luggage while the rest of the group went to a local coffee shop for breakfast. We boarded the Starlight at around 9:00, and pulled out on time at 9:30. (The CS normally leaves at 9:45, but they've added some padding due to trackwork.)

Mount Rainier was mostly visible from the train below the clouds, and we got to see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge from the train. I'll miss this view when the bypass opens in 2017.

We didn't see much in the way of delays, and got to PDX early. At PDX, we acquired Mike, another member of the loop group. We spent most of our time on Sunday hanging out in the PPC. As Anderson said, the foamer count was quite high -- and we met many train fans beyond our little group.

 

[CHamilton]

On Sunday night, we were still pretty much on time through southern Oregon and northern California, where we saw a little bit of remaining snow. We got into SAC shortly after 6 AM, and saw the sunrise as we approached the Bay Area.

MK took some great shots with my camera; he'll be posting some captioned pix shortly.

The detour proper began after leaving Oakland-Jack London Square (OKJ) station.

 

[CHamilton]

Monday, March 25. After Oakland, the train diverted from its usual route through San Jose and south, and took the line generally used by the Altamont Commuter Express trains. From there, we went south down the Central Valley -- but not along the BNSF route used by the San Joaquins. Instead, we used the UP route that goes through the old downtowns of places like Modesto and Fresno.

We had the great good fortune to be riding in the PPC with David and his wife, who are docents at the California State Railroad Museum (and private car owners). They could tell us what lines were where, where to look for crossings, and where to be ready to point our cameras.

At Lathrop, we connected between the ex-SP and ex-WP lines in a wye move that was really more like a three-point turn.

 

[Anderson]

As I noted, I had a broadly uneventful trip across the country: NFK-WAS-CHI-SEA (for surprisingly little...the cost "only" came to $678 IIRC). The food on both the Cap and the Builder was good; the scenery on the Builder was so-so for the first day and change, however. On the Builder, I had my first Irish Coffee the second evening. Probably the biggest highlight of the Builder was Donna, one of the diner attendants with a very dry sense of wit.

As Charlie noted, I got into SEA a bit late. The views along Puget Sound were nice, and the delay wasn't too bad (time-wise, though it ranks pretty high in terms of epic stupidity, and more than a few jokes were made at BNSF's expense). As noted, we went shopping in Seattle...namely so I could replace the panama hat I left on the VIA Adirondack.

We boarded the Starlight and quite promptly proceeded to the PPC (though other members of our party got there before us), where we camped out...for most of the rest of the trip, really. Charlie and I took our meals in there (mainly because I was up for the variety of the food and the atmosphere, not to mention the better shots out the windows). The scenery on the way to Portland was impressive, and it was nice to get some shots of the coastline along Puget Sound before that gets cut from the route.

There was a long hold at PDX...IIRC, we got in early and had over an hour to kill (so I got some nice shots of the station and the transit lines adjacent). Afterwards, we headed south and attended the wine tasting. The reds were good, I determined I can't stand whites, the cheese was very good (esp. the Beecher's No Woman cheese), and I determined that I have a one-glass limit and retired to my room with a bit of a headache after about a glass and a half worth of wine so I could nap.

I woke up as we were heading into the mountains about 6 PM and headed back to the PPC for dinner. More great scenery, more great shots I need to upload as we went higher and higher (probably the best scenery of the "normal" part of the trip was here; the line in southern Oregon can hold its own against the Zephyr, such are the vistas and views of the valleys).

 

[CHamilton]

Anderson in his chapeau du train

 

[CHamilton]

More from Monday. Thanks to MK for the photos.

A northbound BART train passes over us at Fremont.

Semaphores of the Niles Canyon Railway, on the former Southern Pacific alignment through the canyon. Our train is on the former Western Pacifc (now UP), also used by Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) trains.

Fresno's former SP depot.

Going under the track that we are about to be on — the famous Tehachapi Loop, where the track loops over itself. If a train is long enough, it will actually pass over itself here.

 

[CHamilton]

View of the tunnel we just went through from above.

Sunset in Lancaster, where we join Metrolink's Antelope Valley line for the ride over one final mountain range into the Los Angeles basin.

