USA (Metrolink BNSF Diesel Gala) – October 2016

I almost didn’t take part in the Metrolink Diesel Gala of 2016 but a last-minute change of plan to an Eastern Europe trip had me hightailing across the planet from Warsaw to LA to mop up what would essentially be the dregs of the BNSF GE workings on Metrolink. 2 weeks before I would arrive they were still going strong with 23 out daily and then they started to dwindle down and by the Friday before I arrived they were down to only 17 out. Once the gen on how Metrolink would phase them out was in the ether, I would have been happy with getting 10 in and when I touched down on the Sunday evening I was still optimistic.

Flights

Booked through Norwegian Airlines direct

D8-2361 1045 Warsaw – Gatwick

DY7095 1345 Gatwick – Los Angeles

DY7096 1930 Los Angeles – Gatwick

Hotels

Los Angeles – Hotel Metro Plaza – is a 5-minute walk from LA Union station. It’s an interesting walk after dark as the hedgerows and walls on the opposite side of the road to the station are frequented by the city’s homeless population; not that I had any trouble mind. The hotel front desk was expecting me and I was soon checked in. The room I had was on the upper floors and was quite quiet. It was a large room with a double bed but wasn’t anything to write home about and had a typical American Motel style feel to it. There were a couple of small cockroaches scurrying about so they got dealt with immediately! This however, didn’t stop one of their mates crawling over my face in the middle of the night a few days later and waking me when it was on my eyelid! Cockroaches are a fucking nuisance and there’s no excuse for them to be running around in hotel rooms. Other than the roaches though the room was habitable enough and the WiFi worked ok.

Train Tickets

7 Day station to station season ticket bought from Metrolink Ticket machine at LA Union station

Lancaster – Riverside Downtown – $117.25

Metrolink Gen For the Week 10th to 14th October 2016 Inclusive

Sunday 9^th October 2016 (Arrival from Warsaw)

Having spent the previous night in Warsaw after a fortnight in Eastern Europe, I did PKP IC EP07-1002 from Warszawa Centralna to Zachodnia for an EMU to Warsaw Airport and flew with Norwegian Airlines from Warsaw to LA, via a quick stop at Gatwick. Randomly I’d looked at booking a one-way flight from Warsaw to London but when I discovered that booking the flights Warsaw LA – London was actually cheaper than booking the same flights London – LA and return, that was that sorted! I saved about £40 on the flight price and of course the price of a single flight from Warsaw to London as well; in theory!

Touchdown in LA was late afternoon at 1705. I was among the first off the plane and was very surprised to find immigration as busy as it was. Fortunately for me though, as I’ve been force by the US Customs & Border Protection to pay for a 10-year visa as they won’t allow me to enter on an ESTA, I had to go to a different kiosk; which had nobody queuing at it! It had potential to have been one of the quickest ever entries into the US, from landing to leaving an airport; I say had, because it didn’t quite go that way. I’ve been forced to have a visa for the US as I allegedly overstayed on a previous visit and despite me giving the authorities everything they needed, including boarding cards and copies of passport pages to prove I entered other countries on certain dates, they refused to accept this as proof and now for the rest of my life I will have no choice but to get a visa every 10 years if I want to travel to the US! The reason I’m in this position is probably due to an airline not having processed me out of the country, when you used to have to hand your departure card in at the airline desk on departure from the US. And even though the guy at the desk confirmed that indeed that was probably the case, he also confirmed that regardless of the fact I’d never be allowed into the US again on an ESTA.

