Flush with excitement, I continued on my way to highway 101 and headed north, hoping to intercept Amtrak's Coast Starlight before it went to Salinas. Their web site said it was 1 hour 23 minutes late so I figured I had a shot. I exited at a place called Bloomfield Road and parked near the tracks. As I was setting up my tripod, a southbound UP freight approached! I hurriedly set up the tripod, turned the video camera on, and took some snaps. UP 5342, 5355 and 5447 led a motley group of 26 freight cars by.
I waited and waited for the Coast Starlight, but it didn't show. Amtrak's web site kept saying the same thing, 1 hour 23 minutes late, so I decided to check their arrival in Los Angeles. 23 minutes late. I guess that meant it had run ahead of the UP freight. Oh well.
I headed north to NASA's Ames Research Center and spent an hour in their visitor center. I saw this commuter train there.
I then went to Cal-Train's Mountain View station. I was to meet a friend there at 17:12 so I had about an hour to watch trains until she arrived. Here are a few photos.
The two of us met a couple more friends and we had Mexican food followed by gelato, a very pleasant way to spend an evening. I left there and went to the San Francisco airport, taking the AirTrain to the correct building and flying overnight. Now I'm in the Toronto airport waiting for my plane to board. Once I arrive in Fredericton, I'll have a few hours before heading north to railfan the Gaspe for the weekend. Busy times.
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