Overland Trail Barstow Flyer

Fullerton Station from the Pedestrian Overpass	Both Trains #763 and #564 met at Fullerton Station.
	Two Surfliners and the pedestrian bridge at Fullerton.

Eastbound Control Signal at Fullerton Jct.	Fullerton Station from Track 3 Platform.
Accessible from the Fullerton Station platform on the west end, is the former UP station, which is now a Spaghetti Factory Restaurant.	This station was moved across Harbor Blvd. to its current location.

First Sight of Barstow Flyer at Fullerton Station.

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Genesis Locomotive #23 powered the special train.	One Amtrak car provided coach seating.
Sleeper Salisbury Beach	Lounge car Overland Trail

Dome diner Silver Splendor	Open platform business car Tioga Pass
Tioga Pass at Fullerton Station.	Trip Coordinator, Gary Herod, right, welcomes Fullerton Railroad Tycoon Class passengers. Chris Guenzler and Larry Boeiro at left.

Tioga Pass and the Barstow Flyer loading in Fullerton.
John Caestecker, Silver Splendor owner, checks the manifest for his car.	This was my first time seeing the Silver Splendor out in service, and for good reason, this was its Maiden Voyage.

Bill "Hollywood" Hatrick There seemed to be at least 2 film crews on the train focused on the private cars and their owners, Bill Hatrick, Overland Trail owner, in this case. One crew was from the History Channel	Tom Pearson, Salisbury Beach owner, was on the Flyer as well.
I boarded the dome diner and walked to my right onto the Overland Trail.	My seatmates, Christy and Winston Walker.

Overland Trail Guests

Overland Trail at Barstow Station.

The Overland Trail is a 1949 lounge car built for Southern Pacific by the Pullman Company. Owned by Bill and Debbie Hatrick, the car seats 39 passengers.

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Not far away was Ken Ruben, among other things, a regular caller on the Saturday Internet Radio Show, Let's Talk Trains.

	Standing at the Overland Trail bar, I couldn't resist some 'reflective' self-portraits.

Pins for sale onboard.	"Scavenger Hunt" where in the Overland Trail is this letter deposit safe, for guests who wrote letters during their travel onboard? Hint, look for Overland Trail stationery and envelopes.
	After dark, the Overland Trail takes on a more romantic appearance.

My last trip on the Overland Trail, I noticed that Bill and Debbie had quite a collection of publications that related to the time the Overland Trail would have been on the road. This trip, I found some more and supply their titles below:

• Classic North American Steam • The Art of the Streamliners • The San Diego Trolley • Classic Trains - Railroads and World War II	• Mary Colter - Architect of the Southwest • Railroad Stations of San Diego County • Highliners - A Railroad Album • California Region Timetable 18
• Reminisce Magazine Apr/May 2007 • Reminisce Extra Magazine May 2007 • Ruby, the Little Girl Who Loved Trains • Private Varnish Issue 125, P. 18 article "On the Trail with Conductor Bill (Centerfold layout of Overland Trail).	• Celebration of Steam • Extraordinary Railway Journeys • America's Colorful Railroads

For the history of the Overland Trail, go to: http://www.overlandtrail.com/ and click History in the sidebar on the left.

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Salisbury Beach Guests

Salisbury Beach at Barstow Station

The Salisbury Beach is a 1954 sleeper built by the Pullman Company for the Boston and Maine Railroad. The Car sleeps 24 and is owned by Tom and Carol Pearson.

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	Tom Pearson, Owner
Carol Pearson, Owner

Salisbury Beach has 6 Roomettes, 4 Bedrooms, and 6 Sections (1 Section is now a kitchen)

Salisbury Beach service area.

Formerly one of the Sections.

For the history of the Salisbury Beach, go to: http://www.salisburybeachrailtravel.com/

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Silver Splendor Guests

Silver Splendor at Barstow Station

The Silver Splendor was built by the Budd Co. in 1956 for Chicago, Burlington and Quincy and named Silver Buckle. The Dome seats 24, the Lounge seats 10, and the Lower Level Dining seats 24. It is owned by Heidi and John Caestecker.

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John Caestecker, Silver Splendor owner	Everything was brand spanking new on this, the 'maiden voyage' of the Silver Splendor.
Bar in front lounge of this diner dome.	Back lounge.

Doug Spinn, Owner of the Pacific Sands, another of the five private cars in the LA Rail stable.	Heidi Caestecker, Silver Splendor owner, being interviewed by the History Channel which has been filming LA Rail owners and guests making a documentary.
"Conductor Bill" Hatrick punches tickets in the Silver Splendor.


	Stairway (left) to the Dome (above).


Getting photo releases for the future History Channel show.	John Caestecker, Silver Splendor owner, being interviewed on the Splendor's maiden voyage.

There's definitely a woman's touch in the decorating of the Silver Splendor and it is noticed, and appreciated (right).
Galley below the dome.


Vic Keaton, Chef 760-885-6610

	Heidi and John Caestecker

Photos taken at Barstow Station, above and below, right.

Doug Spinn, Pacific Sands owner, (left) and John Caestecker, Silver Splendor owner.

For the history of the Silver Splendor, go to: http://www.heritagerailways.us/

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Tioga Pass Guests

Tioga Pass at Barstow Station.

The Tioga Pass is a 1959 business car built by Canadian National for use on their own railroad. The car, which seats 12 in the lounge or eight for dinner, is owned by Norm Orfall.

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Lounge.	Dining room.
Dining Room.

Lounge with open platform.
Lounge.	Tour Coordinator, Gary Herod.

