Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train #774

[nibot]

[ dawn over san luis obispo vineyards, as seen from the train ]

I was delighted to find the Obispo Hostel in San Luis Obispo, a reasonably cheap ($26) and very clean place to sleep just a block away from the train station. I've been in SLO a few times before, visiting shamster and bobolly back when they went to school there. It's a pleasant college town, full of enterprising students, and with a walkable downtown full of independent businesses (not to mention curiosities such as the Bubblegum Alley). But I think this was the first time the town really clicked for me, though, enjoying slices of pizza and, then, hunkered down at Linnea's cafe, enjoying coffee and waffles while peals of laughter from one joyous group intertwined with piano music being played by another guest.

The town is a stop for Amtrak's Coast Starlight train that runs from Seattle to Los Angeles daily, and for the more frequent Pacific Surfliner trains that originate in SLO and run to San Diego. I woke up early and made the easy stroll from the hostel over to the train station, catching the 6:45am Surfliner bound for Orange County. I was happy to find such a functional little train station at the outskirts of such a functional little town.

The train made for a pleasant ride. The train itself doesn't go very fast, never really exceeding 40 MPH while gliding between small coastal communities, often traveling right at the edge of the ocean and other times moving through agricultural areas. There's an AC electrical outlet in each row, so I didn't have to worry about battery power while I typed up that livejournal entry about my hitchhiking trip (though of course I'd have to wait till later to post it).

I have to say that the cafe car, though, was a disappointment, selling only nonperishable trail mix and shrink-wrapped danishes and that sort of thing, the fare of cheap motel breakfast buffets and less appealing even than airplane food. Scowling at the other options, I settled on a simple coffee for my breakfast. Notably, though, they do sell Arrogant Bastard beer, a delicious San Diego microbrew—but not what I had in mind for breakfast. With nearly a whole train car at their disposal, and traveling through the most productive agricultural land in the country, don't you think they could muster something a little more ... Californian?

At Oxnard the train begins to head inland and the terrain turns into an interesting rocky landscape near Chatsworth, traveling through a sequence of tunnels and passing the northbound Coast Starlight on its way to Seattle. At Los Angeles Union Station the train pauses for 15 minutes before resuming the second half of its journey.

The train ran precisely on time, which surprised me. At Union Station an Irish man took the seat next to me and we chatted about our various travels; I felt quite legitimate with a casual mention of being in Belgium last week. He marveled about Amtrak's promptness and affordability--a judgment error due to small statistics, I assured him.

The ride to Irvine took 6 ¾ hours and cost $38. It's about 230 miles, giving the train an average speed of 34 miles per hour and a cost of 16 cents per mile. The cost seemed reasonable, the pace a little slow, but, altogether, being on vacation after all, it was a satisfying experience.

At Irvine I caught a local Orange County bus #86 right to my parent's house. I don't think I've ever before taken an OCTA bus, but it turned out to be super convenient.

I'd love for Amtrak to resume the Sunset Limited Service from New Orleans east to Jacksonville, Florida and on to Miami (which ceased with hurricane Katrina). I'd take that trip.

Comments

Trains!

[bom.livejournal.com]

Man, I've wanted to take a train FOREVER. I looked into one from OC to Phoenix once but it was something like $180. Grrr. Trains should be one of the cheapest forms of transportation, though it sounds like you got a good deal.

Re: Trains!

[nibot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, unfortunately Amtrak is rarely ever fast OR cheap. However, I think the pacific northwest is at a nice intersection of train routes. You have the Coast Starlight (Seattle to Los Angeles), the Empire Builder (Portland to Chicago), and the Cascades (Eugene to Vancouver BC). I just checked fares on the Cascades train - a trip from Portland to Vancouver is only $35! Sounds like it would be a beautiful trip, and allegedly you can pick it up in Eugene too.

That's also a good area if you're interested in hopping freight trains...

[evan.livejournal.com]

Meena and I frequently used the Amtrak between Seattle and Portland. It was frequently significantly off-schedule, sometimes to the order of five hours. I vaguely recall equipment failures and the fact they borrowed the track with commercial ventures which got priority, which meant that when a cargo train wanted a piece of the track the Amtrak train had to sit and wait at the station.

That said, still fun. But the trains in e.g. Japan were much better.

[erinmack.livejournal.com]

One of my dreams is riding uber-cheap trains around India, drinking tea from terra-cotta cups and then smashing them on the tracks. Beats non-biodegradable water bottles!

[eigenvalue.livejournal.com]

i also dream of going around india on cheap trains. next year i might have the opportunity to do it...!

[vortexshedding.livejournal.com]

when are you coming back? nola po boy fest is next weekend :)