(The following column by Eric Noland appeared on the Los Angeles Daily News website on April 14.)
ABOARD THE COAST STARLIGHT — There was ample opportunity to drink in the idyllic Central California Coast scene, just north of Ventura on the Coast Starlight train, which travels between Seattle and Los Angeles. Because we were stopped dead on the tracks. Interminably. Without explanation.
The moment encapsulated the yin and the yang of rail travel along the coast.
Through good fortune, rails long ago were laid along the very edge of the shore. Today’s leisure traveler is treated to magnificent coastal sights that, in many cases, can’t be reached by car or even foot.
The drawback is that Amtrak can push your patience to the absolute limit with its delays (some beyond its control), chronically late trains and shoulder-shrugging employees.
Thus a rail traveler continually must balance ecstasy against agony.
The Coast Starlight route is considered by many rail enthusiasts to be the most scenic and elegant in the country.
Travelers intrigued by this beauty, and the train’s unique perspective on it, may want to hurry to be assured of seeing it, though. Amtrak has been sloshing through red ink for years. If federal subsidies are eliminated, as proposed, experts think it could be the death of Amtrak.
In the meantime, the Coast Starlight runs on, daily, between Los Angeles and Seattle, offering sleeper accommodations and coach seats on a trip of 35 hours. The only time the Pacific Coast is in view, however, is from Oxnard to Santa Maria on the Central California Coast, making the ride between Los Angeles and the East Bay Area particularly attractive.
You’ll find the train experience is much more civilized than anything you’ll encounter in air travel. No need to arrive 90 minutes before departure to slog through long lines for check-in and security. You literally can walk into the depot minutes before your train is to leave and step into your coach; tickets are taken on board.
The seats are generous, the legroom spacious — more than you’ll find in domestic first class on an airplane. Neither must you jam in and sit still for long periods. There is no seat-belt light. Or seat belts, for that matter (though, given speeds of 70 mph and the recent horrific crash in Glendale, Calif., maybe there should be).
On the Coast Starlight, the Sightseer Lounge has domed windows for optimal viewing of all that superb scenery. The sleeper-class passengers have a similar car just for their use, with wine-tasting sessions convened each afternoon and a movie theater on the lower level. Both classes of passenger may dine in a car where the tables are covered in white linen, fresh-cut carnations perch in vases and the menu offers steaks, seafood, pasta and splits of California wines.
As the train rolls along, the gentle rocking of the cars seems to have a universal effect on passengers — supreme relaxation. It’s amusing to see how many adults nod off in the early afternoon, like toddlers taken out for a Sunday drive in the family car.
I always bring along plenty to read on a train trip, but on this one I find I can concentrate on the pages only in brief snatches. The passing diorama is endlessly fascinating, even when the train isn’t skirting the coast.
When the train is humming along the rails, the experience is exhilarating. However, when it pokes along at 25 mph, or rolls to a stop in the middle of nowhere, it’s excruciating.
Travelers need to know this in advance. This is not the best mode of transportation if you’re operating on a tight schedule, or if the people meeting your train are short on patience.
The Coast Starlight runs on track owned by Union Pacific, and UP’s freight trains often take priority. Heavy winter storms also can slow things, forcing the trains to creep through areas where sinkholes have occurred.
Bad luck comes into play, too. The night before our departure from Los Angeles, police clashed with a suspect on the train tracks in Van Nuys. Traffic was shut down and the southbound Coast Starlight didn’t reach Union Station until after 5 a.m. — nearly eight hours late.
Our 10:15 a.m. departure the next day was pushed back. We finally pulled out a little after noon, then made 14 unscheduled, middle-of-nowhere stops and didn’t reach Oakland until 1:20 a.m. — four hours behind schedule.
There was an attendant assigned to every car, but I couldn’t figure out what they did — help people on and off, then sit in the back of the car and read a novel. This on trains that were running at no more than one-quarter passenger capacity. The attendants didn’t need to check tickets, because other employees — two, in fact — had that duty. Amtrak definitely enjoys using up those subsidies.
In the meantime, passengers can sit back and enjoy the landscape. Soak it in. Savor it. There’s plenty of time.
We just stopped again.