Can there be any city in North
America that has had as great a passenger renaissance as
Sacramento? My 1964 Official Guide finds a grand total of
six Southern Pacific and two
Western Pacific trains stopping by. Today's Amtrak puts
20 into the old SP station. They include the Coast
Starlight, California Zephyr, a
San Joaqin service to Bakersfield and 14 Capitols serving
Oakland and San Jose, with frequent bus connections to
San Francisco and Caltrain service
up and down the Peninsula. Here, on September 8, 2000 is
Capitol Train 729 departing for San Jose from a gleaming
terminal bedecked with a glorious
mural depicting the arrival in California of the first
transcontinental train and well stocked with helpful
employees. As for the Capitol I rode a couple of hours
later, it was on time, its
California cars clean and comfortable, and cafe well
stocked. Amtrak and the State of California have this
about right. And, if the ride to and from Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and
nearby Sierras isn't spectacular enough, there is always
the California State Railroad Museum, just a few steps from Amtrak's platform. Now, if
Union Pacific would get behind all this
rebirth....
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