You may wonder why this event did not take place May 9 with other Train Day celebrations.  At that time, Santa Barbara, CA, was having the Jesusita Fire, and their minds were occupied with the fires with little to celebrate at the time.  This event date actually allowed many of us to attend today where we were not able to attend in May, since we were at celebrations in other cities.  Most of the TrainWeb.com staff were at the Los Angeles Celebration.  The following report and photos were by me, Carl@TrainWeb.com, as I enjoyed a nice trip on the Pacific Surfliner from Fullerton, CA, to Santa Barbara, through Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

1. Getting There on the Pacific Surfliner
   

2. Train Day Festivities in Santa Barbara

3. Walking Tour near the Santa Barbara Station

4. Getting Home on the Pacific Surfliner

Getting There on the Pacific Surfliner

Los Angeles Union Station in the morning, from the south patio.
	Interior used in many movies.  More trains use this station now than in the 'Heyday of Trains.'

	Original ticket counters near the entrance, now used for movies.
Across the lobby from the ticket windows.	Our Locomotive for the trip to Santa Barbara.

Hwy. 101 entering downtown Los Angeles as viewed from the Tracks.	Reverse shot from the one at left.  MTA Bldg. east of the station.
Ventura, CA, pier from Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. Right, Ventura Country Fairgrounds and race track.

Lagoon as we left Ventura and ran along the Pacific Ocean.

Sightseer/Lounge car on train 799 this day.

Train Day Festivities in Santa Barbara

The activities in Santa Barbara started with a ride on a southbound Pacific Surfliner to Carpenteria, detraining, and reboarding the northbound Pacific Surfliner #799, on which I was travelling, back to Santa Barbara.  During the ride, and during the festivities,  guests were entertained by Master Magician Mark Collier.

Mark Collier entertains Pacific Surfliner guests heading for Santa Barbara from Carpenteria.

Guests were interviewed enroute to SBA.
	Arriving in Santa Barbara.

	Cookie Decorating for the Kids.  Can you see the steam locomotive cookies pointing left above?

At all Rail Events in California, you will find Paul Dyson (right, w/hat), President of Rail PAC.  Their web address was prominently displayed on a banner at the event (right).

During the proceedings, more serious activities were taking place at the cookie decorating and crafts tables (above and below).

A Segway tour went by during the proceedings. Just another way to see Santa Barbara Carfree!

On the Surfliner heading for the Central Coast Train Day in Santa Barbara, I met KK Holland.  She provided me with a Press Release about the day.

KK Holland, Project Coordinator
ASERT
(310) 980-2192
ASERT@Coast-SantaBarbara.org

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Dennis Story, Chair of Coastal Rail Now, had the only prepared information which was in the Press Release provided by KK Holland.  He mentioned:

May 9, 2009, Amtrak used National Train Day to highlight the growing popularity of trains as convenient, energy efficient, environmentally sound ways to travel.  We're here today talking to families in attendance about the importance of our work, and using the unprecedented support for passenger trains shown by President Obama to expand our membership.

We are also here today to talk about he importance of regional transportation in addressing the congestion and environmental challenges we face here in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.  If we are serious about giving people choices to get around, addressing congestion, and responding to state environmen tal legislation such as SB 375 and AB 32, we are going to need to work together.  We are here today, as elected reporesentatives from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties to rise to that challenge and demonstrate that we have the resolve to address transportation issues on a regional level.  We are going to need a solution that can take into account the challenges of the region as a whole, while helping individual communities find solutions to connect residents to the region at large.

People recognize on all levels that addressing transportation is critically important.    Whether it's families dealing with the price of gas or just dealing with the economic pressures facing all of us right now, or the voters of Santa Barbara County approving measure A last fall to take the first steps toward addressing regional tranportation challenges with money for buses and trains, the need for a more comprehensive solution is obvious.

Certain major funding sources are only available to regional cooperation efforts.  If we are to be successful, we will need a multimodal approach with solutions for everyone.

For more information, please visit CRN at CoastalRailNow.org, and ASERT at CoastalCommuter.org.

