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To our surprise a day after the 2nd detour was made Amtrak announced a set of November detours will take place for the Coast Starlight over the Tehachapi Route.
Like the last detour, this one will take the same route. Instead of running over the BNSF in the San Joaquin Valley, route of Amtrak's San Joaquin passenger trains, these detours will run over the Union Pacific between Kern Jct near Bakersfield and Elvas Tower in Sacramento. For those that did not go on the June detour this will give you an additional 200 plus miles of freight only trackage between Bakersfield and Lathrop. Amtrak crews are not qualified to run on the Fresno Line, so Union Pacific will have to supply a pilot conductor and engineer on all detoured Amtrak trains.
We have reserved with Amtrak the placement of the Silver Lariat Vista Dome rail car No. 14 from Los Angeles to Sacramento running via Tehachapi Loop on November 10, 2008. Because of Amtrak switching policies our Vista Dome car must continue all the way to Seattle.
The Silver Lariat will then deadhead out of Seattle on November 13 attached to No. 11, the Southbound Coast Starlight. On November 14 we will pick up our passengers in Sacramento for the detour over Tehachaip to Los Angeles.
SILVER LARIAT VISTA DOME CAR
ON OUR OCTOBER 26 DETOUR THE COAST STARLIGHT
RACES A BNSF FREIGHT OUT OF MOJAVE
The big excitement started right after departing Mojave, as No. 14 started to
catch up to a BNSF northbound container train.
Now the race was on with both trains running side by side heading for Tehachapi. What a show it was from the Vista Dome cars
Finally after several miles Amtrak claims victory and pulls ahead of the BNSF freight train.
THE ITINERARY
MONDAY NOVEMBER 10 : LOS ANGELES-MOJAVE-TEHACHAPI-BAKERSFIELD-STOCKTON-SACRAMENTO. Depart Los Angeles Union Station at 10:15am with our private ex-CZ Vista Dome car attached to Amtrak No. 14, the northbound "Coast Starlight". The regular arrival time in Sacramento is scheduled for 11:50PM. We estimate the actual arrival time will be more like 9:00PM.
Here is a condensed run down of the route: At Burbank Junction we start our detour and head out on the Valley Subdivision soon entering tunnel 25 which take us under San Fernando Pass and out into Newhall and then up the Soledad Canyon through Ravenna and Vincent before dropping down into the Mojave Desert at Palmdale Junction, where we enter onto the Union Pacific's Mojave Subdivision and run north through Lancaster and on to Mojave.
At South Mojave ,the BNSF's line from Barstow joins the UP and we start the long climb into the mountains. Departing Mojave the freight traffic can be very intense at times as we turn northwest and start the steeper climb up into the Tehachapi Mountains. For the next 24 miles between Mojave and Cable is double track with traffic set up to handle trains in both directions. If conditions are just right we could be crossed over and run around a slow moving freight or two before arrival at Cable. From here is it single track down the steep mountain with passing sidings every few miles. Five miles north of Cable is the famous Tehachapi Loop and then another 10 miles further down the mountain we start down the Cliff-Caliente Loops. We will run through 12 tunnels on the north slope of the Tehachapi Mountains.
Just south of Bakersfield No. 14 swings over to the Union Pacific former
Southern Pacific Fresno Line for the run north over rare freight only
trackage in the San Joaquin Valley. This line connects with the former Western Pacific mainline at Lathrop. From here No. 14 will either run
to Sacramento via Stockton on the former WP or SP line. North of Sacramento the Coast Starlight will use it's regular route to Oregon and Washington.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14: The Southbound Coast Starlight is due to arrive in Sacramento at 6:20AM and are scheduled to
depart at 6:35AM. No. 11 will then run to Stockton either via the former SP or WP route and
on to Lathrop where it will swing south onto former SP Fresno Line for the run to Kern Jct
near Bakersfield. Again running over rare freight only trackage down the San Joaquin Valley
and then continuing over Tehachapi Loop and on into Los Angeles with a scheduled arrival
time of 9:00PM.
Let's turn back the clock some 40 years and view the San Joaquin Daylight
running through the Soledad Canyon area.
The photos below take us onboard a charter passenger train operated in 1968 by the Southern Pacific from Los Angeles to Bakersfield and return over the Tehachapi Mountains.
The photos below were taken trackside in the Tehachapi Mountains over the past 35 years.
ECONOMIC HARD TIMES BUSTER
LOOK AT THIS
PRICES HAVE BEEN SLASHED TO GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY
FOR ALL RAILFANS TO ENJOY THIS LAST DETOUR ONBOARD
THE SILVER LARIAT VISTA DOME CAR
PRICES INCLUDING ALL ONBOARD BEVERAGES
PRE-ELECTION SPECIAL OFFER
BOOK BY NOVEMBER 4
ONLY PER PERSON
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PRICES ALL PRICES PER PERSON
OPTION 1 NORTHBOUND NOVEMBER 10 (Los Angeles to Sacramento)............$198 per person
OPTION 2 SOUTHBOUND NOVEMBER 14 (Sacramento to Los Angeles)............$198 per person
Dome seating rotation class as required (Price after November 4).......$298 per person
Guaranteed dome seat UPDATE (Only 12 seats available for this option)..$148 per person
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