Southwest Chief - Part I

So passing through Union Station in Los Angeles meant it was time for another train. This time it would be a ride on the Southwest Chief which would take me back to Chicago.

The name of the route comes from the name of the route that the Santa Fe railroad used to run from Los Angeles to Chicago called the Super Chief. Santa Fe allowed Amtrak to keep the name when it took over in 1971 but took the name back after it was perceived that Amtrak was lowering quality. After some improvements to Amtrak's service, they were allowed to name the line the Southwest Chief in 1984. In the late 90's, Amtrak ran this service in conjuction with the Capitol Limited to provide service all the way to Washington D.C. This practice ended in 1998.

Anyways, I wasn't sure what to make of this route before I took it because I knew it was going to pass through alot of desert. But, I don't get to see much desert in Michigan, so it would be an adventure.
A shot just outside the train as we were leaving Union Station. Somehow it just doesn't seem like Southern California without a few palm trees.

Looking out at Los Angeles as we leave the city. Unfortunately, the sun was right behind it, so many of my pictures did not turn out. This ended up being the best shot.

This is the Los Angeles River which has been made famous by various movies. Usually there is a car chase through this at one point or another.

I want to say this is Fullerton.

This is definately Fullerton.

I vaguely remember passing by this area during one of my trips to Southern California. It is different looking at it from a train.

These were at the San Bernadino Station.

I kind of liked the look of the San Bernadino station. Unfortunately, it was getting dark and the rain clouds overhead weren't really helping matters. So this was the only picture I could squeeze out.