    `

Grant House, Councilmember, City of Santa Barbara. Mr. House read the press release composed by Dennis Story that I have printed above.	Mr. House introduced elected and other officials in attendance.
David Prichett, The Candidate, Santa Barbara City Council	Mayor Marty Blum City of Santa Barbara The Mayor mentioned the new railcar west of the station, which I have photos of later in this report.

---------- One of the Sponsors of the day, and their representative at right.

Selected officials stepped to the microphone for some brief comments.

Michael Bennet, Councilmember Goleta

Pedro Nava Assembly Member

Supervisor Salud Carbajal First District Supervisor
Kathleen Reddington, Carpenteria Councilmember. "We need commuter transportation that makes sense so the workforce in Santa Barbara can commute from Carpenteria."

Joe Yannuzzi, Amtrak General Superintendent, Southwest Division Joe was responsible for getting the bi-level trainset for this day's LA to Santa Barbara run.  He mentioned that if it had been next weekend when the Del Mar Races start, this set would not have been avaialble.	Paul Dyson, President of Rail PAC. Paul had some thoughtful comments:  All we need is more rail coaches and track (sidings).  Compared to adding a lane of a freeway, this is not a costly proposition.  There have been no new rail cars built in the last 15 years.
RailPAC Member, Amtrak Traveler	Das Williams, Councilmember City of Santa Barbara

John Blaubach, RailPAC Member and Santa Barbara resident. John's Dad was a member of the Pacific RR Society.	Das Williams demonstrated his environmentally-friendly vehicle.
I would not say the event was well-attended, but the intent was to welcome the press, who showed up in numbers. Television, Internet, and Print Media were interviewing speakers all around the station and on the train.

Santa Barbara Amtrak Station	Inside the classic station.
	Private Rail Spurs Double-click for a larger copy.

Restored railcar west of the station.
The familiar landmark near the railcar.	Sign inside the station advertising the Coast Starlight that passes each way daily.

As you go from the station property to State Street, there is this nice ceramic bench showing the Daylight.	The Santa Barbara Station from State Street.
On State Street I noticed this sign.  I stopped in one of the many wine tasting rooms in the area and asked where it was located.	The Wine Festival was well attended and east of the pier from which I took this photo.

This faux lighthouse is across from the beach.	The marine layer began to disipate.
Stearn's Pier from E. Cabrillo Street along the beach. Right, Porpoise fountain at the beginning of Stearns Wharf.

Along the wharf, "toss your coins onto a blanket" has been a popular activity.	TrainWeb.com, "keeping an eye on Santa Barbara."
	Varied activities are available on Stearns Wharf.

Just before 2 pm, a southbound Surfliner arrived to take me back to Fullerton, through LA.

Getting Home on the Pacific Surfliner

Heading south on the Pacific Surfliner from Santa Barbara, it was sunny and the beaches looked inviting.	Lots of beach goers in the summer.
	We have fast bike riders in California!  Not really, this is a section of Hwy. 101 that is not limited access.

We do camouflage our oil wells in the surf, however. Right, the tracks run along the beach making it the longest ocean-view Amtrak train ride in America here. Paralleling the tracks are Hwy. 101 and remnants of Hwy. 1, which has been made into camping areas in many places.
California Camper Jam, but nice ocean-front campsites.

"Water Colors"

A favorite lagoon of mine to photograph.  Even though shooting through train windows upsets the color a bit, you can still see the kite surfers beyond the beach and sea birds in the lagoon. Heading north, this is the first sight you'll have of the surf, just past Ventura, CA. In this case, heading south toward LA, it was my last sight of the surf from the train on this Central Coast Train Day, July 18, 2009.

Heading northbound before 10 a.m., this was my view through the marine layer.

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Links for this Report:

Advance notice to the press about the Central Coast Train Day came from COAST Rail Now:  http://www.coastalrailnow.org/

ASERT:  http://CoastalCommuter.org

RailPAC:  www.railpac.org

South Coast Railroad Museum:  www.goletadepot.org

Amtrak:  Amtrak.com

Santa Barbara Carfree:  http://www.santabarbaracarfree.org/

Rail Specialist Travel Agent:  Carole Walker  (562) 594-6771

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