A Train Odyssey 2, Part 2: AMTRAK Coast Starlight

so this is the morning of May 17th 2018 and this is the beginning of my video on the Amtrak coast starlight train from Los Angeles to eventually Seattle but I'm going to be getting off at Portland Oregon and my hotel was in Chino Hills which is roughly 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles so now I'm joining all the other commuters driving into the city I left a lot of time because I don't know what kind of congestion I'm going to encounter but hopefully it'll be relatively smooth sailing looks like a fine day and I expect to see some good views of the ocean this morning and then the Cascade Mountains tomorrow and it begins the great slowdown now on Interstate 10 heading west towards Los Angeles take exit 15 on the right to i-10 west I guess I wasn't on i-10 quite yet nice la haze off there in the distance and now the traffic comes to a stop again la traffic at least it's moving [Applause] well at least I'm within six miles of the train station now but it's definitely a crawl now I've shifted on to highway 101 approaching the downtown area turn right at the traffic light that take the first left and there is Union Station be turning your turn right at the traffic light that take the first right [Applause] turn right at the traffic light then take the first right turn right at the stop sign first left turn left on the road the GPO still thinks I'm trying to go somewhere else but this is rental car returned turn right at the stop sign arriving action and track Los Angeles Union Station on the right this is the underground car rental area for Avis Budget and Hertz all kind of jammed together down here although the hurts area is I think around the corner there but Avis and budget are here so it's pretty convenient if you want to run a car directly from Los Angeles Union Station if you are with one of those companies and you don't have to go anywhere else it's just right there I think this is the Hertz area knows the Avis and budget and I don't know that there's any elevators going upstairs from here for people who might need that every place I've found get out here's involving stairs [Music] so Los Angeles Union Station has this one long corridor and it goes underneath all the tracks so you go down that way until the appropriate doorway off to one side of the other and then straight up to the platform in that way it's different from a lot of other stations that I'm familiar with that's the Amtrak ticketing area here's the car-rental area again [Music] excuse me don't feel like slipping the case up the stairs again [Music] and here we are at the Amtrak Napolitan lounge as it turns out there actually is a ramp into the metropolitan lounge but it's from the the track side and then there's a ramp that comes up here directly into the metropolitan lounge last minute call anyone for training 5/6 every penny 40th is now much like 11 feet so the metropolitan lounge here in LA is really small compared to the one in Chicago so all in all it took me just under two hours to get to the train station and another 15 minutes to get the car turned in and make my way up to the lounge so I have about an hour before the Train boards now on the coast starlight [Applause] yes I feel like I'm in a tour group we're walking we're walking [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this somewhat unusually in my experience is this sporting procedure where the train isn't here yet and they're just forming us up into groups according to where our cars are expected to be [Music] but no train of sight quite yet but I'm not here [Music] [Music] 13:11 your coach train attendant candy please take out their boarding passes and tickets for collection please have all boarding passes your boarding passes are the color-coded Couric's that was given to you in the station and here on the platform that has your seat number thank you for your attention and cooperation okay so the coast starlight departs Los Angeles Union Station at 1019 that's nine minutes past the scheduled 10:10 a.m. not bad honey and we are trained 14 so when that number comes up on the scanner that's the one to listen for please speak quietly if using any media device must use your headphones if you see something say something do not hesitate to alert any crew member if you see anything that is suspicious or out of the ordinary please take a look at the emergency information card is located in the back of a receipt first off today will be Burbank Bob Bob airport in 20 minutes please every ticket tonight these out and ready conductors are coming through scanning tickets straight number 14 folks northbound go starlight whoa I'm in room 7 which is the room right next to that position I had on my Southwest chief trip a few days ago I was in room 9 in that occasion I'm on the right side of the train which is not going to be good for the first part of the trip where we're going to be paralleling the coast I may want to go over to the lounge for that to get the view is on to the left side of the Train but for the meantime I have to remain here until they come by to scan tickets and take meal reservations all right throughout the Train throughout your journey I'm gonna get this kicked off folks my name is Moses I will be with you all the way to Seattle whatever your final destination might be we will get to know and another cousin table guy with the snacks and the drinks of your lounge car attendant another beautiful sunny SoCal morning here is it spring summer May another nice May morning now folks as mentioned our conductors aren't coming through the entire train scanning your ticket so please if you could refrain from moving about until those things have been scanned that would be fantastic so once that has happened I must insist that you come down to our cafe and lounge for snacks and drinks and all that good stuff you're going to need to help you pass the time no reservations are needed here in the cafe considered me your convenience store on wheels right towards the center of the train you're gonna find our site to your club that's the one with the big windows or the big chairs it's been quite a bit of time together you and I might as well be friends also for those of you so inclined feeling a little adventurous this morning it's not too early and to judge you want to crack open and ice the whole or enjoy one of our gross faintness and track the Bloody Marys gosh I wish these days in the cafe cars were just shut up they make so many announcements and they seem to be in love with their voices they just want to prattle on it just remind people there's a cafe and then shut up alrighty ladies and gentlemen good morning to you good morning I'd like to welcome you aboard the coast starlight train number 14 with a destination to Seattle Washington take the opportunity to thank you for joining us how this is your dining car LSA I have some information for you in regards to dining car service the dining car is currently closed left this time we will start with lunch and it will be by reservation but it is a very convenient process all you do is sit back relax enjoy the sights and sounds I'm going to come throughout the whole entire train to offer reservations for lunch if you'd like to join us in the dining car I'm gonna start with our sleeping car pack your meals are included we're obligated to serve you a meal as long as you're on board world we do the first choice of reservation times all I'm going to ask of you is to have at least one person