In conclusion to my brief day trip to the Bay Area, I made my way over to the Richmond Amtrak Station after wrapping up my stop at the Oakland Coliseum Amtrak Station just shortly before. Due in part to the location and action through Richmond, I decidedly railfanned here for the remainder of the afternoon and into the early evening. The Richmond Amtrak Station serves as one of the major transportation centers in the area and is one of the more significant station stops for Amtrak trains, particularly due in part to passengers making BART connections here. The Amtrak station here actually has its own designated platform area separate to the Richmond BART station in addition to other transit services and the BART parking structure, via an underground corridor. Railfanning here however can be rather tricky depending on where you choose to setup. The platform itself entirely sits on the railroad curve, making for early notice of inbound trains somewhat difficult and additionally, the signals here only light up when trains are very close to the station as a result of the ABS signaling setup. Furthermore, trains arriving into Richmond are subject to either side of the platform at the discretion of the dispatcher with no officially assigned side pertaining to the direction of travel. Contrarily however, the nearby BART parking structure provides for a great view of the local area and makes for a neat railfanning vantage point. Trains inbound from either direction can be audibly heard approaching, particularly northbound trains, where they can be visually seen approaching in the distance from the south. It is worth noting however that BNSF's Stockton Subdivision crosses over Union Pacific's Martinez Subdivision just a bit north of the station with numerous crossings and horn action, thus inadvertently resulting in some occasional mistaken approaching trains. Please note, I do apologize greatly for the excessive wind noise. It was actually surprising how much greater the wind was just a bit north up the Bay, compounded with being at the top of the parking structure. Ultimately though, whether it is the amount of train action, multiple meets, special catches, or diversity of transit options at the Richmond Station, this location is certainly an appealing place to railfan, specifically due in part to the multiple vantage points one can utilize here.
Train 1 : Amtrak 732 with CabCar #6965 & F59PHI #2004.
Train 2 : Amtrak 716 with F59PHI #2013, #2011, & NPCU #90218. With recent issues pertaining to PTC functioning on the NPCU's, F59PHI #2013 is seen leading 716. Friendly engineer on #2013 !
Train 3 : Amtrak 5 (California Zephyr) with P42DC #78 & #136. Arriving an hour early, Amtrak 5 meets 716 arriving into Richmond for a perfectly timed meet in addition to departing exactly at the same time with 716 as well ! Note the Edward L. Ullman Superliner I car in the consist. Friendly engineer on #78 !
Train 4 : Amtrak 734 with CabCar #8309 & F59PHI #2001. Nice engineer on #8309 !
Train 5 : Amtrak 741 with F59PHI #2015 & CabCar #8314. Another friendly engineer as well, running Amtrak 741 !
Train 6 : Amtrak 736 with CabCar #8308 & F59PHI #2003.
Train 7 : Union Pacific MRVOA-23 with C45ACCTE #5334 & SD70M #3801. Shortly after Amtrak 736 departs Richmond, the MRVOA-23 rolls through Richmond at a good amount of speed !
Train 8 : Amtrak 743 with SC-44 #2102 & CabCar #8311. Nice engineer.
Train 9 : Amtrak 713 with ES44DC #7646(BNSF), F59PHI #2008, & CabCar #6962. Arriving into Richmond at 5:37pm three hours behind schedule, F59PHI #2008 suffered significant engine problems immediately after departing Bakersfield while en route to Wasco. As a result, BNSF ES44DC #7646 was decidedly coupled up front as the rescue engine and pulled the train all the way to Oakland. Although rather late, the wait paid off and made for a nice surprise to see a BNSF locomotive rescue an Amtrak San Joaquin train !
Train 10 : Amtrak 738 with CabCar #6963 & F59PHI #2006. Due in part to Amtrak 713's timing into the Bay Area, the dispatcher had to work 713 between a cluster of other Amtrak trains between 5 and 6pm, one of which was 738. As a result 738 is seen meeting 713, where it departs Richmond exactly at the same time with 713 ! Talk about convenient timing !
Train 11 : Amtrak 715 with SC-44 #2104 & CabCar #6961. Friendly engineer on #2104.
Thanks for Watching !
4 окт 2024
