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Denver & Rio Grande Western 340 and Amtrak 338/138
The Mrs. and I took a six-day vacation trip along the West Coast. This story
will cover just the train portions of our journey.
Saturday, September 26th, 2026
Knott's Berry Farm
Buena Park, CA.
Rise and shine! We are up at the crack of dawn. The
Cuban restaurant "Porto's"
beckons just across the street from our
Marriott Courtyard. Baolu is absolutely wild about this place and states, in
no uncertain terms, we ARE eating here again tomorrow morning.
It's a short, 20 minute stroll down the sidewalk to the Farm. Park hours today
are just 9 to 5, and we're there shortly after the gates open ($110 per person,
WHOA!). There's just one thing I want to see, and that's some genuine,
Colorado, narrow gauge steam (3 feet between the rails -- HOn3 for you
modelers).
And there she is.
Denver & Rio
Grande Western #340, "Green River", a C-19 class, 2-8-0 consolidation, built
in 1881 by Baldwin Locomotive Works. Let's take a ride on the
Ghost Town &
Calico Railroad!
This is inside the "Chama" (#32), a combine/coach beautifully restored for
tourist service. It was built by Jackson and Sharp Car Works in 1880 and rebuilt
in 1937.
It turned out to be the first ride around their 5/8-mile loop of track for the
day.
This was the first car behind the locomotive. We had it all to ourselves.
We're off! At various places, park employees close gates to prevent inattentive
pedestrians from getting run over by our little teakettle. The railroad squeezes
through some tight spaces and thus pictures taken out the window are rather
constrained.
"Durango" (#31) is a parlor car seen here on a siding. "The Galloping Goose"
(#3) was built in 1931 by the
Rio Grande
Southern Railroad. Just peeking out of the engine shed is RGS #41, a 1881
Baldwin 2-8-0 -- this is G. T. & C. RR's second steam locomotive. Both steamers
were recently restored for operation.
After our ride, we had a chance to look over the 340. I love that Rio Grande
"speed lettering" on the tender.
Details, details... That little emblem above the "R" in Rio reads: "G. T. & C. R R
-- Knott's Berry Farm -- Scenic Line". Smoke stack, sand dome, bell, steam dome
with chime whistle on top. Builder's plate: Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co., No
5571, Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, 1881. Low drivers -- Just 36"
(three feet high). Classic boiler green paint. Taking on water.
Baolu captures the rare Spotted Ferroequinologist stalking its prey.
The depot at Ghost Town, done up for next month's Halloween Festival.
Here's the entire train as it pulls out of the station:
1. D&RGW #340
2-8-0 C-19
2. D&RGW Chama #32 combine/coach
3. D&RGW #310 coach
4. D&RGW #9519 (looks like an old stock car cut down for excursion service).
5. D&RGW #325 coach
6. RGS #0402 caboose
And here's MY little pumpkin posing with some orange gourds; as well as outside
the famous chicken restaurant. Thumbnail lunch review: Fried chicken was
excellent. Chicken soup was thick and delicious. Dinner rolls were...burned on
top. Lettuce in salad was wilted and inedible. Boysenberry pie for dessert --
YUM YUM!
Half hour wait for a table. Three stars overall. Most amusing part -- ordering
glasses of ice water which we then poured into our water bottles for hydration
-- spilling ice cubes everywhere. (It was 94 degrees and 90% humidity outside.
Very sticky icky.)
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Buena Park, CA.
0500 Another early start as we hit Porto's at 0630. In addition to a delicious breakfast,
Fangirl Baolu orders a Cuban sandwich for lunch on the train.
0733 Our Lyft driver, Ludwig, is astounded at the lack of traffic, as we roar up
The 5 towards L.A. He says normally this trip takes over an hour. We made it in
just 23 minutes.
Lindsay carefully scheduled this trip to hit Knott's on a Saturday (when they
would be running the steam engine) and Sunday morning to easily get to downtown
Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, CA.
0800 Taking pictures as we enter Los
Angeles Union Station.
Colorful displays tell the story of arrivals and departures.
0815 Amtrak's Metropolitan (first class) lounge. Very nice accommodations! On
the wall, Pacific Electric,
Southern Pacific and
Santa Fe Railway glory days are
represented.
0915 An announcement is made that our train has backed into Track 10. We made
the long walk through the underground tunnel and up the ramp to find
Amtrak's
Coast Starlight #14 ready for First Class boarding. After stowing our luggage,
Baolu and I hit the platform to stretch our legs and take some pictures.
Jesse is our car attendant, who welcomed us aboard and explained the setup. I took
these pictures of him at the San Luis Obispo stop. We are in Car 1431, Roomettes
7 & 8, with one sleeper between us and the diner.
Let's head up to the head end and look around.
L.A. is not as snotty as Denver or Saskatoon in regards to checking out the
motive power. Here we see a gleeful yours truly getting a selfie with AMTK 338,
a Siemens ALC-42 leading
a GE P42DC, AMTK # 138. I am jazzed, as our train has BOTH
units in Amtrak's Phase VII paint scheme. THIS is how passenger locomotives
should look.
Interesting Metrolink and Metro stuff on adjacent platforms. That SCAX 923 is
an
EMD F125 "Spirit", a model of locomotive I've not seen before (in person).
Apparently its' air horns are a point of contention with railfans (sounds awful,
they say.). And of course, those
Metro Gold "L" Line cars are common as dirt...
"We being of sound mind and body...", are ready for our train trip up the coast.
And we brought along THREE bottles of red wine for our journey... Must have the
necessary stimulants...
Back in our sleeper, Baolu points out
a Pacific Surfliner that has pulled in
next to us. As I take this shot, we start moving.
0951 "Highball, #14!" We depart Los Angeles on time.
We turn left out of LAUS, heading north along the Los Angeles River. Along the
way, we pass the Gold Line coach yard.
Van Nuys, CA.
1014/1018 We are 4 minutes early into our first stop. We pass the runway for Van
Nuys airport. Is that Taylor Swift over there?
At Chatsworth, we bore through two short tunnels and a very long tunnel. Baolu
spots old movie sets on her side (Spahn Movie Ranch, perhaps?).
We take siding for a meet with a Pacific Surfliner.
Simi Valley, CA.
1045/1049 OT. Meh... The scenery is boring. I head to the diner for a "Savory
Chili Bowl" lunch and a Maker's for beverage, whilst B enjoyed a Porto's Cuban
sandwich in her roomette.
I was seated with an older couple who were nice enough, however next to me was a
Cali girl who I disliked on sight. She was fascinated by herself. Her whining,
nasal voice dominated all conversation.
I gulped my lunch and reached for my wallet to leave a tip. Oops. Forgot wallet.
It's in my pack. Feeling shame and heavy guilt, I exited quickly and headed back
to my quarters to fetch said wayward wallet.
As I was pulling the wallet out of the pack, an announcement was made over the
P.A. system. "Ladies and Gentlemen, just a friendly reminder that alcoholic
beverages are complementary ONLY with dinner, etc. and so on..." Just as he
finished the admonishment, I plodded up the aisle and presented Patrick (our
dining car guy for the trip) with two tens. "This is for the alcoholic beverage
and this is for you." He was most grateful.
That was a close one. How's the scenery out the window now? Oh, that's MUCH
better. Come and take a look, Baolu!
1. The Pacific Coast Highway (CA 1) is between us and the beach. Notice the two
hang gliders coming in for a landing.
2. Beyond that sandy/grassy knoll, you can see off-shore oil rigs. These were
all along the coast as far as Santa Barbara and northward.
3. AMTK #14 cruises along the beach.
4. Baolu enjoys the sights.
Time to break out the wine (a Decoy Red Blend).
It's the only way to fly.
Santa Barbara, CA.
1215/1221 OT. Taken from B's side of the train is
this heavyweight Pullman
observation just north of the station.
North of Santa Barbara, well, the scenery just gets better and better. Even on
this little-used line (Southern Pacific's former L.A./S.F. Coast Line), the
Union Pacific track is soooo much smoother than previous rides on
BNSF and
CN.
Kinda makes me proud to own UP stock. Mind you, we’re going 50-60mph instead of
79, but the ride is almost uniformly like glass.
What a view! The railroad is up on a cliff for much of the way. I also spotted a
squadron of pelicans flying alongside us, but was unable to capture them in
time. :<
Pismo Beach, CA.
1427 "Well here we are, Pismo Beach, and all the clams we can eat!" It's not that
great a shot, but I DID manage to pixelize the city limit sign.
;p
San Luis Obispo, CA.
1450/1510 (1452/1503) We arrived two minutes early and departed seven minutes
late. Lots of coach passengers waiting to board. SLO-town is a "fresh air stop"
as well as a crew change point. Let's go walk the train!
The Los Angeles crew has finished their run and heads for the depot as the new
engineer (yellow shirt) climbs into the cab of 338. We have a red over flashing
yellow signal aspect (diverging approach). A "no passengers beyond this point"
sign prevents me from going any further.
Lotsa people getting on and getting off.
Departing SLO, we almost immediately begin climbing
the Cuesta Grade. Baolu gets
a couple boonie shots as the train twists, turns, and enters a tunnel. Much
flange squeal as we tackle the 2.2%.
At 1525, we take siding for our opposite number (AMTK train #11) who, like us,
is pretty much on time.
Paso Robles, CA.
1620 We are just five minutes down when we depart, but our train begins to have
problems. All the way up the Salinas Valley, we seem to slow to about 10-20mph
for many of the grade crossings. I don't know if this is due to trackwork or
issues with the Positive Train Control (PTC).
1753 A notable exception is Soledad, CA. which we blast through at 70mph.
Not much to see through here. Occasional patches of green fields, oil derricks
alongside moo moo cows, and...wispy onion peels stirred up by our passing. We
mistook them for some sort of bug swarm at first.
Salinas, CA.
1828/1839 is our dwell time. We depart 26 minutes late (1813).
Hometown of John Steinbeck. There are bum camps alongside the right-of-way on
both sides of town. The railroad dumps large rocks and old concrete ties to
deter the squatters from setting up tents next to the tracks. It sounds like a modern-day situation
for one of Steinbeck's books.
No more pictures today, as I'm running out of daylight.
1900 Baolu and I enjoy an Amtrak Flat Iron Steak dinner (with a port wine
reduction) for two. It is their "signature" dish on long-distance trains and
quite good.
2000 Jesse turns down our beds for "nighttime configuration".
San Jose, CA.
2033 (1958) Crew change point. 35 minutes late. Good night. (At age 66, I still
need a night light, apparently...).
New female conductor who got on in San Jose, keeps broadcasting loud, shrill,
and SUDDEN announcements making staying asleep difficult. She finally stopped
doing this somewhere past Emeryville...
Monday, September 28, 2026
Dorris, CA.
0705 Dawn. First shot of another beautiful blue-sky day. Just south of here, we
took siding for a fast-moving UP intermodal double stack train.
Some observations from Mrs. Korst: North of Sacramento, "he was really flying"
as we rolled up SP's Eastside Line towards Tehama and Red Bluff; and "Jesse is
doing a great job keeping everything clean" (toilets, shower, putting our
roomettes back into daytime configuration, etc.).
0715 We head to breakfast. Baolu had the Railroad French Toast and I partook of
the omelet. And NO, I did NOT have an alcoholic beverage. That comes later...
Patrick is our Amtrak-tuque-wearing waiter. Nice guy. Very jolly and has a good
and mischievous attitude (his diner announcements are very off-script and
entertaining). He remembered us both from dinner (I guess we tip well).
Klamath Falls, OR.
We were scheduled to depart K-Falls @ 0743. Actually left @ 0750. Practically,
OT. My theory is they run MUCH FASTER at night when supervisors and
middle-managers are asleep. Schedule pad helps, too.
Northward out of K-Falls, we follow the shoreline of Upper Klamath Lake. This is
a National Wildlife Refuge and all sorts of migratory birds can be seen. Our
passage seems to startle them, as witnessed in these images.
Chemult, OR.
Scheduled 0859 Actual 0905. Our route was paired trackage rights from K-Falls to
here with BNSF (from back in Great Northern days). Now these routes split and
the old Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific) will follow their mountainous
Cascade Line grade all the way to Eugene. We will be in a "tunnel of trees"
almost the entire way, so pictures are difficult. ;p
0920 We met a southbound wood train 5x2 (five units up front/two units pushing
as Distributed Power Units - DPU). UP 2684 is a GE ET44AH.
0945 An opening in the trees! Hallelujah! This is Odell Lake near the summit. It
will be all downhill from here to Eugene.
Occasionally, a break in the forest, then back to tunneling. The trees are JUST
beginning to turn for the fall colors.
Oakridge, OR.
1111 At the foot of the mountain grade. There is all sorts of MOW stuff stashed here including flangers and plows for snow
removal as well as fire-fighting equipment. How about that boonie
SP bay-window
caboose (#4699) from the days of yore??
Somewhere in here, Baolu and I trudged off for lunch in the diner. I had that
Savory Chili Bowl again (it IS pretty good) with Iced Tea and B had the grilled
chicken caesar salad.
1155 Pumpkins!
Eugene, OR.
Looks like the old Espee put their mainline (at an angle) right through the middle of an
intersection!
We arrived @ 1205 (24 minutes early!) and would depart OT @ 1237. Fresh Air
break!
Our locomotives from a different perspective as we walk up to the head end. Red
over green signal aspect (Diverging Clear). No
prohibitive-beyond-here signs, YESSS!!
Blast from the Past.
When Baolu and I rode this train in 1999, she posed with AMTK 389, a battered,
old EMD F40PHR on the point. B took a picture of a much-thinner LIN-Z next to
our sleeper.
Present day. Who is this strange person photo-bombing Baolu's otherwise
perfectly-composed selfie? A Filthy Pervert, no doubt...
Watch the birdie! We take turns posing with the head-end power.
We had so much dwell time in Eugene, I took roster shots of the entire train.
Bear with me.
AMTK 338 Siemens ALC-42; AMTK 138 GE P42DC; Baggage 61020; Transition Sleeper
39041; Sleeper 32045 (Zion Park); Sleeper 32027.
Diner 38004; Sightseer Lounge 33012; Coach 34093; Coach 34202; Coach 31012.
It's a long haul up the Willamette Valley to Portland with not much to see. Time
for a bottle of wine! Maybe two!
1524 Along the way, we passed this southbound manifest of mostly empties. UP
8983 is an EMD SD70AH. Whoa. Those fermented grapes really help the scenery.
Oregon City, OR.
1530 Hey, it's the end of the Oregon Trail!
That makes me think of one of my favorite road signs...
Portland, OR.
If Portland is a pantyfa dump, at least this graffiti is reasonably neat; Just
before crossing the Steel Bridge into the station, we pass the
Portland section
of the Empire Builder being turned on the wye.
Turning onto and crossing the Steel Bridge. Yellow over flashing red (Approach
Medium).
scheduled: 1540/1556. actual: 1545/1600. OT. Unfortunately, none of my
Portland Union Station
shots turned out, as I was shooting right into the sun.
Passing under the I-405 bridge over the Willamette River; Crossing the Columbia
River on the approach to Vancouver, Washington.
Vancouver, WA.
The depot is located in the middle of a wye. In the first image, you can see the
old SP&S Railway tracks turning east to follow the north bank of the Columbia to
the Tri-Cities.
Kelso, WA.
We had lunch back before Eugene and were surprised when Jesse came through for
dinner reservations (Amtrak likes to shut down all food service at least two
hours before arriving at their final stop).
We chose a 1700 seating which was just outside Kelso. I had the pan-roasted
chicken breast and B had the Atlantic salmon). Not too shabby!
As we enjoyed our supper, yet another UP double stack intermodal flashed by on
the other track. UP 6366 is a GE AC44CW locomotive.
I am losing my light. However, once settled in at the
Residence Inn Marriott in
Bellevue, later that night, I grabbed screen captures of our progress north.
Vader, WA.
Winlock, WA.
World's Largest Egg Hype!
Chehalis, WA.
Baolu calls this, "The Carrot Factory". Otherwise known as the
National Frozen Foods Corporation,
188 Sturdevant Road, Chehalis, Washington.
https://www.facebook.com/virtualrailfan/videos/the-carrots-are-back-at-chehaliswa-carrot-processing-sometimesitsnottrains-train/845015603137101/
Olympia/Lacey, WA.
Note the cell phone flashlight in the last image. That's Baolu!
Seattle, WA.
King Street Station
We arrive 1945 (1951), six minutes EARLY. How about THAT, Charlie Brown?
A most enjoyable trip on Amtrak. Couldn't have been any better. Well, maybe add
back the ex-ATSF First Class Lounge, Magician & wine-tasting from our 1999 trip, but you
can't have everything.
Thank you, Jesse, Patrick, and the rest of the crew onboard #14.
THE END
All images (c) Lindsay Korst, unless otherwise indicated.
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