Page 68 - 2014 Travel Guide to California

CA.RAILWAY JOURNEYS
BY JAN RODRICKS
When That
Lonesome Whistle Blows
Climb aboard for wide-angle views and a trainful of fun
York and San Francisco reached Oakland
after a journey of less than four days.
Prior to that day, a coast-to-coast trip had
taken months—and might include births,
deaths and attacks by rogues or Indians.
Californians love their trains, and with
good reason. They’re an excellent way to
enjoy some of North America’s most spec-
tacular scenery: from mountain ranges to
coastal panoramas. Some of the routes are
short, scenic excursions. Others are purely
practical, ferrying commuters between the
capitals of California commerce.
AMTRAK
Founded in 1971 to provide
intercity passenger train service
across the country, Amtrak
serves 46 of the 50 states and
three Canadian provinces on
21,000 miles (34,000 km) of track.
“It smells like a skunk!” So claimed early
residents along the Redwood Route of Cal-
ifornia’s Mendocino County, where
motorcars carried freshly-hewn redwood
logs (and logging families) to sawmills
along the coast. Now 128 years in service,
the “Skunk Train”—recently reopened after
a tunnel collapse threatened to shut it
down for good—is one of many historic
routes interlacing the Golden State.
California’s colorful railway history is
the stuff of American legend. On June 4,
1876, the first express train to connect New
Amtrak Adventures
The gold standard of California rail trips is
arguably Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. Before it
crosses the border into Oregon, northbound
passengers are treated to a spectrum of Cal-
ifornia’s greatest hits. Whether one boards
at Los Angeles’ Union Station or Oakland’s
Jack London Square, you’ll see snow-capped
peaks, lush forests and shimmering shore-
lines. The full trip, from Los Angeles to
Seattle (or reverse), takes 35 hours.
But accolades for “most beautiful train
trip in North America” are lavished on
Amtrak’s California Zephyr, a 51-hour ride
connecting the Bay Area and Chicago. This
adventure begins daily in Emeryville
(across the bay from San Francisco), and
climbs two mountain ranges—the Sierra
Nevada to Reno, and the Rockies to Denver
(you can also get off at Truckee, and visit
Lake Tahoe). If a desert crossing is more to
66 2014 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
AMTRAK