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My mother drove me down to the Santa Ana Train Station and dropped me off in the corner of the northeast parking lot. That made it easy to get to the east platform via the Santa Ana grade crossing at the north end of the station. It was a rather windy early afternoon as I would be waiting for Surfliner 573 to take me to Los Angeles Union Station.
As I had finished my first Sudoku Puzzle of the trip, Metrolink 811 heading to San Juan Capistrano to Irvine.
Surfliner 573 12/27/06
The train pulled into Santa Ana with the following consist: Surfliner Cab Car 6903, Coaches 6407 and 6453, Coach/Cafe 6302 and Pacific Business Class 6802 with engine 456. We departed Santa Ana on time and made of way to Anaheim, Fullerton and Norwalk before we made the final sprint to Los Angeles Union Passenger Station. We arrived into LAUPT on Track 12 and Sunset Limited would be backing in across the platform on Track 11.
Sunset Limited 2/422 12/27/06
At 1:45 PM the Sunset Limited backed into LAUPT with engines 47 and 97, Baggage 1172, Transition 39005, Sleeper 32045, Diner 38018, Lounge 33097, Coaches 35002, 34016, and 34097 with my Sleeper 32057. Cars 34097 and 32057 are the through cars for the Texas Eagle known as Train 422. I walked down for the picture of the train as it rained once again in downtown Los Angeles. My Sleeping Car Attendant as far as San Antonio is Lloyd Berry from El Paso, Texas. I returned to my room and started listening to Billy Joel "Stormfront" prior to our on time afternoon departure from LAUPT.
Passing Mission Tower as we left Los Angeles via San Gabriel.
Just after we crossed the Los Angeles River.
East Bank Jct.
Yuma Jct.
Yard power at the LATC with downtown Los Angeles standing behind.
UP freight in the Alhambra Trench.
Views of the Alhambra Trench.
Mission San Gabriel. I returned to my room from the rear door and relaxed to Pomona before taking a walk through the train. I returned to my room after our Ontario station stop for some Jethro Tull "Heavy Horses" was my next late afternoon musical choice. We got nailed by a UP double stack train at South Fontana for a few minutes after I had gotten a 6 PM Dinner Reservation.
The traffic on the San Bernardino Freeway was at least moving while we sat waiting on that train to get by. On the move again after a second UP freight, we passed by West Colton Yard, before crossing over at CP Ramona just before the BNSF Crossing at the former site of Colton Tower.
I went to the lounge car for the trip up San Timiteo Canyon and over Beaumont Hill. At Loma Linda we crossed back over to the north main and later we passed a UP eastbound freight at Hinda. We ran with no delays over "The Hill" to Palm Springs, a fresh air stop which I passed on due to the cold windy conditions. UP 2424 West passed through Palm Springs during our station stop there. On the move again At MP 606.1 I passed my 969,000.0 rail mile before being called into dinner. Roy and Joyce going to Dallas joined me for dinner in the dining car this evening. I ordered the Beef Ragout and Mississippi Mud Cake. I returned to my darkened room for an evening of more Jethro Tull was I enjoyed a clear desert night, I called it a night after Yuma making up my room climbing into my bed and dreaming that night away!
12/28/06 I woke up two states later as the train was speeding east towards Deming, New Mexico in the early morning darkness, I prepared myself for the day and went to the lounge car to wait for breakfast. At 7:00 AM the Dining Car opened with me being seated with Pete going to Houston. I enjoyed French Toast and sausage patties. We crossed the Rio Grande River into Texas with Ciudad Juarez to the south of the International Border.
The Sunset Limited after it had arrived into El Paso Union Station early on this trip. Now lets take a better look at this unique station building.
The very impressive El Paso Union Station.
The main entrance into the station.
Inside the station the Train Board.
The Amtrak Ticket Counter.
Views inside the Station Hall.
The 100 Years of El Paso Union Station display. I bought a newspaper and walked back out to the train.
Sleeping Car Attendant Lloyd Berry and our Sleeping Car Passengers enjoying our early arrival into El Paso.
The rear of our train in El Paso as a westbound UP freight came by to the mainline fueling racks just to the west of the station. The Sunset Limited left El Paso on time and continued eastbound, our next station stop would be Alpine.
Leased power in the UP Yard in El Paso. The Sunset Limited escaped out of El Paso with no delays as I had put on Jethro Tull "Crest of the Knave" on this extremely western Texas stormy morning.
As we neared Sierra Blanca the clouds hide the mountain peaks from my gaze.
Mesas east of Sierra Blanca.
The view to towards the Rio Grande River and Mexico. As we continued east it became time to listen to Queen "Live Killers". The book that I'm reading on this trip is "Wicked, the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire. We were stopped briefly at Aragon for a Track Inspection Truck to clear off the mainline so we could continue east.
A little freight train congestion at Paisano Jct.
UP 4451 East at Paisano. Now a few pictures of our eastbound crossing of Paisano Pass, the highest point on the SP Sunset Route.
We arrived into Alpine early at 1:42 PM and had an extended fresh air stop.
Sleeping Car Passengers enjoy the fresh air in Alpine.
Downtown Alpine.
The painting on the back of a gas station in Alpine.
Sleeping Car Attendant Lloyd Berry kept on eye on his Sleeping Car Passengers in Alpine. The Sunset Limited departed Alpine on time. We traveled east just one siding to Strobel where we pulled in behind an eastbound freight to wait for a westbound trains.
First the westbound Sunset Limited came by heading into Alpine about an hour late. We followed that freight one siding east to Lenox where we tucked to that siding behind once again.