of your party and your sleeping room accommodation at this time designate that one person if you're in a party of Tora Bora to take the reservation for your party we have a very full train we'd like to eliminate doubling up on reservations you can help in this process by designating one person of your part to take the reservation for your partner top those doors and curtains wide open if your doors and curtains are closed I'll pass right five thinking not to disturb you that is for privacy purposes self-awareness leaving homes have those doors the curtains wide open if you plan on getting a lunch reservation for those of you on our business class and coach once I've done with our sleeping car passengers I'm going to make another announcement I'm going to go over your options you do have a couple of options to obtain food or beverages or snacks here aboard the Train go over the dining car is the lunch menu in prices and then I'm going to walk back there just wait for that announcement second announcement in regards to what you offer and how much it does cost so sweeping our passengers I'll give you a few minutes to make sure that you have that one person of your party and your sleeping room accommodation please avoid from stopping me in the hallways span your rooms at your seats but a walk through the entire framework and offer lunch reservations well thanks again for doing in this area for the coolest online please sit back relax enjoy your ride issei vigilant courteous to your fellow popcorn or see you around so I know I mentioned it earlier but this is May 17th 2018 or 2018 and I've never been on the coast starlight before I don't know it's exact route and I didn't really check it in much detail before taking the trip so it'll be a new one on me and hopefully the surprises will be pleasant ones at 14 [Music] this is a map from the Wikipedia page on the coast starlight and it shows that when we leave Los Angeles we run along the coast for a ways and then it looks like it's sort of along the coast up as far as San Francisco the Bay Area around here it's actually this fuzzy it's not the camera out of focus it's just a low res map and then it's running the the mountains all the way up to Seattle of course I'm getting off at Portland so it's probably not too bad that I'm on the right side of the Train a part where there's going to be a view of the coast is gonna be only the very beginning part of the trip I don't know maybe the first 20 percent of it or something so as soon as they take my meal reservation here I'm going to decamp from my sleep in my room work on my room minutes I'm sorry and moved to the lounge car and see if I can get a seat there we're paralleling interstate 5 here and now we diverge and we're getting almost due west now it's been interesting there's a place here that has some models of airplanes up on reservations I'm not positive but I think this is probably Bob Hope Airport here [Music] surprise there's of course of smaller stuff inside right I gave one away back yeah no I understand excuse me at 11:00 a.m. the train is progressed as far as Van Nuys Airport right here history well it looks like the stops have seen me to the earth of the lawsuit over their loss yes you that day you think according to the math these are the seeming Hills the stream next up ups will be Oxnard half-an-hour Ochsner oh sorry Oh it amazes me we're paralleling highway 118 here this is Camarillo this is the vicinity of Oxnard flew over this same exact area on the Zeppelin several years ago that's on my video of that trip this is Oxnard and Knox nerds on the coach but that was probably right there one will get a view but I don't know in the holiday after we know it's my four children he was concerned that we would fight for school he was just kidding I was just making a joke we're gonna wait or scratch your ear okay there that was pretty good one of the food I like it and I went up to see it a little gesture 5:16 I know his pictures being more like a twig oh yeah and I got there this meeting that was just starting to get gentrified a bit where we were staying so you see there's a little turnover but I really I just know what all the way so was it wasn't like mid settle in learn the Seattle metro fast rather than write our merchants long walk along that is actually a pretty good size finally and Victoria is your last night Victor wouldn't that be mild Victoria Tillman's felt very place about pole Aryan from those you don't get to watch any of the TV show stream that was a character from Dragon Slayer now I was the old game of thrones probably use their - yeah is really changing yeah after we eat the other two cars maybe we'll watch something done but for now we're going to sit there and eat a nice meal how do you be like so hard to be different and everybody is different when a race named our boys first one was Riley second one was Avery and of course now those are all going one of the fun things a bunch of fiery Bainbridge Island Eddie never know I shouldn't be effects so I really had done works animation courage because a 2d Compson professor was like doing all out of the 2d animation to do that and we're back sometimes we're home features incorrect clapping afternoon ladies and gentlemen on even less time in the one that was on the PA system a moment ago it sounds like our speakers are working five minutes we're going to be much closer to the islands earth to the ocean yeah I guess we won't be closer to the islands too but they're about 22 miles over and I don't know if we're gonna see him today I think there are persecuted for and you know we are we are go where are we we are approaching Kalina our last vision stop of course of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara you'll go to this had lots of buildings that were white or these sand colors alright I gotta try it out there it is way off on the left now I know there it goes I've got Paul building its concrete steel structure low post one in Santa Barbara County then inside the University of California that is stork power yeah I 101 and it's gonna be with us for quite a while until they get the damn you enough and it's gonna go its way we're gonna go our way now looking out the one island you can see very well smell I shouldn't say very well but you can tell it's an IRA that's Santa Cruz Island there's one to the left that we cannot make out that Anacapa Island even on that clear day we can usually see at least three of them today we can see Santa Cruz so we kind of make out Santa Rosa there about 25 miles offshore Channel Islands National Park was established in 1980 that's one of our most remote and primitive national parks there are visitor centers both in Santa Barbara and Ventura but the park itself is accessible only by boat or a small plane post at home there are a variety of trips to the islands and if you want any events against another place acknowledge you know and it's abusive also looking up online we piano playing is your pickup yeah and tell me enough on our rise up there here all the way out to Point Conception anyway and back to the top of the ridge well now we are much closer you can talk about silly and started hitting up the orbits we might be able to catch them there and they come in fairly often there are fin whales which you only stay in deeper water but they have been coming please there's very large harbor seals my favorite spot for smugglers the late 18th century early 19th century favorite spot Oh what we got out here waiting okay bird is gonna be