It was not a great evening for passengers in Fullerton, as a BNSF train (possibly the H-BARLAC) ended up fouling all three mainlines somewhere between Buena Park and Norwalk. This resulted in a number of Amtrak and Metrolink trains being delayed for up to three hours, and even a Metrolink train that was heading to LA unloading its passengers in Buena Park and then reversed and deadheaded to Riverside. Amtrak’s Goleta to San Diego Pacific Surfliner 784, due to arrive at 5:41 pm (18:41), eventually made it to Fullerton, arriving 2 hours 43 minutes late on Track 3 behind CDTX SC-44 2109 at 8:24 pm (20:24) – and then the crew got off as they were in danger of exceeding their hours of service for the day. BNSF train H-WATBAR1-10 (High Priority Merchandise; Watson CA to Barstow CA), behind ET44C4 3681, rolled into the station at the same time, but has finally gotten a clear signal and departs eastbound for its destination in the desert, allowing Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 785, heading from San Diego to Los Angeles and due in Fullerton at 6:21 pm (18:21), to then arrive on Track 1, so that it, too, could change crews. Train 785 departed at 8:52 pm (20:52), 2 hours 31 minutes late, and eventually train 784, also with a fresh crew, got moving again at 8:59 pm (20:59), now 3 hours 18 minutes late. And all of this was holding up Amtrak 3, the eastbound Southwest Chief, making it over three hours late into its first stop on its journey to Chicago – and just 30 miles into its 2000+-mile trip. And there was at least one other delayed Surfliner behind it! (Fullerton, California – January 10, 2022)
Stretching from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, the Surf Line has become Amtrak's second busiest route. See the Pacific Surfliner and San Diegan in action along with trains from predecessors Santa Fe and Southern Pacific.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
