Amtrak Surfliner Round Trip Fullerton - Santa Barbara for Lunch
Friday, November 18, 2017 By Carl Morrison with Gary Hess Carl@TrainWeb.com
http://trainweb.org/carl/SantaBarbaraForLunch2017/
The Planning
Often, when folks know I ride trains
quite a bit, they ask me what train ride to start with, perhaps with
their children or grandchildren. For a turn-around trip in one
day, with ocean views, I suggest going from Orange County, California,
to Santa Barbara and back.
First, I decide which trains I
want to take ,then I go online and purchase my tickets and print
them at home. After a suggestion from our son, I take a photo of
the ticket, including the code. That way, the Conductor can scan
my paper ticket code or the photo on my iPhone of the code. I see
most riders have their ticket on their smart phone.
Next, I copy maps and schedules for this report on TrainWeb.com.
Finally, I make it to the train on time and begin taking photos of the trip.
Map from: https://www.amtrak.com/pacific-surfliner-train
Train No. 763 Fullerton at 8:16 a.m Gary boarded in Irvine at 7:30 a.m. Arrive in Santa Barbara 11:41 at about 11:51
My ticket, Conductor uses his/her ray gun to scan the bar code on a
paper ticket, or e-ticket, or photo of e-ticket, then puts a "hat
check" above your seat indicating by a hole punch how many people are
on that ticket, and a color indicating the destination station.
This time the hat check had SBA written on it by the conductor.
Return on Train No. 782 leaving Santa Barbara at 12:49 and returning to Fullerton at 4:39 p.m.
(Scheduled layover in LA from 3:35 to 4:08)
My Ticket home.
The Trip
Our son, Matthew Morrison, collects Disney pins, so he gave me this one for the trip.
When leaving from the Fullerton Station,
I purposely park on the top deck of the parking structure west of the
station, beyond Harbor Blvd. This allows me, when walking to the
train, to see the tracks which often have either a BNSF freight, an
Amtrak Surfliner, or a Metrolink in motion or doing station work.
On this day, it was quiet, but by the time I was down on the platform,
there were many trains passing through the station.
Most freights from the east go through the station on the middle Track No. 2, but this morning one passed on track one.
The sprinkles had stopped, but a collapsible umbrella is a good
idea. A southbound Surfliner arrived before my northbound 563.
No. 563 arrived in typical push mode northbound between San Diego and Fullerton.
I like to go to the upper level on the
Amtrak Surfliner bi-level cars. This level provides a seat about
10 feet above the tracks and a view above smaller trackside
objects. However, the lower level provides seating for Seniors or
ADA passengers, with no stairs to climb. The 4 facing seats in
the center of the car (some with tables) are reserved for 3 or more
passengers traveling together.
Gary had boarded in Irvine since he
lives in Aliso Viejo near Laguna Beach and this is his nearest
station. He texted me as to which car he had boarded and I found
him when I boarded in Fullerton.
Burbank Airport is the closest Southern California Airport to an Amtrak
Station. It has a covered pedestrian walkway from the terminal to
the Amtrak Platform.
Van Nuys airport had some fire fighting helicopters and fixed wing aircraft which had been used in recent fires.
Coastal range and edible crops approaching Oxnard, California.
Staked tomatoes, palm trees, ocean, and Santa Cruz Islands approaching Oxnard.
Ventura Pier
Where the Ventura River meets the Pacific Ocean and the beginning of the train's run along the sand.
Looks like a driftwood shelter from wood washed to the beach down the Ventura River.
Oceanside Seating
When boarding northbound south of Los Angeles for a trip north of Los
Angeles, I had told Gary earlier to pick a seat on the land side,
riding
backwards. Then, as we turned around on the stub-in tracks in Los
Angeles Station, he would be on the ocean side facing forward for most
of the trip.
I usually title this shot from the
Amtrak Survlfner north of Ventura, "Why they call it the Surfliner."
The section between Ventura and San Luis Obispo is called, "The longest
ocean view train ride in America."
Off-shore drilling islands camouflaged as palm tree islands, but the pipes are a give away.
More modern off-shore drilling rigs in the Santa Barbara Channel.
Fishing boats, drilling platforms, naval ship in Santa Barbara Channel.
While looking out the window along the
ocean, I wondered if the narrow road between the train and the water
was old Hwy. 1. You can check this by going to Google Maps which
shows your current location. Select satellite view and sure
enough, the road between the tracks and the surf is old Hwy. 1, with
the current 101 Freeway farther inland. The above image is a
screen shot from my iPhone.
Another app I like to use on the train
is "Speedometer". I like to have it running, then ask my travel
partner, "How fast do you think we are traveling?" They usually
guess slower than the actual speed which I show them.
I have my iWatch set to give me the Day,
Date, Time, current temperature, Weather, High temp., Low temp., sunset
or sunrise whichever is next, % precipitation and large
temperature. As we go through a spot on a train trip, I can look
down and see all these things. Which is good on a long distance
trip when someone asks, "Where are we?" It is good to take a
screen shot for future reference for your trip photos and log.
Arrival in Santa Barbara and a short walk to the Enterprise Fish Company for lunch.
Our schedule was to arrive in Santa Barbara at 11:44, have lunch at
Enterprise Fish Company, and board the return train for 12:49
departure. Since we arrived about 10 minutes late, that was a
push to have lunch and return before before the train left.
A familiar former resident has a museum next door to the Enterprise Fish Co.
The quickest lunch you can get at Enterprise Fish Company would be
chowder or a salad. Even if you order an entrée that takes some
time to prepare, tell your waiter you have to catch a train and they
will bring you a to go box, which Gary made good use of.
A couple of interesting vehicles on State St. near the Amtrak Station.
Back to the station after lunch and a quick photo of the Coast Starlight heading north to Seattle.
On the way home, I had more fun using the on-board "AmtrakConnect" Internet connection.
I realized the onboard Internet connection had an option to Track our Current Location.
Another screen slows current location and the arrival times down the line.
There certainly is no lack of smart phone use on the Surfliner.
I like this round trip Fullerton to Santa Barbara, since I still got back home before dark.
LINKS
Buy Amtrak Tickets online:
https://www.amtrak.com/
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Schedule:
https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/timetables/Pacific-Surfliner-Schedule-W31-100917.pdf
More Rail Travelogues by Carl Morrison:
http://trainweb.org/carl/
Rail Travelogues by various authors:
http://www.trainweb.com/#sthash.GmDH5Jnr.dpbs
Photographing TRAINS - Amtrak Southwest Chief by Carl Morrison: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BORRI8Y?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
