Though I'd not originally intended a trip report for the rides covered here, on further consideration they rate at least a brief one after all.
My sister had major surgery on 3-24-09 (hence the goofball report title) - scheduled, not emergency - so me and my mom rode Pacific Surfliner 774 to Orange County to help out for a few days during early recuperation.
The ride from OXN was largely uneventful, though in selecting seats I noticed a number of pink seat tags overhead with the word "Group" written on them. Avoiding those seats to prevent having to move later, we sat on the upper level facing backward on a fairly crowded train for the push into L.A., which would mean facing forward on the pull out of LAX. Around Glendale came a P.A. announcement about a large group of schoolchildren boarding the train "down the line." While it was nonspecfic about where, I figured the kids would be coming aboard at LAX.
Arriving about 20 minutes early at L.A. Union Station (crew change and cafe restocking point), I stepped off for the usual smoke, and hopefully some pictures. Given the extra time provided by the early arrival, I strolled up to the locomotive for a couple shots. And there, sitting on Track 13 (774 was on Track 12), was a New Jersey Transit Comet commuter coach sandwiched between two NJT cab cars. Bingo!
As NJT takes delivery of new multi-level rolling stock, its old Comet stuff has become expendable (Amtrak's Horizons are Comet derivatives). Metrolink, chronically starved for equipment, snapped up a few Comets (I've counted 8 coaches and 2 cab cars). Recently they've been seen around the Metrolink yard and shops near Union Station, and though I'd heard of them being at LAX hadn't seen for myself until then. Haven't seen or heard of the Comets being used in any Metrolink revenue service yet, but that's clearly only a matter of time. Naturally I got in a few shots.
Returning to 774, I discovered our bags missing. Asked the conductor if he'd seen them and learned they'd been moved. I'd made a mistake in placing the suitcases on the lower level in the bicycle area. A stupid error, but I can explain. No, really!
First of all, I'm easily confused at times. While I usually know what I'm doing when riding trains, there are occasions (thankfully rare) when I don't seem to know shirt from Shinola; this was one of them. I'm claiming the confusion was the unfortunate result of a confluence of factors:
1) In the past I've usually taken Metrolink to visit sister (Ventura County Line, Montalvo to LAX, then Orange County Line to Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo). Aboard Metrolink luggage is placed on the floor in designated areas at the ends of the cars, lower level, and I'm used to stashing some stuff downstairs aboard Superliner sleepers; so there's the habit aspect. The similar corresponding area on a Surfliner lower level is for bikes and surfboards, which I had seen before, and shoulda realized, but failed to connect in this instance when seeing the area empty upon boarding.
2) When riding Amtrak I generally check large bags, and only carry camera and laptop. Amtrak's stop closest to sister's house is San Juan Capistrano (SNC). When I said at OXN that I had two bags to check I was informed that SNC doesn't have checked baggage service. Here again is something I shoulda known. Yet another example of the hazards of assuming, and my inexperience at having to schlep the bags was a further contributing factor in their apparent disappearance at L.A. My suitcase had been put in the REAL luggage rack on the upper level at one end of our Surfliner coach, and I had to return to the conductor to learn that my mom's bag had been placed in a rack above a lower level seat; I found and retrieved it.
The schoolchildren did not board at LAX, but the train was being prepped for them; relocation of our bags was likely unrelated. People were being moved and reseated to accommodate the group, which it was learned would number about 180 and board at SNC. We'd be getting off just in time!
Passengers detraining at or before SNC, us among them, were herded into the seats tagged for the kids' group so they'd become free by or at Capistrano, and an entire car was being held empty as well. Some passengers boarding at L.A. were outta luck and had to stand. Standees are fairly typical for a Surfliner on a Friday during Spring Break season, which lasts about a month around here as schools stagger their breaks.
774 departed on time for SAN, so called my niece - who would fetch us from SNC - to leave an update message on our progress. After clearing the Redondo Junction flyover slow running and halting set in, with the result that the train was 19 minutes behind by Fullerton, the first scheduled stop.
Remainder of the run to SNC was routine, if tardy, and upon alighting we waded with bags through the vociferous throng of waiting rugrats to meet up with the niece. Knowing the train was running late, she had taken the opportunity to buy flowers at a nearby shop, allowing me to watch 774 depart. Not all 180 kids boarded, and a goodly number remained, apparently waiting for another train. Next train south was Metrolink 853 to Oceanside at 2:33 p.m. Next Amtrak train south was Surfliner 578 to San Diego at 3:18. We headed directly to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, where sister was out of surgery, back in her room, and marginally lucid (i.e. back to normal).