I knew something was wrong when the guy at the desk turned round to me and said “it looks like we need to go and have a chat in a little room”, which is always good for the flap levels of course. Had he preceded that with “there’s nothing to worry about” then I’d have been a little less flappy as he led me away to the little room. The little room turned out to be the holding area for people not yet processed into the US; the kind you see on the TV in the various programmes that are on nowadays. Thankfully he explained on the way, that as I’d not yet entered the US with my new passport, they hadn’t updated my details on their system and this needed to be done before I entered the country; so thankfully my visit to the little room was nothing more than a formality. Apparently, this mistake was “their” fault and my details should have been updated when I booked my flight and entered by reference number against my flight details. This is basically a number that the authorities can use when you enter the country, after issues like mine have been experienced with visas etc, which saves a lot of time explaining to the CBP at the desk when they can actually see there are no issues! My passport was put in a pigeon hole behind the counter and I was left in the waiting area and told to approach the desk when my name was called. Thankfully I was only waiting for 10 minutes but I did have the nosy pleasure of listening to some woman being interrogated in the corner with regard to her offspring with her and her reasons for wanting to enter the US. I was only at the counter for a few minutes and with my passport safely in hand I was out of the airport about 20 minutes after initially getting to immigration.

To get to LA Union station I used the recommended Flyaway Blue Buses, which pick up at every terminal at LAX and the stops are generally right outside the exits, just as it is at the International Terminal. Buses are every 30 minutes or so and take varying amounts of time to complete the journey to LA Union, depending on traffic. My journey took about 35 minutes due to the time of day. Tickets are randomly bought from a guy on the ground after arriving at LA Union. The staff make you buy your ticket then present it to the driver to collect your baggage in the hold; so, if you’re that way inclined, if you’re hand luggage only you can just get off the bus and way away! I didn’t and I paid my $9 like the good boy I am.

There was no resisting the pull of finding out what was going on at LA Union station and I was soon in possession of a 7-day season ticket from Lancaster to Riverside Downtown, which cost $117.25 from the ticket machine on the concourse at LA Union. I did have to rope in one of the staff to help me figure out how to make the machine do what I wanted it to; but once you know how it’s easy enough to do it again.

Keen to get involved with the BNSF Diesel Gala I went up to the platforms and was pleased to find an additional 273X 1900 LA – Lancaster with Metrolink GM 883 leading and BNSF GE 5643 at the rear. As the saying goes “have rover, will travel” and that’s exactly what I did. In the adjacent platform was another extra, 372X 1910 LA – San Bernardino, led by Metrolink GM 884 and over the back of the station Amtrak GM 452 was sat with 785 1915 LA – Santa Barbara. I was very pleased to be greeted with BNSF GE 5696 at Glendale, with Metrolink GM 880 on the rear, working 270 1815 Lancaster – LA Union. These then formed 271 2055 LA – Lancaster at LA Union and I was hotel bound.

My hotel of choice was the Metro Plaza Hotel, which is a 5-minute walk from LA Union station. It’s an interesting walk after dark as the hedgerows and walls on the opposite side of the road to the station are frequented by the city’s homeless population; not that I had any trouble mind. The hotel front desk was expecting me and I was soon checked in. The room I had was on the upper floors and was quite quiet. It was a large room with a double bed but wasn’t anything to write home about and had a typical American Motel style feel to it. There were a couple of small cockroaches scurrying about so they got dealt with immediately! This however, didn’t stop one of their mates crawling over my face in the middle of the night a few days later and waking me when it was on my eyelid! Cockroaches are a fucking nuisance and there’s no excuse for them to be running around in hotel rooms. Other than the roaches though the room was habitable enough and the WiFi worked ok.

After my long day, I was glad to get settled in for the night but as my body clock was 8 hours ahead of itself, it was already technically morning as far as it was concerned!

Gen for Sunday 9^th October 2016

Metrolink

883/5643 273X 1900 LA Union – Lancaster
884 372X 1910 LA Union – San Bernardino

890 377 1830 San Bernardino – LA Union, 376 2100 LA Union – San Bernardino

5696/880 270 1815 Lancaster – LA Union, 271 2055 LA Union – Lancaster
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
452 785 1915 LA Union – Santa Barbara

Moves for Sunday 9^th October 2016

Monday 10^th October 2016

I was wide awake at 0430 so decided an early morning bash wouldn’t go amiss. Even though breakfast was included in the hotel room rate, I never actually used it; but there was no way I would starve with the places on offer at LA Union station.

