Train Day banner above the waiting room

Report and Photos by Robert Manning, RailPAC Director
National Train Day Saturday, May 10, 2008, started for my wife (Joyce) and me when we boarded Metrolink Train #353 at San Bernardino which departed promptly at 8:45 am. The train was totally filled by the second stop (Rialto CA) and arrived into Los Angeles Union Station ten minutes early. This was the start of a very enjoyable day.

Entering the train station waiting room, with part of the huge crowd!

As we entered the crowed station, I noticed the north portal where the original ticket counters were located was open. This area is normally closed to the public and used for special events. In this area there were two sections: One for children where there was face painting, games and toys. The second area had a disc jockey playing music and it was packed.

We then went to the RailPAC booth which was located on the south side of the station adjacent to other train related tables and a model train layout. The RailPAC booth was being cared for by our new member and Coast Starlight supporter Justin Walker and Associate Director Ken Ruben.

RailPAC President Paul Dyson, shown above (right) with this writer, and Vice President South James Smith also helped out at the booth and later checked out other venues at the station.

We were later paid a visit by Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak Vice President, who was very pleased with the turnout for this event. (l-r) Fremaux, Smith, Manning, Ruben. Several other RailPAC members including Tony Escarcega and Anton Lazzaro stopped by the booth for a visit.

Later we went trackside to see three refurbished Amtrak cars: A Surfliner Business class café car, which was beautifully appointed and very comfortable looking. Next was a refurbished Coast Starlight Pacific Parlor car which features a flat screen Television with surround sound, located on the bottom level of the car. The upper level was totally redecorated with refurbished seating and wall panels. This car will also serve gourmet meals in addition to an extended bar service and will also include regional wine tasting. The last car was a refurbished sleeping car and it was very nicely appointed. I must commend Amtrak for these three cars, they got it right!
When we left the station it was packed with people. This was a very successful event and I think everyone had a very good time.
Robert Manning, RailPAC Director

Photos by Mike Palmer for RailPAC (except as noted). NOTE: Other photos from LAUS are forthcoming and will be posted when they are available. A set of photos can also be found on Trainweb’s “What’s New” page.

Visitors to Los Angeles Union Station from the MTA parking structure first see this historic mural above the east entrance to the pedestrian tunnel. (file photo by Russ Jackson)

Photographer Mike Palmer rode Surfliner #769 from Fullerton to LAUS, which was an apporpriate thing to do on Train Day. Mike reported he had to be a standee, and that Business Class was sold out!

The RailPAC table at LAUS included (l-r) Caltrans Division of Rail Associate Robin Owen, RailPAC/Coast Starlight advocate Justin Walker, and RailPAC member/Southern California Transit Advocate member John Ulloth.

Mike Palmer reported that Union Station was very crowded. Cab ride simulators/video screens were very popular and there was a long line to check them out. He rode the Gold Line train to Pasadena as part of his day.

Another view of the RailPAC table with (l-r) John Ulloth again, and Oliver Lieu of California High Speed Rail.

At the Fullerton Amtrak station Nena greeted visitors to Train Day with handouts and refreshments.

Mike Palmer took Surfliner #582 back to Fullerton, and rode Business Class this trip. He reported it had a respectable load but was running up to 15 minutes late. End of a perfect day on Train Day.

Photos by David Weisman for RailPAC

The classic San Luis Obispo station sports its Train Day banner on May 10, 2008.

Amtrak “Daylight” train set for 798/799 was at the platform for tours. This family enjoyed the day, among hundreds of others who came for the festivities.

Inside the station a visitor signs RailPAC’s “We Need More Trains” petition, as did visitors at other sites around the state. Train Day volunteer hostess Alice Bunker of SLO oversaw refreshments and handouts, with our thanks!

A display by the San Luis Model Rail Association attracted much attention, of course. Members Michael Mickens (center) and Stuart Young (left) were there to explain trains to new fans.

RailPAC member/photographer David Weisman explains what we are all about to a group of visitors.

NOTE: Photos from other locations will be posted soon!

