Tehachapi Loop trip...

[thully]

This weekend, I have set off for my latest train adventure - to see the Tehachapi Loop! I have heard plenty about the route, and had set out to ride the next detour ever since I moved to California. I haven't been on a detoured train before (though I got off a WB LSL last year right before it made a detour through Michigan - how I wish I had booked that through CHI rather than the bus at Toledo...)

**Getting there**

Since the latest round of detours starts on Sunday 3/24 and is southbound only, I first have to get from San Diego to Oakland by early morning to ride the detour route. I had planned a bit of a San Francisco mini-vacation for next week, but since I'd rather stay until Sunday then (and my other plans for this weekend fell through), I figured I'd do the detour this weekend and do the regular Coast Starlight then. Since I didn't really want to spend money on a hotel for just a short time, I decided to take an overnight routing to OKJ that would get me there with a couple hours to spare (but without a long overnight wait).

Part 1 - SAN to SBA

The first part of my journey up to Oakalnd is on a Surfliner from San Diego to Santa Barbara, where Ill meet the overnight bus to OKJ. I have been on the Surfliner countless times before, though never north of LAX (when I went to the Bay Area on Amtrak last year, it was via the Bakersfield bus and San Joaquin). Unfortunately, it will be dark for most of the journey north of LAX, so I won't see much - though I should get most of that in daylight on the southbound regular-route Starlight next weekend.

My train trip almost ended before it started here - though, luckily it didn't. I had decided to run some errands before my train trip, thinking I had plenty of time. Unfortunately, I underestimated a bit (and a torn grocery bag on the way home didn't help)- and didn't end up leaving for the station until 3:53 (for a 4pm train!) Luckily, I live extremely close, and I managed to make the train with a couple minutes to spare. Got on the train and walked all the way to the Superliner car, where I found my seat (on the ocean side - not to be confused with Oceanside, though that is one of our station stops...) for the journey to SBA. Heard an announcement that Coaster tickets would not be accepted on this train - it seems they must have the same problem as they do with Metrolink tickets up in LA...

(Side note - I wonder if this Amtrak/commuter train confusion carries to other areas...)

Anyway, after a bit of a panic to get there, I settled down for the ride. Sped through the Sorrento Valley Coaster station, and soon made our way to Solana Beach, where there were quite a few passengers getting on (some of which looked like UCSD students going on spring break). This would be the second day in a row I have been on #785 - yesterday, I actually took a roundtrip to ANA (using 785 and 796) to see the Red Wings-Ducks hockey game (which the Red Wings won, happily for me). Nothing that notable about that trip except for the fact that SOL was bustling with UCSD students going on spring break and the train was standing-room only (in fact, the #101 bus I took from UCSD there was packed to capacity with train passengers). It wasn't near as crowded today - which was nice, since I had a longer ride...

More updates later...

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Well, at least you made the train, thats a good start.

 

[NJCoastExp]

Every time a NEC Amtrak train stops in NJ.

 

[thully]

Still on the Surfliner - so far, it's been relatively uneventful, though there have been interesting moments. for one, I saw a Metrolink train south of Oceanside - which was a bit odd, given that Metrolink doesn't usually go south of Oceanside. Wonder what was up - perhaps NCTD had to borrow a train set for the Coaster, or they were doing a test run of a San Diego extension (I know it has been discussed...)

At Oceanside, someone got on and sat next to me - we ended up talking, and I ended up explaining what I was doing (riding the Tehachapi Loop). He was going to Fresno from Oceanside via the Surfliner and a Thruway bus from LA to Fresno. Noticed a lot of people out on the beach around San Clemente - the run by the ocean is always my favorite part of the Surfliner. Eventually, we got to LA Union Station and he departed, and we wanted about 25 minutes to depart. Long layover for a corridor train - perhaps comparable to the layover for Regionals when they change engines at New Haven.

Eventually, we were on our way north of LAUS - which was my first time on this segment of the Surfliner (thou I have experienced part of it on Metrolink). Once the cafe car reopened, I went there to grab dinner. they were out of hot dogs, so I ended up doing one of the frozen pizzas. Definitely miss the dining car - if only there was an overnight SoCal-NorCal LD train... While in line, a kid apparantly took a bag of M&Ms and caused a minor commotion (there were two announcements on the PA for them to come back and pay for the candy, and eventually they did return). Kind of a funny moment - at least they didn't tend up being kicked off the train and into the hands of the police... Currently about halfway between LAX and SBA - about an hour and a half until I switch to the bus...