 

[CHamilton]

I should mention that the group spent much of the trip in the PPC. I recognized the attendant from previous trips, but didn't catch his name. Nancy was the LSA in the dining car, and she was friendly and organized as usual. Our SCA John was probably the youngest member of the OBS, but he was quite helpful and competent. I also recognized Annie from the cafe car, since her raspy voice and long-winded announcements make her memorable. (Although she was downright taciturn compared to the crew on 14 the next day!)

Once in Metrolink territory, we had to wait for several commuter trains. But we arrived in LA only a few minutes down. So we had plenty of time to walk over to the Metro Plaza for a short night's rest.

I hadn't stayed at the Metro Plaza before, and found it to be comfortable, but I was not happy with being asked to sign a credit card receipt with no amounts filled in. I realize that hotels need a way to cover incidentals, but I suspect that such a procedure may be against credit card company rules. (I haven't called to find out yet.) I came to an agreement with the desk clerks, but not before more drama than I cared for. And ironically, I got a call the next night that another of my cards had been used fraudulently, so I don't think I was being overly paranoid.

Tuesday, March 26. The group had to split up, since a couple of folks had to fly home to go to work. Anderson was spending a day or so in LA, then would be training east. So I was the only one to board 14, which, not surprisingly, was the same consist that we'd arrived in the previous night. I settled into sleeping car 1430, again, a very nicely renovated Superliner I, and made my way to PPC Sonoma Valley. We left LAX on time under cloudy, foggy skies, but the weather cleared up by the time we got to Santa Barbara.

Let's face it: the Tehachapi Loop is cool (especially for railfans), and the mountains themselves have some beautiful scenery, but the inland route can't match the coast for natural beauty. There was quite a bit of surf, but the skies were clear, the water was green, and the PPC seats were comfy. What more could one want?

Dessert with ocean view from the Pacific Parlour Car at Carpinteria.

I had a wonderful conversation with a couple from Montana: his business card proclaims him a "Ferroequinologist," and his wife presides over their own private caboose, complete with 40 feet of track! So while the trip back was familiar, it was certainly not boring

Moonlight over Gilroy.

 

[CHamilton]

Wednesday, March 27. Some folks managed to see Mt. Shasta, but I missed it in the clouds. We were running early most of the day, which meant long stops in KFS, EUG, and almost an hour in PDX.

We left PDX on time, then had to do some backup moves to attach a PV car (which I didn't get to see, unfortunately). So we were about 30 minutes down for a while. But we made it up, and arrived in SEA on time.

All in all, a wonderful trip. And if all goes well, I've got at least three more CS trips planned this year, including a short one from PDX-EUG to introduce a friend's five-year-old to the fun of riding trains All abooooard!

 

[Blackwolf]

I remember watching those semaphores being re-installed by the NCRy in the mid 1990's as a kid living and going to school in Sunol. Used to ride in the locomotives of the NCRy on some weekends, and I also remember the hubub over ACE when it first started up. BTW, the WP tracks you rode on between Niles and Tracy were the same ones the original California Zephyr used on its way to Oakland. A lot of railroad history abounds in Niles Canyon.

 

[thully]

Sounds like you had a great trip - wish you had done this a day earlier so me and P&SR could have joined you! I ended up going a day earlier because I preferred to do an all-weekend trip...

Anyway, sounds like you saw most of the same things we did - though we were in the SSL instead of the PPC (it made sense to just do coach rather than sleeper given the non-overnight trip and higher buckets). We saw Altamont Pass, a BART train going over us at Fremont - as well as ex-train depots on the UP line (including my favorite - the California Welcome Center in the middle of the state), Metrolink, and of course Tehachapi.

It was quite a nice ride - and a must do for me given that I live in California. Looking forward to doing it again if the opportunity arises...

 

[CHamilton]

thully: yes, we had a great time, and I'm sorry we weren't traveling the same day you were. We had tried to plan for that schedule, but it didn't work out for some of the folks in our group, so we had to push it back a day. I daresay we'll be back the next time there's a detour.