What would Train Day be without a train? The California Zephyr, #6, arrives at the Sacramento Valley Station to pick up a large number of passengers riding on Train Day. In the background are the Amtrak California buses ready to depart all over Northern California.

Inside the station crowds visit tables to pick up brochures, talk trains, and have cookies. In the foreground RailPAC Treasurer, Bill Kerby, is talking to a customer, while behind the tables (left) Caltrans Division of Rail Marketing Associate Charles Wittig, RailPAC Associate Director Mike Barnbaum (in the Amtrak T-shirt), and member Debra Muro (right) work with the folks in this busy station.

The Amtrak ticket window was busy all day

The California State Rail Museum advertised Train Day on its outside wall. Riders with Amtrak tickets were admitted free.

Inside the CSRM the old met with the new. SP steam locomotive 2467 was on display next to Amtrak California Car “Muir Beach”, which drew a large crowd of young and old for tours.

Who is that lady behind the Train Day fan? That’s RailPAC Director Marcia Johnston, who along with station agent John Murphy, handed out Train Day materials, coffee, and cookies to folks who came to the Davis Station.

These visitors to the table at the Davis station came “because they heard it was Train Day.” Marcia was happy to help show them what it was all about.

Metrolink wants you to ride for free from the DOWNTOWN RIVERSIDE STATION on the Inland Empire-Orange County line to San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, and Oceanside. Trains depart Riverside at 7:50 and 9:15 a.m. Return trains depart Oceanside at 2:50 and 4:30 p.m. On May 17 ONLY.

FOR DETAILS and the full schedule see http://www.metrolinktrains.com/documents/Special_Events/Riverside_flyer_final.pdf

WE NEED MORE TRAINS

· In 2006 California Voters passed the Proposition 1B Bond Measure which included $160 million for additional intercity passenger rolling stock.

· Many of our intercity trains are full and we need more equipment to satisfy growing demand.

· With gasoline at $4.00 per gallon more and more people are looking for alternatives.

· BUT the state Department of Finance says the new cars are not needed, based on a flawed sample of ridership on a few trains.

We the undersigned call on the Governor to direct Caltrans to proceed with the equipment acquisition.

E-mail your support by sending YOUR Name, Address AND e-mail address as soon as possible to:
pdyson@railpac.org

Join Amtrak, the CCJPA, NARP,and RailPAC in celebrating National Train Day May 10th!.
NEW info re the California events, posted 5/8!

Train Day brochure and new RailPAC brochure will be available at all California Train Day locations! Look for RailPAC members at many of the locations.
CALIFORNIA EVENTS ARE NOW PLANNED FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS Newly posted events are in bold.

Los Angeles Union Station
800 N. Alameda
Downtown Los Angeles

All-Day Events
10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Train Tours on Amtrak Equipment
Train Driving Simulators
Train Model Display by the Orange County N’Gineers Model Railroad Club
AmtraKids Depot Activities: Facepainting, arts & crafts, toy trains and performances by the Fun Train Strolling Minstrels (11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.)
John Acurso Train Photography Exhibit
Train Cutout: Get Your Picture Taken for Free
Appearance by ARTE (Amtrak’s Environmental Mascot)
Radio Personalities from Radio Disney at the AmtraKids Depot (11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Free Concert by Drake Bell!
Amtrak Display Booth
Vendor Display Booths (Look for RailPAC in the original ticket hall)

Sacramento Station - Northern California’s Busiest Station Celebrates! Commemorative postcards, stickers and other giveaways will be handed out from 9am - 2pm in honor of National Train Day at Sacramento, Northern California’s busiest train station (and the 8th busiest in the nation) on May 10th, 2008 while supplies last. Light refreshments will be served. Sacramento Regional Transit will also be on hand to promote their light rail service! RailPAC will be there!

San Luis Obispo Station
1011 Railroad Avenue
San Luis Obispo, California 93401
Come join the San Luis Obispo station for their open house celebrating National Train Day. Scheduled activities will include refreshments, commemorative postcards, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries. Trader Joe’s is donating some
refeshments.

