On the way back from the last San Luis Obispo trip on November 12, 2007, Steve Grande and I noticed the Station Grill Restaurant just to the east of the station as we stopped in Grover Beach. After a tough time getting lunch in San Luis Obispo, we decided to make this our next destination when the group came up this way again. With a scheduled northbound arrival of Pacific Surfliner 799 at 12:15 PM and a southbound departure time of 2:20 PM, that would give us plenty of time to eat a nice long lunch and be able to make our train home. We picked January 21st, 2008 for this trip as it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I would be off work. Steve posted tHE details on Trainweb.com and I worked at McFadden Intermediate and rode my daily trains until that Monday morning arrived.
1/21/2008 I was up early and after reading the newspapers, drove to Santa Ana station where I walked over the bridge to Track 1 to wait for Metrolink 601 to Fullerton.
Metrolink 601 arrived and I boarded the rear coach with the train taking off in the darkness, bound first for Orange, then Anaheim and finally Fullerton, where I detrained.
The train had Metrolink's only F40, 800, on the rear assisting the regular engine. I met Steve Grande and Carl Morrison on the platform and we went inside the Santa Fe Cafe where Tom Anderson was eating an early breakfast. The four of us caught up on a variety of topics before we walked outside to wait for Metrolink 701, a 91 Line train, from Riverside to arrive into Fullerton.
Metrolink 701 arrived and we all boarded a lower level foursome then discussed my future million miles on Amtrak trip which was going to depart Fullerton on April 25th en route to La Plata. The train stopped at Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs before making its final sprint to Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, where we arrived early on Track 3 and we walked over to Track 7, where our low-level train to Grover Beach was waiting.
Pacific Surfliner 799 1/21/2008
The four of us boarded the train and found the windows to be completely dirty, thus I would not be taking any pictures from these windows. I showed Steve the "Steam Highlights of 2007" featuring 21 different operating steam engines. Larry Boerio then arrived and made our group a quintet. The train departed Los Angeles on time and made both Amtrak and Metrolink stops as we made our way out of the Los Angeles basin. At Chatsworth, we took the siding for Pacific Surfliner 768, then at Hassen, we stopped for Metrolink 108.
Once the DVD was finished, I showed Steve a few scenes from Trains Magazine's Ultimate Railroading Series "Big Power" then Steve had work to do so he sat across the aisle and Tom joined me. I showed him Frank Zappa's "Does Humor Belong in Music" followed by a Jethro Tull DVD. We met Pacific Surfliner 774 at Seacliff then had the railroad to ourselves the rest of the way to Grover Beach.
Steve Grande working on his computer.
Carl Morrison was taking pictures through the extremely dirty windows.
Larry Boerio was at a table in the cafe car with his maps and GPS, as well as his camera.
Tom Anderson hamed it up as our train continued north. I went to the cafe and visited with Larry, who was riding there because the car's windows were the cleanest. Just before we passed through Casmalia, I returned to my seat and conversed with the others then after Guadalupe, we gathered our belongings and arrived at Grover Beach fifteen minutes late.
The group picture was taken at the Grover Beach station in front of Pacific Surfliner 799.
Looking down the platform before the train departed and continued north to its final stop of San Luis Obispo.
The Grover Beach station built in 1996.
A view south down the Coastline.
Across the tracks was the Station Grill Restaurant and we went inside, chose a table then went to the counter to order our lunches and I had a hamburger and French Fries.
Our group at the Station Grill.
Railroad decor on the wall.
In the hall to the bathroom was a wonderful painting of a steam engine. Tom and I walked back to the station, where I tried to get online with no success so did some Sudoku puzzles as we waited for the southbound Pacific Surfliner home.
Pacific Surfliner 798 1/21/2008
Right on time, the train arrived and we boarded but could not find seats where we could sit together. The crew was expecting a group of 80 passengers at Santa Barbara so they kept the rear coach locked. Larry and I sat in the café and each bought something but ate very slowly. Larry and I talked about several subjects as he used his map and GPS to find our location. After Guadalupe, we went into the siding at Waldorf to wait for the northbound Coast Starlight and once it had passed, we returned to the main line and continued to Surf on a beautiful afternoon.
I walked back and found that Tom had somebody sitting next to him who was going to Santa Barbara sitting, so I could sit with him after we arrived there. It was a beautiful trip to Goleta, where more people boarded our crowded train. When we arrived at Santa Barbara, I sat next to Tom and showed "Scarlet and Gray Memories" by Charlie Smiley and later "Steam Trains and Tractors Steamy Summer 2007", which took us to LAUPT, then on Pacific Surfliner 592 almost to Fullerton. Our train met Metrolink 113 at East Oxnard then waited at Moorpark for Metrolink 115. Later at Hassen, we waited for Metrolink 117 to pass before we entered the Chatsworth tunnels to enter the San Fernando Valley. Our remaining stops were quick and we arrived at LAUPT at 7:30 PM, ten minutes early, where we detrained. Chris Parker was waiting for us on the platform and Tom went to get us some sandwiches then I said my goodbyes to Larry and Chris as they went off to find some dinner.
Pacific Surfliner 798 after it had arrived at LAUPT.
Pacific Surfliner 592 waiting to take us home and others to points south. Tom returned from Philippe's with roast beef sandwiches for both of us.
Passengers from Pacific Surfliner 798 waiting for the doors of Pacific Surfliner 592 to open, which they did at 8:03 PM and we chose seats across from each other. I put the rest of the DVD as Tom and I enjoyed our double-dipped roast beef sandwiches. We departed on time and stopped at Norwalk before arriving at Fullerton where Steve, Carl and Tom all detrained. I rode through Anaheim back to Santa Ana, where I detrained, ending another excellent Train Travel Meetup Group excursion.
