Roll up, roll up for the magical mystery tour
Roll up, roll up for the magical mystery tour. Step right this way….
Alright, maybe not the magical mystery tour, but a tour nonetheless. This one by train from the historic Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego to the historic Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
Arrive at Santa Fe Depot on the San Diego Trolley:
The San Diego Trolley is in its 32nd year of operation. It is the fifth most-ridden light rail system in the United States. It’s a lot of fun to ride — clean, efficient, and on time.
The historic Santa Fe Depot opened on March 8, 1915. Originally it handled passenger traffic from three railroads, the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe, the San Diego & Arizona Railway, and the San Diego Electric Railway. Currently it handles passenger traffic for Amtrak, the San Diego Trolley, and the Coaster. BNSF Railroad freight traffic passes through without stopping on an adjacent track, but only during the night; there is no freight traffic through downtown San Diego during daylight hours.
My Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train to Los Angeles, and the car I chose to ride in:
If you ever need to find me on a train, I’m either in the very first car or the very last car. If the engine is pulling the train, I’ll be in the last car. If the engine is pushing the train, I’ll be in the first car. The views are better!
Once you get out of San Diego, keep your eyes open because there is a lot to see between San Diego and Los Angeles. Regardless of which side of the car you sit on, keep your head moving constantly from one side to the other because both sides have interesting things to see.
We in San Diego are proud of the United States military located in the County. According to the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, San Diego County now has the world’s highest concentration of United States military personnel, surpassing the D.C./Arlington, Virginia area a couple of years ago.
Between San Diego and the Los Angeles metroplex is Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, a huge military base comprising over 125,000 acres. Camp Pendleton is what prevents Los Angeles from annexing San Diego, but if we ever see peace in the world and Camp Pendleton is closed and developed, you’ll see a Los Angeles/San Diego metropolitan statistical area.
The San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant is at the northern border of Camp Pendleton, almost exactly sixty miles from my home. The first reactor was commissioned in 1968 and decommissioned in 1992. The second reactor was commissioned in 1983 and the third in 1984. It has been offline for a year due to various problems, and the longer it is offline, the more questionable it becomes as to whether it will be restarted.
You’ll go right by the home of the 2002 World Series champions, the Anaheim Angels, known as the California Angels from 1965-1996 and known since 2005 as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
Of course, there is lots of train action in and between the nation’s second-largest and eighth-largest cities:
As you get close to Los Angeles Union Station, keep an eye out on the left side of the train. If you’re lucky, you’ll see Santa Fe #3751, a historic 4-8-4 steam locomotive built in 1927 by Baldwin Locomotive Works. It still runs on regular excursions throughout the United States. Sometimes you can even catch it at the Los Angeles Union Station, as I did.
Also keep an eye out for views of downtown Los Angeles:
The tallest building in that picture is the U.S. Bank Tower. At 73 stories and 1,018 feet tall, it is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and the tenth tallest in the United States.
Soon after you see the downtown skyline, you’ll arrive at Los Angeles Union Station, also known as the “Last of the Great Railway Stations.” It opened in May 1939, just as diesel engines were taking over from steam locomotives, and passenger traffic was starting a long decline that would finally end in 1971 with the creation of Amtrak.
To get from Los Angeles to San Diego, simply scroll up through this post!
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Posted on January 3, 2013, in Halls of History, History, Manmade, Out & About, Photos, Railroads & trains and tagged Amtrak Pacific Surfliner pictures, angel stadium of anaheim pictures, atsf 3751 pictures, beach volleyball pictures, bnsf railroad pictures, camp pendleton pictures, los angeles uniion station pictures, metro rail pictures, metrolink pictures, pacific sun railroad pictures, railroad turntable pictures, san diego trolley pictures, san onofre nuclear power plant pictures, santa fe 3751 pictures, santa fe depot san diego pictures, united states marine pictures, united states navy pictures. Bookmark the permalink. 59 Comments.
I really enjoyed that trip, thanks Russel. Witty ending there too, good one, ha! I love the Vintage Architecture in California. The train stations are so romantic. Did you see that movie with Denzel Washington and Chris Pine (OMG he’s cute)…they were on a run away train? Thanks for the tip on the Engine and picking a car…I’ll remember that.
I just watched “Unstoppable” a week ago. Surprisingly I did not see it when it came out in 2010. Denzel has been a favorite of mine since I saw him in “The Book of Eli” which also came out in 2010. I’ve been going back to pick up his earlier stuff. And Chris Pine? Well, anyone who can play James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, and do it extremely well, wins me over!
Wow, that was a nice trip
What a lovely post… thank you…
Yep, the return trip was good too except Zoey wasn’t at the end to approve it. Her trip is one way.
Zoey the Cool Cat wanted to stay in L.A. a while since she had never been there……..lol
I see. She likes to travel like the rest of us.
This is a wonderful post…informative and easy on the eye. Thank you!
I have nominated your blog for the Blog of the Year 2012 Award …for details go to
http://brissiemaz.me/2013/01/04/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/
Congratulations!….I hope you have the time and the inclination to accept the award …..there’s no time frame involved.
Best wishes, Mary
Thank you, Mary!
Good Series of pictures Russ!
I can see your love for chop-choos is still there! 
Loved these photos, Russel. My father was a “railroad man” and I grew up hearing stories about the railroad.
I bet you’ve got some stories, too. My dad, granddad, and three uncles worked for Missouri Pacific in Texas.
Beautiful photos!
WOW!
Really nice pictures and it looks like I’ll be able to find some helpful info. so that I can improve my photography. I appreciate you stopping by my blog recently, I really just haven’t had time to even try out my Photoshop, so mine are really, really plain… LOL
I see that you are a train fan, great pics there Russell.