Anaheim Station
2150 East Katella Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92806
Scheduled activities will include Information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

9:30am - 2:30pm
Bakersfield Station
601 Truxtun Ave
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Activities planned include music and commemorative postcards, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last.

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Davis Station
840 Second Street
Davis, CA 95616
Come check out local supporters, and commemorative postcards, stickers and other giveaways.

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Emeryville Station
5885 Landregan Street
Emeryville, California 94608
Celebration includes Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), and Amtrak presentation of the first-ever California Golden STAR Award. Family-friendly fun such as a model train display, cookies and punch, and kid’s activities.

10:30am - 2:30pm
Fresno Station
2650 Tulare Street
Fresno, CA 93721
Come join the fun with refreshments, commemorative postcards, stickers and other giveaways with Operation Lifesaver, the Fresno City Police Bicycle Unit, and the Station Host Association.

Irvine Station
15215 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92718
Scheduled activities will include information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

9am-12pm
Radio Show – Rhythm of the Rails hosted by DJ “Cousin Mary”
12345 S. El Monte Road
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Program featuring train inspired music
For more information: http://www.kfjc.org

Travel Town Railroad Museum
5200 Zoo Drive (Griffith Park)
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Docent-guided tours through historic railroad cars at the Museum.
For more information: http://www.traveltown.org

Martinez Station
601 Marina Vista Drive
Martinez, CA 94553
Scheduled activities will include refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

Oxnard Station
Oxnard Transportation Center
201 East Fourth Street, Suite 106
Oxnard, CA 93030
Scheduled activities will include information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

Salinas
Farmers Market

San Diego Station
1050 Kettner Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101
Scheduled activities will include information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

9:00am – Noon
San Francisco Station
The Embarcadero, Pier 2, Suite 118
San Francisco, California 94111
Festivities include refreshments, commemorative postcards, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, various Amtrak materials, along with refreshments and staff available to answer inquiries.

San Juan Capistrano Station
26701 Verdugo Street
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Scheduled activities will include information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

Santa Ana Station
1000 Santa Ana Boulevard
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Scheduled activities will include information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

Santa Barbara Station
209 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Scheduled activities will include information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

10am-4pm
Pacific Coast Railroad Company
Santa Margarita Ranch Pacific Coast Railroad
The Pacific Coast Railroad Round-Up
For more information: http://pcrailroad.blogspot.com

Solana Beach Station
105 Cedros Avenue
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Scheduled activities will include information from a local rail enthusiast group, refreshments, stickers and other giveaways while supplies last, and staff available to answer inquiries.

Van Nuys Station
7724 Van Nuys Boulevard
Van Nuys, California 91405
Activities include refreshments, commemorative postcards, stickers, and giveaways with Amtrak staff available to answer inquiries.

For more information about National Train Day and planned events, you can also visit
www.nationaltrainday.com/home www.narprail.org/trainday

With the Presidential Elections coming up at the end of this year, there is bound to be discussion of the positions the candidates have about Amtrak and rail passenger service. This has been highlighted by reports of opposition of the candidacy of John McCann by noted Conservative Republican and Rail Passenger Advocate Paul Weyrich because Senator McCann is “Anti-Amtrak”. RailPAC is a non-partisan organization. We are friends with politicians of all parties. We also have disagreements with politicians from all parties. What we at RailPAC have learned over the years is to not depend on any one political party for a balanced, economical rail passenger service.

Let’s take a look at the political history of rail passenger service to demonstrate this point. The first President to get involve with rail passenger service was Democrat Lyndon Johnson around 1965.This was for funding the Metroliner Trains on the Pennsylvania Railroad’s North East Corridor. Johnson’s reason for supporting the Metroliner was political. There was strong local support for improved rail service and at this time the North East had the largest concentration of population in the country as well as 18 Senators if you count the states from Virginia to Massachusetts. This was the first time the federal government at least in the 20th Century supported rail passenger service with money, it wouldn’t be the last.

