We departed Bakersfield at 3:31 PM and headed north up the old Southern Pacific Valley Line.
The Bakersfield Southern Pacific station.
The train crossed the Kern River.
Fields and orchards in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Let the vineyards be fruitful this year of 2012.
We were about to cross the Tule River after which we passed through Tulare at 4:37 PM.
The Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The J.D. Haskell locomotive in Tulare.
Three views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains as we slowed for a grade separation project.
The Kings River. We reached Kingsburg at 5:03 PM, stopped briefly then made it into Selma at 5:19 PM. The Train Riders Association of California had their Board Meeting aboard the Coast Starlight this morning and distributed their newsletter this late afternoon.
The sunset as we crawled away from Selma before finally picking up speed. Fresno station was passed at 5:45 PM and we became a night train as we headed north through Madera, Chowchilla and Merced. We continued to roll northward through Modesto and on to Lathrop where we wyed the train which took thirty minutes. The four of us were called in to dinner just before the wyeing took place and as we crossed Altamont Pass, I enjoyed a New York Strip and across the Livermore Valley, I enjoyed the vanilla and caramel ice cream. I returned to my seat as we rolled west through Niles Canyon and onto Fremont before turning north into Oakland, where we arrived at Jack London station at 10:10 PM. It had been a great trip aboard the Coast Starlight on this unique detour trip. Winston and Gail called a taxi while the rest of us walked over to the Jack London Inn for the night.
Oakland 2/5/2012
We arose at 6:15 AM and met Robin in the lobby at 7:00AM before walking back to the Amtrak station.
Amtrak Capitol Train 520 arrived.
San Joaquin 712 2/5/2012
San Joaquin 712 arrived at Oakland station.
While waiting to board, I took this picture then we all boarded the train in coach 6461 and took tables upstairs. The train departed on time and headed to Emeryville.
Views on the way to Richmond.
Views between Richmond and Martinez.
Views between Martinez and Stockton. I would now relax down the valley as we sped south to Modesto then on to Turlock/Denair. At Ballico, we met San Joaquin 701 before reaching Merced and from there we headed to Madera and on to Fresno where our train met San Joaquin 713. From there, it was on to Hanford, Corcoran and then Wasco, making the final sprint to Bakersfield where we arrived early, ending another great trip aboard the San Joaquin.
Thruway Bus 2/5/2012The bus made the quick run to Los Angeles and once we were in the LA Basin, went via Interstate 210 and CA Highway 2 to get us to LAUPT early enough to catch a much earlier train.
Surfliner 582 2/5/2012This train made the quick trip to Fullerton and Anaheim, before dropping us off at Santa Ana, ending yet another excellent Amtrak adventure.
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