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A Rail Sale Trip To La Junta and the 800,000th Rail Mile 4/22-25/2004

Getting near the 800,000 rail riding mark made me want to get it over and done with. I checked Amtrak's Rail Sale website, but instead of the usual Albuquerque turn, I thought why not go to La Junta, spend the night and return westbound the next morning. I bought my Rail Sale tickets online and picked them up at Santa Ana. Marty, my wonderful five-nights-a-week night agent, printed out the hotels and I chose the Mid-Town Motel which was five blocks from the station. With that done, all I had to do was ride trains to get me to the point where I would reach 800,000 rail miles on the return to Los Angeles.

I drove to the Santa Ana station to start what I thought would be an ordinary trip to Los Angeles on Pacific Surfliner 583. I parked and found a guard to give my parking permit to since I would be gone over 72 hours. Inside the station, I found the ever-wonderful Lee Jackson, whom I was surprised to see as he should have been working on a train at that time. It turned out that my train had been cancelled as something had happened to Pacific Surfliner 572 this morning, which would become 583 later. I learned found out, when talking with the 572/583 crew that the engine for that train was useless and they tried four times to leave the station but due to a faulty over speed that the engine kept on going into penalty phase. Thus, with 572 cancelled in the station and not going to San Diego to become 583, there was no Train 583 today.

Faced with this major problem and following a major venting of my emotions, Lee suggested that I check the Metrolink timetable because he thought there was a train to Los Angeles that would get me there in time to catch the Southwest Chief. The schedule showed that Metrolink Train 689 was due in at 5:27 PM, which would arrive at Los Angeles at 6:22 PM, or 23 minutes before the Chief left, so I went out and waited.

The train arrived on time and I boarded cab car 604 and was very happy to be on the move toward Los Angeles as soon as Metrolink 604 cleared at CP Lincoln. We made the Metrolink stops of Orange, Anaheim and Fullerton, where I told some railfans what had happened to their beloved Pacific Surfliner 583. I felt better as I was not the only one being inconvenienced by the lack of that train today. As we sprinted to Norwalk, I thanked God for Metrolink and the service that they provided me. We passed the late-running Pacific Surfliner 784 on the fly at Bandini then arrived at Los Angeles at 6:14 PM and I stepped off the Metrolink train with a big smile on my now-happy face.

Los Angeles Union Station, otherwise known as Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, built in 1939, as seen from Alameda Street.

I quickly walked from Track 6 to Track 12 around the south end of the platform and boarded Superliner coach 34079, Seat 43 at 6:17 PM. With time to spare, I documented the consist which was P42DC 167, B40-8PH 839 and 833, baggage 1211, transition 39042, sleepers 32031 and 32098 "New Jersey", diner 38016, lounge 33033, coaches 31525 smoker, 34079 and 34030, ExpressTrak 74086, 74096, 74088, 74046, 74016 and 74096 and Road Railers 462140, 460023, 462017, 460127 and 410336. We departed on time and as we reversed to get the express cars, Conductor Alex Pavlopoulos took my ticket. He has been my conductor on San Diegan, City of New Orleans, Sunset Limited and now the Southwest Chief and therefore wins the prize for being my conductor on the most routes on which I have travelled.

The skyline of Los Angeles.

After a few miles of travelling along the Los Angeles River, we crossed the Redondo Flyover across the river and Alameda Corridor then raced a BNSF stack train from DT Junction to east of the Norwalk Metrolink station with the train using distributed power units on the rear. I arrived at Fullerton with 51.4 more miles than I would have had if I had waited for Pacific Surfliner 785, which had two trains' worth of passengers as it picked up all from Train 583 which as mentioned above, did not run today. We proceeded east through Santa Ana Canyon as I rode in the lounge car waiting for the café to open, which it finally did just west of Riverside. My Sierra Mist tasted really good after the long wait. We stopped both at Riverside and San Bernardino before making our assault on Cajon Pass as I went to sleep for the night.

4/26/2004 I awoke to the pine trees just west of Flagstaff on a mostly cloudy morning and saw the Art Train USA on display east of the Flagstaff station. A breakfast of French Toast and sausage was taken with a couple who had just ridden the Grand Canyon Railway and were now on their way to Albuquerque. I returned to my seat and found that the person now sitting next to me was also going to La Junta on a Rail Sale ticket. His name was Eric, a young railfan from Flagstaff who just happened to read my website. Is it a small world? Was this planned? No, but what were the chances that on a full train, two railfans would be going to the same place and seated together? We talked all the way to Gallup.

