Daily Surfliner 785, LAX->GDL, and variations (LATEST: 1/22/09)

[chuljin]

Wednesday, 1/21/09: Rare Option 2 Turn

798 left SLO only 2 minutes late, but soon experienced 'mechanical problems' (per the EPIS at LAX) and lost an hour before arriving at its first stop, GVB (9mph average speed). So with this second update, Mr. Recommender was able, as early as 3:30, to suggest, for the first time, an 'Option 2' turn (LAX/785/BUR/798/GDL). The OTP shook out that way once before, but too late for it or me to realize it. This Option 2 used to happen more often, historically, which is the reason I have so many superfluous BUR-GDL tickets.

Other than my going a bit further than usual before turning back, this trip was unremarkable, except for one thing:

We arrived at BUR right on time at 7:25. I went to write down the consist, as I usually do, and saw something unprecedented IME: Car 1, usually a 6800-series Pacific Business Class car, was instead a 6400-series coach (6413). No nice seat pitch, no free-flowing coffee.

During my 'layover' at BUR, a FedEx plane (perhaps a 737, but I'm not good at such things, especially in the dark) took off right overhead. Most impressive.

As predicted by Mr. Recommender to within 2 minutes, a full 1.5 hours before Julie stopped thinking it was going to be right on time, 798 left BUR at 7:38 and arrived GDL at 7:49.

 

[chuljin]

Thursday, 1/22/09: Snowing Conductors with Another Option 2 Turn; Why Settle When You Can Select?

785 was about spot-on from SAN all the way to at least BUR (when I stopped actively tracking); 798 was about on time at SLO, GVB, and GUA, but then lost ~35 minutes before GTA, and another ~15 before CPN, and stayed 50 minutes late until leaving OXN. Mr. Recommender was saying Option 2 again (but only just...tight at BUR).

I was a little late in leaving the office, so 785 had just arrived when I got to LAX, and people were streaming down the stairs. Willy (whom I previously unfortunately called 'Most Senior Conductor' above) and Rosie were the conductors in the usual Tuesday/Thursday way. As we left LAX, the departure update from SIM came in (28 minutes late [making up time by eliminating the long scheduled dwell at MPK]), widening the gap a little, but the race was on to see whether 785 or 798 would reach BUR first, so I got out both LAX-GDL and LAX-BUR tickets.

Willy, lifting tickets in my car, had not yet reached me when, about halfway to GDL, the CWT departure update came in, sealing the deal on Option 2. So I put away the LAX-GDL ticket and gave Willy the LAX-BUR one. By now, every conductor on 785 figures I'm going to GDL. I told Willy as he tore the ticket 'see, I told you someday I'd go further than Glendale!' and he said 'oh! I didn't even look!' and gave me a seatcheck for BUR. As we passed Burbank Junction, Rosie started to work her way through my car, taking the BUR seatchecks and letting people know it was coming up. Since I know she knows I've always gone only as far as GDL, I hatched a naughty plan...I made sure she wasn't looking, then took down and hid the seatcheck; as she passed by me I said 'I nodded off a little...how long to Glendale?' and she gasped and her eyes got big as saucers...then I gave her the seatcheck.

785 got to BUR on time, and with that, I'd gone 50 AGRable segments (of 51 total, but 785 on 1/13 wasn't lifted) and requalified for Select. Not in last year's record time (though even with the new rules, I could have ).

As I detrained at BUR, I walked forward to write down the consist, and waved bye to Willy, who asked 'What are you gonna do here?', and I said 'go back on 798', and he just said 'Oh, well OK then!' as the door closed.

798 lost a bit more time, and the tight turn I had worried about at BUR was actually 12 minutes, during which I got to see a FedEx flight and a WN flight take off. We met Metrolink 221 right near the detector; we were going 75 and they 46. Such high-effective-speed meets (121mph in this case) are always exciting. I'm looking forward to this year's gathering and the chance to have a 300mph meet near KIN.

 

[chuljin]

Tuesday, 5/12/09: Now that's a railfan

Last night I saw something I'd read about (in the System Timetable), but never seen, interesting but tinged with sadness.

785 left LAX on time as it always does, and 798 left OXN late as it always does, but by little enough that it made it up easily by SIM, so I turned at GDL.

As 798 pulled into LAX, a deadheading sometime Conductor was chatting with the train's active Conductors, and gestured towards the cabbage, saying 'I'm not touching *that*...our "package".'

I didn't think anything of it, then as I passed by the cabbage, I saw what he was talking about (the size and position of the baggage compartment door are such that it is easy to see almost the entire contents by casually walking by): a large cardboard box (containing, I assume, a more 'formal'/'official' one) whose size and shape, together with the comment, suggested it was someone's earthly remains.

It was interesting, someone taking his or her final train trip, though obviously sad circumstances.