At 8:00 in the morning, Amtrak train 3, the westbound Southwest Chief out of Chicago, parallels Orangethorpe Avenue in eastern Anaheim. This train is running 18 minutes ahead of schedule, but as the next station, Fullerton, is for discharge only, that won’t be a problem. In fact, with the padding between Fullerton and Los Angeles, its final destination, it will arrive there 29 minutes early!
Amtrak's "Operation Lifesaver" diesel, P42DC 203, is teamed with P42DC 137 to pull this train's nine cars (61003, 39017, 32045, 32038, 38031, 33019, 34029, 31008 and 34063 for those wondering). Southern California got 2½" (6.35 cm) of rain the day before, but this morning there was a spectacular sunrise! But, within 30 minutes of this photo, another brief bout of rain occurred, but this time leaving a rainbow in its wake.
(Anaheim, California – November 16, 2025) Dale Martin Photograph
