Passenger Trains > Coast Starlight Detours Via Tehachapi Proposed for Feb 5-21, 2017

Mark your calendars.  

Account track work on the Coast Line, Coast Starlight Tehachapi detours are again projected for Feb. 5 - 21, 2017.    

Looks like it will involve just the northbound train only (Train 14). 

More details as they become available.  Remember, too, that conditions change.  These start / finish dates are not etched in stone.  

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/16 13:31 by CA_Sou_MA_Agent.

So where is the work taking place?

Please keep us updated...i will have to ride down from martinez and up the next day just to ride this. Would be amazing!

Posted from Android

Yeah!  I've only done the southbound in March and June.  Need to make some travel plans.... 

Necessary, I suppose, but too bad. It really affects so many stations on the Coast Route.

 

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So where is the work taking place?

Tie replacement south of San Luis Obispo. I'm thinking #11 might detour also but we'll know more later.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/16 00:06 by CA_Sou_MA_Agent.

stash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Necessary, I suppose, but too bad. It really
> affects so many stations on the Coast Route.
>
Its all about us, the railfans.  :)

Bob

My brother and I have each rode previous detours both north and south. Well worth the effort to do the trip. Will the 2017 make the detour from Oakland or Sacramento. Any recent work been done on the Mococo line.

LA to Oakland non-stop. Via Fresno and Altamont. Boring valley line! But there are not many detour options.

Posted from Android

Keep in mind this work window could be finished EARLY by a few days.
Any advanced planed major detour is for the MAXIMUM amount of time possibly needed for a work window..
You may run the regular route if you ride on perhaps the final 2 or 3 detour days or so.
This is just a word to the wise based on Amtrak detours in past years
----Daniel
 

stash Wrote:
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> LA to Oakland non-stop. Via Fresno and Altamont.
> Boring valley line! But there are not many detour
> options.

Any idea of running time vs. the Coast Line?

LA to Oakland non-stop. Via Fresno and Altamont. Boring valley line! But there are not many detour options.

Posted from Android

Neat!!!! Again photos of CS on loop, etc! And again chance to ride PV over the loop!

Will the Surfliner be affect by this work window?

I know in the past. When there was a work window or two.
They had Bus people to and from Santa Barbara.

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

urbaurba Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> stash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > LA to Oakland non-stop. Via Fresno and
> Altamont.
> > Boring valley line! But there are not many
> detour
> > options.
>
> Any idea of running time vs. the Coast Line?

Here is MY Time LOG on the most EXCELLENT  AMPrez David GUnn Detour of OCt 23-05.
Tehachapi Starlight Time Log of 10-23-05 in 2005
NOte that my detour began in SACRAMENTO instead of the likely OAKLAND detour north end for these early 2017 trains in February 2017 :
I am thinking that the OAKLAND detour time performance should be roughly--roughly similar to the 10-23-05 David Gunn Detour
Stockton Tower timepoint should be similar to the LATHROP CA area which is about 10 miles south of Stockton CA:
-----Daniel
===================
For the historic record here is my log of the time performance of the VERY RARE - Amtrak Coast Starlight TEHACHAPI DETOUR of sunday October 23, 2005:

Here is a rather rough log of the Time Performance of
our detoured Thachapi Loop Coast Starlight train 11 of
sunday October 23rd in California.
These times are taken from my watch which
runs about 5 minutes ahead of the real, actual time.
(EDIT: I adjusted the Sacramento times back 5 minutes in my written log as I did not start
my direct "clock to paper" log until stockton. The Sacramento and ELvas times on here should be the real and actual times.)
A big THANK YOU to everyone at Amtrak and the freight railroads for
making this special trip possible!
--- Daniel

TIMES TEHACHAPI DETOUR Amtrak 11 of 10-23-05 in CA

725am SAC --DEPART = reverse SHOVE to Elvas Tower
(train stopped on American River Bridge)
740am ELVAS sac dp FOREWARD to Bakersfield (1st stop made)
operated via UP Fresno Sub and Lodi

Dan watch times + 5 min from Stockton:
845am STOCKTON ACE depot tower approach
850am Stockton on BNSF OFFICIAL radioed to Stockton sub DS
906am ESCALON Escalon
910am RIVERBANK
915am Modesto Amtrak
916am EMPIRE
924am DENAIR
935am WINTON
937am CASTLE AIR
941am MERCED
950a PLANADA
955 LA GRAND IN SDG down to 5mph to meet Amtrak train 701 here
1001a E LA GRAND
1010a E SHARON
1024am Figarden
1034am mp 1000
1038am FRESNO
1043am CALWA depot
1044am Calwa DIAMONDS SP XING
1049am Bowles
1103am Shirley
1107am Hanford
1111am Guernsey
1119am Highway 43 swings alongside
1122am CORCORAN –Meet at 45mph Amcal San Joaquin Train 713
1123am E Corcoran
1132am Alpaugh –24 hours after OLW cam
1140am ALLENSWORTH
1146am SANDRINI
1150am ELMO
1155am WASCO enter
1159am Shafter
1214pm Bakersfield ar BNSF yard - arrive rolling by west yd
1226pm Bakersfield depart BNSF yard
1231pm Bakersfield AMTRAK DEPOT passing
1237pm KERN JUNCTION
1243pm by UP detector 318.8 --56 axles at 58mph
1249pm Sandcut
105pm Caliente
108pm milepost 337
430pm eta for Lancaster given to UP DS 54 on radio
114pm Bealville X Over
121pm W Cliff -- INTO SIDING here and SLOWLY 5mph

