On my first visit to northern California, in late April 1971, I rode Southern Pacific train 99, the Coast Daylight, to San Francisco, got bussed across the Bay to Oakland, and rode SP train 12, the Cascade, to Davis, where my brother picked me up and we headed to Sacramento's Mather Air Force Base, where he was stationed at the time, to prepare for several days of railfanning. And other than a quick view from Amtrak's Coast Starlight as we paused here for a few minutes in 2019, I'd not been back … and I'd never seen this depot in the daytime! This station serves Amtrak trains 5 and 6, the California Zephyr, and trains 11 and 14, the Coast Starlight, with each arriving on a different track (5 & 6 on the east side of the station, and 11 & 14 on the west side), along with several Capital Corridor and San Joaquin trains.
So when family business (a close friend’s daughter was graduating from UC Davis) brought us to the area, I was happy to be able to work in a brief visit to the station in order catch a 1 hour 36 minute late Amtrak 5, the westbound California Zephyr, pause to discharge one passenger on its way from Chicago IL to Emeryville CA. Amtrak P42DCs 83 and 40 were pulling an 8 car train this afternoon.
Fifty-two years after my first visit, I finally got a photo here! (Davis, California – June 18, 2023)
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
