Seattle to L.A. on Amtrak's "Coast Starlight"
Good Morning DU'ers,
Happy 4th of July!
Hope everyone is enjoying themselves and keeping safe.
Once again as a weekend distraction my wife and I thought we might share some pics, this time from our journeys years back on Amtrak's Train #11, the "Coast Starlight", which runs on what we found to be an incredibly scenic route along the Pacific Coast from Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles, California.
The pics are a composite of several separate trips that we took on Train #11 and attempt to show some of the regions traversed, in geographical order from north to south.
The pics are from our website, https://northamericabyrail.info/
Hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Pete
FIRST, A PIC FROM ONBOARD THE 'COAST STARLIGHT' CROSSING THE TRESTLE AT GAVIOTA, CA
NOW FROM NORTH TO SOUTH:
KING STREET STATION, SEATTLE, WA
ONBOARD THE COAST STARLIGHT PASSING THE 'NEW' TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE [NOT THE OLD INFAMOUS GALLOPING GURDY]
ALONG PUGET SOUND
PACIFIC PARLOR CAR ON THE ‘COAST STARLIGHT’
PORTLAND UNION STATION
WILLAMETTE FALLS, OREGON CITY, OR, AS SEEN FROM THE COAST STARLIGHT
UNION PACIFIC YARD AT EUGENE, OR
WILLAMETTE PASS, SPRINGFIELD, OR
KLAMATH FALLS NOCTURNE WITH TRAIN #11
ONBOARD THE COAST STARTLIGHT, PASSING SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVER THE CARQUINEZ STRAIT
ON THE COAST STARLIGHT, STREET RUNNING THROUGH OAKLAND’S JACK LONDON SQUARE
PASSING THROUGH THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY
ENTERING A TUNNEL ON THE CUESTA GRADE AT PASO ROBLES, CA
CUESTA GRADE, PASO ROBLES, CA
THE COAST STARLIGHT DESCENDING THE CUESTA GRADE
FRONT OF OUR TRAIN, PASO ROBLES, CA
WINDING THROUGH THE HORSESHOE CURVES AT PASO ROBLES, CA
AMTRAK P42DC #189 ON THE POINT OF THE COAST STARLIGHT, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA
SAN LUIS OBISPO AMTRAK STATION
NEAR PISMO BEACH, CA
PACIFIC COAST, SANTA BARBARA, CA
THE COAST STARLIGHT TRAVELLING ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST, SANTA BARBARA, CA
PACIFIC COAST SOUTH OF SANTA BARBARA, CA
LOS ANGELES UNION STATION
= new reply since forum marked as read
That's the old alignment. On that one, you headed west from the Tacoma passenger station and went though a single-track tunnel. That was a bottleneck. A new alignment opened in December 2018. (?) That's the one where the train went off the curve on the first day of operation.
Klamath Falls, old school. The caption says Dunsmuir, but someone corrected it. I've been to Dunsmuir and Klamath Falls both. It's Klamath Falls.
Source: https://streamlinermemories.com/2014/07/06/southern-pacific-shasta-daylight/
Another one from the Godfather of Rails:
{I can't link to it from this page. I'll get it at Dziobko's page.}
Source: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/shasta-daylight-john-dziobko.html
Here you go. It's still not Dunsmuir.
Source: http://www.godfatherrails.com/photos/pv.asp?pid=1405
The train is headed north, away from San Francisco, so it's even-numbered.
Southern Pacific train numbers - Classic Trains Magazine ...
and be able to ride that old Amtrak heritage equipment...
They make me wish I were on board going nearly anywhere, right now!
There is something so special about traveling for several days with your own sleeping compartment and the dining car and the car for great views!
I agree that there is nothing quite like having your own compartment, while also being able to enjoy the views in the lounge cars. Also for us, meeting and conversing with fellow travelers in the dining car was one of the highlights of every trip.
Unfortunately travel is not in the cards for us at the moment for obvious reasons. Hopefully things will take a turn for the better in the not-too-distant future.
I enjoy sharing them, thanks for checking them out!
Best Regards,
Pete