Laurie
Lovely Photos and story!!!
And that San Diego trolley goes all the way to the Mexican border,if you dare go across these days. it is a bice ride,anyway.
It’s okay to go to Mexico but you have to know where to go. In Tijuana, just the tourist area of Zona Centro. Other than that, it’s the beach town of Rosarito. Everything else, stay away from.
I don’t think it’s any worse than certain places in the United States. For example, the Mexicans might be saying, “Stay out of America. They let crazy people carry guns into theaters and schools and massacre people. You never know what’s going to happen there.”
In Mexico it seems to be “business killings.” Here in the United States, who knows?
Great photos. Thanks for the ride.
All aboard! I’ve nominated you for a Very Inspiring Blogger Awards. You must determine at which stop on the amazing train tour I !have hidden the award. Or you could just check out the details at my blog
Thank you!
*Award.* I can only do one of these things at a time.
My nephews are obsessed with trains! They would love to take this tour with you
Great Blog, nice story with lots of nice pictures to fill in the blanks.
Great photos! I love trains…what a great adventure!
Nice tour! I was surprised you didn’t include pictures of the insides of the stations. The LA train station is one of the most beautiful I know, and the most famous because of all the movies it’s been featured in.
Fun post!
I will eventually but I don’t have good pictures of the insides right now. Just a bunch of people sitting or standing around. I have to devise a plan of attack.
I’ve been to Los Angeles several times but have never seen Union Station. What a beautiful station! I’ll have to make a point of seeing it the next time I’m out that way.
Thanks for sharing your unique perspective.
Russell, I thoroughly enjoyed my little get away! Thank you! S
Splendid trip.Amazing picture.Thank you so much for your visit.Blessings and regards.jalal
Love reading your travels….really like your page design…thank you for sharing your life and travels
Had the Beatles song playing in my head the whole time I was reading and looking a the amazing pictures
Very cool postcards! I’ve been to conferences in San Diego – and seen the trains and trolleys – always wished there was time to hop aboard – it’s such an interesting area. Thanks for taking us along
Passenger trains are fun. I took the Amtrack train from Seattle to Vancouver, Canada several times.
Beautiful, interesting post!
wonderful blog you have here and thanks for the visit.
I’ll be back in a day or two to camp out for a little while and do some reading and liking. Keep that camp store open late!
Take great pride, today you are one of the few Californians who used convenient mass transit!
Great post Russell. It’s nice to see my hometown scenery from the train that runs through Southern California. Thanks for visiting my blog today and clicking on the Like button to my most recent post. I hope to hear from you again soon. Keep up the good work you’re doing here. Cheers!
Love the photo’s! Next time you near San Diego, check our La Jolla. Seeing the sea lions au natural was a treat!
I go to La Jolla at least once a month for chamber music rehearsal. The place where we rehearse at is directly across the street from the sea lions. I could watch them 24/7, even if all they are doing is sunning on the beach.
I thought I had done a blog post about the seals and sea lions at La Jolla Cove but apparently I haven’t. Just a few isolated pictures here and there. Hmmmm. It’s pupping season for them. Maybe a post is in order for this week.
Love the photos especially how you made them appear as postcards!
Fantastic pictures ! thanks a lot for stopping by my blog, Russel. Best wishes
Thank you for sharing photos very lovely
Superb post and spectacular pictures.Thank you for reading my post (the American service men and women)l hope many will read it.Jalal
A wonderful mystery trip.Thank you for liking my post (A day without tomorrow.) regards.jalal
Russel, Great pix – really takes you on an adventure. I’m also glad that Zoey approves of this site. Without Zoey’s approval … well – it just wouldn’t be the same
Bob
Zoey the Cool Cat keeps asking for a raise, though. So far, a few more tummy rubs and head rubs is keeping her satisfied……..lol
lol … she looks like a little lover that will bump you when she’s ready for attention … cute face
Thanks for the train ride!! And I have to ask, how were you able to get such beautiful structural images of Union Station w/o any people? Is it that vacant? Any ways, beautiful images and a great narrative. Thanks also for following my blog!
Patience. And, of course, I didn’t show you all the pictures I have with people in them……………..lol
LOL… A few years ago before I accompanied a group of WWII Veterans on an Honor Flight trip to Wash D.C. , I made a pit stop there on a return trip from the East Coast. I got ‘lucky’ in that it was a monday morning, and it was raining, and got a lot of images of the WWII Memorial with no one in them – but that was luck due to the rain. Once it subsided, I was not as fortunate at some of the other memorials. But I understand the patience, at one point there was an individual in a bright orange rain parka (at the WWII) whom I had to wait for them to go behind a pillar in order to not have thier glowing prescence in an image.
Love this post! I used to swim at San Onofre Beach, back when the reactors were all running. The water was always just a tad warmer there, then anywhere else LOL!
I am an Amtrak voyager! Lunch, a glass of wine, read a book!
I can’t do that driving on a freeway!
Bingo!
Such interesting places! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Russel. What an amazing journey I loved to do the trip. Such an interesting post and as always fantastic photos, what inspiration I could find on that journey. I love trains especially steam I’m from Swindon Wiltshire U.k. It used to be a Big railway works . Where carriages and steam engines were built. Opened in 1843 and closed down in 1985. It’s between London and Bristol. The man who created new Swindon Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built the Great Western Railway I went around the works when it was still working. May I thank you for liking so many of my recent poems. It’s always so kind of you to read them. Best Wishes. The Foureyed Poet.
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