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Re: The Last SP Train #75, The Lark April 8, 1968 at LA
Author: mook
Date: 01-01-2010 - 10:44
The airline part of those criteria is already close. Sac/downtown LA via Amtrak (with bus Bakersfield/LA) is about 8 1/2 hours. Bay Area is about 1/2 hour longer. Minimum time by air SMF/BUR is about 1 hour gate/gate by Southwest, but figure minimum 1 hour in-airport (2 is better in the morning at SMF), plus 1/2 hour cab or shuttle to downtown each end (or 35-40 minutes by Metrolink at BUR if the schedule works) - adds up to MINIMUM of 4 hours, with 5 or more typical. If your schedule doesn't fit the airline's perfectly, add more. I once figured that if my LA meetings ended at lunchtime I could get home by train (there was a 1:30 or so Amtrak departure at the time, with the first PM flight out of BUR at about 4:30) nearly the same time by Amtrak as by Southwest.
I've wondered if an overnight San Joaquin might make sense. Yes, it would be slow over Tehachapi, but it would still seem feasible to do the Bakersfield/LA part in an hour or two more than the bus even if treated like a freight train over the hill, which makes the net time Sac/LA around 10 hours (Bay 11). At the south end, it could fill a Metrolink schedule from Lancaster on in.
I've wondered if an overnight San Joaquin might make sense. Yes, it would be slow over Tehachapi, but it would still seem feasible to do the Bakersfield/LA part in an hour or two more than the bus even if treated like a freight train over the hill, which makes the net time Sac/LA around 10 hours (Bay 11). At the south end, it could fill a Metrolink schedule from Lancaster on in.