Sister was released on the 25th, and for 4+ days I did all the cooking. Mostly sister's Mexican comfort food favorites - tostadas, enchiladas, taquitos, burritos - along with breakfasts, corned beef brisket (St. Patrick's Day encore), and extras of some stuff she could just heat and eat after we left.
Sunday, 3-29-09, we were back at SNC to board Surfliner 775 for the return trip home. Knew the train would be crowded - 775 always is on weekends. Did I say crowded? Major understatement. Already SRO when we boarded, we helped make it worse. Unlike 774 the previous Tuesday, standees aboard 775 were crowded together the way a can of sardines is crowded. Even the upper level aisles were packed, and baggage storage areas were already overflowing. While inching along - train underway - in a futile quest for luggage space (we knew we'd be standing), a youngish couple got up, said they were getting off at Irvine (next stop), and offered us their seats on the Superliner coach in the consist. My mom is 81, very small, and appears much more frail than she actually is. She was our ticket to seats; maybe I won't put her in The Home just yet. Meanwhile, a car attendant showed up and hustled some kids outta the way (and into the aisle) to make room for our bags.
My new main suitcase (replaces old one with broken pull handle) is a 29" behemoth purchased cuz it'll be ideal for the monthlong Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009 surrounding the Amtrak Unlimited Third Annual Gathering this October at Boston (edit: CHOWDAH!!). The trip to my sister's and back was its first test run, and in 775's crowded, claustrophobic conditions it became a cumbersome, unwieldy monstrosity. Its sole remaining virtue under the circumstances - being incredibly lightweight compared to most bags its size - was little consolation.
Rolling along through Irvine, Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Fullerton, the train became ever more packed at each station. Okay, a few folks got off at those stops, but were far outnumbered by new passengers coming aboard. I don't keep track of which schools are out when during SoCal Spring Break season, but it sure looked like a changing of the guard over the final weekend in March - some breaks ending, others beginning - with half the student bodies between San Diego and San Luis Obispo riding Amtrak at once. A crowded subway car had nothing on Surfliner 775 that day; never seen anything like it before on Amtrak. Even an SRO Surfliner, SNC to Solana Beach on Labor Day weekend to see the ponies run at Del Mar, was a picnic in comparison. The missing ingredient that day (a couple years back) was luggage, since most passengers (my family included) were mere racetrack daytrippers. Luggage was everywhere aboard 775 on 3-29-09.
In the event of hunger, the glut of humanity made heading to the Cafe car pretty much out of the question for everybody. I had made corned beef on rye sandwiches, using leftover brisket, for us; not as precaution against crowding, but because they're better than anything available onboard a Surfliner. However, neither my mom nor I felt comfortable about eating in front of all the poor standees, who might well be hungry too. We took the sandwiches home.
Please understand, valued reader, that I'm certainly not complaining about any of this stuff. It was the unprecedented (for me) nature of the experience that changed my mind in favor of doing a rant - I mean report - about it, not a gripe reflex.
An impressive aspect of the ride into L.A. was that despite the obvious difficulties the crowding presented at each stop, 775 managed to maintain its schedule and arrive on time at Union Station.
A sizable exodus ensued once the train had stopped and the doors were opened at LAX. I know this because I could see all the bustle on the platform, but the train had been SO full that it didn't seem to make much difference aboard. No thought of hitting the ground for a smoke this time; just not worth the hassle. New passengers boarding at L.A. fully restored the acutely cramped conditions before 775 pulled out on time.
Heading further north it was the same story as coming into L.A.: a few people detraining, greater numbers boarding, except perhaps (hard to tell for sure) at Van Nuys and Simi Valley. With our stop at Oxnard coming up in about 13 minutes, me and my mom started moving for the doors as 775 began rolling from the pause at Camarillo (our seats claimed almost before we were out of them). Good thing, cuz with maneuvering the luggage and weaseling our way through the clogged aisle and down the packed stairs, we reached the doors as braking into OXN commenced.
Quite a trip. I'm pleased to report that my sister is doing very well, and has rapidly and enthusiastically reclaimed her crucial role in the family's stated mission of making my life difficult.
