EMY to LAX Help me decide?

[Madbuster]

Has anyone taken the trip from Emeryville to Los Angles via the San Joaquin / Ambus connection? If so, how was it? My alternative is the Coast Starlight but I will be taking that train the full route north two days later. I like the fact that the CS has a dinner and a roomette for the day (If I chose this way I would book a roomette just for the private space). However, I would prefer not getting in that late. Hmmm, decisions, decisions, decisions.

I took the San Joaquin in 2001 from Emeryville to Merced and was very impressed.

Maybe the hive mind can help me decide, so I would appreciate and comments you might have. Thanks!

 

[the_traveler]

I have taken both the CS and SJ/Ambus combo. If you have the extra time, the CS is great! (And if you get a sleeper, the PPC and included meals are also benefits! ) But if you have less time, with the exception that part of the trip is on an Ambus, the SJ is not bad.

 

[gswager]

San Joaquin contains a great view of farms and dairies. It'll make you wondering where the food comes from.

The bus ride between Bakersfield and LAX is not that bad.

 

[jackal]

Agree with gswager. If you're going to be doing that stretch of track on the CS a few days later anyway, why not go check out an alternate route if just for another view?

Running through the Central Valley at full-speed-ahead 79mph on perfectly straight track is fun, and like gswager said, the bus ride is not bad (and actually quite scenic over the Grapevine).

 

[sechs]

The San Joaquins has a much better on-time record and, of course, it's a faster run, even with the bus segments. The Central Valley, in my opinion, is, however, boring as all heck.

It unfortunate that catching the ACE from San Jose leads to such a late arrival in Los Angeles. The trip through the Altamont Pass might make the whole thing worthwhile.

 

[Madbuster]

Thanks for all of your input. I'm leaning toward the San Joaquin routing right now with the two major factors being time and route redundancy.

 

[warren]

The San Joaquins has a much better on-time record and, of course, it's a faster run, even with the bus segments. The Central Valley, in my opinion, is, however, boring as all heck.
It unfortunate that catching the ACE from San Jose leads to such a late arrival in Los Angeles. The trip through the Altamont Pass might make the whole thing worthwhile.

I do not think you would be disappointed with taking the San Joaquin train/bus combo to LA. The California Amtrak cars are generally pretty comfortable. The one aspect of most of the San Joaquin California cars that I do not like is that the seats do not recline. Not all of the cars lack that feature, but most do. However, the seating is still comfortable, regardless of the inability to recline. Someone with more knowledge than me can explain how to recognize cars with reclining seats. Also, the bus ride is not bad. As long as there are no traffic delays, it is about a 2 hour ride over Tejon Pass (aka "The Grapevine".....it gets that name from the old hi-way 99 route that was not particularly straight....these days, I-5 is straight and fast).

 

[tp49]

I do not think you would be disappointed with taking the San Joaquin train/bus combo to LA. The California Amtrak cars are generally pretty comfortable. The one aspect of most of the San Joaquin California cars that I do not like is that the seats do not recline. Not all of the cars lack that feature, but most do. However, the seating is still comfortable, regardless of the inability to recline. Someone with more knowledge than me can explain how to recognize cars with reclining seats. Also, the bus ride is not bad. As long as there are no traffic delays, it is about a 2 hour ride over Tejon Pass (aka "The Grapevine".....it gets that name from the old hi-way 99 route that was not particularly straight....these days, I-5 is straight and fast).

The seats do recline on any car that is numbered 6xxx. The cars numbered 8xxx have seats that do not recline.

 

[Bigval109]

San Joaquin contains a great view of farms and dairies. It'll make you wondering where the food comes from.
The bus ride between Bakersfield and LAX is not that bad.

I agree. I will be taking San Joaquin/Ab in may. I choose it because of the nice ride and it is a lot quicker an early arrival in Lax. It will still be daylight when I cross the street to the Metro Plaza.