Los Angeles Amtrak Unlimited member and pal sportbiker (Mark) and myself had been bandying about the idea of doing some serious rail riding since hanging out at L.A. Union Station on National Train Day L.A. 2009 (May 9). On that occasion we rode Pacific Surfliners with Alice (Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009 Executive Assistant) out to Fullerton for dinner and back. Enjoyable as that brief AGR points jaunt was (4X Train Day bonus), we wanted to do something a little more extensive.
Exchanging occasional e-mails over the ensuing months, we eventually hit on a plan to ride the Coast Starlight up to Paso Robles for an overnight layover and return the following day.
At National Train Day L.A. we had gotten coupons for 50% off companion fares, and later the AGR fall double points promo kicked in, so a pretty good deal. Mark bought Pacific Surfliner tickets for LAX-OXN - where we'd meet up and kill some time before boarding the Starlight - and for OXN-LAX on the return. Because there is no ticketing (not even Quik-Trak) at PRB, and because the discount coupons had to be physically handed over upon ticket issuance, sportbiker/Mark had to make the lengthy, challenging, and exhausting trek to LAUS (okay, a one-stop Red Line ride from his Downtown L.A. residence, but those stairs can be brutal if the escalators are out) to fork up his coupon and purchase Starlight tickets for PRB-OXN. I bought the northbound Starlight tickets, forking up my coupon at OXN on departure day.
Arriving at the Oxnard Transportation Center (OXN) on a fine Saturday morning - Mark aboard Surfliner 763 and I aboard Gold Coast Transit (nee SCAT) Route 6B - we had about an hour to kill until we boarded train 14 shortly before noon. OXN is my home station (and point of departure for the imminent Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009). Ventura's VEC is closer, but is just a Surfliner platform with (since only recently) Quik-Trak; OXN is full service. Most of Oxnard is tiresome, generic suburbia, and the downtown area around OXN in particular won't be winning Towne Beautiful awards any time soon; little in the way of sights to see.
We walked the long way around the new parking lot near the station to take a better look at the old SP depot, did a close-up inspection of a UP hi-railer truck parked out front, then headed to a Starbucks at the nearby downtown mall before looping back to OXN for boarding. I'd never been in a Starbucks before, and saw I hadn't been missing much.
Train 14's OXN departure was more or less on time. Once in our assigned Coach seats on the coast (left) side of the train the priority was getting lunch reservations for the dining car. Got that outta the way fairly quickly, and as usual we'd be eating north of Santa Barbara. Lunch arrangements secured, we went forward to the Sightseer Lounge - next car up - to better take in the scenery during the coast run to Santa Barbara. Involuntarily lapsing into tourguide mode, I proceeded to bore the bejeezus outta sportbiker with my patented interminable and tedious descriptions of what we were viewing as the train made its way through Ventura, along the ocean on the Rincon, past Carpinteria, and into SBA. He was surprisingly adept at feigning interest, and only nodded off twice during my lecture.
Santa Barbara is a Coast Starlight smoke stop, and I always take advantage - three hours to the next one at San Luis Obispo. Mark used the opportunity to walk back on the platform and check out the private varnish the train was hauling that day: The Patron Tequila Express (Gulf Mobile & Ohio 50). This 6-axle heavyweight party car was open for tours on National Train Day L.A. at LAUS, where many had marveled at the lavish interior appointments and large, modern galley. On the one hand it was good to see GM&O 50 out and about, but on the other hand its presence put the kibosh on shooting pictures looking astern.
Back underway, it wasn't long before lunchtime rolled around and we made the short stroll to the diner. Fortunately seated on the ocean side of the car, we enjoyed further good luck in having two bright, attractive, and articulate ladies as dining companions. One was headed to Monterey (MV Transportation connection at Salinas) for a long weekend getaway from L.A., while the other was in the midst of returning from a vacation to New Mexico and was traveling solo for the first time.