walking you out here he has some brochures about the answer trail now the written history of the area began about 450 years ago violet breeders for real the Spanish navigator enters the standard barber channel the year was 1542 it was 50 years after the first voyage of Christopher Columbus and everywhere that he traveled along the shores of the mainland and the Channel Islands he found large villages somewhat as many as a thousand residents and most of these villages were located around high water marshes like Lita Slough which we passed earlier in the mouths of rivers and streams and that's because that's where the food was this was a very rich place to live in those days with deer and bear in addition to all the scene life you had here from the diaries of Cabrillo small agency clear that he himself was impressed with the long state canoes that the Chugach used to make their way around the waters of the Channel Islands they were called poles they were strong on the area under st. Barbara and it's been called the Sitka Barbara Channel percent I'm making a last call for 1:30 lunch reservations last call we are missing someone and then Matt : Jesse party of one Rodriguez party of one Joe party of one and Shelly party of one please join us in the dining car your tables available again that's Jesse for one about three is for one so for one Shelly for one come on that calendar those are oil platforms they can have up to 200 well any platform they use directional ads about 1:30 in the afternoon we're right about here so they are they are not directors in a few moments we'll be passing over the Gaviota bridge of favorites - railroad photographers because of the tremendous use of the trains crossing the treble trestle it's the longest bridge between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo and then take a look at your right you can see highway 101 remember I told you we're going to be parting ways well this is the time we partnered with it's going to go north and we're going to keep on getting less Gaviota is also a sign of another Beach Park yeah there's the here at one time it was 400 feet longer and then a storm came along right that out then they found out this repair was not safe anymore so it's closed and ironically that they before the storm they finally got the bull boys 50 again so the boy the boy works but you can't get to use it excuse me we're getting out into a more rural area now this is actually how else to really talk about the most wild animals seen here our mule deer coyotes wild things occasionally there's about lion and other things like the prey fox there are small animals and they run very fast those very difficult you know clinic certainly the deer and the wild pigs and the Coyotes normally see the Coyotes hanging around channel so keep an eye out for that there are lots of birds of course there are turkey vultures which are large birds and the large Hawks are the red tailed and the red shouldered Hawk there are also peregrine falcons here into our Ospreys here you know a lot of lots lots of birds so we are now on Hollister ranch which bird is locking about up their house their ranches an exclusive fourteen thousand four hundred acre property divided up into privately owned the states of 100 acres or more and as we go along and get out of this cut and see somebody houses why not uniquely spiral houses here that's their broke that's the look and it looks good now but you oughta see it one or any range I believe that is that's one of our odd oil resource boats out there this is a oil cleanup boat so there are several along the coast here so they have everything they need to respond to an oil cleanup secure the strategic base at San Diego and migrate to explore and open a needed supplier of northern Sonora to California and later in the year in 1775 he assumed the responsibility for recruiting families and organizing the first colonizing expedition into Northern California and then it was in October 1775 hanzo and approximately 240 men women and children left to buck with a small military escort and for five months they traveled by horse back here but mostly excellent pitch to arriving at the Presidio of Monterey in March of 1776 there in Germany tube self-perception no I watched my charity work Joe and apartment but they don't know okay we're coming up on coho Anchorage on left answer me go by you will see a sailboat up against a fish okay one time there were a whole bunch of sailboats up against the cliff whoo-hoo Anchorage is a spot where the northbound traffic from the channel will put in if the weather has really been around the corner in the Pacific Ocean and one day there are a whole bunch of them here anchored waiting in the wind shifted to the southeast and gale force winds ripped up a lot of their reactors and drove over short so thirsteee there was a whole litter of sailboats there some managed to get off I get work read traveling on this is landfill this was not here till the railroad came there is a quarter million cubic yards of dirt that we're traveling over that built this bridge Horace yeah and it was he was moved with horse-drawn scrapers and guys with wheelbarrows basically in the London Times in the eighteen nineties reported at the time it was the largest landfill in the world section and you don't see you later it is because when they built the lighthouse at Point Conception they put on top of the hill which is a nice high profit or unfortunate empathize before there were lots of complaints from barriers that could never see the light so fortuitously there was a very quick knock the whole structure down and when they rebuilt it they put it on the terrace down below the hill it is still a 133 feet above sea level and in about ten miles if we look back and if you especially can't binoculars and you look carefully you can see the lighthouse up against the hill on that Terrace so they can get your organization okay now you can see if you look back toward Point Conception until you can see the terrorists extending out into the ocean you cannot see the light yet it'll be a while and you notice the weather has changed a little bit at sea the waters no bluer little crater getting a little rougher if that's typical of this part of the world whatever we have in the channel and that's not what we're going to find when we get around the corner into the Pacific Ocean and I see a ship way out there in the channel I still have not seen a whip okay on the on the coast right here very good sighting here that that's much on the surface of the ocean here and this kelp kelp is one of the fastest growing plants on earth it's probably a lot of people say it's a second fastest growing plant I think bamboo is number one but anyhow it around here it can draw from Twitter three feet a day though the side this is the top of the tree if you think of it as a tree that's a hundred feet down into the water and it's a good place to look for dolphins on an occasional whale but dolphin is feed off of the green life now there right in their help cutting boats that come along and trim off the top just like a big pair of barber shears they bring the top onto the deck then it's stored and it's used to make Elsa knee anyhow that stuff is some very versatile can stand he can stand cold it dissolves easily in hot water or cold water they can be used for thickening stabilizing Cody gelling the salts used in jams and ice cream and beer stuff it also has some applications in pharmaceuticals and in cosmetics and I think 23 those years