I took advantage of the immaculate weather yesterday to take a train trip, first from LA to Solana Beach on 772, up to Santa Barbara on 779, and back to LA on 11. I could go into great detail, but there are just a few points I'd like to hit on.

Firstly, I've come to the conclusion that, at peak times, Business Class is no longer a haven from crowds. Though the car was mostly empty on 772, I was foolish to buy the last Business Class seat available on 779. I had to take a seat with a window on only one side, and then this really scary lady was seated next to me. Instead of staying, I downgraded my ticket and sat in coach. I had a whole pair of seats to myself and the view was much better! I think it's time for a Club Class type service on the Pacific Surfliners.

Surfliners are nice, but coming home on train 11, the southbound Coast Starlight, was paradise. There's just something about the feeling of Superliners at night. I took advantage of all that I could for this short journey, and caught the tail end of dining car service for dinner. The Diner, 38006, was among the first Superliner I diners placed into service (the first being 38000, I assume), yet it had a Superliner II interior! Is this car unique, or is Beech Grove refurbishing all of the diners in addition to the coaches & sleepers? Are there plans to do the same for the lounges? (By the way, the coastal veal special followed by the caramel turtle cake was excellent.)

Having departed on-time out of Oxnard, 11 was free to drop passengers at discharge-only Simi Valley and Glendale in just the amount of time needed, and leave ahead of schedule. When did we arrive into LA? 8:28 PM, 47 minutes early! I was HOME and in the shower before the scheduled arrival time. Talk about padding. I think that if and when Amtrak has early morning Surfliner service to Santa Barbara, these should be express trains. Currently, it takes about an hour to do Chatsworth to LA. I timed our Chatsworth to LA at about 35 minutes (neglecting the stop at Glendale). Imagine how much more competitive Amtrak could be with cars...

Too bad if anyone missed it, but the program "Dining on the Train" was on last night on the Food Network. I was only able to catch the last 10 minutes of it. But that's okay...I was too busy dining on the train. :-)