Page 46 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

RAILWAY JOURNEYS
BY JEFF GREENWALD & LAURIE WEED
All Aboard!
Climb on for panoramic views and a blast of nostalgia
with train robbery reenactment) or take the
whole family along for a BBQ and campfire
sing-along, you’re sure to find at least one
train ride that shakes your caboose.
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.
Passengers enjoy themselves in
the lounge car, above; the Pacific
Surfliner crosses the Gaviota
railroad trestle above Gaviota
Creek in Santa Barbara County,
above right.
Can you hear that whistle blow? His-
toric, romantic, immortalized in legend
and song, a train journey goes beyond mere
transportation—it’s an experience, one that
recalls the Golden Age of travel. With the
historic completion of the first transconti-
nental rail line in 1876, travelers could
suddenly reach the 31st state from the East
Coast in a seemingly magical four days—a
journey that previously took many perilous
weeks, even months, to complete. Cali-
fornia’s fame and fortune were built on
those long lines of track, some would say,
and Californians still love their trains—not
just for nostalgic reasons. There’s no better
way to view the state’s magnificently
diverse landscapes, from breathtaking
coastal bluffs lapped by Pacific surf to red-
wood forests, vast shimmering deserts,
alpine lakes and towering mountain peaks.
Whether you prefer to sip fine Napa
wines in a luxuriously restored Pullman
car, ride the rails Old West-style (complete
Amtrak Adventures
The gold standard of California rail trips is
arguably Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. Before
crossing the border into Oregon, north-
bound passengers experience the full
spectrum of California’s greatest hits.
Whether you board at Los Angeles’ Union
Station or Oakland’s Jack London Square,
you’ll pass snow-capped peaks, gorgeous
forests and shimmering shorelines. The
full trip, from Los Angeles to Seattle (or
reverse), takes 35 hours.
But accolades for the “most beautiful
train trip in North America” are lavished on
Amtrak’s California Zephyr, a 51-hour
adventure linking the Bay Area with
Chicago. The daily departure boards in
Emeryville (right across the bay from San
Francisco) and crosses two mountain
ranges—the Sierra Nevada to Reno, and the
Rockies to Denver—with unparalleled
vistas. You can also disembark at Truckee to
explore Lake Tahoe, a stress-and-traffic-free
alternative to crawling over the summit in
your own vehicle. If you’re drawn to a
desert crossing, Amtrak’s Southwest Chief
connects LA with Chicago via the Mojave.
The Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle—Amtrak’s
most southern route—joins LA with New
Orleans and Chicago via Tucson, San
Antonio and Houston.
44 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
AMTRAK; MARK WEBER