I sat on the platform in the shade and when I knew Pacific Surfliner 774 was about due, I made sure everyone was behind the yellow line. A few minutes later, I cleared them back as Pacific Surfliner 583 was due to leave. Our told departure time of 3:30 PM came and went. Later I cleared everyone back again as Pacific Surfliner 785 arrived then once it departed, everyone was waiting for our train to reverse into the station.
About 4:50 PM , I called Julie, Amtrak's automated agent, to find out the location of Pacific Surfliner 578 and was told that as of the last report when it arrived in Irvine, it was on time. However, a few minutes later, I learned that the train had hit someone south of Irvine so visited with other passengers on the platform, including Carole Walker and Bob Riskie, who tried to keep us informed with his conductor's radio, I walked across to the Coca-Cola machine for a beverage then chatted with off-duty Amtrak Engineer Doug Buslerd as time continued to pass. Our train crew arrived and had their job briefing then just after 6:00 PM, we all spotted something coming down the rails towards us.
Santa Fe 3751 slowly reversed our train into the Old Town Station.
As another trolley departed for San Ysidro, our train reversed in to let most of the passengers board and we were asked to board any open door and walk to our respective cars. I boarded at the north end of "Silver Lariat" and turned left to return to "Pony Express".
Passengers were boarding at Old Town.
Chris Parker made his way back to the train.
Our excellent Conductor Marisol made sure everyone boarded.
Carole Walker briefly visited me in "Pony Express". Our train was reversed further so the passengers who were at the front of the train could board.
At 6:30 PM, Santa Fe 3751 started to depart. We stopped at the road crossing and a San Diego County Coaster Sheriff spotted me and asked "How many days is it today?" I replied, "4,995 Days!". He said "Keep it up!" as we made our way out of Old Town.
Stan Garner, owner of "Pony Express".
The steam engine proceeded across the San Diego River.
Our river crossing.
Passing the location where the train was stored during our layover.
Rolling by Mission Bay.
Climbing towards CP Elvira.
Passing underneath Interstate 805.
We then curved into CP Cumbres.
Cresting the grade there, after which we started our descent down Miramar Hill.
A rear-facing view of CP Cumbres.
Santa Fe 3751 had no problems taking the train down Miramar Hill. I then called Karen, an excellent Amtrak agent in Solana Beach, to let her know the steam train would be there in twelve minutes.
We passed Soledad Lagoon.
Running along the Del Mar Bluffs above the Pacific Ocean.
Looking down towards the beach at Del Mar. We flew through the Solana Beach station, Karen was out and I yelled "Hello Karen!" and waved as we went by. We then held the mainline at CP Farr as Pacific Surfliner 580 finally came south. At Oceanside, we took the siding and went around Pacific Surfliner 582 then continued to our watering stop at Stuart Mesa.
Santa Fe 3751 arrived at Stuart Mesa as Pacific Surfliner 784 waited for us to clear.
The watering took only twenty-five minutes and I went back and visited with Steve Grande in the "Overland Trail" then was back in "Pony Express" when we departed and ran north to CP Songs, where we had a bad meet with Pacific Surfliner 590, causing us sit for twenty-three minutes. Santa Fe 3751 took us on a nice run along the surf at San Clemente and as we turned inland, called my friends to let them know we were coming, including Marti, my excellent night-time Amtrak agent in Santa Ana, telling her twenty-two minutes from now, we would be rolling through there.
I also called my mother and told her as well. The train travelled through Irvine and I saw Christy Walker, Winston's daughter, out along the tracks. As we steamed through Santa Ana, there was Marti and in my neighbourhood, there was my mother. In fact, quite a few people were out in northeast Santa Ana to watch our train pass through. We then ran through Orange, Anaheim, Fullerton and ran non-stop to BNSF's Hobart Yard.
Night-time views of Hobart Yard.
Bill Hatrick and his wife, Debbie, visited "Pony Express".
The interior of my car.
There were plenty of red signals ahead of our train. The Santa Fe 3751 support crew aboard "Pony Express" all detrained as the engine would be cut off here. We would switch Amtrak crews and get a BNSF pilot engineer for the trip down to San Pedro.
Santa Fe 3751 cut off our train and after over an hour, our special train left Hobart Yard for San Pedro.
We proceeded to the BNSF connection to the Alameda Corridor and this lone section of track would be new rail mileage for me.
Once we arrived at the Alameda Corridor track, my new mileage ended as we then descended into the Alameda Corridor Trench.
The Alameda Corridor Trench. We did some stop-and-go running as we met two freights on the three-track mainline in the trench as Sunday turned into Monday.
Signals in the trench.
From an American Public Transportation Association excursion I made down the Alameda Corridor to San Pedro in 2005, here is a daytime view in the trench.
We came out of the trench and the oil refineries were all lit up in the night.
More oil refineries.
We rounded a curve as we neared the harbour, the train was wyed and soon our Amtrak power was pushing us down to San Pedro.
More oil refineries.
The moon over Wilmington, California.
Rounding another curve.
Our train passed the many stacks of containers in the harbour area.
Container ship loaders.
The Los Angeles Harbour was well and truly lit during the night hours.
A reflective pool as we entered San Pedro.
The clock on the Los Angeles Maritime Museum told the time as we neared the end of our trip in. We reversed into a siding and stopped, but were not allowed to detrain until the crew split the train into two sections. We stopped at 1:24 AM this early September 22, 2008 morning. Some people were really upset about not being able to detrain sooner but when everyone was finally allowed off, we all had to walk around the front of the Amtrak power. I went up the hill, found Chris Parker and said goodnight to him then walked back to the Crowne Plaza and found Steve and Barbara after they gave Carole a ride to her car.
Steve took the all-freeway route home to Santa Ana and I said goodbye to him and Barbara and as I walked into the house, I thought it had been a great, but long, day of train riding behind Santa Fe 4-8-4 3751 and the Amtrak power to San Pedro. I went to bed at 2:43 AM, but had to get up for work at 5:55 AM.
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