we're doing here this is a year of champion of day use park operated by the County of Santa Barbara it's the only spot where a public road reaches the Pacific Ocean one for 37 miles French in early this dark times there was a true bash Indian village where the whole Hama Creek reaches the sea in the word Kalama which is spelled to jail it is the Spanish pronunciation with the village name and so on the left here we can see the road bringing us down into the park a very windy place by the way in circles and so you have wind surfers here right off [Applause] Rory and here's the creek [Music] [Music] I just don't [Music] and finally retired after 50 years in the Army what's that paper oh I'm sorry okay that is the point our quail rescue station that is the Coast Guard facility built in the 1930s to provide life-saving services for shipwrecks along this dangerous clothesline the dude story structure are the barracks and administration building the other surviving building is a garage and both are in the colonial revival story all the other buildings including the boathouse have been removed the boathouse had three spot for three boats they were on railroad tracks that could be launched in less than 30 seconds down to the dock and the the crew would be out at sea in about a minute and it was finally abandoned by the Coast Guard when the Navy took over in 1954 I think and then right after that the Air Force took over and the Air Force has reconfigured the Little Rock area down there and they bring in this is primer Aquila and off on our right if it's not in will be Space Launch Complex number six the first one we will see now the first one here is actually a space lunch complex number eight that you can't see it now slick six was going to be the watch site for the polar orbiting missions of the Space Shuttle but it was mothballed after the Challenger disaster in 18 1986 I kept my ears make senator I but it's put back on service for new uses in the 1990s and it's now used for launching fuller more fatigue dance and commercial satellites and it has been modified to accommodate the delta 4 heavy family of rockets and so will be going around the corner here and on the right will be looking for a spate of first slick six then it'll be over but has the large flag on the side the flag is 208 feet Farley take you back in time so just after the end of the first row war and then the night of September 8th 1923 14 destroyers Pacific Beach 11 squadron was skirting down the coast returning home to San Diego from an event called sweet leaf in San Francisco which still happens by the way I missed it last year the ship's rotation of engineering speed tests doing 20 knots moving a tight formation in single file and as they approach that night the fog thickened a big mission navigation difficult but the squadron commander aboard the flagship took readings of the new reading of transmitter at Twitter follow and didn't believe them now they're reading said the candy ships are still north of the point but he thought he had already change the channel they decided to turn into the channel and shortly after the turn they hit the shoreline he thought they had hit sin to kill Island tragically it thanks to 20 ships 20 miles off course five minutes after the course change or adelphia smashed into the rocks here at the elementals point and most of the ships remain still rest on the ocean floor an old-timer salute also used to be able to come down here and see parts and it's sticking out of the water especially at low tide but that was a long time ago but others tell us you can still see parts of the ships but it's usually the grass and a stainless steel working society here it's not the Greek vote over another trestle now this portion of the earth base below sandy this river is called South Vandenberg and the specialty here is satellites that's not to say that North Vandenberg doesn't launch satellites but it's probably primarily in straightener continental ballistic missiles if an apposite for one symbol of my spot all right Danny glands called two o'clock two o'clock please jordison you have that two o'clock tables available that village this is yours but I love it then there's another oil platform that's platform Irene way out there at last all along the coast here and if you look to the right way off there you can say North Vandenberg will be there a little while is that what you thought don't mind okay there is a launch facility for East okay coming up there's a little while we are going to pass a couple things we're going to pass the Amtrak station here at Sur it'll be on our right you're never going to pass through Busch and Park yes that thing is facility on the south shore descended he does river and it's operated by the County of Santa Barbara so here is the Redwood station and coming up is the park and a lot of the peach area here is closed for the protection of the snowy plover and endangered bird both of the magical this is the Cindy and Ezra ver actually it's intended as River estuary because it's not a river anymore it drains 900 square miles of watershed one of the largest and most important estuaries on the Central Coast and more than a hundred species of residents and migratory birds can be seen here during the year it was closed completely in North Vandenberg is used mainly to test America's intercontinental ballistic missile fleet and during testing these ICBMs including the Minuteman 3 and the peacekeeper missiles well over a piece of paper this little bit system my crew they're fired at targets fire up the Pacific Ocean they travel at speeds up to 17,000 miles an hour and it takes them this is only about 25 minutes to make the 4000 mile journey in Vandenberg is the only place in the world where the Air Force conducts ICBM launches well duh that review of it we get a little closer now they still watch rockets from there what they have is the portable an assembly structures that will pull up there and they bring them up horizontal raise the vertical on the hydraulics to launch them mostly in a minute core that marks the Delta to one side slick - which is operated jointly by NASA and the Air Force and of course on the inland side if you look over to the right so we got past these trees you'll see a been averted 15,000 foot airstrip it was lengthen the handle the landings of the space show to hit my longer than longest runway at Los Angeles Airport this runway was renovated to accommodate the landing of the x-37b orbital amended test a vehicle which is a smaller version of the space shuttle at months from Canaveral in April and it landed after 270 days landed in vain the Burg air force base you're looking at the last Atlas missile gantry here at Vandenberg the Atlas was the United States first operational ICBM placed in the service here in 1959 and of course that is designated a national historic landmark and of course it's nice and clear today and if you look out further up inside gantry along on the tour he would go to the Edinburgh Villa Heritage Museum along with several other runs complex life on the Air Force Base there are other endangered plant animal species here Maya Vandenberg 13 your number Oh and we can see the bomb is now off the mustard seed usually that the hillside is covered with the beautiful mustard seed yeah San Francisco Los Angeles were joined by rail in 1876 with the very light to get Atlanta latrans from the San Joaquin Valley and finally through the San Fernando tunnel in the Los Angeles but the railroad wanted a more direct