Train Day L.A. 2010

[WhoozOn1st]

With the day virtually upon us, Team Whooz is poised to ride an early Surfliner from Fullerton to commence SoCal National Train Day festivities - and start collecting triple AGR points - in fine fashion.

It is hoped this thread will serve as a venue for other SoCal AU members and guests to post their impressions, photos, and videos of the event.

Wrote a lot more to post here, but got screwed by the hotel wireless internet connection, lost it all, and am now hurrying to beat its apparent timeout crap.

An NTD related video from the current Team Whooz warmup prowl around the southland...

(With a Superliner coach in the consist sporting a wrap that's half National Train Day, half Subway breakfast ad, Surfliner 578 continues its run to San Diego as some grizzled old trackside wino - not me - hacks out a couple gnarly wheezes.)

 

[Eric Cooper]

With the day virtually upon us, Team Whooz is poised to ride an early Surfliner from Fullerton to commence SoCal National Train Day festivities - and start collecting triple AGR points - in fine fashion.
It is hoped this thread will serve as a venue for other SoCal AU members and guests to post their impressions, photos, and videos of the event.

Wrote a lot more to post here, but got screwed by the hotel wireless internet connection, lost it all, and am now hurrying to beat its apparent timeout crap.

An NTD related video from the current Team Whooz warmup prowl around the southland...

I was very pleasantly shocked at the vast number of people that showed up in LA (must have been in the thousands) . I hope the attendance was similar everywhere else

 

[sportbiker]

It was sooooo crowded I did a once-through then left. Did at least get to greet Whooz + EA before they departed.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

In keeping with the ongoing Team Whooz effort to be "first with the worst," here's a brief report on National Train Day L.A. 2010...

After a couple days of some general roaming and foaming to the south - including the mechanical monstrosity that is Sprinter - Team Whooz was positioned for a Pacific Surfliner run from Fullerton to enjoy the day's goings-on at Los Angeles Union Station.

The original plan was to ride Pacific Surfliner 565, FUL-LAX. In the process of making reservations it was learned that 565 had no wheelchair transfer seats available. The later train, 769, had a transfer seat available, but seeing as how that was too late for Team Whooz purposes we opted for the earlier train, 763.

Early arrival at FUL meant the opportunity to see southbound Surfliner 564 arrive:

Pacific Surfliner 564 Arrives Fullerton

As it happened, the earlier train got Team Whooz to Union Station in time to enjoy the pleasant surprise of seeing Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3751 and train depart LAX for Railroad Days at San Bernardino:

Santa Fe No. 3751 Departs L.A.

Walking back from the steam fun we encountered a gentleman from Roanoake, VA, who was happily beside himself. He'd booked his Amtrak trip out west months ago, and his itinerary included a brief L.A. layover on what turned out to be National Train Day 2010. He hadn't known that when he booked, much less that he'd get to see steam in action, and the guy was downright thrilled. Who could blame him? Team Whooz had done a steam excursion just the previous weekend - same locomotive - and was thrilled all over again.

Since we were early there was plenty of time to get photos of the equipment on display, with views unimpeded by the throngs who showed up later.

Despite my reduced visibility - forgot to bring my fez - we greeted AU friends singwith (aka Snuffy at West Coast RailForum), chuljin (Chris) and sportbiker (Mark).

Opening cermonies at the main stage - original LAUS ticketing area - included speechification, a detachment of the USC Trojan marching band, and admirers mobbing SoCal TV personality Huell Howser. After the welcoming stuff the USC band returned to play high-energy renditions of time-honored, traditional railroad songs like Edgar Winter's

. Very different arrangements by the USC band, but readily recognized by this grizzled old rocker.
Touring the Amtrak and private railcars on display was out of the question for Team Whooz. Unlike some locations back east there were no timed reservations for equipment tours at L.A., and the lines were beyond hideous; no way.

The captions in this SmugMug photo album provide greater detail, to go with some nice views, of National Train Day L.A. 2010:

National Train Day L.A. 2010

Looking at the big picture it was good to see so many people making the time and taking the effort to attend National Train Day L.A., but frankly the mobs of mindless Bozos really got on the Team Whooz nerves.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Mr. Observant here didn't notice until it was pointed out in today's Trains News Wire, but at National Train Day L.A., on a decaled locomotive celebrating 10 years of Pacific Surfliners, the second "i" was omitted from the word "million." One of my photos:

The News Wire pic is of the far side of the engine, so I checked mine. Yup, missing all around.

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