The President who was responsible for the creation of Amtrak was Republican Richard Nixon. President Nixon’s motivation for creating Amtrak was largely as part of a bail out of the recently bankrupt PennCentral Railroad around 1970. To make Amtrak more politically appealing it was decided to make it a national and not just a regional operation. The first President to propose major cutbacks of Amtrak service was Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1979. These proposals created a storm of opposition and demonstrated the broad appeal in the Country for rail passenger service. It should be noted that the subsidy for Amtrak had grown dramatically during the Carter Administration. A major reason for this was the decision to dump the North East Corridor on Amtrak to help the newly created Conrail (the new name of the reorganized PennCentral) become profitable around 1976. Amtrak charged many of the costs of the NEC onto the Long Distance Trains based on train miles. The result was this made it look like the Long Distance Trains were causing most of Amtrak’s costs. While not as drastic as proposed by the Carter Administration, some cuts were made. These resulted in no significant cost savings, but a major reduction in revenue which left Amtrak worse off than before.

The 1980’s were the times of the Republican Presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior. Despite fears that Reagan would “kill Amtrak”; ironically the 80’s were if anything the golden age of Amtrak. The reason for this was the bipartisan working relationship of a Democrat, Amtrak President Graham Claytor and Reagan’s Federal Railroad Administration’s Chief, John Riley. Claytor had the unique skills of being politically well connected and having been a successful businessman in the railroad industry. John Reily was a relatively young lawyer from Minneapolis with a strong love of trains and passenger service. Both men understood that the NEC was the major cost of Amtrak and that not much could be done politically to change that. They also knew that the Long Distance Trains were the cash cows of Amtrak. During this time the Superliners were almost brand new. Amtrak had more equipment available then than now and a larger route system than today. With modest improved connections and extended services Amtrak’s revenues went up and the need for Federal Subsidy went down in the 1980’s.

The 90’s was the era of President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. The Clinton administration was interested in rail passenger corridor service, but not in long distance trains. The Acela program was the hallmark of the Clinton era which was to create high speed corridor service in several metropolitan areas. When the Acela was being designed there was suppose to be a diesel powered trainset as a prototype for additional corridors. The Acela almost bankrupted Amtrak. Since 2002 Amtrak has been on a long slow process of recovery.
What is remarkable about the 1990’s was the explosion of Light Rail and Commuter Rail services. All of these were grass root, very local affairs in both Red and Blue States. California was the leader in this effort and helped inspire people in other parts of the County. Most of the progress in rail passenger service comes from local, non-partisan efforts. As one project succeeds, this inspires additional projects.

Back in the 1930’s when Democrat Franklin Roosevelt was President; he would often tell people when they asked him to do something to “make me.” What he meant by that is he needed a show of support that people were demanding action before he could do anything. We have to make politicians do things. The more towns that own train stations and have businesses that thrive near stations will increase the support for more and better rail service. As the subsidy needs of Amtrak goes down as long distance service expands, Amtrak will be politically more secure. The more successful rail passenger service is seen, the more people will demand it. And it all won’t matter who is the President or even which party is in control.

I attended the presentation of the consultants on the upgrade of the Sacramento Valley Station. Here are some notes I took at the meeting, along with some photos of the panel members.

Panel members are as follows: [from left to right]
Kevin Pressy, HMR Architects, Michael O’Brien, HMR Architects, Cynthia Krantz, Facilities Manager, City of Sacramento, Hinda Chandler, Project Manager, City of Sacramento – Railyards [not pictured]

The Sacramento Valley Assessment Report was prepared by HMR Architects and was presented as a power point presentation by the consultants. The rather lengthy report is also on line.

The key points presented from their analysis:

The City has prioritized the repair work/maintenance for the building. They have received $400,000 in historical funding. The priorities are those listed as safety issues.

All work listed above needs to be done whether or not the station is to be moved. Most of the repairs are to be done for safety and aesthetics concerns.

Some comments as to other work on the intermodal facility: The track relocation will be completed by 2010. There were some comments as to the moving of the station itself, but the City is not making a decision at this time.