A heritage-livery engine comes to LA

Lately, Pacific Surfliners trains have frequently had non-Pacific Surfliners locomotive up front, usually the "Genesis" engines that pull the long distance trains.  I can tell when we do, as I walk up the ramp at Union Station, because the "Gennies" have a much louder rumble as they idle at the platform, with an occasional "whoosh!"  so they just sound different from the tall F59s.  We've talked more about the different locomotives here.

Today we had a famous one, #184, which is painted in an historical or "heritage" color scheme to commemorate Amtrak's 40th birthday in 2011.  It's much nicer looking than the boring grey that the Gennies usually sport.  #184 looks like it's new in the area because it has a very new looking "shoe" for the ATS system.

I like the look of the paint, and I bet it looks very smooth when it's pulling the superliner cars (which are painted similarly, with red stripes).  The engine's paint is in great shape, and it looked positively sparkly in the late afternoon sunlight.

Almost ready! The new platform at LA Union Station

Yesterday, they opened up the connection to the tunnel (although still not using the platform). It looks very light and fresh. The only thing missing is the sign over the opening with the Track numbers. 

More pictures below.

 When's the grand opening?

Remote Control

With the new track construction at union station, and with the help of the railroaders and hard core railfans who write Wikipedia articles, it has been possible to identify components of the remote systems that regulate passenger trains. I'm sure that  our Anonymous Amtrak reader,  or others more knowledgeable, will correct my mistakes.

As trains leave  LA Union Station, they pass a box with a  light that says "CTC begins".  I believe CTC stands for Centralized Traffic Control, which essentially means there is  a dispatcher who functions like an air traffic controller to regulate signals and switches remotely.  This  ensures the smooth running of trains particularly through regions of single track, without relying on the train crews or local towers to keep track of the traffic individually  to manage the switches.

I assume that the blue structures bolted onto the new tracks at LAUS are magnets associated with the CTC, since they are right next to the light box.

Or are they part of the Automatic Train Stop system?  That is required on passenger trains in certain regions to allow them to go as fast as 90miles an hour. It works via a magnetic shoe on the front right of the locomotive (or cab car) to pick up a remote signal.   This conveys a  signal d to the engineer who has 8 seconds to acknowledge that he got it, before the brakes automatically deploy. 

You can see the shoe in the picture to the right--it is the lowest structure you see, hanging off the truck to run at the outside of the track.

Apparently this is found in only parts of Amtrak's service area, including the Pacific Surfliners.  So, any locomotives from elsewhere in the system that "sub in" for the PacSurfliner engines, have to be fitted with this shoe. The long distance locomotives from the Southwest Chief also have ATS shoes, so that's probably where our "Gennies" come from.

This is what comes of walking up and down the platform while waiting to board the train, and noticing odd things on tracks and engines.

Update:  our friend Anonymous in the comments says that the blue bits are

 insulated joints. The signal system functions via low-voltage electrical currents which run through the rails, each "block" of track is independent, so at each signal the tracks need to be segregated electrically to differentiate the blocks in the computer.

Otherwise, he says this is pretty accurate.  Praise from the Pro is praise indeed!  :-)

More woodpile haiku

The train sits and waits

While the sun sinks down

Shadows drift o’er the woodpile

Previous entries in the waiting-at-the-woodpile series here.

Progress on new platform at Union Station (updated)

I've told you before about the renovation of Union Station is underway to facilitate its conversion from a "stub" station to one with "run through" tracks for more efficient travel. Right now, all trains, whether coming in or leaving, must pass through a narrow "throat" and if headed south, navigate a 180° turn.  This is part of the reason why the Amtrak operates in a push-pull configuration, where essentially it reverses into the station from San Diego or Goleta, with the engine pushing rather than pulling.  (The other reason is that there is no wye in Goleta or San Diego to turn the train around, so it's not clear that this will eliminate push-pull trains, which are not popular.)

The raised structure on the left is the old cap over the ramp

 The first step is the rebuilding of platform 7 and reactivation of tracks 13-15.  This has been fun to watch as they have done a brilliant job of recreating the look of the other platforms with their "butterfly" canopies.  You can see more pictures on my previous post.

 The original ramp and stairways were "capped off" when the platform was inactivated, so they've also had to re-open the connections to the tunnel below.  I wonder how many people noticed that there were archways over the walls at the east end of the tunnel, indicating that there used to be more platform?  Based on the arches, it also looks like there was an 8th platform with connections below.  (Update: Mark, posting in the comments to this post, says that was indeed the case.)


