Nostalgia & History > When Amtrak looked out of place in Southern California.

Here are a couple of Santa Fe scenes where Amtrak appeared as a johnny-come-lately. This was an interesting period to be shooting depots around Southern California.
1. Amtrak SDP40F 526 races eastbound "Desert Wind" #36, on past the Santa Fe depot at Kaiser, California, on the old Second District, the traditional passenger main line between San Bernardino and Los Angeles. The date is November 18, 1981. Today, depot, train and locomotive are long gone, and the tracks survive as the San Gabriel Subdivision on Metrolink's busy LA-San Bernardino line. Additionally, the BNSF yard here supports a healthy carload freight business in the North Fontana area. David R. Busse photo.
2. Amtrak F40 #222 leads an ex-US Army baggage car and an all-Amfleet consist as San Diego-bound train #74 calls at the lovely Santa Fe depot in Del Mar, Calif., last stop before San Diego. The idylllic January 3, 1982 scene of train, surf and classic depot may have been great from a railfan perspective, but the growing popularity of the service combined with Coaster commuter trains forced the closure of the station and construction of a modern, grade-separated facility at Solana Beach, several miles north. David R. Busse photo.

---

---

In that last pic with the beach in the background, I was peering around for Rockford's trailer. If you know what I am talking about, you're a geezer like me.

Look how beautiful Del Mar was, , CAlifornia has just lost it's simple beauty .

mustraline Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In that last pic with the beach in the background,
> I was peering around for Rockford's trailer. If
> you know what I am talking about, you're a geezer
> like me.


Jim Rockford's trailer was about 50 miles North in Malibu.

kingman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Look how beautiful Del Mar was, , CAlifornia has
> just lost it's simple beauty .


CA is not the only place that has lost it's beauty,
just look around a bit and everywhere you look has
changed, and not for the better either!
cf7