Passenger Trains > Amtrak California Cars on Pacific Surfliner in Anaheim, CA...

On Sunday (9/10) I went to the Angels MLB baseball day game in Anaheim.  Parking in one of the lots outside the stadium, I usually hang around the old platform (next to the footprint of the previous depot) before going in.

I caught Surfliner 573 pushing north around 12:30pm with a pair of Amtrak California cars in the 6-car consist, as well as wrapped car between them.  I can't recall seeing them down south since they were replaced in the late 90s when the Surfiner cars arrived.

Are these the only 2 currently in Pacific Surfliner service?

Rich

 

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I suppose northern California needs fewer cars because the bottom has fallen out of the San Francisco office market ?

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> I suppose northern California needs fewer cars
> because the bottom has fallen out of the San
> Francisco office market ?

Totally different service. That would be CalTrain. These cars operate on the Capitol Corridor and the San Joaquins.

PHall Wrote:
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> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I suppose northern California needs fewer cars
> > because the bottom has fallen out of the San
> > Francisco office market ?
>
> Totally different service. That would be CalTrain.
> These cars operate on the Capitol Corridor and the
> San Joaquins.

Yeh, but they serve San Fanscisco via Emeryville. So why the reduction is car roster there ? 

My understanding was , once California gets their new Venture cars - all of these
"California Cars" will be moved south for Surfliner expansion.

The Venture cars I refer to - are the 40 cars Calif. tacked on the end of the Illinois Siemens order.

It's been so long -- and Amtrak has made such a mess with car orders -- who can keep track!



 

It's rumored that once those Venture cars go into service, an entire 6 car California set will come down to work the Surfliner. Coaches, cafe, cabcar. Likely no locomotive. They'll use a Surfliner Charger with the set. But it'll be the 90s all over again!

Nice catch Rich, I saw one Amtrak California painted car on a Surfliner in Simi Valley back in May. Think it was a Superliner rather than a Cal Car. Was surprised to see it, hadn’t seen a Cal Car in Southern California for quite some time.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Should make note, the cars seen on this train. Are the Surfliner (Cafe-6361, 6362, Coaches 6461-6465 and Cabcars 6961-6965) style cars.
That Caltrans ordered, along with the 10 surfliner (Cafe 6351, 6352, Coaches 6451, 6452, 6453, Business Class cars 6851, 6852
and Cabcars 6951-6953) paint cars. The original Cal cars haven't been in Southern California since the Surfliner Cars were put in service.
I seen these 6461-6465 cars on the surfliner service for the past two years. I also think some of the Northern California base leased Superliners.
Are also on the Surfliners now.

Also note. that particular train had 7 cars. I hardly see 7 car trains on the surfliner service lately. We can use more cars.

 

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/23 14:18 by GP25.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > joemvcnj Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I suppose northern California needs fewer
> cars
> > > because the bottom has fallen out of the San
> > > Francisco office market ?
> >
> > Totally different service. That would be
> CalTrain.
> > These cars operate on the Capitol Corridor and
> the
> > San Joaquins.
>
> Yeh, but they serve San Fanscisco via Emeryville.
> So why the reduction is car roster there ? 

Wrong side of the bay. SF is on the WEST side of the bay, Emeryville is on the EAST side just north of Oakland.
The only rails that directly connect the two is the BART Trans Bay Tube which runs under the bay.

PHall Wrote:

> Wrong side of the bay. SF is on the WEST side of
> the bay, Emeryville is on the EAST side just north
> of Oakland.
> The only rails that directly connect the two is
> the BART Trans Bay Tube which runs under the bay.

Can't you just answer the question that was asked ?

You know perfectly well most people travelling to Emeryville are headed to San Francisco. 

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PHall Wrote:
>
> > Wrong side of the bay. SF is on the WEST side
> of
> > the bay, Emeryville is on the EAST side just
> north
> > of Oakland.
> > The only rails that directly connect the two is
> > the BART Trans Bay Tube which runs under the
> bay.
>
> Can't you just answer the question that was asked
> ?
>
> You know perfectly well most people travelling to
> Emeryville are headed to San Francisco. 

The only way to get to San Francisco from Emeryville is to ride a (1) shuttle bus from Emeryville to the BART Station in Oakland at 19th Street.  The bus is not a full size bus.  Last I saw was that  it was operaated by Emeryville itself, and called "Emeryville GoArouond" or something like that. (2) There is also an Amtrak sponsored full size bus that goes across the Bay Bridge to one or more locations inside San Franciso itself.  It runs on a schedule that is coordinated with an Amtrak schedule for a California train.  I am not familiar with those schedules at the moment.  But we are talking about a combined capacity of about 40-50 passengers.  And those are just feeder shuttles. 
 

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PHall Wrote:
>
> > Wrong side of the bay. SF is on the WEST side
> of
> > the bay, Emeryville is on the EAST side just
> north
> > of Oakland.
> > The only rails that directly connect the two is
> > the BART Trans Bay Tube which runs under the
> bay.
>
> Can't you just answer the question that was asked
> ?
>
> You know perfectly well most people travelling to
> Emeryville are headed to San Francisco. 

And the ONLY 100% rail option between SF and EMY is via BART. Otherwise it's use the shuttle buses or a cab.

Aside from the paint scheme, is there a difference between the Surfliner cars and the ones on the Capitol Corridor?

symph1 Wrote:
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> Aside from the paint scheme, is there a difference
> between the Surfliner cars and the ones on the
> Capitol Corridor?

Surfliner cars use the metal ramps the conductor puts out at stops for ADA. The California cars have the mobile lift which sometimes doesn't work right and adds way more time to the station stop. I think they have a very slightly different lowel level layout and the seats may look a little different. They also have the classic "bong" sound when the doors are open that the Capitols and San Joaquins are famous for. The Surfliner equipment has the option to make them do it as well but was disabled almost immedietely after they went into service. They both have the little PA tone that plays before the conductor starts speaking. Other than that though, the cars are pretty much identical. Keep in mind, this goes for the 64XX series cars that are the same as the Surfliner ones. The 8XXX cars built by Morrison Knudson are quite different however, especially the cafe cars and a few differences in the cab of the cabcar.

The California Cars will still be assigned to the Capitol Corridor indefinately. It's the San Joaquins that will be getting the Siemens Venture Cars. I wouldn't be surprised though if more California Cars are assigned to the Surfliner service. That certainly would help provide enough cars for new trains added to the schedule.

This is train 587 heading back to L.A. from San Diego at Miramar.
I took this video about 45 mins. ago. It was supposed to have
PV Tioga Pass attached but it's MIA. It does have a couple
of the Cali cars...

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and a superliner painted with the blue to match surfliner cars.,,

Passfanatic Wrote:
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> The California Cars will still be assigned to the
> Capitol Corridor indefinately. It's the San
> Joaquins that will be getting the Siemens Venture
> Cars. I wouldn't be surprised though if more
> California Cars are assigned to the Surfliner
> service. That certainly would help provide enough
> cars for new trains added to the schedule.

As I stated above, it's rumored an entire 6 car California set with coaches, cafe, and cabcar, likely a 69XX series set, is supposed to go down to LA to fill in as an extra trainset. I'd imagine there will still be other California cars running in other consists, too.

People getting off CC trains in Emeryville, for years, have had a direct dedicated bus connection to downtown SF.  

coach Wrote:
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> People getting off CC trains in Emeryville, for
> years, have had a direct dedicated bus connection
> to downtown SF.  

That’s how I commuted to my job in downtown SF more than 20 years ago.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone