August 9, 2012
SMVRR Business Special.

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Tioga Pass (lounge/diner)
Pacific Sands (sleeper)
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It was a first for both Dad and myself - a train excursion on private railcars. This was a business car trip for the Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMVRR), so it was not all fun and games. But what a way to conduct business and inspect track and train operations of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and the Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNSF).

There were 15 of us on 2 railcars, the Tioga Pass lounge/diner car and the Pacific Sands sleeper. We had our own crew of five, including the two car owners, which took very good care of us night and day. The best part was the open-air observation deck on the back of the Tioga Pass allowing for photography without windows in the way!


Departing Santa Barbara on the back end of Amtrak's Coast Starlight bound for Seattle. Four of us took the Surfliner down to Santa Barbara from SLO earlier in the day so that we could ride the open deck car back north along the coast through Vandenberg.


Inside the Tioga Pass.








That's an old highway 101 bridge.












The Vandenberg harbor.




SLC-6.








The wye on Vandenberg where the Lompoc branch takes off.












SLC-2.


Looking southeast (roughly) along the 3-mile runway.


An ancient A-frame gantry.














Passing SMVRR's interchange yard.


The railcars on the left are sitting on the SMVRR interchange yard.




Guadalupe, CA.




The Guadalupe local UPRR crew working the Phillips 66 coke plant.














The Tioga Pass at the SLO Amtrak station. The rest of our group boarded here.


The yellow car is our Pacific Sands sleeper.








Cal Poly Mustangs football practice.


The horseshoe curve on Cuesta Grade.


Stenner Creek Trestle.












San Ardo oil cans.







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Jamie Foster Photography