Two of my favorite things start with the letter "r" and if you're a regular reader of Planes, Trains & Automobiles then you know those are running and railroads.

The Bizz Johnson run over in Susanville manages to combine both.

The race consists of a full marathon, and two different versions of a half-marathon. One of the half-marathons is called the "express" because it is point-to-point. It took place this past Saturday (10 October). The full marathon, also point-to-point, and the other half-marathon, an out-and-back, took place yesterday (11 October), and that half is the event I ran.

Regular readers who are rail buffs can skip the geography and schedule lesson below. Others not so familiar with west coast trains should read the next few paragraphs.

Amtrak's Coast Starlght train operates daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. Below is an extract of the southbound schedule.

Now this would be fun!

Quoting from an Amtrak bulletin to travel agents:

"Amtrak's last remaining dome car, a full-length dome lounge with panoramic viewing on the upper level, will return to the Adirondack this fall, affording passengers a fine view of the Adirondack Mountains, Lake Champlain, and the Montreal skyline. The car will operate between Albany and Montreal only, not between Albany and New York.

Schedule:
- Northbound on train 69 Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, October 1 through November 9
- Southbound on train 68 Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, October 2 through November 10"

I've never taken the train north of Albany to Montreal but by all accounts this is one of the prettiest train trips in the U.S., and in the autumn it would be stunning. A great deal of the route is along the west shore of the Lake Champlain, which defines a good deal of the border between the states of New York and Vermont.

Click here to see a fine picture of this dome car.

You could begin your train ride in Albany or in New York (where the train originates headed northbound). The dome car will be coupled to the northbound train in Albany and uncoupled there when the train is southbound from Montreal. Basic one-way fare between New York and Montreal ranges from $62 to $71, without other discounts such as senior or AAA.

Northbound the train leaves New York at 8:15 a.m. (Albany at 11:05 a.m. ) and arrives Montreal at 7:10 p.m. Southbound the train leaves Montreal at 9:30 a.m. and arrives New York at 8:45 p.m. (Albany at 5:40 p.m.)

A number of people have written me since I wrote the post about the Feather River Canyon detour of Amtrak's California Zephyr last year, asking me to let them know when I hear about the next such detour.

I'm sorry not to be able yet to report a repeat of that detour but Amtrak announced today that the California Zephyr (trains 5 and 6) between Denver and Salt Lake City will detour via southern Wyoming on numerous occasions in July, August, and September.

In my first post about Ashland I wrote about how this small town lures me in ways beyond its well-known Shakespeare Festival. Now I’d like to acquaint you with an area that unfortunately many visitors miss: the Railroad District.

I first read about a new Butte County brewery in an Enterprise-Record article from 6 February. A new brewery close by was intriguing enough, but when its location was the old Western Pacific depot in Oroville the value proposition further increased for me.

The brewery and restaurant are appropriately named “Western Pacific Brewing & Dining”.

Last Saturday my partner Keith and our pals John & Cathy Maretti headed over for dinner to put it to the test. John is an accomplished home brewer so his opinions carry extra weight.

I know what you’re thinking.

Doesn’t he know that Healdsburg is in the heart of one of Sonoma County’s great wine regions?

Well, actually I do, and I love that about Healdsburg but it’s been written about plenty so I’m going to highlight some other facets of the town.

We joined our friends Beth and Michael at the Bear Republic Brewing Co., just off the plaza to the west, and sort of behind the Hotel Healdsburg. (To say I’ve known Beth for a long time would be an understatement. I was in fourth grade when I met her brother John; she was in third grade.) For many years Beth and Michael have lived in nearby Windsor. They are now in Year 3 of the rest of their lives: all three of their children are now on their own either working or in college.

BEAR REPUBLIC BREWING CO., HEALDSBURG

I don’t exactly remember when – perhaps 2 years ago – but on account of chronic lateness on the part of the northbound Coast Starlight (train 14), Amtrak “broke” the connection between the arrival of train 14 in Portland and the departure of the Empire Builder (train 28).

SCENE AT PORTLAND UNION STATION
(l to r): CASCADES (to Seattle), EMPIRE BUILDER, COAST STARLIGHT

In practical terms, that meant for passengers traveling to points on the Empire Builder such as Spokane, Whitefish, Glacier Park, and anywhere else along the way to Chicago, they either needed to use an Amtrak bus from Klamath Falls to Pasco, Wash. (and miss so much of the trip by train) or had to overnight in Portland.

This just in!

Amtrak’s Coast Starlight is going to detour once again via the Tehachapi Mountains and the San Joaquin Valley due to trackwork near Santa Barbara.

The days the trains will detour are 25/26/27 January on northbound train 14, and 25/26 January only for southbound train 11.

As with this autumn’s detours, the reroute results in a faster schedule and thus an early arrival (9:30 p.m.) and long layover in Sacramento on train 14.

Southbound on train 11 it means an early arrival in Los Angeles of 6:10 p.m.

If you want to see more of the San Joaquin valley in daylight on the former S.P. line (now Union Pacific) then taking train 11 would be the better choice.

Checking availability for the three northbound days and the two southbound days Amtrak’s lowest fare in coach is currently available on all trains ($55 one-way, 10% AAA discount with three days notice, 15% senior discount).

If you want to splurge, the lowest price supplement for a roomette ($124) is also available on all five days, which includes meals and use of the Pacific Parlour Car. Remember the supplement is for the room, not per person, so if two people book the room each pays the $55 coach fare but in effect split the cost of the supplement.

(Prices are for travel either direction between Sacramento and Los Angeles. Coach fare from Chico is slightly higher.)

Go ahead. Live a little and get the sleeper!

Read my post about the trip I took on the detour back in October.

In my last post I sang the praises of using the Burbank Airport rail station as a gateway to southern California. For me it was simple. I hopped on a Metrolink train and about 25 minutes later I was getting off at L.A. Union Station, where my Big Ride on Amtrak would originate about an hour later. By the way, the cost of the short hop on Metrolink was only $5.50.

First, some words about Union Station. This is the grand gateway that every train ride should start from or end at. It opened in 1939 and was the last of the great railroad terminals built in the United States. For more history and interior photos here’s a good account on Wikipedia.

In addition to its grand indoor spaces in the Mission Revival style, the gardens on either side of the main waiting area are splendid examples of why southern California’s climate attracts so many visitors and residents.

LOOKING TOWARD OLVERA STREET FROM A COURTYARD AT UNON STATION

CAN YOU IMAGINE THIS AT AN AIRPORT?