coastal route that will also cross the very rich Salinas Valley so the Pacific Southern Pacific track-laying crews came down from San Francisco and the builders in Southern California came as Florence Elwood in the Galena Valley cubic yards of material to make this roadway more solid the reason was there were dozens and dozens of canyons that emptied into the ocean and the sand was not very stable closer to the ocean it's about 2:30 in the afternoon folks if anybody has any questions about what you're seeing on the trip so far just raise your hand or try to make eye contact with my fellow died and he made a and he's available to answer any of the questions and check with you on any anything that you could see no other way so far so we just got out my past and in the Berg Air Force Base so we're around here now but more along the coast so somewhere in this area san luis obispo you will be honoring the Salinas Valley which is very comparable to the Santa Maria Valley and of course the Salinas Valley is what's bigger this is much more than our Santa Maria Valley does inside of our coach this is the Santa Maria River currently dry the Salinas River for about a hundred miles and Weston is Lena's river is well you won't have there really grounds she will see the blossoms on the here and there but there's only this river is what's a surprise what is known as the salad bowl of the world in the Salinas Valley so here we go we've got a very good with other dogs out there Oh chemical additives in the world using rubber paper medicines agriculture - oh so many things carpet was perfectly he also used to the production of the rods for the new power plants the nuclear power plants but they no longer make it there you go up this tree that we saw they were in a dumpster California from Australia but the idea goes in them for making things and she offends post railroads ice telegraph poles the old against poor now it's firewood outside firewood wind breaks and landscaping a resort Southern Pacific the poet the Ellen Brown right now we're Talib Oceana a home of the melodrama the other one was allowed to are for the Seaport airline railroad boats closet ever purchased by the exciting Clarence Stewart and he sets him up as a restaurant name Oceano railroad company today I'm gonna set up the zipper teeth decor name the rock'n'roll diner not about a minute or so we'll be coming on the what was the oceans I that won't rain the monarch butterfly rules it isn't populated right now but the monarch butterflies are rapidly becoming uh an endangered species because their main theme is milkweed and the insecticides uh or it gets wiping out their food source this my beets cleanse bed that's three ten in the afternoon we just want three visible again and now you're about his mo beach here at this point the Train is going to be leaving the coast not to return it's going to be going up more or less this way for the Bay Area here almost extinct San Jose Bay Area and inland for the rest of the party so there's not much reason to stay in the lounge cart now that views should be more or less the same on both sides so at 3:20 in the afternoon we're pulling into San Luis Obispo we left the Pacific Coast just about ten minutes ago and as they clarified we won't be seeing it again for the rest of the trip so as my carton pointed out after San Luis Obispo the best side of the car to be on is the right side which is where my room it is and although there will be plenty of things to see on the left it'll peak probably at least as good on the right and certain large mountain peaks should be more visible on the right so I plan to camp out here in my room it for the rest of the journey instead of going to the lounge car I was there for I don't know what it was about four and a half five hours and it was really beautiful along the coast I would say in terms of scenery that's probably second only to the mountain crossings on the California Zephyr in terms of my own experiences I am track long-distance routes certainly had ideal weather for it so did you have they do have a long stop here at San Luis Obispo so I plan to get off and get a breath of fresh air [Music] they sort of run an empty fiber [Applause] the diner manager stated that he's going to come around and be taking dinner reservations after we leave San Luis Obispo here so no danger of missing the reservation on account of not being not in my room money comes by this would appear to be the Amtrak Surfliner Oh [Music] so two locomotives luggage car more baggage car transition car sleeper car my sleeper car the next sleeper car and then the diner car and beyond that is the business class car I'm losing it on my zoom here business class cars and the lounge card which is just visible down there doing smaller windows after that two or three coach cars this is got pretty much the normal consist for a long distance Superliner train with but it has the addition of the business class car which is not usually seen at least in my experience on these routes [Music] you know let's do this here right so nothing to do now until dinnertime looking at the scenery [Applause] I should point out I don't think I mentioned it on the Southwest chief portion of this train Odyssey but as usual I take my scanner with me and make sure that it's pre-programmed with the frequencies that the railroad and M track uses on that particular route so I actually added the coast starlight to my library of frequencies in the databank of the scanner since I had not taken this route before and I updated the Southwest chief and the Empire Builder once again using the on-track online website as the source of the frequencies there was only a couple of tweaks for the Southwest Chief since the last time I taken it and no tweaks to the empire builder and all I have to do here is each time I get on a new train is change which bank of frequencies is being scanned very simply and I'm assured of getting the communications I want to here oh darling folks my name is Dorito I am your attendant here at our cafe and Lounge we do have a cafe and Lounge on board this train and chocolate full of drinks so does all good stuff and then this time we're going to go ahead and make our open afternoon call to the entire train anyone by the interest armed grabbing a snack maybe you just joined us in San Luis Obispo waiting out there for a better listen you grab a snack this is the place to do it you don't need a reservation of here all night long lower level of the site to your car speak Arabic like those in the big chairs right towards the center of the Train and downstairs it's me of the both upon the excitement this is where it's all happening today don't miss out we've already got a little crowd down here friendship all over the age of 21 Ventris saucy I can help you do that ice-cold beers wines cocktails and those so much more of it down here all right once again Doritos is not my real name how do you close orange all right serial soon the Train is going to make a switch back here I can already see the front curving a little bit up there but that's not the main verb hello there's either never dinner yes I am for one just one five thirty through 7:30 every 30 minutes I think I'd like to do six alright nation when I call six o'clock you know the truth I know the drill thank you very much thank you yes I liked your laugh but it was very clear a couple of bulls were chasing each other around there I presume that's the trestle we went over just a little while ago so we're basically climbing up