Railfanning Santa Clara - 3/18/19

Well folks, after a hiatus from railfanning due to work, I was able to take a trip to the Bay Area and do some railfanning and visit a friend in San Jose. Although weather played a factor, I was able to railfan at both Amtrak stations in the City of Santa Clara on a nice Monday. In light of this, I decided to catch the morning action at the Santa Clara Station and later head to the Santa Clara - Great America Station for the evening rush. It is worth noting that due to Amtrak having two stations in Santa Clara, Amtrak lists this station as “Santa Clara - University” to distinguish it from the Santa Clara - Great America Station just to the north. At any rate, the Santa Clara Station serves as a key transit center, where it sees multiple rail services such as Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor and Caltrain, as well as bus connections. This station is very interesting because most of the original structures still exist from 1863, including the depot, freight house, and interlocking tower, now preserved and utilized by the South Bay Historical Railroad Society. Additionally, due to the station’s location, it is located just south of where Caltrain’s Peninsula Sub and UP’s Coast Sub converge, making for lots of train activity. As a result of the station’s designed layout, all Amtrak and ACE trains board from the middle platform, whereas Caltrain utilizes both platforms. It is worth noting however that with the advancing Caltrain electrification, the signs of progress can now be seen here. Recent installations of the catenary pole foundations are now visible, serving as a reminder of the approaching future. Nonetheless, each time I visit the San Francisco Peninsula, as with Santa Clara, it still amazes me to see how many people utilize the Caltrain service and how many trains Caltrain manages to operate at any given time as part of the daily commute. Whether it is the endless train activity within a short time, meets and races, horn shows, or friendly crews, Santa Clara is undeniably an awesome place to railfan !

Train 1 : Caltrain #227 with CabCar #4020 & F40PH-2CAT #911. Just within minutes of arriving, #227 pulls into the station. Wasn't able to catch the departure as Caltrain #216 was heard approaching in the distance.

Train 2 : Caltrain #216 with F40PH-2CAT #917 & CabCar #4003.

Train 3 : Caltrain #329 with CabCar #4000 & F40PH-2CAT #919. Note the increasingly common six car consists on Caltrain in response to continued ridership growth. This is evident with a number of other trainsets on this day.

Train 4 : Caltrain #218 with F40PH-2 #914 & CabCar #4024.

Train 5 : Caltrain #231 with CabCar #4006 & F40PH-2CAT #913.

Train 6 : Caltrain #320 with F40PH-2CAT #909 & CabCar #4008.

Train 7 : Amtrak 523 with F59PHI #2011 & CabCar #8308. Friendly engineer on 523.

Train 8 : Caltrain #233 with CabCar #118 & MP36PH-3C #928. Nice engineer !

Train 9 : ACE #5 with F40PH-3C #3101 & CabCar #3306. Cool engineer !

Train 10 : Caltrain #324 with MP36PH-3C #924 & CabCar #120. Nice engineer with extra horn action !

Train 11 : Caltrain #222 with F40PH-2 #902 & CabCar #4018. After letting #324 pass at Lawrence, #222 arrives. These are the few occurrences where Baby Bullet trains overtake an earlier departed train.

Train 12 : ACE #7 with F40PH-3C #3102 & CabCar #3305. Just as #222 accelerates out of Santa Clara, #7 appears rounding the corner for a brief meet and race with #222 ! Awesome crew on #7 !

Train 13 : Amtrak 525 with F59PHI #2003 & CabCar #8309.

Train 14 : Caltrain #226 with F40PH-2CAT #900 & CabCar #4007. With 525 boarding passengers, #226 passes by with a nice, friendly engineer and horn salute ! Another perfectly timed meet !

Train 15 : Caltrain #135 with CabCar #4003 & F40PH-2CAT #917. Awesome engineer with a horn salute and friendly wave !

Train 16 : Amtrak 528 with CabCar #6962 & SC-44 #2106.

Train 17 : Caltrain #228 with F40PH-2C #922 & CabCar #112. Some loud engine fans ! Another awesome engineer and extra horn action !

Train 18 : Caltrain #330 with F40PH-2CAT #908 & CabCar #4023.

Train 19 : Caltrain #237 with CabCar #4008 & F40PH-2CAT #909.

Train 20 : Caltrain #232 with MP36PH-3C #926 & CabCar #115.

Train 21 : Amtrak 527 with SC-44 #2105 & CabCar #8302. With an engineer in training in control, the crew slowly proceeds to their final destination at San Jose.

Train 22 : Amtrak 11 (Coast Starlight) with P42DC #186 & #50 (Big Game Train). Note the Edward L. Ullman Superliner I car in the consist. Nice engineer with extra horn action !

Train 23 : Caltrain #139 with CabCar #4018 & F40PH-2 #902.

Train 24 : Caltrain #134 with F40PH-2CAT #915 & CabCar #4021. With the morning rush clear, crews gets going on electrification work on Track Main 3, where #134 is seen deboarding passengers from the normally dedicated northbound platform. After this train, I called it a morning and went for breakfast before resuming my railfanning later in the day at the Santa Clara - Great America Station.

Thanks for Watching !