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OTOL Pacific Coast RailFest 2016 trip report


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#11 KevinKorell

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Posted 29 October 2017 - 11:55 PM

Chapter 11: Tuesday, July 19, 2016

 

Today began and ended aboard the Southwest Chief.

 

Chapter 11.0: Amtrak Southwest Chief, Train #4(18), Los Angeles, CA to Chicago, IL (continued)

 

As we awoke, we were almost to the Arizona/New Mexico border. We were at breakfast in the diner as we approached Gallup, NM. There, we had a short leg stretch stop before departing at 8:33 AM, 12 minutes late. We then arrived into Albuquerque at 10:53 AM, 51 minutes early thanks to plenty of schedule padding. This gave ample opportunity to walk around outside, despite the fact it was very hot there. After an on-time departure from Albuquerque at 12:10 PM, we were called to lunch and didn't need to be told twice. While eating, we experienced some slow orders, thus leaving Lamy about ten minutes late.

 

Between Lamy and Las Vegas, NM came Glorieta Pass, known as a common meet point between the opposing Southwest Chiefs. Sure enough, we stopped briefly around 2:00 PM for a meet with our westbound counterpart, Train #3. When we left Las Vegas, it was 3:33 PM and we were now half an hour in the hole.

 

We were having our second dinner aboard the Chief as we were crossing Raton Pass. We stopped in Raton, NM first, at 5:33 PM, and then left Trinidad, CO exactly an hour later on the other end of the pass. La Junta, CO was next, another fresh air stop that ended when we departed at 8:00 PM, 19 minutes down. Before the lights were turned down for the night around 10 PM, there was an announcement that we would be taking a short detour overnight in Kansas via the Emporia Sub, bypassing Topeka and Lawrence. We went to bed expecting to wake up to a significant delay.

 

Chapter 11.1: End of Tuesday's activities

 

This was the final on board overnight before our Fest's conclusion in Chicago.



Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ


#12 KevinKorell

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Posted 29 October 2017 - 11:56 PM

Chapter 12: Wednesday, July 20, 2016

 

 

On our final official day of our Fest, the group of five on the Southwest Chief would arrive back in Chicago and then split into even smaller groups to head for respective homes on the East Coast.

 

Chapter 12.0: Amtrak Southwest Chief, Train #4(18), Los Angeles, CA to Chicago, IL (continued)

 

When I awoke for breakfast, we were stopped in Lawrence, KS. We had not detoured after all, but had still lost a little more time as we departed at 6:28 AM, 41 minutes late. We made our fuel stop at Argentine Yard, and then arrived into Kansas City for the usual leg stretching stop. Some of our deficit was made back by schedule padding and a shorter layover as we departed at 7:58 AM, 15 minutes down.

 

We progressively lost a more minutes at La Plata, MO, Fort Madison, IA, and Galesburg, IL. We left the latter at 12:33 PM, now 25 minutes down. We were almost half an hour late at Princeton and Mendota. Then we came into Naperville, almost on time. We seemed destined for an on-time or early arrival. But as we approached the Chicago area and presumably got mixed up with freight or Metra commuter traffic, we lost a few minutes again. Our final arrival time into Chicago was 3:23 PM, just eight minutes down. Not bad!

 

Chapter 12.1: In Chicago

 

We separated for dinner, and then saw one another later in the Metropolitan Lounge as we awaited our eastbound departures.



Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#13 KevinKorell

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Posted 29 October 2017 - 11:57 PM

Chapter 13: Getting home from the Fest

 

Penny and Dick left Chicago eastbound on the Capitol Limited, and then from Washington they would take the Silver Meteor to their final Florida destinations.

 

About three hours later, Grace, Alan, and I departed eastbound on the Lake Shore Limited going to New York. This was during the period that the Lake Shore did not have a Boston section between Chicago and Albany, but it had a cross-platform transfer with a stub train that would protect the Albany-Boston portion of the run. So while it had three New York-bound sleepers, the train was shorter than usual out of Chicago. Train #48 came into New York at 6:50 PM, 27 minutes late. I had dinner near Penn Station, and then made my way to the Newark Liberty International Airport area to stay one more night before continuing the following morning to Philadelphia and Cherry Hill.

 

Others who had left us earlier made their ways home by air or other Amtrak trains. Steve and Mike travelled north on the Coast Starlight to Portland, and then went east to Chicago on the Empire Builder's Portland section.

 

Chapter 14: Conclusion

 

Wow, what an adventure! With all the rail mileage we covered and all the time we spent together, not much went wrong. The weather cooperated throughout the journey, and the timekeeping of our long distance trains did not disappoint us. This one ranked up there with our other West Coast jaunts in 2007, 2009, and 2010.

 

After the dust settled from this trip, attention moved to the future. In the late fall we would start looking forward to our next event, the OTOL Virginia RailFest 2017.



Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ





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