Railfanning Santa Barbara - 7/3/18 HD

Well folks, after longed anticipation, I finally made my way out to railfan at the Santa Barbara Amtrak Station ! This location has intrigued me for as long as I can remember, particularly due to the station serving as a major transit location; but also due in part to the number of crossings in the near vicinity and opportunities to catch some awesome horn action and perfectly timed meets. With an entire Tuesday dedicated to railfanning here, I made sure to catch a significant amount of the daily typical train activity through here on any given day. Starting from 9am in the morning all the way until 7pm in the evening, I would railfan all the activity that passed through here on this Tuesday. With that in mind, the Santa Barbara Amtrak Station is one of the more intriguing stations in California, mainly since the original Southern Pacific Depot built in 1905 still serves as the main station building in addition to ticketing, passenger amenities, and housing Amtrak staff. Adjacent to the station, there is also a historic Pullman Parlor Car, SP #142 “Santa Barbara,” that is on display as an example of the city’s railroading history. Original spur storage tracks for private railcars are also still present, illustrating the heyday of wealthy passenger rail travel to Santa Barbara where these cars were stored. Santa Barbara additionally also serves as a key Amtrak Thruway Bus stop, serving as a major connection point for travel between Northern and Southern California. Surprisingly however, there were also a good number of idiots around the tracks, a little more than my typical fair share whenever I railfan, haha. Nonetheless, whether it is the local railroad history and artifacts, the good amount of train and horn activity, or the city itself, Santa Barbara is undeniably one of the more fascinating and interesting locations to spend a day railfanning along the Coast Line ! Train 1 : Amtrak 774 with CabCar #6951 & P42DC #14. Very nice horn action from the engineer on #6951 departing Santa Barbara ! Train 2 : Amtrak 763 with P42DC #120 & CabCar #6900. Train 3 : Amtrak 782 with CabCar #6953 & P42DC #6. Amtrak 782 will hold out just outside of the station to allow for Amtrak 14 (Coast Starlight) to board and let passengers stretch their legs before continuing on to San Luis Obispo. Afterwards, 782 will then proceed into the station after 14 clears and continue onward to Los Angeles and San Diego. Nice, friendly engineer on #6953 ! Train 4 : Amtrak 14 (Coast Starlight) with P42DC #60 & #62. Nice horn action from the engineer arriving and departing Santa Barbara ! Train 5 : Amtrak 769 with F59PHI #453 & CabCar #6952. Decided to try out a different vantage point. Definitely an interesting location to view from in my opinion ! Train 6 : Amtrak 792 with CabCar #6952 & F59PHI #453. Nice horn action departing the station ! Train 7 : Amtrak 777 with F59PHI #459 & CabCar #6901. Nice and friendly engineer on #459 ! Awesome meet with Amtrak 11 as 777