I bet the passengers enjoying the view out of this Sightseer Lounge had no idea that plans to end passenger trains on this beautiful segment of the Coast Starlight were well underway at the time of the photo. Come next Monday, passenger trains will no longer run on these rails, and the magnificent views of the Puget Sound will be only seen by freight cars. All passenger operations will soon shift to a $181 million inland route that follows the less scenic I-5 corridor in exchange for on time performance improvements. I wanted to document the original route that has carried passengers since 1914 in prime conditions and was fortunate to do just that in 2016. I went back in 2017 because it was just that good and hard to believe it would be ending.
Running daily between Seattle and Los Angeles, this train offers running alongside the Pacific Ocean and through the Cascade Mountains. It has been one of Amtrak's long-distance success stories.