 

[oregon pioneer]

I see on fb that Charlie from Seattle is headed down your way tonight. You'll probably get to meet him tomorrow!

 

[CHamilton]

I see on fb that Charlie from Seattle is headed down your way tonight. You'll probably get to meet him tomorrow!

We're leaving SEA tomorrow morning, but won't get to the loop until Monday. I believe thully will be a day ahead of us ... Happy to follow in the footsteps of the intrepid explorer!

 

[thully]

The rest of the Surfliner trip was uneventful - it was dark out, so not much to see. Eventually, we got to Santa Barbara, at which point an announcement was made for everyone not headed to Goleta to get off the train. It does seem somewhat strange that the train ends at Goleta instead of Santa Barbara - and all the thruway buses going north start from Santa Barbara! From there, everyone headed to points north got on buses.

Part 2 - Bus SBA to EMY

I got on the bus headed to the Bay Area in Santa Barbara, and quickly settled down to sleep. It wasn't a particularly good sleeping arrangement, but I'm at least going to try. The passengers seemed a bit loud - even with earplugs in - but they did quiet down after the first stop or two. I ended up sleeping OK from about Santa Maria to San Jose, when things got louder again. There I woke up to the sight of large buildings and eventually the HP Pavilion arena, which Ill be going to later this week when I take Caltrain from SF for Sharks-Red Wings. Tried to sleep more, but ended up staying up since it was getting loud and we were getting closer.

Good thing I did, because the bus ended up stopping in a different order than scheduled - instead of going to SF after San Jose, then Emeryville, then Oakland, it was stopping at Emeryville and Oakland before San Francisco! I decided to get off at Emeryville instead of Oakland (my ticketed destination), since it stopped there first and I could pick up the Coast Starlight earlier. Went to ask the station agent about changing my ticket, but they said I could use my OKJ-LAX ticket and board at EMY.

So now I have a few hours to kill at Emeryville before the departure of the southbound Coast Starlight - the bus dropped us there a full 40 minutes before the scheduled arrival time. At least I made it - would be bad if the bus broke down and I ended up missing the CS. I am tired though...

 

[thully]

After waiting at the Emeryville station for a while, I decided to grab a quick breakfast at a Denny's that happened to be close to the station, and also grabbed a coffee near the station. I was somewhat hungry and needed a bit of jolt after not getting much sleep on the bus, so this helped. As it became closer to #11's departure, I headed back to the station and joined the crowd waiting for the train. It arrived basically on time, and I found my way into a coach seat for the journey. Which brings us to...

Part 3 - EMY to LAX, via Tehachapi-

After departing EMY, several announcements were made of Oakland being the last station stop before Los Angeles - I guess they wanted to make sure no one was on the train expecting to go anywhere in between (or expecting a smoke break)! In talking to the coach attendant, it seems a fair number of people we're on the train just for the sake of the detour (as I was). Ahowever, I also saw some people who were clueless (and wondered why we weren't going to San Jose or San Luis Obispo).

Once we departed OKJ, I made my way to the lounge car, where I met P&SR, who came to ride the detour as well. He had mapped out the route in its entirety - which helped make it easier to follow our path. We diverged from the regular route near Fremont, where we joined the track through Niles Canyon and Altamont Pass used by the ACE commuter trains from Stockton to San Jose. This was an interesting, scenic ride through mountain terrain in the far outskirts of the Bay Area. We followed this to Lathrop, where the train had to wye to turn onto the UP mainline. This was a very unique experience - the conductor had to get off the train and get on the rear to monitor the train's backup move. While we were doing this, we waved to a few railfans watching our train maneuver around the Lathrop wye.

Once we finished the turnaround, it was basically a straight shot from there down the UP mainline to Bakersfield, with our train paralleling Highway 99 for most of the route. We passed through most of the Central Valley's population centers small and large, albeit with a different vantage point than the San Joaquin trains (which use the BNSF line a few miles west). I did notice quite a few crops growing near our route, which reminded me a bit of the Midwest (though not necessarily surprising). Other than that, the UP line was a bit unremarkable, if unusual for a passenger train - though I did think the California Welcome Center that looked like an old converted train depot we passed in Merced was quite odd (being as it is in the middle of the state).