Armed with a very good simplifier, which had arrivals & departures, diagram numbers and even platforms the trains had been observed in, I was ready for action as I sipped my large tea on the desolate platforms waiting for the day to start; and I was soon on my way to a day of spinning to a fine tune, which would amass 34 different engines. 5662 was the first BNSF GE I came across and it was on the first departure of the day, 901 0538 LA – Bob Hope Airport. At Glendale GE 5617 was soon upon me with 100 0502 Moorpark – LA and it was pretty much non-stop from then onwards, until I arrived into LA Union off 210 0907 Via Princessa – LA with GE 5643 & Metrolink GM 883.

The pace slowed down a lot in the late morning & early afternoon and as the Metrolink sets crammed themselves onto shed there was some time to allowed to cover some of the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains while the Metrolink service was sparse. I’d seem Amtrak Genesis P42 119 heading north earlier in the morning with 763 0606 San Diego – Goleta and was pleased when GE P42 162 presented itself on 774 0655 St Luis Obispo – San Diego. And after a bonus spin to Cal State LA on the San Bernardino line with GE 5658 & GM 885 on 310 1242 LA – San Bernardino, GM 857 dropped me back into LA Union on 323 1135 San Bernardino – LA in time for what turned out to be an extended lunch.

The afternoon proceedings started with Amtrak GM 455 on 777 1157 San Diego – St Luis Obispo and it was then a bit of a waiting and viewing game to seek out some more BNSF GE’s. I did get Amtrak Genesis P42 119 in when it returned from Goleta with 784 1350 Goleta – San Diego and was then pleased to find another couple of BNSF GE’s in play. I was joined in the afternoon by Mr Rubble himself, who’d made the trip over the pond for his 3^rd stint on the BNSF Diesel Gala and I had the pleasure of his company as we headed out of LA that evening with GE 5636 & GM 900 on 606 1746 LA Union – Oceanside.

Rubble was staying in Fullerton so I bode him farewell as I headed back to LA that night with GE 5668 & GM 877 on 707 1807 Riverside Downtown – LA Union; knowing that I’d have the gen on what was inbound from him the following morning and of course he’d be getting the opposite gen from me in LA. After two more short leaps of an evening to spin some Metrolink GM’s in I was sat in Denny’s, out of the back entrance at LA Union and over the road, by 2145; and stuffing my face soon after!

It had been a long but enjoyable day and after spinning myself into the ground I could be pickier with what I wanted to do the following day. Of note, had been the fact that no less than 8 BNSF GE’s had been parked up at Mission Tower, seemingly now off-lease, some of which had been in use the previous week. In the yard, adjacent to Mission Tower, there were 5 Metrolink cab-cars all undergoing the relevant modifications to their front ends to ready them for a return to service soon; which would spell the end for the BNSF GE’s of course. Those in the line at Mission tower were 5654, 5642, 5648, 5655, 5609, 5615, 5613, 5638.

I hadn’t planned on an early get up so set the alarm for 7 when I went to bed……..

Gen for Monday 10^th October 2016

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner

119         763 0606 San Diego – Goleta, 784 1350 Goleta – San Diego

162         774 0655 St Luis Obispo – San Diego

450        564 0725 LA Union – San Diego

452        768 0635 Goleta – San Diego

454         761 0735 LA Union – St Luis Obispo

455         566 0841 LA Union – San Diego, 777 1157 San Diego – St Luis Obispo

456         572 1120 LA Union – San Diego

458         562 0608 LA Union – San Diego, 769 0918 San Diego – LA Union

463         580 1458 LA Union – San Diego

Amtrak

111/157               14 1010 LA Union – Seattle

175/79                  1 0900 (PP) New Orleans – LA Union

84/115                  3 1500 (PP) Chicago Union – LA Union, 4 1810 LA Union – Chicago Union