Usually I have the Angus burger for lunch aboard the Starlight, but after some discussion of the veggie burger option in AU weekly chat a while back decided to give that a shot. Glad I did! Naturally as a dedicated carnivore I was pretty skeptical going in, but the veggie burger was very tasty indeed, and actually more flavorful than the meat. SO good, in fact, that anytime it appears on the menu during the upcoming RailRiot I'm gonna go for it again (that means very soon, as the first segment is LAX-PDX aboard the Starlight). Unadorned, the veggie burger qualifies as Vegan (no animal products), but I disqualified mine by adding cheese. So focused was I on the vegetation revelation that I've kinda forgotten what Mark had, but it may have been the roast beef sandwich special.
With such good mealtime company nobody was in any hurry to leave the diner. The train's passenger load wasn't especially heavy - kinda light, even -and though the dining car was busy it wasn't hectically so. No pressure to free-up a table, so with good food and good conversation in abundance I took the rare step of adding dessert - chocolate ice cream. Rare step when riding Coach, that is, and it's all out-of-pocket; going Sleeper I'll take anything and everything they've got.
Following goodbyes and good wishes all around we headed back to the lounge for further sightseeing. There was a rails & trails or some such contingent in residence there - boarded at SBA - and while fine in concept (I've enjoyed narrative talks aboard California Zephyrs over the Sierras), execution in this case proved highly annoying. Apparently breaking in a new guy, the spiel delivery was disjointed - often out of whack with the current scenery - the rookie required heavy coaching and frequent correction, and as a result the overall presentation was rendered bothersome and intrusive rather than interesting and informative.
San Luis Obispo is a smoke stop and crew change point, generally allowing about 20 minutes on the ground. We'd met train 11 just outside town on the run in, the weather was even better than out on the coast, and while restoring my blood nicotine level to the acceptable range I strolled back for photos of GM&O 50 and talked a bit with a guy who identified himself as president of an SP club and apologized for not having any cards on him. Dug into my wallet for one of mine, and discovered I was fresh out too. Nice guy, and we were talking about the car - which he hadn't seen before, but likes Patron (pah-TRONE - Spanish for boss) tequila - and the private varnish storage area at LAUS ("the garden"), when the reboarding call came.
Onward through the horseshoe curve and upward on Cuesta Grade over the Santa Lucia mountains, we walked the train to the last Amtrak coach (of 3 in the consist) for photography and max enjoyment of what in my view is some of the best mountain railroading anywhere.
On arrival at Paso Robles (PRB) we stepped off the train into 107-degree weather that we later learned was a record for the date. Off came the black gabardine long sleeve shirt with the Daylight logo, leaving SS Lane Victory t-shirt. While waiting to watch the Starlight depart we were greeted by a very friendly lady who was the driver of the free shuttle to the West Bestern hotel by the county fairgrounds. She told us where the van was parked, saying she'd go cool it off while we watched the departure. Departure duly observed, we loaded up for the short drive to the night's lodging, during which our hostess shared some train experiences she'd had as a SoCal native.
Once checked in to the nonsmoking room (no sweat to exit for a smoke, but definitely sweat once outside) I lost no time in setting up the laptop to work on an online baseball game called SmallBall. Something of an obsession with me - and the only computer game I play - the app has since been removed from the laptop in the name of peace, and to prevent fear and loathing by the Executive Assistant, during the upcoming RailRiot. That done, we figured out the dinner situation, I visited a nearby mini-mart for an overpriced 6-pack of Bud for later, and we set out hoofing it to old downtown Paso Robles - maybe a mile, give or take.
Following beef rib dinners at a place called McClintock's we did some walking around the old downtown. Turned out to be too late to use the complimentary wine tasting voucher we'd been given at the hotel, so we just kinda strolled around to see what we could see. Our driver/hostess had bubbled that there's always something happening in Paso Robles, and I suppose that might be true if one's idea of happening is guzzling in a bar while being subjected to shoddy Van Halen covers. We took a pass. It occurred to me that old downtown PRB could use a good honky tonk.
