I have planned for a while to catch the southbound Coast Starlight in Coyote Valley. Working from home makes this easier. I've been tracking the train at the dixielandsoftware site for the last couple days and confirmed it's running pretty much on time. Today I used a gap between morning meetings to get out to the former railroad crossing at Richmond Ave.
I expected that I would hear the train blow the horn for the Blanchard Rd crossing near the power plant at Coyote, but I guess the Bernal Rd overcrossing blocked the sound. When I saw the headlights peek through the bushes off Laguna Ave with no warning I was surprised and adrenaline set in.
The train today was rather short. Just one sleeper, the cafeteria car, observation car and two seating cars. Power were P42DC engines #2 and #130. #130 is painted in Phase II paint scheme to commemorate Amtrak's 40th anniversary in 2011. A nice surprise to see this unit.
As the train disappears towards Morgan Hill, Diesel exhaust hangs in the air, and the lead unit is blowing the horn for the Palm Ave railroad crossing.
2 comments:
So all it takes is the end of the world for Amtrak trains to run on time?
The Coast Starlight tends to be mostly on time around here. Both northbound and southbound, even without COVID-19.
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