Railfan Trip Reports > Metrolink and UP -Los Angeles to Lancaster, CA

Another weekend railfanning...rode Metrolink round trip from LAUS to Lancaster on Saturday afternoon. For those who haven't been to LA Union Station in a while...it is virtually surrounded by new construction.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of the Metrolink facility on the former Taylor Yard site.

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Just north of the maintenance building were some ex-UP and Amtrak engines, along with these Metrolink cars with a different color scheme. Are these cars diverted from another transit agency's order, or...? I have never seen these in service.

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This route has some fast running through Glendale and San Fernando, but then slows for the winding route through Santa Clarita and then Soledad Canyon. Some of this route is rather remote and has not been developed (yet). Track speed is in the 30-40mph range for several miles, but it is through a rugged, uncrowded area so it is a nice contrasty with the city views seen earlier. Near Acton there is a restaurant (?) with several cabooses in front of it. Anyone tried it for lunch..?

Meanwhile, once the train gets through the mountains some fast running resumes to Palmdale. This station was not built the last time I rode this line several years ago (in fact I don't think the train stopped at Palmdale).

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Just north of the Palmdale station, the Sierra Hwy crosses the UP (ex-SP) line on an S-curve. The train ground to a halt...the Fire Dept was at the crossing. Some careless driver had smashed a crossing gate, so the train had to be flagged across the crossing. In the far distance is a UP local, backing down a spur to a small yard at what looks like a lumber yard.

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After crossing the highway, the train got back up to speed. It passes several defense plants that have intact but rusty rail spurs.

Lancaster is the "end of the line" for this Metrolink route. The Lancaster station is shared with Greyhound, and is also used by some Amtrak connecting busses that run from Victorville to Bakersfield.

Several years ago, George Drury had an article in Railfan & Railroad that included his travels through California, including Lancaster. He noted the stub track has a red signal; it's still there. The signal is there because...?

Meanwhile, Metrolink and UP have different milepost numbers. A short distance south of the station, on the west side of the tracks, is MP 76. On the right side, a little closer to the station, it is MP 406.

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While the Metrolink train was on layover, the UP local that I had seen earlier came through. Here it is about to cross Avenue J. I was on the "wrong" side of the track for afternoon sun, but the other side had too much clutter.

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For those interested in aircraft and aerospace, there is the Aerospace Walk of Honor on Lncaster Blvd. nearby. There is also a history museum, though I didn't have a chance to check it out to see if it had anything on the local railroad. Meanwhile, when one steps away from the tracks, you run the risk of missing getting pics of the next train. I was a few blocks away when a manifest freight came through at a good clip, heading northbound (westbound) towards Mojave.

The return trip to Los Angeles was on the same Metrolink train I had ridden earlier; the return trip was led by a cab car. Unlike my December trip, I was able to ride in the cab car this time, though they had the first rows of seats roped off [as they have since the January '05 Glendale collision]. Right before the 3.31pm departure, another northbound (westbound) UP freight came by. Best view I could get was from the interior steps facing out the cab door.

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On the way back, I tried to follow the various line relocations. There is a semi-horseshoe curve south of Palmdale, where some curves were eased. There is also another area near Acton where some curves were eased. Even further south, closer to Santa Clarita, there is a bypassed tunnel.

Much further south, near Glendale, there are four Metrolink cars off to the side under blue tarps. Crime scene evidence from a year ago.

Finally, on approach to LA, the train passes right by the MTA Gold Line maintenance station. It does look like there is a connecting track between the UP/SCAX mainline and the MTA Gold Line. It is near where the Gold Line LA River bridge passes overhead. That area is probably not accessible from public streets, though.

Back at LA Union Station, there were lots of people on the platform, waiting to board for the return trip and the adjacent train to Riverside.

Metrolink started operations in 1992; I'm glad to see it bring so many people to LA Union Station. Who knew?

MP

I think the cars you spotted are the ones reported by Barry Draper
in this Amtrak thread..

ACE cars on lease to Metrolink...

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,1086734,1086734#msg-1086734

Ac4400cwgevo

AC,

Yes that would be them; thx for the cross-ref. I thought the paint scheme looked familiar but didn't think of ACE. Never rode ACE; just saw it once on layover near San Jose.

MP

casco17 Wrote:
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> This route has some fast running through Glendale
> and San Fernando, but then slows for the winding
> route through Santa Clarita and then Soledad
> Canyon. Some of this route is rather remote and
> has not been developed (yet). Track speed is in
> the 30-40mph range for several miles, but it is
> through a rugged, uncrowded area so it is a nice
> contrasty with the city views seen earlier. Near
> Acton there is a restaurant (?) with several
> cabooses in front of it. Anyone tried it for
> lunch..?

That would be Vincent Hill Station. At one time it was probably to become a Victoria Station type railroad themed restaurant, but it never came to fruition. When I was a kid, I used to really look forward to it's completion as I would have a new place to bug my parents take me to. Eventually, after several years of no visible progress, I gave up hope. Those cabooses have been sitting there wasting away for as long as I can remember...mid 1970's, maybe?? There used to be a couple of early Brill IC-41 busses that also sat wasting away in a junkyard just north of that position. I used to really look forward to seeing them when I went by there as a kid as well. They disappeared a few years back...hopefully, they went to a good home.