82 mph on a 79 mph track, not bad.

For the History of the Tioga Pass, go to: http://www.ridemytrain.com/about.php

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Amtrak Coach Guests

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	Host, Chris Parker

After making it through all the cars, and photographing guests, I began enjoying the trip to Barstow.

The Silver Splendor vestibule was open, so I enjoyed photographing without the restriction of shooting through glass as I have to do on all Amtrak trains. As the onboard Amtrak Conductor passed, I mentioned that we couldn't be photographing from open vestibules on her trains. Her comment was well taken, "Just be aware when you see people along the track; they do crazy things sometimes." I presumed that she meant that folks along the tracks might throw something at passengers in open vestibules or on open platforms. As I look back on the trip, the only people we saw close to the tracks were well-behaved photographers.

The Barstow Flyer from Fullerton through the Cajon Pass to Barstow, California

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Cajon Pass, colorful high desert in mid-October.
Bill Hatrick has www.overlandtrail.com on the side of his car so those that see it can go online and find our more about it.	Railfans had heard about the Barstow Flyer and were seen in groups along the way.

As you might know, the Overland Trail is painted differently on each side. Additionally, I liked the reflection in its window.	A BNSF container freight heads downhill on the adjacent track.
	This young man, properly outfitted with safety goggles, enjoys the open vestibule as his dad pointed out spots where they had camped in Cajon Pass.


We noticed that I-15 was severely slowed, northbound, but for once it did not affect my progress to Barstow, being on the Flyer. Appropriate attire for this trip, right.

Christy Walker (right) and I took plenty of photos from the vestibule.
This scene bothered me. The young boy was being held so his head was outside the car without safety glasses. Carol Pearson saw the danger and quickly brought safety glasses, but they had passed the point where their friends were waving at them from trackside, and they retreated inside.	Luckily the boy, and his eyesight, survived and he enjoyed the rest of the day.

	Yours Truly Photo Credit: Christy Walker

Conductor Marti Ann Draper, qualified on the entire route except the wye, showed us on her maps how we would wye before the Barstow freight yard and how we would proceed to the Barstow passenger station, our final destination.	I asked Marti where Amtrak could run 90 mph in this area and she said east of Dagget and east of Baghdad.
We moved from the left track to the right, then did our wye and backed into Barstow Station.	This transportation company delivered our pilot.

After the wye, we headed for the station while Chris got a shot of some new mileage.	Through the yard, we saw a history of paint schemes on BNSF locomotives with this 2652 having the current logo.
Traction motors in Barstow Yard


	"Hold on to your hat." We backed through the yard to the passenger station.


Barstow Flyer arriving at Barstow Station.

The schedule was to have 4 hours in and around the station before our return to Los Angeles. Activities for the guests and community included: Walk through tours of the private cars, Harvey House at Barstow Station, Western America Railroad Museum, Route 66 Museum, Modular Train Layouts by Pacific Coast Region of NMRA, and Craft and Hobby Vendors.

First order of business was to detrain, pick up a box lunch, and go back onboard to enjoy the air conditioning and comfortable seating and have a leisurely lunch. There had been breakfast onboard, snacks and drinks during the ride, and a light supper on the way back.

Friendly faces gave us our choice of box lunches (ham, turkey, or roast beef sandwich), drinks, and answered any questions we had about our stay in Barstow.

The box lunch, shown here on a table in the Overland Trail, was good and quick, allowing us plenty of time to see all the events at the station.

October 17, 2009

A week after reporting on the Santa Barbara Daylight Wine Lover's Train, October 10, 2009, Overland Trail private car owner, Bill Hatrick (left) asked me to ride the Barstow Flyer and report on that trip as well.

The Barstow Flyer advertised the following Schedule and Fares.

Table of Contents

All Aboard the Barstow Flyer

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Boarding the Barstow Flyer in Fullerton.

First Sight of Barstow Flyer at Fullerton Station.

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Overland Trail Guests

Double-Click any photo for a Double-sized copy; Click BACK in your browser to return to this page.

My last trip on the Overland Trail, I noticed that Bill and Debbie had quite a collection of publications that related to the time the Overland Trail would have been on the road. This trip, I found some more and supply their titles below:

For the history of the Overland Trail, go to: http://www.overlandtrail.com/ and click History in the sidebar on the left.

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Salisbury Beach Guests

Double-Click any photo for a Double-sized copy; Click BACK in your browser to return to this page.

Salisbury Beach has 6 Roomettes, 4 Bedrooms, and 6 Sections (1 Section is now a kitchen)

For the history of the Salisbury Beach, go to: http://www.salisburybeachrailtravel.com/

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Silver Splendor Guests

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Photos taken at Barstow Station, above and below, right.

For the history of the Silver Splendor, go to: http://www.heritagerailways.us/

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Tioga Pass Guests

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For the History of the Tioga Pass, go to: http://www.ridemytrain.com/about.php

Book a future trip on LA Rail's Private Cars by going to http://larail.com/ . Book Early, these great trips sell out fast.

Amtrak Coach Guests

Double-Click any photo for a Double-sized copy; Click BACK in your browser to return to this page.

After making it through all the cars, and photographing guests, I began enjoying the trip to Barstow.

The Barstow Flyer from Fullerton through the Cajon Pass to Barstow, California

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First order of business was to detrain, pick up a box lunch, and go back onboard to enjoy the air conditioning and comfortable seating and have a leisurely lunch. There had been breakfast onboard, snacks and drinks during the ride, and a light supper on the way back.

Part 2