BNSF GP40 3000, ex. BNSF 3500, exx. Burlington Northern 3006, nee Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 176 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1966, was switching the yard leads in Gallup. I then went to the lounge car to get some snacks before listening to some of Jeff Beck's Wired CD.

The red rock mesas always look good whenever I pass them.

Once past Thoreau and the Continental Divide, we passed an eastbound BNSF freight train near Pegs before rolling though Grants and I watched more of the beautiful New Mexico countryside pass before Eric rejoined me and we talked the rest of the way to our servicing stop at Albuqueque, arriving early.

I visited Cheryl's Bus before walking across the street to the Quick Cool for some ice cream.

As part of the servicing of the train, here the windows being washed by hand; one of the few places on the entire Amtrak system where this is done. I picked up a USA Today and was reading it as the Southwest Chief departed on time.

We continued up the Rio Grande River Valley before we turned away from it en route to Lamy.

The Southwest Chief going into a storm as we neared Lamy.

The train climbed slowly through Apache Canyon as it started its climb up Glorieta Pass then at Glorieta, the westbound Southwest Chief was in the siding waiting for us.

On this rainy afternoon, the former Santa Fe Glorieta depot, built in 1927, now a United States post office. As we descended to the Pecos River, Starvation Peak came into view ahead of the train although we would not pass it for at least thirty minutes.

The Southwest Chief next climbed the "S" curves at Chappelle before we passed Starvation Peak. My early afternoon was spent listening to Jethro Tull then we made our station stop at Las Vegas and continued north towards Raton. Eric and I received a 5:30 PM dinner reservation as the steward walked through the train and I switched to Rush and Vapor Trails for my musical enjoyment as we rolled along.

Our train proceeded towards Wagon Mound off in the distance down the rails. The countryside was slowly turning into a late-season winter wonderland in mid-spring. At 5:30 PM, we were called into the diner for dinner with Eric and I sitting with a couple from Michigan returning from Santa Fe. We stopped in Raton before climbing up the Raton Pass Summit Tunnel. A pair of drunks came in without a reservation, swearing at the steward and making a scene. The steward remained cool and under control then the drunks returned to the lounge car, most likely for another few rounds of drinks. We exited the tunnel to over three inches of fresh snow with more falling at a good rate. I enjoyed a Delmonica steak with an ice cream sundae and great conversation.

A Burlington Northern SD40-2 was travelling up the south track clearing the newly-fallen snow and we descended to a snowy Trinidad before starting our final trek to La Junta. I returned to my seat, packed and relaxed the last miles and we arrived at my destination at 8:08 PM, or 21 minutes early.

I detrained into a good snowstorm, but it was not sticking and made my way under as much cover as possible before I had to take out the umbrella for the rest of the way to the Mid-Town Motel. This motel, five short blocks southeast of the Amtrak station on 3rd Street, is a really rustic place to stay at the unbeatable rate of $32.00. I watched a bit of the Los Angeles Lakers' losing effort to the Houston Rockets and then the Weather Channel's Storm Stories, along with a local forecast. A surprise waterfall shower ended a great day of train riding.

4/24/2004

Up before 7:00 AM and following personal duties, this well-rested train rider went first to the Love petrol station for snacks then to the Amtrak station and finally to the Copper Kitchen Café where I enjoyed a pancake and bacon breakfast which was excellent. This restaurant is located half a block south of the Amtrak station. Filled, refreshed and satisfied, I returned to the station to wait for my train.

The train arrived ten minutes early and after I boarded Superliner coach 34014, Seat 47, I went and recorded the consist. P42DC's 196, 33, 70 and 65, baggage 1734, transition 39041, sleepers 32078 "Florida" and 32079 "Georgia", diner 35028, lounge 33030, coaches 31502 smoker, 34014 and 34012, Express Box 71100, 71153, 71280 and 71014, ExpressTrak 74089, 74044, 74048 and 74084 and Road Railers 462151, 462118, 460147, 462192, 460237, 462123, 460138, 462138, 462099 and 462015. We departed on schedule and proceeded west toward Trinidad. At Simpson, we met an eastbound BNSF freight as we crept down the siding then later, did our station work at Trinidad and started our assault of Raton Pass on a very clear late April morning.