While riding down the UP line, I took the chance to eat lunch in the dining car - though unfortunately, they ended up needing all the dinner spots for the sleepers, so well be stuck with the cafe then. That's the first time that's happened to me since the ride on the Cardinal around this time last year. The meal was basically in line with my experiences on other LD trains - I had the steak burger, which I've had at lunch a few times before. At lunch I heard someone tell a story of being left at a Medford, OR bus station for hours by a Thruway bus driver - sounds like some of the rogue Greyhound drivers I've heard tales of

We continued down the line all the way to Bakersfield (arriving shortly after 3pm), where we are stopping for a crew change. This is not at the normal Amtrak Bakersfield station (as we are on the UP line instead of the BNSF used by San Joaquins at that station), though we aren't far from there. With luck, we should soon be on our way through the Tehachapis!

 

[thully]

After the initial stop in Bakersfield, we inched forward a bit further and made a stop at the Bakersfield UP station, which is probably a mile or so from the Bakersfield station served by the San Joaquin line. Here, they let passengers take a brief break for fresh air before continuing towards the Tehachapis. After a bit of a wait, we finally set off towards the mountains, passing several freights going the opposite direction on the way.

The Tehachapis were, of course, the highlight of the trip. They provided quite a few twists and turns as we proceeded up the mountains, as well as several steep cliffs. The first notable landmark we saw as we proceeded up the mountains was the small town of Caliente, with only a very few houses. I can't help but wonder who lives there, and what they do for a living - as there's obviously not much there or in the vicinity. Then we crawled further up the mountains, passing many large sidings on the way (and following along with P&SR and his railway maps). Eventually we made it up to a siding called "Cliff" which was appropriately enough, a cliff. From there, we could see far down into the valley - including the town we had just passed through. While making the ascent, we passed through several tunnels, and saw several groups of rail fans watching the train pass by from the roads that traversed these mountains. Ultimately, we made it up to Tehachapi Loop itself, where our train essentially looped around the mountain in a circle until we reached the summit and the town of Tehachapi. The town is quite small - perhaps it's most notable feature is the nearby state prison!

From there, we headed towards the Mojave Desert, which was just that - desert. Going through there, we passed by the town of Mojave (which was bigger than Tehachapi) as well as Edwards Air Force Base. further south we reached the city of Lancaster, which is the beginning of the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line to downtown LA. Alas, civilization! Though we were closing in on Los Angeles, the terrain out by Lancaster was still that of the Mojave Desert, and quite a bit different than your typical suburban LA landscape. Around here we had an outbound Metrolink AV Line train pass us going the opposite direction, and had to wait for a second outbound Antelope Valley Line train. Somewhere around Palmdale, it began to get dark - at which point all we could really see were lights (or lack thereof). As we came down into LA, I stayed in the lounge car, where a few people were having an extended discussion of Portland, OR. However, they cleared us out of the lounge car prior to our arrival in LA - so we ended up returning to the coaches. We passed through several more Metrolink stations (including Glendale, where the Surfliner stops) before finally reaching LAUS.

Ultimately, we arrived at LA Union Station at 9pm on the dot - exactly the scheduled arrival time of the normal Coast Starlight route. At this point, I was becoming increasingly tired - which I will blame for my latest account perhaps not being as detailed as it could be. Currently, I'm on #796 waiting for it to depart for SAN - once they collect tickets, I think I may try and sleep all the way to Santa Fe Depot! Though definitely tiring, I still think this may have been my most enjoyable time on an LD train - cant wait to do the regular Coast Starlight in sleeper with the PPC!

Update: Arrived in SAN around 1am. Slept a little, but the loud station stop announcements - both manual and automatic - kept waking me up. The automated announcements ("We are now arriving at <stop> Thank you for choosing Amtrak!") seem to be a relatively new thing - though I wish they could do like the LD trains and keep it quieter after dark...

 

[Bob Dylan]

:hi: Nice Trip Report, Thanks for Posting! And you'll Love the Starlight and the PPC up the Coast!!! (You Californians get to have all the Fun! )

 

[chakk]

One correction is that the regular Amtrak routing on the BNSF tracks are EAST of the UP line for most of the trip south of Lathrop and north of Fresno.

 

[Railroad Bill]

Really enjoyed your trip report. Wish we had the time to make it out there for that run. Perhaps another year in the future.

 

[p&sr]

The Tehachapis were, of course, the highlight of the trip. They provided quite a few twists and turns as we proceeded up the mountains...

Great report! Thanks for posting.

 

[railiner]

Thanks for posting--enjoyed your report...