Having spent the holidays in New York with the grandkids, we missed all the precipitation that occurred in southern California (darn it … us natives love when it rains here!). But on our first full day back home, at least the snow on the San Gabriel Mountains provides a nice backdrop once again. Crossing over at CP Maple from Track 2 to Track 1, normally used for northbound traffic, is Amtrak Pacific Surfliner 572, heading south from Los Angeles to San Diego, with CDTX SC-44 2114 on the head-end. Crossing over this way is pretty unusual on this line, which relies heavily upon directional traffic on each main in order to keep trains moving. (Orange, California – January 2, 2022)
Stretching from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, the Surf Line has become Amtrak's second busiest route. See the Pacific Surfliner and San Diegan in action along with trains from predecessors Santa Fe and Southern Pacific.