PHOTOS: Surfliner Surgical Strike: Suture Self! (NJT at LAX, Amtrak, Metrolink, crowded train, more)
VIDEO:
My sister had major surgery on 3-24-09 (hence the goofball report title) - scheduled, not emergency - so me and my mom rode Pacific Surfliner 774 to Orange County to help out for a few days during early recuperation.
The ride from OXN was largely uneventful, though in selecting seats I noticed a number of pink seat tags overhead with the word "Group" written on them. Avoiding those seats to prevent having to move later, we sat on the upper level facing backward on a fairly crowded train for the push into L.A., which would mean facing forward on the pull out of LAX. Around Glendale came a P.A. announcement about a large group of schoolchildren boarding the train "down the line." While it was nonspecfic about where, I figured the kids would be coming aboard at LAX.
Arriving about 20 minutes early at L.A. Union Station (crew change and cafe restocking point), I stepped off for the usual smoke, and hopefully some pictures. Given the extra time provided by the early arrival, I strolled up to the locomotive for a couple shots. And there, sitting on Track 13 (774 was on Track 12), was a New Jersey Transit Comet commuter coach sandwiched between two NJT cab cars. Bingo!
As NJT takes delivery of new multi-level rolling stock, its old Comet stuff has become expendable (Amtrak's Horizons are Comet derivatives). Metrolink, chronically starved for equipment, snapped up a few Comets (I've counted 8 coaches and 2 cab cars). Recently they've been seen around the Metrolink yard and shops near Union Station, and though I'd heard of them being at LAX hadn't seen for myself until then. Haven't seen or heard of the Comets being used in any Metrolink revenue service yet, but that's clearly only a matter of time. Naturally I got in a few shots.
Returning to 774, I discovered our bags missing. Asked the conductor if he'd seen them and learned they'd been moved. I'd made a mistake in placing the suitcases on the lower level in the bicycle area. A stupid error, but I can explain. No, really!
First of all, I'm easily confused at times. While I usually know what I'm doing when riding trains, there are occasions (thankfully rare) when I don't seem to know shirt from Shinola; this was one of them. I'm claiming the confusion was the unfortunate result of a confluence of factors:
1) In the past I've usually taken Metrolink to visit sister (Ventura County Line, Montalvo to LAX, then Orange County Line to Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo). Aboard Metrolink luggage is placed on the floor in designated areas at the ends of the cars, lower level, and I'm used to stashing some stuff downstairs aboard Superliner sleepers; so there's the habit aspect. The similar corresponding area on a Surfliner lower level is for bikes and surfboards, which I had seen before, and shoulda realized, but failed to connect in this instance when seeing the area empty upon boarding.
2) When riding Amtrak I generally check large bags, and only carry camera and laptop. Amtrak's stop closest to sister's house is San Juan Capistrano (SNC). When I said at OXN that I had two bags to check I was informed that SNC doesn't have checked baggage service. Here again is something I shoulda known. Yet another example of the hazards of assuming, and my inexperience at having to schlep the bags was a further contributing factor in their apparent disappearance at L.A. My suitcase had been put in the REAL luggage rack on the upper level at one end of our Surfliner coach, and I had to return to the conductor to learn that my mom's bag had been placed in a rack above a lower level seat; I found and retrieved it.
The schoolchildren did not board at LAX, but the train was being prepped for them; relocation of our bags was likely unrelated. People were being moved and reseated to accommodate the group, which it was learned would number about 180 and board at SNC. We'd be getting off just in time!
Passengers detraining at or before SNC, us among them, were herded into the seats tagged for the kids' group so they'd become free by or at Capistrano, and an entire car was being held empty as well. Some passengers boarding at L.A. were outta luck and had to stand. Standees are fairly typical for a Surfliner on a Friday during Spring Break season, which lasts about a month around here as schools stagger their breaks.
774 departed on time for SAN, so called my niece - who would fetch us from SNC - to leave an update message on our progress. After clearing the Redondo Junction flyover slow running and halting set in, with the result that the train was 19 minutes behind by Fullerton, the first scheduled stop.
Remainder of the run to SNC was routine, if tardy, and upon alighting we waded with bags through the vociferous throng of waiting rugrats to meet up with the niece. Knowing the train was running late, she had taken the opportunity to buy flowers at a nearby shop, allowing me to watch 774 depart. Not all 180 kids boarded, and a goodly number remained, apparently waiting for another train. Next train south was Metrolink 853 to Oceanside at 2:33 p.m. Next Amtrak train south was Surfliner 578 to San Diego at 3:18. We headed directly to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, where sister was out of surgery, back in her room, and marginally lucid (i.e. back to normal).