BNSF

5654, 5642, 5648, 5655, 5609, 5615, 5613, 5638 at Mission Tower off hire

5620, 5629 – PTC testing at San Bernardino

Metrolink 800, 853, 865, 866, 886, 902 demic on shed also present 881, 889, 897 & RBXL 18533

Moves for Monday 10^th October 2016

Photos for Monday 10^th October 2016

Tuesday 11^th October 2016

There was no way I was staying in bed beyond 0500 and for the second morning in a row I found myself stood on LA Union awaiting the first train movements of the day. There wasn’t a great deal going on in the BNSF GE stakes but there were quite a few Metrolink GM’s knocking about that I’d not had the previous day. Gen drifted in from Fullerton, courtesy of Rubble, while I nedded about. I did manage to find GE 5649 on the blocks, having arrived with 307 0514 San Bernardino – LA; it was turned straight round for 302 0725 LA – San Bernardino and a trip to Cal State followed.

By the time Rubble got into LA, Amtrak’s Coast Starlight was in the platform and boarding; Genesis P42 #83 led GE P32-8 #503 and we thought we’d have a go at blagging our way onto the train. Rubble did all the talking and the staff were quite friendly. Unfortunately, the person with the final say just didn’t want to know and the woman we’d been pinning our hopes of a ride on even apologised to us in the end. If we’d had more than a few minutes we’d have gone and got a ticket to Oxnard and just got off at Bob Hope Airport anyway. As we didn’t, we watched it depart! A GM move out to Baldwin Park followed, for GE 5649 & GM 894 back in on 321 1000 San Bernardino – LA.

That was pretty much the last I saw of Rubble for the day as I had a very leisurely afternoon nedding a couple of Metrolink GM’s in and Amtrak’s GM 769 0918 San Diego – Goleta. Then it was case of festering at LA Union and waiting for some new BNSF GE’s to come off shed for the afternoon rush; and Metrolink definitely made me wait for that to happen! Having had 12 of the BNSF GE’s by this point I knew I only needed two more of the ones that had been viewed over the two days. I was quite grateful though, when 5656/863 dropped in to form 219 1650 LA – Lancaster and 5607/873 did so to form 119 1710 LA – East Ventura; at least they were both on turns I could do and not something disappearing down the Riverside Line. At Burbank-Downtown that evening I reach No.14 in the BNSF GE count and that was it; there were no more to get from that point on, well not until I left the country at the end of the week anyway. 5647 had spent the day on shed, after being removed from its set and 5696 had done the same; with there only being 12 of the 14 BNSF GE’s left actually out that evening.

Back in LA Union of an evening I thought I’d try my powers of persuasion on the Amtrak staff working the Southwest Chief 1810 LA Union – Chicago. After our dismal attempts to get on the Coast Starlight earlier, I was pleased when I was allowed on board to Fullerton; and with Amtrak Genesis P42’s 70/20 up front it was a storming run. The bonus being that BNSF GE 5649 & GM 894 were my transport back to LA with 707 1807 Riverside Downtown – LA Union.

My evening’s cheekiness ended up shining through again at Bob Hope airport when the inbound Coast Starlight rolled in with Amtrak Genesis P42’s 15/22. This time I didn’t even bother asking if I could get on when one of the staff left a door open and went trotting up the platform to talk to their colleague; it only takes a second!

I was at Denny’s and tucking into my food before 2130, again quite pleased with how things had gone but resigned to the fact that I’d not be getting any more BNSF GE’s in the book for the rest of the trip.

