I downloaded the Southwest Chief Route Guide from the AMTRAK website in anticipation of a proposed LA/CHI trip in February or March. I noticed that the map shows it going through Pasadena and Arcadia. This is not true, is it?
Frank in gloriously sunny SBA
Posted by travelplus (Member # 3679) on :
It has not gone through Pasadena and Arcadia in years.Trust me I took this train last summer and we went from LA -Fullerton-San Bernardino before hitting the Cajon Pass. The info is old and for some reason they never updated the map. Notice on the schedule how it only lists Fullerton as a stop. If I were Amtrak I would fix the map as it's not hard to do.
Posted by Southwest Chief (Member # 1227) on :
Wow now that is old. The SWC has not taken the Pasadena line in many years. I'm not 100% positive but I think the last year (for the SWC) on the Pasadena line was 1992.
I know for sure that I boarded the Chief at Fullerton in 1994. It had the then ultra brand new sleeper Maryland, and it was the only car in the consist in phase IV. Of course I got the other old Superliner I
Posted by Railroad Bob (Member # 3508) on :
Frank-- the ATSF Pasadena Subdivision= R.I.P.
Only thing out there now is the swell Gold Line Light Rail trains, which only go as far as Sierra Madre. Other than that, I've heard the ghosts of the Super Chief and El Capitan are still running that route on cool winter nights. With warbonnet locomotives, of course!
Posted by CoastStarlight99 (Member # 2734) on :
WOW, since they got rid of handing out physical guides...they are letting people download them of the site...However, this seems to be a different route guide compared to the original one...I just downloaded the Coast Starlight.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Hey, Railroad Bob, I hear you. My first "real" train ride was on the El Capitan from Pasadena to Chicago and then on the Grand Trunk Western to Lansing, MI. I was 12 and hooked for life. I haven't seen the old Pasadena station in a couple of months. It looked like the restoration was underway. I'm hopeful that the Gold Line will be extended east in my lifetime.
Frank in SBA (still waiting for trains to return. Perhaps Monday?)
Posted by Southwest Chief (Member # 1227) on :
quote:Originally posted by sbalax: My first "real" train ride was on the El Capitan from Pasadena to Chicago
Lucky....Was it Hi-Level? And was it separate or the combined Super Chief/El Cap (this would be 1958 and up). Great train and a great route. I wish I could have experienced this kind of style, but I'm of the Amtrak generation .
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Single Level. May of 1953. We were headed to Lansing to pick up a new Olds at the factory and to my brother's graduation from Annapolis.
I do remember, however, doing a walkthrough of the "Hi-level" El Cap at the Pasadena station. Never got to ride it, though.
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