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A Ride on the Private Car "Pony Express" From Los Angeles to Santa Barbara 6/29/2005



by Chris Guenzler



Todd Clark, who owns the discussion board Trainorders.com, posted a comment about people not riding private car owner's deadhead movements. A deadhead movement is when a car is moved to get into position for a public or private trip. This post then led me to an advertisement by Stan Garner annoucning that his car, "Pony Express", would be moving from Los Angeles to Oakland to be in position for the upcoming Trains Unlimited excursion, and offered rides to Oakland for $99 for the full trip, although shorter segments would be accepted.

I made on offer from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, which Stan accepted. Next I asked if my mother could attend for the same rate, and he answered in the affirmative. I then enquired if I could bring someone else at that rate, and it was another yes. I first asked Chris Parker if he would like to join me, but unfortunately, he couuld not make it, so I then offered my good train-riding friend Winston Walker the space and he said yes. We checked the southbound Coast Starlight the day before, hoping it would reach LAUPT before midnight so we would have a good chance of leaving on time in the morning.

Waking up and after my morning duties, my mother and I drove to the Santa Ana station, met Winston and waited for Pacific Surfliner 763 to arrive.





First the Union Pacific Costa Mesa local came rolling through on its way back to its own tracks.

Pacific Surfliner 763



My mother and Winston waiting as our train arrived and we boarded the lower level of the Surfliner cab car and a few minutes later, Conductor CJ took our tickets for the trip to Los Angeles. The train made a slower-than-normal journeyto LAUPT due to some BNSF freight congestion. We arrived and it was announced that all Coast Starlight passengers were to go into the station as the train would not arrive until 10:45. We stayed on the platform but left to get snacks and use the bathroom. With items at home that my mother needed to do and the later it became, she decided not to go and I put her on Pacific Surfliner 572 for home.

Coast Starlight



The Coast Starlight reversed into the station at 10:45 AM, half an hour after we should have departed. This version had P42DCs 122 and 192, baggage 1171, transition 39045, sleepers 32014 "Oklahoma", 32085 "Kentucky" and 32078 "Florida", Pacific Parlour Car 39972, diner 38046, lounge 33032, xoaches 34034, 34512, 31026 and 34061 with "Pony Express" PPCX 800320 on the rear.





Baggage car "Pony Express", nee Canadian Pacific baggage/express 4210 built by Canadian Car and Foundry in 1941 to haul the Royal Canadian Mounted Police show horses.





Winston enjoying this unique private car. We departed LAUPT at 11:06 AM.





Pacific Surfliner 572 waiting to leave with my mother aboard.





The Coast Starlight rolled by Terminal Tower, which is no longer in service. We turned north to travel along the west side of the Los Angeles River, passing the MTA Gold Line maintenance facility, then crossed the Los Angeles River.





The "Metrolink maintenance facility as seen from "Pony Express".





A leased Seattle Sounder cab car; I would be iding this service in Seattle in two weeks. We ran through Glendale, it seemed odd not to stop but the Coast Starlight no longer serves that station after all these years and now stops at Van Nuys.





A Union Pacific freight passed through the Downtown Burbank Metrolink station. The large doors of the "Pony Express" allows for not only excellent views, but equally good photographs.





The Coast Starlight turned west at Burbank Junction for the journey across the San Fernando Valley.





An all-Southern Pacific consist at Union Pacific's Gemco yard just before we stopped at Van Nuys. Further west at CP Elliker, we met Metrolink 112 then ran west through Northridge on a beautiful clear late morning.





The Coast Starlight rounded the curve that led through Chatsworth.





Curving en route to the first tunnel.





The 537 foot Tunnel 28.





Our train passed beneath the Chatsworth Rocks before it entered Tunnel 27, a 934 foot bore.





The Coast Starlight then entered the 7,369 foot Tunnel 26, our gateway to the Simi Valley. At CP Hasson, we met Pacific Surfliner 774 before stopping at Simi Valley then once on the move again, we flew west through Moorpark and Camarillo.





Rounding the large curve from Camarillo towards Oxnard. Alex Ramos, a young, excellent photographer, joined us during our Oxnard station stop then we proceeded across the Santa Clara River.





The curve at Montalvo, from where we rolled west through the City of Ventura and crossed the Ventura River.





The Starlight meets the surf just west of Ventura.





The view along old Highway 101 just east of Seacliff siding.





Running below one of the bluffs that gave the Union Pacific Railroad so much trouble this last very wet winter here in Southern California. We turned the next corner and passed the landslide at La Conchita.





Our train on its way to Rincon Point.





The surf between Rincon Point and Carpinteria.





We returned to high above the surf west of the location of the former siding at Ortega then ran non-stop to Santa Barbara, arriving at 12:42 PM, where Winston and I, along with everyone else, except Alex and Stan, detrained.





Alex Ramos, who was riding to San José with Stan, the car's owner.





The Coast Starlight departed bound for Seattle. Stan and the "Pony Express" would be cut off at Oakland and I would see them again on Saturday in Emeryville on the Trains Unlimited Trip to the National Railway Historical Society convention in Portland, Oregon. Winston and I visited Subway for some sandwiches to go, although we could have eaten them there as our southbound Pacific Surfliner 784 was twelve minutes late arriving due to its inability to leave its siding at Goleta until the Coast Starlight arrived.

Pacific Surfliner 784

We boarded and chose our seats for the trip home, running as far as Seacliff, where we waited for Pacific Surfliner 769 to pass after an eight minute wait. Sorry, no dolphin sightings today. Later, we met Pacific Surfliner 775 at Hasson and a westbound Union Pacific freight at Chatsworth, then Metrolink 111 at CP Balboa. We arrived at LAUPT at 5:02 PM after waiting for Metrolink's Riverside and Orange County line trains to depart at Mission Tower, then waited at the station for a late San Joaquin bus due the an accident on Interstate 5, as well as connecting passengers from the seven-hour hour late westbound Sunset Limited.

We slowly crawled out of the platform at 5:32 PM, waited and had to follow Metrolink 708, a 91 Line train to Riverside, that departed LAUPT late. We made our way to Hobart Yard and stopped at 5:44 PM due to a malfunctioning signal which had train traffic backed up both ways.





We sat and sat and sat before this pair of BNSF locomotives, which finished this roll of film. Movement occurred again at 6:23 PM, but we ran at restricted speed until Bandini then at Santa Fe Springs, we returned to restricting as we caught up to Metrolink 708. We departed Fullerton at 6:54 PM {5:42 PM}, then Anaheim 7:02 PM {5:51 PM} before arriving at Santa Ana at 7:09 PM {6:00 PM}. This ended a great trip aboard the "Pony Express" to Santa Barbara and I cannot wait to ride on that car again.



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