Passenger Trains > ACE/Amtrak train?

At 7:35 this morning on the Stockton,Ca diamond railcam. I saw southbound on the UP a train with an ACE F40 and a set of Gold Runner Siemens passenger cars. The cab car was the second passenger car. What was this?

San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, which is the entity that manages Gold Runner, is essentially Altamont Corridor Express.  

With the current SNAFU and accompanying engine shortage as Herzog tries to unravel the mess left by Amtrak at the Oakland diesel shops, SJJPA may have authorized the use of ACE power.  

Capitol Corridor does not have that option, not owning its own equipment, and has cancelled some trains in the past few days for lack of serviceable locomotives.

Or it may have been a deadhead move, for which normal Gold Runner power was not available for the above reason.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/26 09:52 by GenePoon.

The six car train is seen on the Stockton railcam as noted in the original post at 07:35.
This is right on the schedule of ACE train number 07 which departs Stockton at 07:32.
However, today is Farmworkers Day and ACE is running a holiday schedule of just two
roundtrips and 07 is not among them.  They seem to have used that timetable "slot" for
their Stockton departure.
https://acerail.com/service-alerts/

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Thanks for the explanation.  So it's an ACE special using Gold Runner equipment and not an actual Gold Runner train.

Looks like it is just an equipment move/repostion.

longliveSP Wrote:
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> Looks like it is just an equipment move/repostion.

Probably this. Tasi sometimes needs trainsets or equipment turned and this is how it's done. 

GenePoon Wrote:
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> … as Herzog tries to unravel the mess left
> by Amtrak at the Oakland diesel shops…

Imagine SJJPB had a chef who kept burning your food, so you hired a new one—who solves the problem by setting the entire kitchen on fire so at least everything is “evenly cooked.”