surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: Writer in residence on a train?
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2014/02/writer-in-residence-on-train.html
Reflections from the Rails. Thursday, February 27, 2014. Writer in residence on a train? What an appealing idea: US rail company Amtrak has begun offering writers residencies on trains, after the author Alexander Chee expressed a wistful longing to write on trains in a recent interview. The writer Jessica Gross tweeted her approval, “because it would allow for uninterrupted creativity. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). Amtrak CA status and alerts. Amtrak's whistle stop: train stories.
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: The haunting of 763: the Curse of the Coaster?
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-haunting-of-763-curse-of-coaster.html
Reflections from the Rails. Thursday, October 31, 2013. The haunting of 763: the Curse of the Coaster? It's Halloween, so appropriate to talk about curses. The last few weeks have been tough on the 763 (the first northbound departure of the day from San Diego), with frequent delays. This Tuesday it was 40m late, and then on Weds it was annulled completely, having broken down south of Sorrento Valley. The grumpy passengers were accommodated on the next train, 565. It's a cheaper ticket. Or maybe just ...
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: How can you add three stops and no time? #nonctd
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-can-you-add-three-stops-and-no-time.html
Reflections from the Rails. Monday, September 30, 2013. How can you add three stops and no time? That having Amtrak make Coaster stops in San Diego is a Bad Idea. It is a feat of astounding stupidity to have several Amtrak trains including the commuter-heavy 784 making Coaster stops, adding three stops (Carlsbad Village, Poinsettia, and Encinitas) between Oceanside and Solana Beach. Let's have a little thought game, shall we? How long does it take to get from OSD to SOL? Let's look at some schedules.
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: May 2014
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2014_05_01_archive.html
Reflections from the Rails. Thursday, May 29, 2014. One of my fellow commuters refers to the frequent Friday delays on Pacific Surfliner 784 as the #FridayCurse. Probably it's the effect of people using the train for the weekend. But what's the excuse for the summer delays? And waited for the next Amtrak, 784, to come past, back up, and tow us to San Diego. I was about 2.5 hours late on that leg. So last Tuesday was really bad. Last night it was almost a relief that 580 was only 30 minutes late. We trave...
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: May 2015
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2015_05_01_archive.html
Reflections from the Rails. Saturday, May 9, 2015. Yes, we're still here. YEs, we're still taking the train every day on the Power Commute to Irvine or Los Angeles. Much of our conversation and photo-taking has moved over to Twitter. Call it the curse of the smart phone. And our poor Amtrak crews- what a brutal week for them. Regular commuters know our conductors and LSAs and some people even get to know the engineers. Trespassing incidents are tough on our crews. Just respect the rail.
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: February 2014
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2014_02_01_archive.html
Reflections from the Rails. Thursday, February 27, 2014. Writer in residence on a train? What an appealing idea: US rail company Amtrak has begun offering writers residencies on trains, after the author Alexander Chee expressed a wistful longing to write on trains in a recent interview. The writer Jessica Gross tweeted her approval, “because it would allow for uninterrupted creativity. Tuesday, February 18, 2014. What's the future of the Southwest Chief? The New York Times reports today. The Southwest Ch...
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: Happy Birthday LA Union Station! (photos)
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2014/05/happy-birthday-la-union-station-photos.html
Reflections from the Rails. Thursday, May 1, 2014. Happy Birthday LA Union Station! Celebrating 75 years this year, LA Union Station is getting a cosmetic makeover. They've moved the arrivals/departures board into two boards in the lounge,. The big board is gone, new lighting and detail. At last, modern board! The plyboard that blocked the old ticket hall has been removed so you can see it and all its detail. Love the old ticket hall, which features in movies! Tunnel is all spiffed up. Most of the platfo...
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: A visit to the National Railway Museum in York. UK
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-visit-to-national-railway-museum-in.html
Reflections from the Rails. Thursday, May 8, 2014. A visit to the National Railway Museum in York. UK. Everything a train fan wants, including the bright blue Mallard, holder of the speed record for steam; a range of historic locomotives, and a fascinating selection of passenger coaches. And lessons in how to run a railroad, including the levers that manually control switches in some more remote parts of the country. (Mainline switching is all automated as you would expect). Amtrak CA status and alerts.
surflinerstories.blogspot.com
The Surfliner Stories: Updated: The Surfliner is not the Coaster: #noNCTD
http://surflinerstories.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-surfliner-is-not-coaster-nonctd.html
Reflections from the Rails. Thursday, September 12, 2013. Updated: The Surfliner is not the Coaster: #noNCTD. I am reposting this from last spring, because apparently they are actually going to do this starting in October. As I said then, this is a TERRIBLE idea. The 784 can seldom make its schedule as it is, and now they think they can throw in 3 extra stops between Oceanside and Solana Beach without affecting anyone? If you are going all the way to downtown, you will be arriving at least 15 minutes lat...