133pm E Cliff
142pm by mp 344
149pm by DETECTOR 347.0
150pm West Woodford
156pm East Woodford siding
158pm T LOOP far West curve Road enter
LOOP Amtrak 11 on INSIDE track
201pm EAST T LOOP Walong
203pm T CAM BURTON CURVE
205pm West MARCEL
208pm East MARCEL
213pm milepost 356 west Cable
216pm 357.5
223pm Tehachapi Downtown
225pm SUMMIT -Highway 58 OVERPASS
227pm 363 DETECTOR trk 1 no defects
56 axles 70 MPH
228pm Cement plant Monolith
231pm 368 milepost
234pm Cameron (up hooded signals)
243pm at milepost 375
Pilot engineer planned to be dropped at Vincent (Soledad Canyon)
245pm 377 detector track 1 no defects-- 58 axles-- 34 MPH
250pm MOJAVE downtown
253pm milepost 381

303pm West ANSEL
305pm East ANSEL

306pm DS 54 says we will MEET frt at Denis siding
309pm --396.1 detector at 65 mph
312pm west OBAN
313pm east OBAN
316pm Lancaster
317pm ENTER SIDE by SIDE Metrolink at Lancaster
324pm West DENIS
328pm East DENIS –Air Plant east side of tracks
331pm – 412.0 UP Detector no defects 56 axles 23 MPH
334pm PALMDALE Metrolink depot
336pm PALMDALE JUNCTION - PALJCT
ENTER METROLINK at CP HAROLD

343pm VINCENT
353pm --mp 54 –CP KOCIAN
355pm Ravenna
359pm mp 56
403pm -- mp 48
410pm –CP Soledad
415pm by 41.5
416pm HONBY
Santa Clarita
423pm CP CANYON
426pm – 31.0 detector
427pm cp Hood
427pm— Newhall

431pm CP PORTAL–North Tunnel
434pm --South Tunnel
453pm DETECTOR 7.8 -track 2 FREIGHT MEET 49mph (South Burbank)
DETECTOR 7.8 TRACK 1 AMTRAK train 11 at 18mph
454pm GLENDALE DEPOT –PASSING
457pm CP ORMISTON
ON EAST BANK LINE
F40 diesels seen in Amtrak paint (3)
300, 256, 338 at Metrolink shops
504pm LAUPT TERMINAL TOWER
505pm LAUPT on platform
END WONDERFUL TRIP at Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal
============ 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/16 20:13 by daniel3197.

urbaurba Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> stash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > LA to Oakland non-stop. Via Fresno and
> Altamont.
> > Boring valley line! But there are not many
> detour
> > options.
>
> Any idea of running time vs. the Coast Line?

I've ridden #11 over Tehachapi 3 times.  The first was the Oct 2005 David Gunn trip virtually non-stop from Sacramento to LA, down the Valley.   The other two trips (4/8/11 and 3/28/13) were via Oakland and over Altamont.   In both those cases I boarded in Davis on time and we arrived in L.A. between 9:30 & 10 pm.

My only Tehachapi `#14 was 11/10/08 and must have been straight up the valley from Bakersfield to Sacramento as my notes say we arrived in SAC early enough that I could get the 9:10 Cap Corridor to Davis.

Sandra in Davis

daniel3197 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is MY Time LOG on the most EXCELLENT  AMPrez
> David GUnn Detour of OCt 23-05.
> Tehachapi Starlight Time Log of 10-23-05 in 2005
> NOte that my detour began in SACRAMENTO instead of
> the likely OAKLAND detour north end for these
> early 2017 trains in February 2017 :

As noted, this timelog is for train 11 running direct SAC-BFD-LAX via the BNSF line through the Valley.  The possible detour being discussed in this thread is for train 14 running the former SP lines LAX-BFD-Lathrop-OAK.

When I rode train 14 which detoured back in 2012 I believe we got to Oakland around 10:30p after taking about a 30 minute delay for signal problems or something similar.  There were a few other long stops for crew changes and such but I'd guess those will still be there for future detours.  This would make the running times roughly comparable between the normal Coast route and the Lathrop detour.

Seems to me that it would affect both 11 and 14 sinse they both go through that area in mid afternoon.
 

http://larail.com/public/loop2016.html

According to this it's only one week, February 5-11.