Along with building the platform, they also had to lay the track, and that was fascinating to watch.  But yesterday, I noticed that all the big track machines are gone, so the tracks must be ready.  There's still some painting going on but the benches are in place and it looks close to finished.  The attention to detail is nice;  for example, the light fixtures on poles at the east end of the platform have the same elegant design with spiky finials as the ones on the street below.

The picture below was taken yesterday from track 12, and shows the new platform looking clean and fresh next to the old one.  Of course, once this activates, there will be more construction as they begin the biggest part of the project, building run-through tracks over the 101 freeway.

The new platform as seen from Track 12.

Station update: cool machines

They are finishing up the new tracks at Union Station.  Laying track is interesting--first a deep trench, then rock ballast;  the ties (sleepers in the UK) are adjusted first by hand with long poles and a tape measure,  and then the long rails are welded together to create continuous rail.  Finally,  these wild machines run along and dig in and push rock around.  Maybe a railfan will tell us what they are doing.

Locomotion (updated)

Normally the Surfliner is pulled by the matching Surfliner locomotive,which according to Wikipedia is a General Motors EMD F59PHI. Sure it is. ;-) Anyway, it's tall and sleek and makes for a very smooth looking consist.

Conversely, when they hook it up to the sad old Amfleet set, this locomotive looks too tall and as though its a thoroughbred pulling a wagon. Which in some respects it is.  Metrolink runs some of these too.

Recently, some of the trains have been pulled by the long distance Amtrak locomotives, which Wikipedia tells me are of the GE Genesis class.  Big trains like the Pacific Coast Starlight  or Southwest Chief will be pulled by a couple of these.

These are noticeably lower than the regular Surfliner engines, so that the surfliner cars stick up above the top of the locomotive.  When I walk through the tunnel in Union Station below the platforms, I can sometimes tell if there's one of these on the track above because it makes spitting noises and its idle is a much louder roar than the regular ones.  I think they are kind of ugly with the flat grey nose and plain sides.  And of course they look squat next to the surfliner consist.

Our helpful Anon from Amtrak (in the comments) tells us that the Surfliner locomotives are designed for commuting stop-and-start, with about 3000 HP while the "Gennies" are tuned to cruise long distances, with about 4200HP.  He says they are a "blast" and I'm sure they are.

This one is a GE Dash 8-32BWH .  I  don't know what it was doing at Union Station that day because I usually see it in the yard (though it does pop up now and again pulling a consist).  There's also a little yard switcher you see sometimes (not in the station), which someone told me is called a "hog" but our friendly Anon in the comments tells me is actually called a "goat".  A "hog" or "hoghead" is the nickname for an engineer.

And sometimes, mysteriously, there is a big Union Pacific freight engine sitting on one of the middle tracks at Union Station. (Wikipedia informs me that this is a GE AC4400CW with 4400 HP). Anon tells us that those are generally borrowed when there's a need (it seems there's a real community amongst railroaders) and they hang out till their UP crew comes to get them. They are very noticeably bigger and really loud with spitting noises when they are sitting idle.

And what's with leaving those engines in the middle tracks anyway?  Here you can see the Surfliner engine just sitting on the central spur, not adjacent to a platform.  Is that to have a spare around when they break down?  (You can also see it's taller than the long distance engine.)  Yes, or else it DID break down.

Amfleet Cabbage: we may be safe yet!

A helpful Anonymous commenting in an earlier thread fills us in on the Amfleets:

Additionally, there are 9 trainsets; 7 Bilevel (Surfliner) sets and 2 single-level (Amfleet) sets. The Amfleet sets work opposite each other on a two-day cycle which does trains (1)761-(1)790-599(565 on weekends)-572-583. Unless things get haywire they shouldn't be on 763, 784, 580, or 582 at all this year.

Yay!  That means as long as I stay off the "express" (599), I should be able to avoid the Amfleet trainset.  Speaking on behalf of my fellow commuters, thanks for this news, Anon!

Imitation is flattery? Maybe not so much

There is someone taking the material I write on this blog and posting it to a Rancho Santa Fe digital press.   While imitation is said to be flattery, passing off someone else's work without formal attribution is called "Plagiarism".  And without permission, it's just rude.  