the coastal range here as we depart the coast get into some higher altitudes you can see the cuts in the sides of the hill there where the track is going to go I have had the same song going through my head this entire trip as my gals a high-class lady I think is the name of it old folk tune I think it's a folk to him and I don't know why I just can't get her out of my head well it isn't snow-capped mountain peaks but this is a very pretty area [Music] I just noticed for the first time that we don't have a matched set of locomotives on this trip we've got the streamline Amtrak local up front and then one of the other ones it looks more like a freight locomotive I don't really know what to call each model but I don't usually see the second type on the trains I've been on some go through work through the business class for that just for you opportunity again $12 cash as a walkthrough I'll take your seat number car number your attendant will deliver it to your seat at around 5 o'clock or 8:00 in the reservation that's an either or just for you dinner or in a reservation there's some highway down there I don't know which one it is highway 101 there it is way below us obviously aiming go through the same pass and the mountains as the train does [Music] we should be actually crossing highway 101 there it is up there and now we're crossing the other Lane so now the highways on our left and it looks like we're heading down the other side now we seem to be descending slightly so I think we've crested that mountain range [Music] [Music] [Music] so at about 4:30 we're entering Atascadero [Music] and the task Adaro is right here in the middle of the screen northeast of morro bay so we're still following 101 and we're no doubt going to be following it all the way up to San Jose it's crossing highway 41 here and at five o'clock we're just a little bit north of San Miguel or San Miguel I suppose is the way it's pronounced here is San Luis Obispo we went up here the past pasta Robles and now we're just north of San Miguel still paralleling highway 101 so my expectation is we'll get up still with daylight as far as the Bay Area probably looks like that's probably still a couple hours away should still have sunlight by the time we get into the bay but I suspect that the part of it where we let's see if I can find the whole California map here yeah so after we leave the San Francisco area then we go up to Sacramento and then basically I think we're just following Interstate 5 more or less up through the Central Valley all the way up into Oregon and that'll be overnight and at least a lot of that's not very attractive countryside so it's probably just as well to sleep through that and then the train doesn't get in till 3:30 in the afternoon in Portland so I suspect might still get a little bit of Northern California and the wee hours of the morning again the dining car does work off a long-standing tradition of community seating seems like they're pulling some stuff out of the ground here doesn't it of the crappy little area visually speaking no insult intended to the people who choose to make this place home I miss all yours everybody else cheesecake no biting no pushing stuff operates the spoons all the way around beer back well it's 713 and I just returned from dinner and checking our location we're in a town called aromas which is apparently unincorporated doesn't appear on the maps but that's what the GPS says and that's approximately trying to zoom in here where Watsonville is and then where the highway here goes up right where the V in Watsonville is right halfway in between Watsonville and that highway which I guess is still highway 101 so yeah halfway between Watsonville and highway 101 is where the Train currently is making its way along some sort of a river so we're definitely getting up into the Bay Area with any luck we'll be able to make it around the bay during that point in time when there's still enough light to see what's going on but I suspect it'll probably be dark by the time we leave the Bay Area some good train shadows going on here low-angle the son so we're now in Gilroy at 7:30 7:30 dinner reservations you have that 7:30 dinner reservation please join us with your reservations slip once you make it through the dining car course please wait at the indoors to be seated by uniformed attendants 7:30 first call come on down so at about 750 we're just on the very south end of San Jose so we're right down the middle of San Jose now at 8 o'clock [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well judging from the amount of distance there is between San Jose in Emeryville and how dark it's getting I don't think it will be light by the time we get in there all the announcements and they're just oblivious to it finally departing San Jose [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] so at nine o'clock we're just coming up on the north side of San Lorenzo here and Oakland International Airport which my camera doesn't want to focus on is just to the northwest of where we are now we're basically just sailing up along here and then we got to go along the side of Oakland and then up to Emeryville and we're clipping along at about 50 miles an hour so it shouldn't take too long to get there I think that'll be a long stop so there will probably be time to get off the train but then it'll be time for bed at about 9:20 we're pulling into Oakland right across from Alameda there's the big rail yard right there and just north of there is Emeryville so we're getting really close to that location that's a major stop after which it'll be bedtime fresh hair please listen for the conductor's all aboard if you are gonna be smoking that simmer for about 20 feet away from our doors Jacqueline in our writing it didn't realize they were gonna do a smoke stop at Auckland I figured they'd wait till Emeryville [Applause] okay our comedians all right thank you very much lift it on the road by a man Oh a our BF goodrich [Music] this is the Auckland rail yard just paralleling the interstate there so the Oakland Bay Bridge is coming up right here this is the first time I've come to Emeryville from this directions so yeah I usually take the Zephyr in from the other direction oh yeah this is what you can teach deference yeah yeah the Zephyr this is where it yeah yeah well I take it from Chicago here well the way I take it it starts in Chicago and ends here so just those [Music] the way down like you're gonna turn to the left and the bag will be in this okay thank you so much this is pretty short stop then it's supposed to be sure but now we're all the way in the front here I got the people that pipe take a few minutes to get here oh yeah and so time to hit the hay here the power keeps going out in the room I think it's the whole train not just my car based on what I hear them saying on the radio there's some sort of ignore intermittent thing going on there but it's not a big deal normally it causes the ventilation fan to stop and anything I've got plugged into my charger doesn't get charged for a moment but the lights stay on at least the ones on the ceiling I think the reading lights go out so hopefully that's something that won't continue they comment on it from the conductor and the engineer they seem to be unsure of what's causing it so I think off go the lights at 5:30 in the morning on Friday the 18th of May 2018 and we're still in California we're paralleling i-5 and we're just south of where highway 89 comes in and according to my map that means Mount