Amtrak San Joaquins Travelogue of Steven V. Brown, December 18 through December 26, 1996.
From: S. Brown Date: 1/20/97 2:50:39PM To: Stephen Grande Subject: travelogue 2 Hi Steve, December 18, 1996 - San Joquin from Martinez, CA to Bakersfield,CA. December 26, 1996 - San Joquin from Bakersfield, CA to Martinez,CA. For those of you who have taken this trip across the San Joquin Valley, I am sure you realize that there is not all that much to look at When I got off the Coast Starlight in Martinez, I waited at the station for a while in order to watch the California Zephyr go by. After a few pictures of the east bound train, I noticed a Teriyaki place across the street from the station. It looked good, so I got an order of Teryaki to go for lunch on the train. It was a clear morning and I felt well rested from the night before. Directly across the tracks from the station is a nice park that is on the waterfront of the Sacramento River. I had about an hour to use up, so I walked over there and looked around. I saw the bridge that we passed over on the train before arriving in Martinez. I could also see the mothballed battle ships off in the distance that we passed on the train. Martinez is a nice stop to have a layover in because of its pleasant atmosphere. At about 11:30, I boarded the unreserved coach to Bakersfield. Fortunately, the train was practically empty so I had a whole section of one car to myself. I finally managed to pull a book out that I had been meaning to read. I found it interesting that I had brought several different things to do with me on the Coast Starlight, yet, I never got to one of them. It is amazing how time flies on the train. It goes by so fast, especially when you have some interesting scenery. As I was reading, once again I was distracted by interesting scenery. Just out of Martinez, the train passes over the Sacramento Delta area for many miles. This is an interesting area because you can see how some people that farm for a living really live. It was interesting that some of them had floating homes as well as boats that were probably used to get around their acreage in. After the train passes through this area, the land is flat all the way to Bakersfield. The scenery is a concentration of agricultural type orchards throughout the "bread basket of America." 15 minutes after the Modesto station stop, the train came to a halt. There was no announcement either as to why this occurred. As I was looking out my window, I noticed that the assistant conductor was standing out on the road waving his arms. (That is strange I though???) Then he lit a flare and started waving it around in the air for a while. Shortly after this, a truck came to a screeching halt by the assistant conductor. Then in the distance you could hear sirens. It turned out just as I had suspected - A medical emergency. They ended up taking a guy off the train because he was beginning to have a heart attack. The staff handled it well because between stopping the train and leaving, only about 10 minutes had passed. A very organized effort was demonstrated by Amtrak. Shortly after this incident occurred, I was finally enjoying a good book until the obnoxious lady on the Coast Starlight walked into the car! She recognized me and then proceeded to sit down next to me! Thoughts were flashing through my head..How could she possibly be on this train, the same one as me?! Once again, she smelled of alcohol. Fortunately, she was getting off in Fresno, the next stop. At least I would have my peace from there until Bakersfield. I made sure that I asked her what day she was returning to Seattle on the Coast Starlight - fortunately, my return trip was 4 days later than hers. Bakersfield to Martinez was all in the dark practically. This time I rode in the custom class car. There is not much difference between coach and custom class. I did notice that some portions of the rail between Bakersfield and Martinez are a bit lurchy at times. It seemed to me that the Custom class car was a bit more stable and smooth than coach was though. Amtrak mentions that when you ride in the custom class car, you get complimentary drinks and a snack. All I found was some hot coffee. In fact, they didnt even seem to have cups for soda, or even any ice for that matter. Nor were there any newspapers to be found either. Custom class is nice in that it is a quieter car, however, it is highly overrated. Next time, I would be just as content riding coach between these two points. Steven V. Brown