People were still digging out from the storm as we climbed the three percent grade. The 27-car train looked impressive snaking up Raton Pass and before we reached the Summit tunnel, elk were all over the valley on the west side. The north side of Raton Pass was very snowy but the south side had only patches in places and the ground was bare when we reached Raton.

We arrived early at Raton which allowed for a picture of the unique station built in 1904 and time for a visit inside. Music for this late morning was Aerosmith's "A Little South of Sanity". On the way to Las Vegas, as I felt as though I were a "High Plains Drifter" going south with the snow-capped mountains to the west, a very relaxing situation to be enjoyed. Later by Starvation Peak, I was listening to Blue Oyster Cult's "Some Enchanted Evening" and just sat back as the train took the "S" curves and crossed the Pecos River before climbing Glorieta Pass and starting down Apache Canyon.

At Canyoncito, we went into the siding and waited fifteen minutes for the eastbound Southwest Chief before we proceeded to Lamy, where we departed on time and ran to Waldo, where we went into the siding for BNSF 551 East. To answer a reader's question, "Yes, they still run freight trains over this route". A dead-heading BNSF engineer said, "That was the fourth eastbound freight movement in the last 24 hours". We then ran straight to Albuquerque, arriving at 3:54 PM or 13 minutes early.

I worked on my suntan on this warm afternoon for forty-five minutes before returning to my seat for Ozzy Osbourne's "Speak of the Devil". I saw the Assistant Conductor and asked about upgrading to a room and told him about my reaching 800,000 rail miles tomorrow, to which he responded that hee would get back to me before Gallup if he had a room. We departed on time and made our way to Gallup, going to Dalies and west of the line separation, Eric and I went to dinner. From Menu Five, I enjoyed a New York strip steak along with my usual sundae. Joining us was Peter, who was returning from Cleveland to his home in Los Angeles. The meal lasted through Grants and out to Pegs, where I returned to my coach seat to listen to more music. Before Gallup, the Assistant Conductor came and told me he had a room for me for $70 and would be by after Gallup to settle with me.

This was the icing on my cake for this trip and would make my 800,000th rail mile even more special. After Gallup, I purchased Room 13 in the 331 car, better known as the Florida Sleeper. Once our business was done, I carted my luggage to my new quarters and settled in waiting for darkness but returned to the coach to say goodbye to all my new friends, especially Eric. They all wished they could be with me when I reached my milestone tomorrow and I wished they could be there with me too. I enjoyed the change from twilight into night as the stars started to fill the skies brightly as we neared Winslow. There, I found my sleeping car attendant, RJ, before I turned in for the night just east of Flagstaff.

4/25/2004 I awoke at 4:35 AM and we had just left Barstow then waited until 5:05 AM for the dining car to open for French Toast and sausage, which was the call of the morning. Back in my made-up room, I enjoyed a pre-dawn trip down a very busy Cajon Pass with BNSF putting on quite a show. We departed San Bernardino a little over thirty minutes late and proceeded to Riverside then from there, we went to Corona and just west of the West Corona Metrolink station, I passed my 800,000th rail mile. It was a quiet celebration as I still had a couple of pictures yet to take before we arrived in Los Angeles.

The Southwest Chief went through Santa Ana Canyon and rounded the Horseshoe Curve at the west end. From there, we travelled to Fullerton, departing at 7:24 AM and making the final sprint to Los Angeles Union Station.

Crossing the Redondo flyover across the Los Angeles River and the Alameda Corridor with downtown Los Angeles in the background. We arrived at LAUPT at 7:58 AM, 17 minutes early.

The Southwest Chief at the station.

I walked over to Track 8 to wait for this train to reverse in, whose consist was Surfliner cab car 6904, coaches 6406 and 6401, coach-café 6303 and 6300, Pacific Business Class 6804 and F59PHI 450, operating in the push mode. I boarded and was now in total relaxtion mode and enjoyed a Coca-Cola as we departed. We started moving but stopped for four minutes before leaving LAUPT for good.

We proceeded back southeast to Fullerton, crossing the dry San Gabriel River along the way. The hazy skies made me long for those dark blue clear skies of New Mexico from yesterday. We made our way to Fullerton, Anaheim and then Santa Ana, ending another great and interesting Amtrak adventure, which took me from the falling snow in Colorado back to a heat wave in sunny Southern California.

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