Gen for Tuesday 11^th October 2016

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner

119         777 1157 San Diego – St Luis Obispo

162        768 0635 Goleta – San Diego

450/453 763 0606 San Diego – Goleta (T&T)

452        564 0725 LA Union – San Diego

455         774 0655 St Luis Obispo – San Diego

456         761 0735 LA Union – St Luis Obispo

458         580 1458 LA Union – San Diego

463         562 0608 LA Union – San Diego, 769 0918 San Diego – Goleta

Amtrak

83/503                  14 1010 LA Union – Seattle

70/20                     4 1810 LA Union – Chicago Union

15/22                     11 0937 (P) Seattle – LA Union

BNSF

5654, 5642, 5648, 5655, 5609, 5615, 5613, 5638 at Mission Tower off hire

5620, 5629 – PTC testing at San Bernardino

5696 & 5647 off sets at Metrolink Shed

Metrolink 800, 853, 865, 866, 886, 902 demic on shed

Moves for Tuesday 11^th October 2016

Photos for Tuesday 11^th October 2016

Wednesday 12^th October 2016

I was up for service start-up again but basically spent the first 2 hours’ train spotting at LA Union, until a winning GM even turned up! 888 was that winning GM on 130 0716 LA – Chatsworth. Back at LA I met up with Rubble and after I did Amtrak GM 452 out to Glendale on 763 0606 San Diego – Goleta we had a run out to Via Princessa with GE 5656 & GM 863 on 207 0945 LA – Via Princessa and back in with 214 1129 Via Princessa – LA. The sets shunt out at Via Princessa and sit in a loop in the distance, unfortunately we didn’t get lucky and have some freight action while we were there.

A nice afternoon jaunt down the Riverside line followed with GE 5649 & GM 887 on the only train of the day you can do out and back down the Riverside Line, 402 1320 LA – Riverside Downtown and back with 411 1507 Riverside Downtown – LA. There wasn’t much of an afternoon rush left by the time we arrived back into LA at 1635 but I managed to pick off another couple of Metrolink GM’s and after an early dinner at Denny’s I headed out to Bob Hope Airport again to try my luck with the inbound Coast Starlight; and there was a major flap on when Amtrak P32-8 509 arrived at the head of the train with Genesis P42’s 137/17 inside it! There needn’t have been though as my charm worked wonders as I explained that I’d been split up from my wife after meeting her at the airport and she’d got on the train at Bob Hope Airport without me, which had left not long in front of the slightly late Coast Starlight! Those last second closing doors can be a pain in the arse…….

Quite pleased with the evening, I wondered back to the hotel a lot earlier than I had done on previous nights and technically had an early night.

Gen for Wednesday 12^th October 2016

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner

451         564 0725 LA Union – San Diego

451/459 573 1041 San Diego – LA Union

452         763 0606 San Diego – Goleta

454        761 0735 LA Union – St Luis Obispo on 769

455         579 1333 San Diego – LA Union

456         583 1447 San Diego – LA Union

458         562 0608 LA Union – San Diego

459         582 1608 LA Union – San Diego

Amtrak

170/151                1 0900 (PP) New Orleans – LA Union

837/120                3 1500 (PP) Chicago Union – LA Union

96/206/22            14 1010 LA Union – Seattle

162/120                4 1810 LA Union – Chicago Union

509/137/17         11 0937 (P) Seattle – LA Union

BNSF

5654, 5642, 5648, 5655, 5609, 5615, 5613, 5638 at Mission Tower off hire

5620, 5629 – PTC testing at San Bernardino

5636, 5647, 5662 off sets at Metrolink Shed

Metrolink 800, 853, 865, 866, 886, 902 demic on shed

Moves for Wednesday 12^th October 2016

Photos for Wednesday 12^th October 2016

Thursday 13^th October 2016

For the fourth day in a row I was at the station just after 0515 and with nothing much planned at all, when GE 5617 & GM 899 dropped into LA union with 681 0405 Laguna Niguel – LA, it formed 700 0545 LA – Riverside Downtown, via Fullerton. After picking up Rubble en-route to Riverside we found BNSF GE ES44AC 6108 waiting to run through the middle with some sort of test train, and then did 5617/899 back to Orange on 811 0728 Riverside Downtown – Laguna Niguel; where we are technically valid on our season ticket to Riverside Downtown but only if interchanging at Orange between trains serving the Perris Valley or Orange Country lines. There’s a nice café on the platform at Orange, which was only utilised for a hot cuppa as we’d both stuffed our faces earlier.