Shasta should be right off to our right just waiting to see if there's any Vantage to it here I think that maybe I think there she is really hard to get a good view of it though from this vantage point which is passed under interstate 5 the two bridges thereof so overnight we've traveled all the way from the Bay Area up to Sacramento and then I think we more or less followed interstate 5 up past reading we're now right here on camera focus all right highway 89 comes in from the right near McLeod that's just about where where the Train is at the moment unfortunately the reading light in the room here I can't avoid the shadow of the camera messing things up my GPS conveniently shows Mount Shasta here as a sort of a 3d view so anything out the right side of the car if we can get a view of it that's an interesting bridge design well according to my GPS were either right on top of or paralleling I five oh it's just off to our left [Music] for some reason we're heading south now I'm not sure why that would be the case unless it's just doing some switchbacks gain altitude well there's the mountain [Music] [Music] so we actually are all right next to the intersection of i-5 which is here in highway 89 coming in here I five is off to our right looks like we're gonna pass under it here this is the town of Mount Shasta [Music] that's crossing i-5 again and I don't know what this mountain is it's not a particularly huge one but makes me think of the beginning of Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark for the general moderation I don't like this we better thought he was gonna fly [Music] I wish the sky would shut up described everything he's got in the store every five minutes never you'd like and of course first know what's going to judge like to enjoy some of our liquid breakfast options are world-famous very very very sweet spicy and rack you jus drein Bloody Mary goes up down here in our cafe but we are way up here at the top end of California right where it says Cascade Range and just to the right of the word cascade is the little town of McDole we just went by there and we seem like we're paralleling a highway 97 so I guess that's where we're gonna be crossing into bargain here shortly so at about 750 we just are passing through the town of Doris which is the last town before the state line lost satellite reception I like to just give a reminder ladies and gentlemen about having quite a few people welcome to the diner without shoes on their feet Amtrak's policy for their safety policy is that if you leave your seat a room accommodation you must have shoes on your feet that is ham tracks safety policy that is for your safety believe us also if you walk into any of our food service cars this is food service you must have shoes on your feet in order for us to serve you let's please avoid any misunderstandings of made quite a few announcements in regards to that situation if you could just have to your feet any time you leave your seat at room accommodation we'd greatly appreciate that so we're just about ready to cross the state line so we are now in Oregon or Oregon depending how you like to pronounce it boy I wish these ones weren't so dirty I can't do anything about it on the outside just realize my camera had been a little bit out of focus there the baggage handlers a little time to get the bags off the train and they will bring those bags up to the Depot area for you where you can collect in there also folks we you can step up to train to stretch for a bit if you want to do that that's fine you'll have a few minutes there if you decide to take advantage of that be mindful of the fact that there's a set of tracks that are between the depot and the train and we would appreciate it very much if you would not walk across those tracks or walk on them but stay in the designated walkways Clement phones Plymouth poles organ coming up next so we've come up along highway 97 here in Oregon and we're almost in Klamath Falls should be there a couple minutes so this should be Klamath Falls let's see what it's like down there train stop excuse me I'm sorry the buddy [Applause] [Music] especially hope you drop something I believe those were our engineers so they've got a crew change in regards to that [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] because we need to go puff up those stairs Claire thank you and we are still serving I'm gonna make this a third call we have to move it right alone and a diner to appreciate everyone's consideration from one another these have been running really smoothly on the banner you'd like to join us here in the diner to simple come on in through the doors way to be indoors to be seated by unify the attendant this will be third call we're paralleling highway 97 here hitting out of Klamath Falls the next significant stop will be Eugene Oregon and to do that to get there we have to go up through the Cascade Mountains as Eugene's on the west side and we're more or less on the east side now so there should be some good mountain views coming up this is upper klamath lake yeah we're cheek and jowl with highway 97 here it's just right on the top of this a little wall of dirt here we were kind of on a sighting here to let a freight train go by and the either the engineer or the conductor in our our train noticed that there were some trespassers as they call them on one of the freight cars kind of camping out there so kind of the equivalent of hobos riding the rails they're not necessarily hobos but maybe adventurers or such these days who do it just for the thrill but they do tend to scratch each other's backs between the different railroad companies they'll call to the other guys if they see something amiss so I didn't catch the camera quick enough to to pick it up but somebody on our train was letting the freight train conductor know that they had somebody camping on one of their cars the respiration for your party we do ask you to please designate one person that you're on a party of two or more you're in different rooms Jesus does he make one person of your party at this time and take the reservation for your party so just eliminate on thumbing up on reservations making from your fellow passengers to enjoy lunch and the diner as well quite a few people on more we're back to accommodate as many people as we can here in 99 so the GPS shows us exactly due east of Crater Lake and looking at it on the map there's crater lake and we're right along highway 97 just on the place we're waiting on this freight train on the right-hand side of it to go by we will get a green light continue our way north right so let's get sitting there for that freight train next to us to clear up in front of us once it does we'll continue making our way north right thank you so according to this there's a mount Scott that's 8929 feet there's also crater peak at 7,200 63 feet but based on where the map shows us I think that mountain that we were just looking at is probably mount Scott it seems like the only likely contender they don't actually know when we're going to start heading up towards Eugene but my guess would be that we're gonna try to follow highway 58 here that would seem the most logical route so I'm guessing we're going to continue to go north for a little ways before we start crossing into the mountains this is Asha moult I'm guessing that's how it's pronounced right there and I'm thinking this is uh this 58 is where we're gonna turn and start going west we'll see and it does look like we are angling away from the