PRB's main square was being prepared for some sort of event, and it was there that I stumbled (literally) upon the great discovery of the excursion: The Paso Robles Memorial Municipal Horseshoe Pit. While I remain uncertain of who or what was being memorialized (Trigger? Silver? Seabiscuit?), my estimation of Paso Robles as a desirable place to live immediately skyrocketed. The game of horseshoes has always fascinated me, not least for its enduring mystery of exactly how one convinces horses to go barefoot just so humans can have a little fun. And of course in playing there is unbridled joy in the knowledge that, as with hand grenades, close counts. Drained of energy by the unparalleled excitement of this amazing discovery, we trudged wearily back to the room, had a couple brewskies, and I uploaded the day's pics and video to the laptop before turning in.
This particular West Bestern doesn't offer free continental breakfasts, but we'd been issued $5 vouchers for use at the on-premises coffee shop. After eating there we again ventured to old downtown PRB, this time for the self-guided walking tour of noteworthy local architecture. Fun and interesting, and the main square was alive with whatever event it was that we'd seen in preparation the previous evening. One historic-looking building bore the initials "IOOF" over its entrance, and in trying to determine what they stood for I guessed that it meant International Order of Outfielders. "You have baseball on the brain." What could I say? Turns out it was built as an Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge.
The day was turning into another scorcher, and with the temperature rising about 10 degrees an hour we headed back, checked out, loaded up, and were shuttled over to the station for the return run aboard train 11. New driver/hostess, who had just returned from dropping a daughter off at SLO to ride Pacific Surfliner 792 back home to L.A.
Train 11 made its on-time appearance sporting three units on the nose: P32 up front leading the usual pair of elephant-style P42s. Once aboard and bags stowed we walked the train for Cuesta Grade/horseshoe sightseeing out the back - no private varnish blocking the view this time. One thing that for some reason I hadn't noted before, and will remember for video on future runs, is that southbound the first tunnel includes the summit of Cuesta Grade. As the summit is crested and the downhill begins, looking astern the tunnel entrance gradually disappears from the bottom up as the track runs virtually straight. Pretty cool!
Arrival at SLO about 30 minutes early meant plenty of photo time on the ground in excellent shooting weather, and I took full advantage. Departing on the advertised, we made dinner reservations, experienced several weather changes - clear, fog, clear, fog, etc. - during the run to the coast at Vandenberg AFB, then got easily the fastest ride I've ever had - Starlight or Surfliner - through Vandenberg and along the seaside cliffs north of Santa Barbara. Sportbiker/Mark was relaxing at our seats in Coach when I walked forward from the last car to inform him that if we kept moving at that rate we'd be having 5:30 dinner while sitting in the station at SBA. What I'd failed to account for was the meet with Surfliner 775, the lengthy wait for which north of SBA brought us back in line with the timetable. No matter: a very fast, very fun, very cool coastal run.
At dinner good fortune smiled again, as our companions this time happened to be an Amtrak locomotive engineer and his wife. He runs California Zephyrs out of Salt Lake City, had flown out for business in the San Francisco Bay Area, and they were headed for some vacation time starting in San Diego. "So you're technically deadheading?" No straight answer, just some grinning, chuckling, and eye-rolling. HAHA!! Asked about the power, he said the P32 had come on at Oakland, likely due to a problem with one of the other units (he didn't seem to know, or wasn't saying, exactly).
I had the vegetarian pasta (ravioli), Mark had the chicken. One result of the good timekeeping was that I was comfortable paying cash for my meal instead of using plastic once it became clear I'd be able to catch the last bus from OXN for $1.25 instead of facing a 30+ dollar cab ride home. Had to kinda eat and run to hit the ground for nicotine at SBA, where I regaled fellow smokers and an Amtrak first-timer (who was appalled at onboard booze prices) with tips on taking one's own beer aboard without gettting hassled, and extolled the economic virtues of buying bulk tobacco online and rolling your own cigarettes.
Mark's original return plan had been to detrain with me back at OXN, then ride to LAX aboard Surliner 796. He talked with a crew member, however, found it was okay to just remain aboard 11 the rest of the way in, and that's what he did. I got some last video through Ventura - onboard perspectives of places seen from trackside in earlier clips - said adios to sportbiker/Mark, returned to say hasta la vista when I realized I'd forgotten my bag, and hit the platform at OXN.