The third instalment of the morning round robin was 802 0913 Laguna Niguel – San Bernardino, where the set would sit for 37 minutes before then heading back to whence we’d started at LA, with 323 1135 San Bernardino – LA. In the short time we had at San Bernardino we found BNSF GE/EMD combo 4977/8244 shunting in the yard and a quad set with 3x GE 7757/7718/7759 & 1xGM 8447 arrive into the yard with a lengthy mixed freight. San Bernardino station itself is like a bit of a building site while platforms are extended and new ones are built in association with the extension to San Bernardino Downtown.

We were back in LA at 1315 and did a move out to Burbank Downtown with GM’s just to see what was shaping up on the shed as we went by. It’s sometimes easy to see what sets will work what based on the electronic displays on the set sides. It’s also worth seeing where what you want sits in the grand scheme of things. My grand plan for the afternoon was to try and get GM 871 in, which was stuck out of town on the Fullerton shuttle so when GE 5656 & GM 900 dropped into LA to work 604 1630 LA – Oceanside they dropped me nicely into 871 at Orange, while it was working 643 1755 Laguna Niguel – Fullerton, which then put me into GE 5668 & GM 877 for a good run back into LA Union on 707 1807 Riverside Downtown – LA. I was Denny’s bound again and back at the hotel by 2100.

As I wasn’t in the mood for sleep I went back to the station to view 796 1845 Goleta – San Diego, having seen Amtrak GM’s 450/456 T&T on 562 0608 LA Union – San Diego earlier in the day. And sure enough they’d stuck to diagram so I made full use of my season ticket, which wasn’t valid at all, and basically eff’d it to Fullerton; and back again on the next Pacific Surfliner. Which was another pair of Amtrak GM’s 451/459 but this time both on the same end. 595 2059 San Diego – LA Union isn’t into LA until 2352, so it was a late finish but a more leisurely start the following day ensued.

Gen for Thursday 13^th October 2016

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner

119         579 1429 San Diego – LA Union

450/456 562 0608 LA Union – San Diego (T&T), 796 1845 Goleta – San Diego

451/459 595 2059 San Diego – LA Union

452         566 0841 LA Union – San Diego, 777 1157 San Diego – St Luis Obispo

454         565 0657 San Diego – LA Union, 583 1447 San Diego – LA Union

455         582 1608 LA Union – San Diego

459         784 1350 Goleta – San Diego

460         785 1558 San Diego – Goleta

Amtrak

136/125                4 1810 LA Union – Chicago Union

BNSF

5655, 5609, 5615, 5613, 5638 at Mission Tower off hire

5654, 5642, 5648 gone from Mission Tower

5636, 5647, 5662, 5696 in the sidings where cab-cars being modified, off hire

5620, 5629 – PTC testing at San Bernardino

5643, 5668 off sets at Metrolink Shed

Metrolink 800, 853, 865, 866, 886, 902 demic on shed

Moves for Thursday 13^th October 2016

Photos for Thursday 13^th October 2016

Friday 14^th October 2016 (Homeward bound)

My last day in LA and the gen from Rubble confirmed that there were now only 8 BNSF GE’s on sets on this particular morning, down from 14 at the start of the week. 4 of those out at the start of the week, 5636, 5647, 5662 & 5696 were sat in the yard by Mission Tower, where the Metrolink cab-cars were being worked on and 3 of the 8 GE’s that had been at Mission Tower at the start of the week, 5654, 5642 & 5648 had disappeared completely. This left 5643 & 5668 on shed off sets.

While Rubble followed the GE’s about my plan was to pick off the remaining Metrolink GM’s I’d not managed to get in thus far and one was heading in from Oceanside and 858 worked back as booked on 600 0758 LA – Oceanside so I did it out to Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs; where at least I got to photograph BNSF Gevo 8234 banking a double-stack container train away while I waited. I also found a random empty medicine/tablet canister with “Medical Cannabis” written on it, nicely left on the footbridge; with dregs in it!