highway moving paralleling we're gonna start heading up on 58 there right now we're just in an ocean of trees as far as the eye can see of course the problem with going through with any area like this is you can't see the forest for the trees there should be a sizeable lake off to the left here but I'm not sure we're gonna get a good look at it we just went past Crescent like but it was too far away from the tracks to see it but now coming up on the right side is like called Odell Lake it looks like we'll go right along the shore of that so let's see shoot through this screen of scum on the window well we're alongside the lake and I can barely make it out with my eyes I don't think the camera is seeing it much yet ah there we go it's got to be a snow shed type of structure we're going under real twisty turny bit of track ahead I should mention that the pass we're going through in the mountain range here is called the Willamette pass it's used by both the highway 58 a river and the train tracks looks like we're getting a really big switchback coming up here it was the highway we just passed over a trestle backyard didn't even know it this whole area we've been going through with the big switchback and nice mountain scenery is the the Waldo Lake wilderness area part of the Willamette National Forest I suspect we're into going through oprich not too long from now saying that the dining car is gonna make a first call for 12:00 o'clock lunch reservations we have that 12 o'clock lunch reservation please join us with your reservation slip again once you make it through the dining car doors please wait at the endorse to be seated by a uniformed attendant thank you you're a businessman Pepsi's so that long attractive Lake that we were going by while I was having my lunch in the dining car was lookout point alight and on the road atlas it's right there or 58 goes along it so did the tracks and now we're in the town of Lowell which is right at the west end of the lake at least the outskirts of Lowell this is the town of Springfield which is adjacent to the city of Eugene we're just coming into spring and it does happen so please from the Train please listen for the conductor's all the board announcement in to trip was announced as a cue to read for the train Eugene Oregon max station stop so we're in a central Springfield now and we're parade across the river into Eugene Valentin party to come on that so now I believe this means that we're in Eugene or maybe this is the river that divides it this is probably more likely to be the border [Music] [Applause] you're two-conductor speaking but just like to remind everybody that then next is stop where you can step off the train get up pressure grab a cigarette break we'll be in Portland Oregon which is approximately two and a half hours from now which means our next few station stop ladies and gentlemen will be short and very brief so we do ask you if it's not your ticket at destination that you remain onboard and upstairs leaving room for passengers boarding and e training once again the next opportunity instead of off the train have a cigarette or stretch your legs we'll be in Portland Oregon which is approximately two [Music] [Music] all check luggage can be cleaned outside the depot a couple minutes after we arrived Albany Oregon next station stop so we've made good progress it's now 2 o'clock and we're coming in to Albany here covered all that distance from Eugene pretty quickly [Music] [Applause] and we're leaving Albany I suppose that's I five down there but my GPS doesn't say oh there it is yeah it is I fine couldn't be much closer you've got the road over there that's named after Pierre frontage and they two lanes the interstate and then us very close together and it's downstairs here someone will help you in the knee training process all check luggage can be cleaned outside the station approximately five minutes after we arrived ladies and gentlemen of Salem is not your final stop please remain on board and upstairs leaving room for passengers boarding and detraining only Salem Oregon next okay at 2:30 we've made it up to Salem here from Albany about twice that distance up to Portland maybe three times that distance [Music] porty it up [Music] [Music] also will be by reservation and reservation only yeah I am going to start our sleeping car accommodations for those sleeping car passenger instead of going beyond can help slow with us if you're not going to be on Celso with us we will not be serving dinner and have not enough to call you in seat you serve here all of that good stuff so if you're not going to be on Celso please refrain from obtaining the reservation due to time then it will be early short and sweet this evening google arrival into Seattle Washington I'm going to start with our sleeping car passengers and after I'm done with the sleeping car passengers I'll come back over the horn and check my availability we're long from their instructions so the train is approaching Portland we're not very far out now the time is 3:30 which is about the expected arrival time they estimated a bit earlier that we'd be in there by 344 345 so I think we're in pretty good shape timewise apparently down here the tracks run up this way and they come over close to the river and then there is a bridge here well we're gaining on it [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] ladies and gentlemen can I have your attention please in approximately five minutes we will be riding into our next station stop of Portland Oregon ladies and gentlemen important is your destination just start using this time to look around your seats all overhead luggage racks and they seat back pockets in front of you and making sure you have all of your personal effects in preparation for tea training and just please wait on those upper levels that's how the chain does come to a full and complete stop inside problems Union Station we do have a lot of passengers detraining I think I want anyone to get hurt so again just remain on those upper levels until we come to a full and complete stop inside Portland's Union Station Depot for those passengers continuing your journey eastbound on the Empire Builder train number 28 George Chicago Illinois please go inside the station mornings should begin approximately 4:15 p.m. if you have any information regarding your train or your connections just go inside to talk to the ticket counter they will provide all the information you need for your connection on the Empire Builder 28 East bath to Chicago Illinois make sure you're close enough to hear the all aboard announcement to reward your train here in Portland ladies and gentlemen you will be getting a new set of conductors and engineers taking you between Portland and Seattle it was our pleasure bringing you up from Klamath Falls and we hope to see you on board another train very soon Mac station stop coming up will be Portland Oregon and once again folks cafe lounge is closed and this time I will reopen shortly after our departure from Portland there's Union Station up there [Music] and here we are [Music] Portland Union Station [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: youtuuba

Views: 141,583

Rating: 4.7691579 out of 5

Keywords: AMTRAK, train odyssey, Coast Starlight, Los Angeles, Portland, Roomette, Sleeper Car, California, Oregon, Crater Lake, Mount Shasta, Cascade Mountains, Pacific Ocean, Vandenberg AFB

Id: UILukXtDgPQ

Length: 174min 11sec (10451 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 10 2018