Sportbiker's been awaiting the appearance of this trip report to find out if he had fun on the trip, so: Dude, you did. I did too, and we should look into more rail riding around SoCal in the not-too-distant future.
Photos:
Coast Starlight, Oxnard To Paso Robles
Coast Starlight, Paso Robles To Oxnard
Video:
Exchanging occasional e-mails over the ensuing months, we eventually hit on a plan to ride the Coast Starlight up to Paso Robles for an overnight layover and return the following day.
At National Train Day L.A. we had gotten coupons for 50% off companion fares, and later the AGR fall double points promo kicked in, so a pretty good deal. Mark bought Pacific Surfliner tickets for LAX-OXN - where we'd meet up and kill some time before boarding the Starlight - and for OXN-LAX on the return. Because there is no ticketing (not even Quik-Trak) at PRB, and because the discount coupons had to be physically handed over upon ticket issuance, sportbiker/Mark had to make the lengthy, challenging, and exhausting trek to LAUS (okay, a one-stop Red Line ride from his Downtown L.A. residence, but those stairs can be brutal if the escalators are out) to fork up his coupon and purchase Starlight tickets for PRB-OXN. I bought the northbound Starlight tickets, forking up my coupon at OXN on departure day.
Arriving at the Oxnard Transportation Center (OXN) on a fine Saturday morning - Mark aboard Surfliner 763 and I aboard Gold Coast Transit (nee SCAT) Route 6B - we had about an hour to kill until we boarded train 14 shortly before noon. OXN is my home station (and point of departure for the imminent Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009). Ventura's VEC is closer, but is just a Surfliner platform with (since only recently) Quik-Trak; OXN is full service. Most of Oxnard is tiresome, generic suburbia, and the downtown area around OXN in particular won't be winning Towne Beautiful awards any time soon; little in the way of sights to see.
We walked the long way around the new parking lot near the station to take a better look at the old SP depot, did a close-up inspection of a UP hi-railer truck parked out front, then headed to a Starbucks at the nearby downtown mall before looping back to OXN for boarding. I'd never been in a Starbucks before, and saw I hadn't been missing much.
Train 14's OXN departure was more or less on time. Once in our assigned Coach seats on the coast (left) side of the train the priority was getting lunch reservations for the dining car. Got that outta the way fairly quickly, and as usual we'd be eating north of Santa Barbara. Lunch arrangements secured, we went forward to the Sightseer Lounge - next car up - to better take in the scenery during the coast run to Santa Barbara. Involuntarily lapsing into tourguide mode, I proceeded to bore the bejeezus outta sportbiker with my patented interminable and tedious descriptions of what we were viewing as the train made its way through Ventura, along the ocean on the Rincon, past Carpinteria, and into SBA. He was surprisingly adept at feigning interest, and only nodded off twice during my lecture.
Santa Barbara is a Coast Starlight smoke stop, and I always take advantage - three hours to the next one at San Luis Obispo. Mark used the opportunity to walk back on the platform and check out the private varnish the train was hauling that day: The Patron Tequila Express (Gulf Mobile & Ohio 50). This 6-axle heavyweight party car was open for tours on National Train Day L.A. at LAUS, where many had marveled at the lavish interior appointments and large, modern galley. On the one hand it was good to see GM&O 50 out and about, but on the other hand its presence put the kibosh on shooting pictures looking astern.
Back underway, it wasn't long before lunchtime rolled around and we made the short stroll to the diner. Fortunately seated on the ocean side of the car, we enjoyed further good luck in having two bright, attractive, and articulate ladies as dining companions. One was headed to Monterey (MV Transportation connection at Salinas) for a long weekend getaway from L.A., while the other was in the midst of returning from a vacation to New Mexico and was traveling solo for the first time.
Usually I have the Angus burger for lunch aboard the Starlight, but after some discussion of the veggie burger option in AU weekly chat a while back decided to give that a shot. Glad I did! Naturally as a dedicated carnivore I was pretty skeptical going in, but the veggie burger was very tasty indeed, and actually more flavorful than the meat. SO good, in fact, that anytime it appears on the menu during the upcoming RailRiot I'm gonna go for it again (that means very soon, as the first segment is LAX-PDX aboard the Starlight). Unadorned, the veggie burger qualifies as Vegan (no animal products), but I disqualified mine by adding cheese. So focused was I on the vegetation revelation that I've kinda forgotten what Mark had, but it may have been the roast beef sandwich special.