UP 5547 West came by and had to clear the block before we could back onto the mainline before we could continue east.
On the move again we finally passed the UP 3657 East at Lenox. My next musical selection was Emerson, Lake & Palmer "Live".
Later the cliffs west of Sanderson as we closed in to that location. We passed through Sanderson forty five minutes late after the delays back at Strobel and Lenox. It got dark long before we had reached the Pecos River High Bridge. At 6 PM I got called into the Dining Car and was seated with Patsy from Oklahoma City. I enjoyed a Half Baked Chicken and another piece of Mississippi Mud Cake. I finished dinner just before Del Rio, our next fresh air stop of this trip. There a UP westbound freight passed by while we did our station stop. A refreshing shower was next before I returned to my room to read more of "Wicked" and Deep Purple "Under the Gun". After that was done I made up my room and called it a night. The Sunset Limited arrived into San Antonio just after 11:00 PM, a tad over thirty minutes late. Later that night our through cars which had been dropped off by the Sunset Limited were switched into the Texas Eagle for the morning departure to Chicago.
Texas Eagle 22/422 12/29/06At 5:00 AM I got up to record the consist of the Texas Eagle that our through cars for Chicago were added to earlier in the morning. This train had a consist of engine 19, Sleepers 32115 and 32057, Coach 34097, Diner 38038, Lounge 33001, Coaches 31017 and 34052. As you can tell our through cars 32057 and 34097 were cut into the consist instead of being added to the rear end as the through cars had been in the past. I returned back to bed and the Texas Eagle left San Antonio on time with me sound asleep. Twenty minutes before San Marcos I got up, dressed before heading to the lounge car for a Cinnamon Roll and Orange Juice. The dining car crew gets on the train in Austin and you get a box breakfast that didn't appeal much to me. I rode in the lounge car until just short of Austin with some local railfans pointing out things along our route this cloudy morning.
The Colorado River of Texas just before our fresh air stop at Austin.
The Texas Eagle at Austin before I visited the inside of the station there. It became a very wet morning as the Texas Eagle made its way to Taylor. Motley Crew "20th Century Masters" was my first musical choice of this very dark morning. After Taylor we turned north onto the old MKT for the run to the ex Santa Fe connection just short of Temple.
Scene between Taylor and Temple.
On the outskirts of Temple one of the large hospitals in Temple. Temple was the next fresh air stop.
The Texas Eagle in Temple.
Santa Fe 4-6-2 3423 at the Temple Railroad Museum. It became lunch time while we were there and I was seated with Alan and Jennifer going to Chicago from Austin. I had the Angus Burger and Chocolate Cake as the train made its way to McGregor during the meal. Back in my room Guns N' Roses "Appetite for Destruction" was the next musical selection of this dark cloudy rainy early afternoon.
We stopped in Celbrune with a picture of part of the old Santa Fe Shops here which built all those CF-7s and other engines. From Celbrune we made the final sprint towards Fort Worth. The Texas Eagle had no delays at Tower 55 and pulled straight into the Fort Worth Transportation Center at 2:18 PM on both the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle.
Chris Parker And I met inside the station and we put my bags into the trunk of the rented Ford Taurus. We walked over to the Texas and Pacific Station in a light rain to catch the Trinity Rail Express to Dallas. We bought our tickets and went upstairs to board the waiting train.
Chris Parker aboard the TRE 2932
Me aboard the TRE 2932. Since I had written about my trips on the TRE back in 2003, I will only make a few comments about our trips tonight. This is Chris Parker's first trip aboard the TRE. We had a very enjoyable ride aboard the TRE on this very dark late afternoon. Before we arrived into Dallas Union Station we had to wait for my Texas Eagle to Chicago to pull into the station.
TRE 2932 at Dallas Union Station. We visited the station before walking two blocks to a Subway Sandwich Shop for dinner. We returned to the station in a pouring rain with strong gusty winds blowing. We bought Premium Day Passes then boarded a DART Train for Westmoreland. This route shares the tracks with the trains going to Ledbetter where I had ridden before as far as after the 8th & Cornith Station. We stopped at the Convention Center and Cedars before we crossed the Trinity River and onto 8th & Cornith Station. At the junction just south of there we went right onto brand new trackage for me to ride. In the pouring rain we stopped at the Dallas Zoo Station {just to the west}, Tyler Vernon, Hampton and on to the last stop on this line at Westmoreland. I detrained for a picture.
Our DART Train at Westmoreland. Chris and I enjoyed the light show that Mother Nature provided for us this evening as we returned to Dallas Union Station. We boarded the soon to depart TRE Train 2935 to return to the Fort Worth Transportation Station and our car. It was a great night to be safe inside a train as it poured down rain and we counted the seconds after the flash of lightning. A few times there were no seconds between the flash of light and loud thunder. At stations it was interesting to watch people make their runs for their cars in the pouring rain across flooded parking lots. The lightning knocked out the track side signals before the Hurst/Bell station. Our conductor did a great job of keeping us informed during these delays. At Fort Worth, Chris and I thanked the conductor for the safe trip back to here before we walked across street to the car. With all this nasty weather and our President Bush safe inside an armor vehicle in Crawford, Texas, Chris and I decided to stay off Interstate 30 and took Lancaster/Division Street as we drove east in this weather. The rain and the wind were incredible as we slowly made our way east towards Arlington.
It doesn't rain like this back home in Southern California. We made our way through all this mess to the Best Western Southland Inn and got out of that wild weather for the night. Tomorrow we would be visiting the Museum of America Railroads and the Grapevine Vintage Railroad but these will be the next two stories.
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