The Spirit of California was a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Los Angeles and Sacramento from 1981 to 1983 with financial support from the State of California under Governor Jerry Brown. It was the first overnight service between the two cities since the Southern Pacific Railroad discontinued the Lark in 1968 and one of few state-supported Amtrak trains with sleeper service. The train used the Southern Pacific's Coast Line, complementing the Coast Starlight which served the route on a daytime schedule.
During the 1970s, Amtrak operated the Coast Starlight, which departed Los Angeles every morning for Seattle, Washington. The southbound Coast Starlight arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the morning and in Los Angeles by dinnertime, and at the time did not serve the state capital of Sacramento.
The new train departed Los Angeles at 8:25 pm, arriving in Sacramento at 9:30 am the next morning. The southbound train departed at 7:55 pm and arrived at 9:00 am the next day. The California Department of Transportation budgeted $1.7 million towards the train's first year of operation and expected 160,000 passengers the first year, rising to 300,000 in five years. Service began on October 25, 1981 and Caltrans held a naming contest, with the winner "Spirit of California" announced on December 24.
The Spirit of California's usual consist was an F40PH locomotive, a heritage baggage car, two heritage sleepers, Amfleet I café and two Amfleet I 60-seat coaches.
However, Jerry Brown's successor, Governor George Deukmejian cut funding for the train after taking office in January 1983. The train's supporters scrambled to find additional funding and a proposal to acquire funding from the state of Nevada in return for extending the train to Reno did not pass the Nevada legislature. As such, the Spirit of California was discontinued in 1983, running for the final time on the night of September 30th to October 1st.
My TripWhen the end of the service was announced, I bought a ticket for a roomette on the last run. I boarded the San Diegan at Santa Ana during the beginning of an unusual September rainstorm for the quick journey to Los Angeles where across the platform sat the very last Spirit of California. I settled in my room and bought my usual new train drink from the Amdinette before returning to my room. Departure was on -time and we proceeded into a night of very heavy rains and by Santa Barbara, I called it a night, spending a very peaceful night of slumber in "Pacific View.
10/1/1983 I awoke as the train was being serviced at Oakland and stepped off into the very cool Bay Area air for my first daylight view of this train. Behind the two F40PHs were a baggage car, two Amfleet 60-seat coaches, the Amdinnette, three sleeping cars (mine the rearmost) and a fire-damaged dome car being shipped to a private party. We departed on time as I was having a breakfast of orange juice and chocolate doughnuts. As my room was on the right side of the train, I missed the bayside views but once past Martinez, my view improved as the train climbed the grade to the Carquinez Straits bridge where the United States Navy mothball fleet floated in the distance. Once past Fairfield-Suisan City, we went into a fog bank and I compared this to the fact the train was going to its own funeral and could do nothing to change its fate. Once we left Davis, the Spirit of California made its final run across the Yolo Bypass and crossed the Sacramento River to its last on-time arrival at Sacramento.
I stepped off my sleeeping car and there were media and railfans gathered to record this event for historical reasons. I stopped and had a last good look at the train that had been called the Spirit of California, which had brought me safely to my destination, but was to be no more. Long live the Spirit of California.
To HomeI met up with a railfan who gave me a tour of railfanning spots such as the Western Pacific yards and other points of interest.
Western Pacific GP9 729, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1955. It became Union Pacific 304 in 1984, sold to Precision National Corporation, then to Helm Leasing, after which it was acquired by Iowa Interstate in 1986 and re-numbered 304. Due to a fire in the main generator, it was retired and scrapped in 1987.
I was routed home on the last bus/train/bus connection to Los Angeles down the San Joaquin Valley and spent the day in Sacramento doing a little shopping and visiting Old Sacramento with an early dinner at Fulton's Prime Rib. At the Sacramento station, I met the Spirit of California's onboard crew who were deadheading home to Los Angeles the same way I was going. It was a quick bus trip to Stockton then aboard Amtrak's San Joaquin 710 and I met the crew in the lounge car where we had a farewell party to the train down the valley to Bakersfield. We all transferred to the buses for the journey over the mountains to Los Angeles, where I was picked up and driven home to Santa Ana, ending a very memorable and moving ride on the Spirit of California.
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