With such good mealtime company nobody was in any hurry to leave the diner. The train's passenger load wasn't especially heavy - kinda light, even -and though the dining car was busy it wasn't hectically so. No pressure to free-up a table, so with good food and good conversation in abundance I took the rare step of adding dessert - chocolate ice cream. Rare step when riding Coach, that is, and it's all out-of-pocket; going Sleeper I'll take anything and everything they've got.
Following goodbyes and good wishes all around we headed back to the lounge for further sightseeing. There was a rails & trails or some such contingent in residence there - boarded at SBA - and while fine in concept (I've enjoyed narrative talks aboard California Zephyrs over the Sierras), execution in this case proved highly annoying. Apparently breaking in a new guy, the spiel delivery was disjointed - often out of whack with the current scenery - the rookie required heavy coaching and frequent correction, and as a result the overall presentation was rendered bothersome and intrusive rather than interesting and informative.
San Luis Obispo is a smoke stop and crew change point, generally allowing about 20 minutes on the ground. We'd met train 11 just outside town on the run in, the weather was even better than out on the coast, and while restoring my blood nicotine level to the acceptable range I strolled back for photos of GM&O 50 and talked a bit with a guy who identified himself as president of an SP club and apologized for not having any cards on him. Dug into my wallet for one of mine, and discovered I was fresh out too. Nice guy, and we were talking about the car - which he hadn't seen before, but likes Patron (pah-TRONE - Spanish for boss) tequila - and the private varnish storage area at LAUS ("the garden"), when the reboarding call came.
Onward through the horseshoe curve and upward on Cuesta Grade over the Santa Lucia mountains, we walked the train to the last Amtrak coach (of 3 in the consist) for photography and max enjoyment of what in my view is some of the best mountain railroading anywhere.
On arrival at Paso Robles (PRB) we stepped off the train into 107-degree weather that we later learned was a record for the date. Off came the black gabardine long sleeve shirt with the Daylight logo, leaving SS Lane Victory t-shirt. While waiting to watch the Starlight depart we were greeted by a very friendly lady who was the driver of the free shuttle to the West Bestern hotel by the county fairgrounds. She told us where the van was parked, saying she'd go cool it off while we watched the departure. Departure duly observed, we loaded up for the short drive to the night's lodging, during which our hostess shared some train experiences she'd had as a SoCal native.
Once checked in to the nonsmoking room (no sweat to exit for a smoke, but definitely sweat once outside) I lost no time in setting up the laptop to work on an online baseball game called SmallBall. Something of an obsession with me - and the only computer game I play - the app has since been removed from the laptop in the name of peace, and to prevent fear and loathing by the Executive Assistant, during the upcoming RailRiot. That done, we figured out the dinner situation, I visited a nearby mini-mart for an overpriced 6-pack of Bud for later, and we set out hoofing it to old downtown Paso Robles - maybe a mile, give or take.
Following beef rib dinners at a place called McClintock's we did some walking around the old downtown. Turned out to be too late to use the complimentary wine tasting voucher we'd been given at the hotel, so we just kinda strolled around to see what we could see. Our driver/hostess had bubbled that there's always something happening in Paso Robles, and I suppose that might be true if one's idea of happening is guzzling in a bar while being subjected to shoddy Van Halen covers. We took a pass. It occurred to me that old downtown PRB could use a good honky tonk.
PRB's main square was being prepared for some sort of event, and it was there that I stumbled (literally) upon the great discovery of the excursion: The Paso Robles Memorial Municipal Horseshoe Pit. While I remain uncertain of who or what was being memorialized (Trigger? Silver? Seabiscuit?), my estimation of Paso Robles as a desirable place to live immediately skyrocketed. The game of horseshoes has always fascinated me, not least for its enduring mystery of exactly how one convinces horses to go barefoot just so humans can have a little fun. And of course in playing there is unbridled joy in the knowledge that, as with hand grenades, close counts. Drained of energy by the unparalleled excitement of this amazing discovery, we trudged wearily back to the room, had a couple brewskies, and I uploaded the day's pics and video to the laptop before turning in.
