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1. Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 06:50:28 UTC Thomas Connor

   Do people on here want #train content? Because, boy-oh do I have some good ones after the past week! #Amtrak #Railroads

   • Tagomago repeated this.
   • Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 06:50:25 UTC Thomas Connor

     in reply to

     So a week ago I decided to check off a bucket list item and took the #CoastStarlight all the way from Los Angeles to Seattle.

     For those of you with better things to do than to keep track of #Amtrak routes, the Coast Starlight is the West Coast's only long N-S route; starting in LA, it steps north to Burbank before cutting to the coast at Oxnard. It then hugs the coast to San Luis Obispo, cuts inland into the Salinas Valley, and heads north before joining the Santa Clara Valley near Gilroy. Then the East Bay through Oakland, over the Carquinez Strait to Sacramento, north past Mt. Shasta and into Oregon, over the Cascade Range to Eugene, and then up the Willamette Valley to Portland. Finally, the train shadows I-5 toward Olympia, then to Tacoma and Seattle.

     In short: it's a grand tour of the Pacific Coast of the US! And this full ride takes about 36 hours, so there's plenty of time to appreciate the sights.

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:10 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     • erik

     @thomasconnor @iamdoon That route looks so epic.

   • Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:11 UTC Thomas Connor

     in reply to

     • erik

     @iamdoon And I, in turn, need to find an excuse to do the Empire Builder!

   • erik (iamdoon@mspsocial.net)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:18 UTC erik

     in reply to

     @thomasconnor This is fantastic! A few years ago I took the Empire Builder from Minneapolis to Seattle, which I greatly enjoyed. I would love to try the Coast Starlight someday.

   • Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:20 UTC Thomas Connor

     in reply to

     A few more photos from the coastal section. All of these are south of San Luis Obispo, so, if you're in LA, you can get this view on the Pacific Surfliner as well -- which should have more times available than the 9:50 AM departure of the Coast Starlight. I was doing a little work during this time, which the spacious Amtrak seats gave me ample room for.

   • Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:21 UTC Thomas Connor

     in reply to

     But then you get several hours of just running along the coast. It's the #PacificSurfliner experience; bluffs, views, a little bit of speed, and the California coast just zipping by. #RailJourney

   • Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:22 UTC Thomas Connor

     in reply to

     The LA stretch really isn't that exciting. Highlights include passing near the new Taylor Yard bridge over the river (pedestrian infrastructure!), past the Burbank airport (#RIPFrys), up into the hills right next to Stoney Point (no climbers were out when I went through), and down into the unexciting plains leading to Oxnard, Ventura, and the sea.

   • Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:24 UTC Thomas Connor

     in reply to

     The train consists of several sleeper cars (~$1k per room, at least when I bought tickets), a business class car (~$170/ticket for the whole line), several coach class cars (~$100/ticket), a dining car, and a lounge / viewing car. These are all two-level cars, with most of the excitement on the second level. Second level is where you transit between carriages, where seats are, and where the dining room is. Bottom levels have bathrooms, a limited number of accessible seats, luggage holds, the cafe, and the dining room kitchen. I, being rich enough to afford things but far too poor to afford a house, opted for the business class seat. A little more room, a free bottle of water, and -- most importantly -- fewer people to interact with.

   • Thomas Connor (thomasconnor@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:26 UTC Thomas Connor

     in reply to

     The Coast Starlight is, to my reckoning at least, one of the Big Five Amtrak routes for long distance travel, along with the #SouthwestChief (Chicago -- Albuquerque -- LA), #CaliforniaZephyr (Chicago -- Denver -- Oakland), #EmpireBuilder (Chicago -- Spokane -- Portland | Seattle), and #SunsetLimited (New Orleans -- Houston -- Los Angeles). The Starlight also covers some of the same ground as the #PacificSurfliner (San Diego -- LA -- San Luis Obispo), the #CapitolCorridor (Auburn -- Sacramento -- Oakland -- San Jose) and the Amtrak Cascades (Vancouver Canada -- Seattle -- Portland -- Eugene).

   • Tagomago (tagomago@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 07-May-2022 07:42:59 UTC Tagomago

     in reply to

     @thomasconnor Thanks for the threaded posts. Nice read.