This was the third year our Train Travel Meetup Group went to San Luis Obispo on Veteran's Day or the day it was observed. I was up early and after my morning affairs at home, I was off to the Santa Ana station where I parked then walked over to the east platform via the grade crossing at Santa Ana Boulevard and soon found the Walkers who were waiting for me. I bought my Metrolink ticket to Los Angeles Union Station and returned to wait for the train.
Winston, his wife Sue and daughter Christy at Santa Ana. Metrolink 601 arrived and we boarded the second coach on the lower level. The Walkers would ride this train all the way to Los Angeles, but I would be detraining in Fullerton to meet Steve Grande and Tom Anderson. The train made the stops at Orange and Anaheim before dropping me off at Fullerton, where I noticed how well the passengers queue to board their trains in the same manner that Sounder passengers do in the Pacific Northwest. I found Steve at a table in the Santa Fe Café at the station and Tom joined us a minute later. About four minutes before our train from Riverside was due in, we queued up and were joined by a gentleman who was going to Van Nuys and we helped him get there.
Metrolink 701 arriving, which the four of us boarded, sitting on the lower level and we made our way to Los Angeles, stopping at Buena Park then Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs before Los Angeles Union Station, where we arrived on time. After detraining, we walked over to Track 8 and found a waiting Pacific Surfliner 799.
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 799 sharing the platform with a Metrolink trainset.
Pacific Surfliner 799Winston joined us at train side and we caught up on things. The Assistant Conductor opened the coach door and we boarded the Horizon trainset with Tom and I sitting beside each other. Steve sat across the aisle and a few minutes later, Winston joined him. We departed on time and shortly thereafter, I showed Tom the DVD that Joe Harper had made of the Canadian Pacific 2816 excursions that I had ridden in September, as well as the double-headed trip with Milwaukee Road 261 and Canadian Pacific 2816. Just before Glendale, Peter Kim found us and asked if we were the Train Travel Meetup Group and we responded "Yes!", so he sat behind us.
This train made all the Metrolink stops until Oxnard and we met several Metrolink trains as well as Pacific Surfliner 768. I switched the DVD to this year's National Railway Historical Society convention so Steve could also see what the trips were like and everyone enjoyed it. Tom and I watched "Rainbow in Germany" with Ronnie James Dio, who was the lead singer at that time, until we were west of Goleta, then watched our journey along the Pacific Ocean. We rounded Point Conception then later Point Sol before starting to travel through Vanderberg Air Force Base and a few minutes later, we arrived at the Surf/Lompoc station.
The Pacific Ocean at Surf.
Peter Kim, a first-timer with our group.
Steve Grande reading USA Today.
Winston Walker, my website proofreader.
Tom Anderson, not Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick fame, as I always make a mistake with his last name for some reason.
Sue and Christy Walker, who sat in Pacific Business Class for this trip. We continued north across the base before turning inland then dropping into the Santa Maria Valley.
Lines of Amtrak Express box cars and refrigerator cars are stored on sidings on the Santa Maria Valley Railroad at Betteravia. The train stopped at Guadalupe and at Grover Beach, we spotted the Station Grill, which could be a destination of a future train trip, then then made its way to San Luis Obispo, arriving twenty minutes late. We all detrained, except Mrs. Walker, who stayed on due to our lateness. As the rest of us walked over to the Del Monte Café, I walked up onto the pedestrian bridge.
Pacific Surfliner 799 and Union Pacific helpers, after which I caught up with the group.
The Del Monte Café, just south of the pedestrian bridge.
Tom, Steve and Peter. Due to the number of people, the service was a little slow so we changed our order to go, however, Winston and Christy received their food in time to eat it before we had to leave. Twenty minutes before our train was to depart, the rest of us received our meals and we took them onboard the train.
Pacific Surfliner 798 11/12/2007I was enjoying my French Dip sandwich as we departed San Luis Obispo on time and made our way south to Grover Beach and Guadalupe before going into the siding at Waldorf for a forty-five minute late northbound Coast Starlight.
The Amtrak box cars. The Coast Starlight finally passed our train and we continued south with Tom and I watching a pair of DVDs he brought with him, one on freight trains and the second about bridges, tunnels and grades. At Santa Barbara, the train filled up and we missed several of our normal meets. However, by Moorpark, we were only ten minutes late then proceeded through the Chatsworth Tunnels before running east across the San Fernando Valley and arrived at Los Angeles Union Station only one minute late.
Tom and I walked over to Phillipe's and bought roast beef sandwiches to go then back on the platform, the crew of Pacific Surfliner 592 finally opened the doors and we all boarded for an on-time departure towards home. Steve and Tom detrained at Fullerton then the rest of us detrained at Santa Ana, ending another interesting Train Travel Meetup Group excursion to San Luis Obispo.
