Norm Orfall posted on Trainorders.com that his car, "Tioga Pass", would be bringing up the markers on the April 28th Coast Starlight which was detouring over the Tehachapi Loop. I then learned the train would also detour the next day, so planned a Coast Starlight Business Class trip as a reward for my Day 8,500 on Friday the 27th. With train tickets set, the question now was where to stay. I checked all the motels in Oakland but only one was under the $100 range and that was the Jack London Inn, so I decided to give it one more try. Chris Parker decided he would ride "Tioga Pass" again because with Amtrak no longer allowing private cars on their trains, it might be his last opportunity to ride one. He would stay with me in Oakland then ride Business Class with me back to Los Angeles.
So Saturday morning following breakfast, I drove to the Santa Ana station and made my way over to Track 1.
Pacific Surfliner 763 4/28/2018
Pacific Surfliner 763 arriving and I boarded the Business Class car then went into the Superliner coach; the Conductor asked for names upon entry so boarding was easy this morning. The train stopped in Anaheim and Fullerton before the final sprint to Los Angeles.
Coast Starlight 14 4/28/2018The Coast Starlight reversed into LAUPT and first I met Brian, who had been part of the Train Travel Meetup Group's circle trip to Oakland in November 2015. Once boarded, by name only at this point, I chose a right side seat with Brian across the aisle from me upstairs. Soon other passengers joined us, including a new friend, Dennis, from Yardley, Pennsylvania. Julian from Atlanta, Georgia was also in our car and Yolanda was our car attendant. Chris Parker was on "Tioga Pass" and we both knew he would have an excellent experience. We departed at 10:15 AM, five minutes late, and were off on this unique trip.
We started the detour at 10:31 AM at Burbank Junction.
The water project in the San Fernando Valley. We slowed to meet Metrolink 262 near Sun Valley and made it through the tunnel where I saw Bill Compton at the north end. At Saugus, the conductor removed a fare evader then the train proceeded through the tunnels before going through Soledad Canyon.
Views in Soledad Canyon.
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The Vasquez Rocks.
Another lesser-known rock formation.
At Ravenna, we went into the siding to meet Metrolink 264 then ran through Vincent Grade/Acton station and descended into Palmdale, where everyone's rare mileage would start at Palmdale Junction. The train then sprinted across the Antelope Valley and I went to the dining car for lunch and had an Angus beef burger. We met Union Pacific freight trains at both Dennis and Oban during lunch then ascended Ansel Hill before descending into Mojave.
Windmills were all around as the Starlight started up the westbound grade of the Tehachapi Mountains.
The Tehachapi with Monolith to the right. Soon we went under California Highway 58 and reached the summit of the mountains then travelled through the town of Tehachapi and crossed the rest of the valley.
On the way to Cable.
We reached Cable and would next journey through the tunnel section of this line.
At this time of year, the Tehachapi Mountains are green.
Our train at Marcel.
Entering Tunnel 10.
The journey around the Tehachapi Loop.
Green hills west of Rowen.
Looking down at a BNSF train in Caliente.
Bealville from west switch at Cable.
Rounding the curve at Bealville.
The green hills and cloudy skies.
The west switch at Bealville.
West of Tunnel 2.
Entering Tunnel 1.
The trip around the horseshoe curve at Caliente.
Kern Junction. We stopped at Bakersfield, arriving at 3:00 PM and departing thirty-four minutes later, with no one being allowed off as we were surrounded by mainline tracks. North of Bakersfield, we met Coast Starlight Train 11 at Cawelo then I visited with people in the lounge car before getting online and posting updates to Trainorders.com.
Western Rail {WRIX} SD38AC 201, nee Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range 201, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1971, at a feed plant in Traver.
One could see all the way to the Sierra Nevada Mountains through the haze.
Calwa Crossing in south Fresno.
The BNSF mainline north to Fresno. We passed through the city at 5:22 PM.
California high-speed rail construction near Highway City. We went to the dining car at 5:30 PM and I had the Signature Steak with potatoes, which was excellent, and good conversations ensued. Train 14 stopped at Madera at 5:49 PM, Chowchilla at 6:02PM, Merced at 6:17, Turlock at 6:40 PM, Modesto at 6:51 PM then proceeded to Lathrop for wyeing.
The train on the southeast leg of the Lathrop Wye, after which we arrived at South Lathrop at 7:21 PM.
The middle of the wye. We departed North Lathrop at 7:42 PM.
On the northeast leg of the wye. We stopped to change pilot engineers then left East Lathrop at 7:50 PM and returned to the connection to the former Western Pacific line and started the journey to Oakland, going through Tracy then climbed the east slope of Altamont Pass, arriving at Altamont siding at 8:21 PM and Livermore at 8:40 PM. We sprinted through Pleasanton then ran through Hearst and Niles Canyon, going through Niles at 9:09 PM, and stopped at Newark to drop off the pilot engineer.
From here we turned onto the Mulford Line, which ended the detour and continued the rest of the way to Oakland, arriving there at 9:56 pm, 32 minutes late. I detrained feeling fantastic after a great day of train riding and tomorrow, would be able to do it all over again. I walked back to the "Tioga Pass" and found Chris Parker and Bob Jacoby, and after saying goodbye to Bob Riskie, the three of us walked to the Jack London Inn for the night.
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