Back in LA Union I found Amtrak Genesis P42’s 111/157 with the Coast Starlight and didn’t even bother asking if I could get on and found myself a door that wasn’t manned, crept upstairs and sat in the observation coach. When I got off at Bob Hope Airport questions were asked but I just told them I’d got on the wrong train as I scurried away.

I headed out down the Lancaster line to meet Rubble coming back in on 214 1129 Via Princessa – LA with GE 5607 & GM 873. My nags out were GE 5617 & GM 899 on 209 1111 LA – Lancaster. Back in LA I was pleased to find Metrolink GM’s 881/897 heading the afternoon Riverside Downtown, 402 1320 LA – riverside Downtown; which I couldn’t do all the way as my flight home departed LAX at 1930. So, I did it out to Montebello/Commerce and used the Uber App to get my first ever Uber in the book, which cost me $13.45 back to LA Union and took 30 minutes. My driver just so happened to be a BNSF employee too!

The pair of GM’s turned out to be my last move of the trip and after I’d collected my big bag from the hotel I spent the early afternoon photting at LA Union before buying a ticket for the Flyaway bus back to LAX, from the cabin by the bus stop; which is out of the rear side of LA Union, on the way to Denny’s.

I left Rubble nedding about for the next three days on his own, during which the two GE’s that had been PTC testing at San Bernardino, 5620 & 5629, both worked back into LA Union via Metrolink sets and were then immediately removed and taken off hire. By the middle of the following week all the BNSF GE’s had been removed from sets and Metrolink again became self-sufficient, 12 months after starting one of the cranking world’s biggest diesel galas every to happen around the globe!

I’d been very pleased with my Norwegian Airlines flight on the way out to LA and the return was just as good, with WiFi in the sky, cracking TV screens and an on-board buffet style service that you did at your seat, swiped your card and minutes later what you’d bought was delivered to your seat! I was very impressed. As with all low-cost airlines though the prices can bump up on flights like this when you book luggage and add meals; but at a little over £400 for a transatlantic flight I wasn’t complaining, especially with the Warsaw add-on at the start!

Gen for Friday 14^th October 2016

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner

Caped   564 0725 LA Union – San Diego (Issues with 121 & set on shed)

121         582 1608 LA Union – San Diego

451/456 761 0735 LA Union – San Diego

455         777 1157 San Diego – St Luis Obispo

458         562 0608 LA Union – San Diego

459         763 0606 San Diego – Goleta

460         768 0635 Goleta – San Diego

463         580 1458 LA Union – San Diego

Amtrak

131/821                1 0900 (PP) New Orleans – LA Union

167/46                  3 1500 (PP) Chicago Union – LA Union

111/157                14 1010 LA Union – Seattle

BNSF

5655, 5609, 5615, 5613, 5638 at Mission Tower off hire

5654, 5642, 5648 gone from Mission Tower

5636, 5647, 5662, 5696 in the sidings where cab-cars being modified, off hire

5620, 5629 – PTC testing at San Bernardino

5643 & 5668 off sets at Metrolink Shed

Metrolink 800, 853, 865, 866, 886, 902 demic on shed

Moves for Friday 14^th October 2016

Photos for Friday 14^th October 2016

Saturday 15^th October 2016 (Arriving back into the UK)

I wasn’t so wide awake when I got back to Gatwick and after I’d breezed through immigration I made the 1405 Brighton – Bedford and was at Kings Cross earlier than planned. Thanks to the nice guard on the 1603 Kings Cross – Leeds I was homeward bound, with 91117, an hour earlier than my booked train; and was very grateful of it too. It had been a long 3 weeks and I’d done some very different things during that time, some of which I wanted to do again already, some of which I couldn’t do again!

Moves for Saturday 15^th October 2016