This particular West Bestern doesn't offer free continental breakfasts, but we'd been issued $5 vouchers for use at the on-premises coffee shop. After eating there we again ventured to old downtown PRB, this time for the self-guided walking tour of noteworthy local architecture. Fun and interesting, and the main square was alive with whatever event it was that we'd seen in preparation the previous evening. One historic-looking building bore the initials "IOOF" over its entrance, and in trying to determine what they stood for I guessed that it meant International Order of Outfielders. "You have baseball on the brain." What could I say? Turns out it was built as an Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge.
The day was turning into another scorcher, and with the temperature rising about 10 degrees an hour we headed back, checked out, loaded up, and were shuttled over to the station for the return run aboard train 11. New driver/hostess, who had just returned from dropping a daughter off at SLO to ride Pacific Surfliner 792 back home to L.A.
Train 11 made its on-time appearance sporting three units on the nose: P32 up front leading the usual pair of elephant-style P42s. Once aboard and bags stowed we walked the train for Cuesta Grade/horseshoe sightseeing out the back - no private varnish blocking the view this time. One thing that for some reason I hadn't noted before, and will remember for video on future runs, is that southbound the first tunnel includes the summit of Cuesta Grade. As the summit is crested and the downhill begins, looking astern the tunnel entrance gradually disappears from the bottom up as the track runs virtually straight. Pretty cool!
Arrival at SLO about 30 minutes early meant plenty of photo time on the ground in excellent shooting weather, and I took full advantage. Departing on the advertised, we made dinner reservations, experienced several weather changes - clear, fog, clear, fog, etc. - during the run to the coast at Vandenberg AFB, then got easily the fastest ride I've ever had - Starlight or Surfliner - through Vandenberg and along the seaside cliffs north of Santa Barbara. Sportbiker/Mark was relaxing at our seats in Coach when I walked forward from the last car to inform him that if we kept moving at that rate we'd be having 5:30 dinner while sitting in the station at SBA. What I'd failed to account for was the meet with Surfliner 775, the lengthy wait for which north of SBA brought us back in line with the timetable. No matter: a very fast, very fun, very cool coastal run.
At dinner good fortune smiled again, as our companions this time happened to be an Amtrak locomotive engineer and his wife. He runs California Zephyrs out of Salt Lake City, had flown out for business in the San Francisco Bay Area, and they were headed for some vacation time starting in San Diego. "So you're technically deadheading?" No straight answer, just some grinning, chuckling, and eye-rolling. HAHA!! Asked about the power, he said the P32 had come on at Oakland, likely due to a problem with one of the other units (he didn't seem to know, or wasn't saying, exactly).
I had the vegetarian pasta (ravioli), Mark had the chicken. One result of the good timekeeping was that I was comfortable paying cash for my meal instead of using plastic once it became clear I'd be able to catch the last bus from OXN for $1.25 instead of facing a 30+ dollar cab ride home. Had to kinda eat and run to hit the ground for nicotine at SBA, where I regaled fellow smokers and an Amtrak first-timer (who was appalled at onboard booze prices) with tips on taking one's own beer aboard without gettting hassled, and extolled the economic virtues of buying bulk tobacco online and rolling your own cigarettes.
Mark's original return plan had been to detrain with me back at OXN, then ride to LAX aboard Surliner 796. He talked with a crew member, however, found it was okay to just remain aboard 11 the rest of the way in, and that's what he did. I got some last video through Ventura - onboard perspectives of places seen from trackside in earlier clips - said adios to sportbiker/Mark, returned to say hasta la vista when I realized I'd forgotten my bag, and hit the platform at OXN.
Sportbiker's been awaiting the appearance of this trip report to find out if he had fun on the trip, so: Dude, you did. I did too, and we should look into more rail riding around SoCal in the not-too-distant future.
Photos:
Coast Starlight, Oxnard To Paso Robles
Coast Starlight, Paso Robles To Oxnard
Video:
