Amtrak announced it was changing the eastbound Sunset Limited schedule out of Los Angeles by leaving eight hours earlier due to Union Pacific track work between Deming and El Paso, Texas. Miles of second track were being added to their Sunset Route. I posted the new schedule on Trainorders.com and it gave me the idea of going to Tucson to ride the trolley there.
Here is the new schedule from Los Angeles to Tucson and return.
Sunset Limited 2 3/9/2005Los Angeles 2:30 PM PST
Pomona 3:11 PM
Ontario 3:24 PM
Palm Springs 5:06 PM
Yuma 8:24 PM MT
Maricopa 11:17 PM
Tucson 2:20 AM
Train 1 3/10/2005Tucson 12:25 AM MT
Maricopa 2:32 AM
Yuma 5:19 AM
Palm Springs 6:37 AM PST
Ontario 8:05 AM
Pomona 8:15 AM
Los Angeles 10:10 AM
Steve Grande and I talked one day about taking the Sunset Limited out to Pomona on that new timed run and Metrolink's Riverside Line back to Los Angeles. About ten days later, at our new Train Travel Meetup Group gathering the last Monday evening of the month at the Rail Restaurant in Fullerton, Steve suggested that we could ride to Palm Springs and then get a ride back to Fullerton. I worked out the time the Sunset would arrive there and it sounded like a good idea. Steve said it was a go, so after returning to Santa Ana, I stopped at the ticket office and made my reservation for the possible trip then called Steve and he had arranged the ride home through Pride Limo.com. On my way home the next day, I picked up my ticket.
Over the next few days, Steve arranged our group and besides he and I, Ray Burns of Trainweb, my good friend Carl Morrison, Ken Barrett, Ken Ruben, Art Tomlin, Ed Gills and Bob Manning would be riding out to Palm Springs together on the newly-timed Sunset Limited.
One other thought, this new schedule would allow a weekend in Palm Springs. You could leave Los Angeles at 2:30 PM and arrive there at 5:06 PM, find a hotel that would pick you up and drop you off on Sunday. Of course, call Sunday at 5:00 AM to see how the Sunset is running west. If it is on time, get dropped off at the Amtrak station at 6:15 AM for the 6:37 train to arrive and get back to Los Angeles at 10:10 AM Sunday morning. As always you could connect to the train by Pacific Surfliners both north and south of Los Angeles.
Pacific Surfliner 573I was at the Santa Ana station early to start this rail adventure and learned my train to Los Angeles would be ten minutes late. It arrived in push mode with cab car 6900, coaches 6410 and 6405, coach/café 6306, Pacific Business Class 6801 with F59PHI 464. That locomotive had been sent back to Beech Grove for nose repairs after an accident at Oxnard and it came back painted in Intercity Blue rather than Surfliner Blue. Conductor Edy took my ticket and we were off to Los Angeles to connect with the Sunset Limited, pausing in Anaheim before arriving at Fullerton, where I went down to the door to meet our group. Here, Carl Morrison boarded along with from Ray and Steve from Trainweb, Art, Ed and and Ken Barret. John, another Amtrak employee, asked to join us and we said just get a ticket in Los Angeles and it was a go. Track work slowed us before our midday stop at Norwalk then we arrived at LAUPT at 1:54 PM, or 19 minutes late.
Carl and I left the group for a picture of Pacific Surfliner 573 and F59PHI 464. With no Sunset Limited in the station yet, we walked into Los Angeles Union Station and rejoined our group. Ken Ruben then joined and the station's announcement board became interesting at 2:32 PM when it said "Sunset Limited on time" and underneath "Texas Eagle Delayed".
Sunset Limited 2At 2:37 PM, the gate was opened and we all walked to the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle with our group of eight boarding Superliner coach 34159. This Sunset Limited had P42DCs 95 and 841, baggage 1738, transition 39026, sleepers 32015 and 32099, diner 38064, lounge 33029, coaches 34035, 34159 and 34052 with sleeper 32053. The last two cars are the Texas Eagle section of our train to Chicago. Over the scanner came, "Is this the inaugural run of the Sunset Limited?" "Well it is a good thing you are finally riding in daylight!" We departed at 3:07 PM {2:30 PM} and were on the move towards Palm Springs. Our first delay was because of a bad-ordered sleeper they knew about on Sunday when the train arrived, but did nothing about it until Wednesday at 1:30 PM, one hour before departure time.
A Los Angeles Metro Gold Line train arrived as our Sunset Limited departed.
The last Sunset Limited on the old schedule arrived at Mission Tower, forcing us to run via San Gabriel instead of the usual Metrolink route down Interstate 10. That westbound Sunset arrived into LAUPT at 3:19 PM, 8 hours and 39 minutes late.
We crossed the Los Angeles River then ran through the El Monte/San Gabriel grade separation trench, passing an eastbound Union Pacific freight before rolling east through San Gabriel and on to El Monte.
Exiting the Alhambra trench.
The San Gabriel River.
Our train went under the Metrolink flyover across our Sunset Route before we passed through the City of Industry and I went to the lounge car briefly and met Bob Manning, who lives in Palm Springs and to join us, he was driven to San Bernardino where he boarded a Metrolink train for LAUPT. Near Walnut, Mt. Baldy could be seen through the moist haze in the San Bernardino Valley.
We arrived at Pomona and departed there at 3:54 PM {3:11 PM}, followed by slow running to Ontario, where we waited for ten minutes for Union Pacific 4946 West. We departed there at 4:21 PM {3:24 PM} and travelled east to Guasti where we took the siding to let the BNSF green CEFX 7170 West leading two Union Pacific locomovies pass us. Union Pacific 6571 was tucked into the siding at South Fontana with Union Pacifc 2420 in the siding behind him.
The Sunset Limited ran along the north side of the large West Colton Yard.
We took the bypass track then rolled under the Palmdale Cutoff.
We crossed over at CP Rancho, then crossed the joint BNSF/Union Pacific tracks at Colton Crossing.
Passing Union Pacific 4636 West at the old Colton Yard.
A few minutes later, a rear door shot near Loma Linda.
The Sunset Limited entered San Timiteo Canyon and the orange groves. A few minutes later, we stopped at CP Ordway, MP 548 and once slowly on the move again, I passed my 852,000.0 rail mile at MP 548.2.
Carl's GPS unit showed us that we were following an eastbound Union Pacific freight at 12 MPH as we neared the Fisherman Retreat. We stopped at Hinda and I went to the lounge car for the ride over the summit of Beaumont Hill down below Cabazon. The sun had set as we passed through Beaumont and finally reached track speed and near Apex, we passed Union Pacific 4824 East as we descended downgrade through Banning and Cabazon, whose new hotel is the tallest building in Riverside County. The dinosaurs of Cabazon were spotted as we caught up to yet another eastbound Union Pacific freight, which we would slowly follow towards Palm Springs.
We passed through West Palm Springs before crossing the Whitewater River and arrived at our double stop at Palm Springs at 6:55 PM. After unloading the front sleeper, the train pulled forward onto the platform to unload our car and we all stepped off the Sunset Limited at 6:59 PM then walked over to the white limousine, although Bob did not join us since he lives here. The Sunset Limited departed at 7:01 PM {5:07 PM}.
The Limousine Ride to Fullerton then HomeBill from Pride Limo was waiting with his stretch 12 passenger white limousine and we had nine going back, so it was a little tight but very comfortable. With no cares in the world, we were taken back to Fullerton via Interstate 10 to California Highway 60 to California Highway 91. Good conversations were had as wine was passed around, with me not having any as you all would expect. We listened to one of my Ian Anderson's solo CDs "Rupi's Dance" before the Beatles "Abbey Road". The trip took an hour and twenty minutes and we were dropped off at Brannigan's in Fullerton for dinner. I was not hungry and just had water. Carl then drove me back to the Santa Ana station and we reminisced about our wonderful Nevada Northern photo freight trip last December. I drove home, ending another fantastic Amtrak adventure with a new twist at the end. Oh, what about our Sunset Limited? It departed El Paso just 40 minutes late.
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