So, if you are coming to this blog from "Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News", welcome. Look around a bit.  Say "hi" in the comments.  But don't quote me without attribution, and you may want to review the standard copyright policies on "fair use".

How many are there? (updated)

Last time we discussed the fact that the cab cars all have names, and those names are all geographic points in California.

Here are the ones collected so far:


Point Buchon
Point Conception
Point Dume
Point Estero
Pointe Hueneme
Point Loma
Point Mugu
Point Piedras Blancas
Point San Luis
Point Sur
Point Vicente


(Updated) We've now got all 11, according to a helpful commenter.

The naming of things

It took me awhile after I started riding the surfliner to realize that the cars were named, and that the names had a pattern.  Of course, first of all, they are all California place names.  Second, they correspond to the type of car named. For example, the Business Class Car is always named for a Park, the Cafe car is named for a Canyon, and the regular cars are named for Beaches.  The three Superliner cars that are repainted in Surfliner colors are named Sequoia Grove, Redwood Grove, and Sycamore Grove.

And, proving that someone at Amtrak has a sense of humor, the cab cars are named for Points.  Point, get it?  Since half the time, the Cab Car leads the train (being pushed by the locomotive).

Here are three of them.  Collect them all!  Post the names of any others in the comments.  :-)

What's happening at Union Station?

Construction of new platform 7

There is a construction project at the historic Los Angeles Union Station,  which is now languishing in that half-complete way of large projects.  It is the reconstruction of platform 7  which has been fascinating to watch as they have to re-open the sealed up stairs in the tunnel, and rebuild a "butterfly wing" overhang.

This is the first stage of large construction project that will eventually lead to the temporary closure of tracks 3-6 which will be converted to through tracks.

You see, Union Station is a stub station:  the tracks are dead ends and all traffic comes from one direction. Trains from the south come in on a long sweeping 180 turn, and then essentially reverse out of the station on the same route (hence the consist has a locomotive at one end, and a cab car at the other, leading to a push-me-pull-you sort of trainset). The plan is to connect several tracks over the 101 freeway and link them to the mainline along the river.  That way, through trains from San Diego to Santa Barbara will just keep going, and trains going/coming south won't have to make that long turn into the station.

Union Station at night

It's a big project, though, and since those eventual-through tracks will be out of commission for some time, it's essential to increase track capacity.  Hence, Platform 7 is being  rebuilt.  At the rate they are going,I'm not expecting to see through trackage any time soon.

Promontory Point? The Triple Track Project

@Amtrak_CA published this yesterday on their twitter feed, in celebration of the ground breaking for the next phase of the Triple Track Project which will add a third track north of Fullerton.  This region has heavy freight usage, and a new track will reduce the Pacific Surfliner delays by increasing capacity.    And this is ARRA funding:  putting people to work.  Yeah!

That's a Surfliner locomotive on the left, and a BNSF freight locomotive on the right.

The latest schedule tweak: 763 gets it together, and Old Town is hopping

Recently, even as 582 has been stopping at the Woodpile every night, the often plagued763 seems to have a new lease on promptness. It leaves San Diego a little early, adds in a new stop at Old Town Transit Center (which is a great connection point to the San Diego trolley system AND has lots of parking), and arrives at Solana Beach 3 minutes earlier than before. But what's really remarkable is that 763 is now nearly ALWAYS on time, or even early, into Los Angeles Union Station. Plagued by tardiness no more, the latest tweak seems to have given 763 a magic slot. I, for one, am enjoying it-- getting to work on time is a good thing. Incidentally, several other trains also now stop in Old Town, so if you are a San Diego rider who had to go up to Solana Beach to park, you may want to see whether your train of interest makes an Old Town stop.

Woodpile Haiku

Every evening for the last few months, southbound Pacific Surfliner 582 (the 4.10 departure from LA) comes to a sighing stop at the woodpile just south of San Juan Capistrano. Despite all our tweets,and a recent schedule tweak, it sits there waiting for the Northbound 785 for 10 or 20 minutes.

I've taken to writing Haiku.

Silver wheels now still
As @Pacsurfliners train stops
Yet time keeps moving


Remember Haiku is supposed to have a twist in it, as you compare two unlike things.

Metal rails stretch
into the distance
yet we stop by the wood

The themes are obviously limited, but at least it amuses me.