Sister was released on the 25th, and for 4+ days I did all the cooking. Mostly sister's Mexican comfort food favorites - tostadas, enchiladas, taquitos, burritos - along with breakfasts, corned beef brisket (St. Patrick's Day encore), and extras of some stuff she could just heat and eat after we left.
Sunday, 3-29-09, we were back at SNC to board Surfliner 775 for the return trip home. Knew the train would be crowded - 775 always is on weekends. Did I say crowded? Major understatement. Already SRO when we boarded, we helped make it worse. Unlike 774 the previous Tuesday, standees aboard 775 were crowded together the way a can of sardines is crowded. Even the upper level aisles were packed, and baggage storage areas were already overflowing. While inching along - train underway - in a futile quest for luggage space (we knew we'd be standing), a youngish couple got up, said they were getting off at Irvine (next stop), and offered us their seats on the Superliner coach in the consist. My mom is 81, very small, and appears much more frail than she actually is. She was our ticket to seats; maybe I won't put her in The Home just yet. Meanwhile, a car attendant showed up and hustled some kids outta the way (and into the aisle) to make room for our bags.
My new main suitcase (replaces old one with broken pull handle) is a 29" behemoth purchased cuz it'll be ideal for the monthlong Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009 surrounding the Amtrak Unlimited Third Annual Gathering this October at Boston (edit: CHOWDAH!!). The trip to my sister's and back was its first test run, and in 775's crowded, claustrophobic conditions it became a cumbersome, unwieldy monstrosity. Its sole remaining virtue under the circumstances - being incredibly lightweight compared to most bags its size - was little consolation.
Rolling along through Irvine, Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Fullerton, the train became ever more packed at each station. Okay, a few folks got off at those stops, but were far outnumbered by new passengers coming aboard. I don't keep track of which schools are out when during SoCal Spring Break season, but it sure looked like a changing of the guard over the final weekend in March - some breaks ending, others beginning - with half the student bodies between San Diego and San Luis Obispo riding Amtrak at once. A crowded subway car had nothing on Surfliner 775 that day; never seen anything like it before on Amtrak. Even an SRO Surfliner, SNC to Solana Beach on Labor Day weekend to see the ponies run at Del Mar, was a picnic in comparison. The missing ingredient that day (a couple years back) was luggage, since most passengers (my family included) were mere racetrack daytrippers. Luggage was everywhere aboard 775 on 3-29-09.
In the event of hunger, the glut of humanity made heading to the Cafe car pretty much out of the question for everybody. I had made corned beef on rye sandwiches, using leftover brisket, for us; not as precaution against crowding, but because they're better than anything available onboard a Surfliner. However, neither my mom nor I felt comfortable about eating in front of all the poor standees, who might well be hungry too. We took the sandwiches home.
Please understand, valued reader, that I'm certainly not complaining about any of this stuff. It was the unprecedented (for me) nature of the experience that changed my mind in favor of doing a rant - I mean report - about it, not a gripe reflex.
An impressive aspect of the ride into L.A. was that despite the obvious difficulties the crowding presented at each stop, 775 managed to maintain its schedule and arrive on time at Union Station.
A sizable exodus ensued once the train had stopped and the doors were opened at LAX. I know this because I could see all the bustle on the platform, but the train had been SO full that it didn't seem to make much difference aboard. No thought of hitting the ground for a smoke this time; just not worth the hassle. New passengers boarding at L.A. fully restored the acutely cramped conditions before 775 pulled out on time.
Heading further north it was the same story as coming into L.A.: a few people detraining, greater numbers boarding, except perhaps (hard to tell for sure) at Van Nuys and Simi Valley. With our stop at Oxnard coming up in about 13 minutes, me and my mom started moving for the doors as 775 began rolling from the pause at Camarillo (our seats claimed almost before we were out of them). Good thing, cuz with maneuvering the luggage and weaseling our way through the clogged aisle and down the packed stairs, we reached the doors as braking into OXN commenced.
Quite a trip. I'm pleased to report that my sister is doing very well, and has rapidly and enthusiastically reclaimed her crucial role in the family's stated mission of making my life difficult.
PHOTOS: Surfliner Surgical Strike: Suture Self! (NJT at LAX, Amtrak, Metrolink, crowded train, more)
VIDEO:
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