Amtrak train 3, the westbound Southwest Chief, bisects one of the most dangerous (and soon to be replaced with an overpass) grade crossings in the country, Rosecrans, Marquardt and Stage (with the BNSF’s San Bernardino Sub cutting diagonally through the middle) in Santa Fe Springs, California. Running with an abbreviated five-car consist (thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic), this train picked up a BNSF ES44AC (BNSF 6260) in Kansas City MO due to engine problems, and then fell further behind schedule en route thanks to a freight that stalled and signal issues near La Junta CO. As this train ticks off the last 19 miles of its 2265-mile journey from Chicago, this train will arrive in Los Angeles just 7 hours and 52 minutes late, having made up nearly an hour from its lateness at Fullerton – thanks to a heavily padded schedule for those last 26 miles, for which Amtrak allots 1 hour and 41 minutes! (Santa Fe Springs, California – May 2, 2020)
California-bound rail travelers from the east have three choices to reach the Golden State: California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle. A look back through the years including the now-defunct Desert Wind
