Rails Around the USA:
Summer, 2005

Oakland to Los Angeles

June 27 - 28, 2005

Laurence Krieg

A Union Pacific manifest headed by a pair of SD-70s and a Dash-9 rumbles through Oakland's Jack London Station

6/27/2005

14:20

One of the many Capitol Corridor / San Joaquin trains that pass through Oakland waits here for passengers to board. (Note that the doors on the Amtrak-California Surfliner cars slide open under remote control, rather than having to be opened manually. This shortens station-stop dwell times considerably.)

Resuming my journey three days later in Oakland's Jack London Square station, Amtrak 14 pulls out five hours and forty-five minutes late. I've been assigned a seat next to a friendly, talkative lady named Georgine - probably in her late sixties. After nearly an hour learning about her family and friends, I make my getaway to the bathroom (an unassailable excuse).

On my return upstairs, I grab my computer and smile at Georgine, lamenting the need to find a power outlet for it. Plugs are in short supply on Superliner coaches, built as they were some 30 years ago. In the observation lounge, there are two outlets near the center of the car: one on the bar top, and one near the floor. Someone has a cell phone charging on the bar, and someone else has a power strip in the lower outlet, but there are no vacant seats near enough for me to take advantage of either - especially with the teenage boy sprawled out asleep on three seats near the lower strip.

Downstairs in the snack bar, a hand-written sign proclaims that the one outlet must be shared, and there is a 20-minute limit to its use. OK, but where is it? The attendant is on his break and there is nobody else downstairs, so I search fruitlessly for the outlet until an Amtrak staffer comes down and finds it for me. I'm in business. I know I have at least 20 minutes to recharge after the attendant returns.

In fact, nobody else comes down wanting a plug, so I continue happily sorting and cleaning up photos for the next hour or so.

15:25

In San Jose, we spend twenty-two minutes surrounded by Caltrain "communte" trains. Some are completely covered with garish advertising, including the windows. I also spot a couple of more conservatively attired "Baby Bullets" with their distinctive MPI power on the point.

19:55

Salinas at last. The one hour forty-one minute run from San Jose has actually taken four hours and eight minutes. For two hours twenty-seven minutes, we sat waiting for a Union Pacific crew to repair a break in the track. During that time, the conductor tried to find out the nature of the delay. He learned nothing from the UP dispatcher, and was fuming. Finally Amtrak Operations Center (in Philadelphia, I suppose) pried information about the track work from someone in Omaha and passed the word to us. Spotting my laptop as he came past, the conductor urged me to complain to UP: "Write to Union Pacific and tell them how you feel about this. WWW.UPRR.COM." While the lack of communication is puzzling, I really appreciate the track work. I'm glad we didn't join the City of New Orleans in the log of Amtrak's disasterous derailments.

21:00

Two other people have come down to the snack bar area and plugged their devices into my extension cord. I'm really glad I learned ten years or so ago always to bring one on train trips.

Northbound Starlight rounding the horseshoe curve on Cuesta Grade (photographed in 2004)

On the Internet, I had scouted for good places to eat a late supper in Oxnard while waiting for my friend to pick me up. By now it was apparent that even a late supper in Oxnard had vanished over the horizon of reality. So after a cup of noodles from the snack bar, I rejoined Georgine in the coach. She has been reading a paperback she doesn't much like, but refrains from regaling me with family details. Perhaps she suspects I've been away from my seat so long to escape them.

Georgine is returning home to Los Osos, near San Luis Obispo, and is familiar with the countryside, so she's delighted when I listen with interest to some of the details. We see the well-illuminated barracks of the "California Men's Colony" as we descend Cuesta Pass, but except for the locomotive headlights, the horseshoe curve is too dark to make out.

23:42

Crew change on the northbound Starlight in San Luis Obispo (2004)

San Luis Obispo is behind us, and I curl up on the two seats available to me, now that Georgine has detrained. As we glide through the darkness, I doze on the two little pillows our train attendant has passed out.

6/28/2005

02:50

Just awake enough to record the time we leave Santa Barbara and phone my friend.

03:35

Oxnard, eight hours twenty-seven minutes late. My friend has faithfully appeared on the platform to greet me - such devotion is worthy of note. However, the bag I checked at Oakland is not to be found. The station agent takes my name and phone number, and promises to call at a convenient time during the day.

About 10 AM

The station agent calls and tells me my luggage is at the station, having been sent by another route. It probably took a San Joaquin to Bakersfield and a bus to Oxnard, arriving safe and sound long before the dear old "Starlate".

Journal: Ventura County | Photos: Ventura County

7/3/2005

14:57

Train 784 pushing into Oxnard

Train 784, "Pacific Surfliner Service" arrives 2 minutes late in Oxnard. The train is operating in "push mode" and the control car (first of five) is closed to passengers. No doubt this is Amtrak's response to the accident a few weeks ago, in which some love-crazed fellow parked his car on the tracks and caused major casualties to a Metro Los Angeles commuter train operatng in push mode. Naturally, the legal sharks are in feeding-frenzy mode, suing the transit authority for running the train with a passenger car in the lead. If a judge finds in favor of the plaintiffs, all trains without locomotives in the front will probably be required to operate with battering rams on the point.

On the lower floor, Surfliner coach seats are 2-and-1, presumably to allow a wide aisle for wheel chair access. As a result, they're roomy and comfortable; they also have space for bikes and bagage near each door.

There are lots of kids on board, all of whom seem to enjoy racing upstairs and down, from one car to another, fetching snacks, going to the bathroom, exploring, and what not. I know I would have done the same when I was a kid. OK, I admit it. I went exploring and went to the bathroom myself...yes, and I even bought a snack. I guess it's only on the outside that I pass for an adult!

Train 784's locomotive, F59PHI number 460, on the rear in LA Union Station.

Number 784 arrives fifteen minutes early in Los Angeles Union Station, in spite of having been in the hole for five minutes waiting for the northbound Coast Starlight. Why the Starlight left Los Angeles five hours late is puzzling and very discouraging.

Now begins my three-train saga to get from Union Station of Los Angeles International Airport to pick up a rental car. (Yes, I know there's a bus that goes direct, but who'd want to ride a bus if you can do the same trip on three trains?) I made notes about the LA system on the return trip, which you can see on the Los Angeles to San Antonio page.