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I only rode one bus during my time in Los Angeles, up Western from the Expo Line to the Red Line, but saw plenty of them during my few days there.  I can see quite clearly where WMATA's current paint schemes come from (though I wish WMATA didn't adopt their current schemes, I'm not a fan at least).  There are certainly a lot of buses in Los Angeles, but in deciding whether to rent a car or not, came to realize that with the exception of certain origin/destination pairs, relying on buses in Los Angeles is not really feasible, and therefore, many drive.  The system is also not set up well for tourists staying outside of downtown LA from what I can tell (I stayed with friends in Pico-Robertson).  LA may be making strides in expanding its public transit network, but it still has a long way to go.

Leaving off from my last post, I got in to Los Angeles 6 hours late on the Southwest Chief, which sort of threw a wrench in to some of the touristy plans I had set for my time in Los Angeles since I essentially lost a day.  A mishap with my rental car during the trip didn't exactly help things either.  However, I did get to sample some of what the LACMTA has to offer us railfans, taking rides on the Red, Gold, and Expo lines during my stay.  Here are some photos from my time there.



























If you're wondering why I called this Part 3A, it is because Metrolink and Angels Flight (though still closed) photos are going to be in subsequent posts.  And in due time, I'll post my LA bus phtoos over on Buschat.

I wasn't planning to let nearly a week go by before posting the next installment of photos, but delays come up sometimes.  Like they did on my Southwest Chief trip.  As I mentioned at the end of the last post, after lunch with my cousin, I walked back to the Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station, where I had checked my luggage.  We were told that ticket scanning and boarding procedures would begin at about 2:15 and to be back at the lounge at that time.  At 2:55, it was announced that due to the late arrival of the Lake Shore Limited (scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 9:45 AM), our train would be held for connecting passengers.  Apparently, there was a tornado warning somewhere in upstate New York the night before which caused the train to be stopped for awhile.  At about 4:45, we were led to the train for boarding, and I settled in to my sleeper and walked to get a photo of the train's head end power.  The LSL showed up at about 5:15 PM (7 and a half hours late) and at 5:38 PM our train finally got under way, nearly 3 hours late. 







Once we got going however, the joys of being on a long distance Amtrak train came back to me pretty quickly, even if the farm fields of Illinois are not the most spectacular scenery on Amtrak's network.  I had good meal companions at dinner that night, too.  Our delayed departure meant we wouldn't pass through Iowa in daylight.  I was able to step on to the platform at Fort Madison however, and claim to have set foot in the state.  I also got a photo of this BNSF locomotive:





Shortly after that stop, which we departed 3 hours and 39 minutes late, I showered (always an experience on a moving train) and went to sleep.  I woke up somewhere east of Dodge City, KS; we hadn't really lost or made up any time overnight. 



Shortly after waking up, we passed through Kinsley, KS, which is equidistant from New York City and San Francisco.  It isn't mentioned in the route guide since the train is supposed to pass through here sometime before 5 AM, but I managed to snap a quick photo.



I had breakfast, and then went to the observation car to work on photo editing and take photos from there.  Kansas is pretty flat and has lots of farmland, that's just about all I can say about this leg of the trip.







However, as the train continued west and crossed in to Colorado, the scenery became more rugged. 







I enjoyed the scenic highlight of the Southwest Chief's route, Raton Pass, from the Observation Car:

















Before we reached our next station though, our train would be significantly delayed yet again.  A line of strong storms, visible from the train some distance away, combined with a single track, ultimately brought our train to a stop at Levy Siding, about halfway between Raton and Las Vegas.  We had to wait for the eastbound Chief to pass us, but due to the storms, that train was speed restricted, and then once it was our turn to proceed, we were also speed restricted.  When we finally got to Las Vegas, NM, we were now about 6 hours late.











We were able to run at speed after that the rest of the way to Albuquerque, losing no additional time between Las Vegas and the long service stop there.









The vendors who usually sell their wares on the platform weren't there for our late arrival, but I was able to get some photos of the engine and nearly full moon during the service stop.





I also got some very low quality photos of the New Mexico Rail Runner double deckers parked several tracks over from my sleeper.

Although it was hoped that they could expedite the inspection of the train and make up some time (a lot of time is built in due to schedule padding and the service stop), we still spent an hour in the station.  I went to bed shortly after we left Albuquerque and when I woke up the next morning, we were somewhere in the Mojave Desert.  Due to our late running, we missed the supposedly fantastic scenery in western New Mexico and Arizona but we traversed much of the desert, which is usually crossed during the night, in daylight.







The last scenic highlight was descending through Cajon Pass as we came out of the mountains and approached the Los Angeles metro area.









After the station stop at San Bernardino, the rest of the trip is just passing through various exurbs and suburbs of Los Angeles and is about as unremarkable as the first few hours of the trip through suburban Chicago.



At some point, they also announced how passengers booked to points other than Los Angeles could reach their destinations.  Despite our 6 hour delay, passengers who needed the northbound Coast Starlight were going to be bussed to Bakersfield, put on a train to Sacramento, and still easily catch the northbound train!  However, a number of passengers booked on the Empire Builder who were supposed to connect from the delayed Lake Shore Limited (remember that train?) were put on our train for some reason instead of being held overnight in Chicago, and now were going to be getting to their destinations over 24 hours later than planned.  They weren't so happy.

At 2:07 PM on Friday, July 11, 5 hours and 53 minutes behind schedule, the train arrived in Los Angeles.  We had been due in at 8:15 that morning.



Shortly before arriving, we passed a yard where some NJT Comet I cars were sitting.





This was my third LD Amtrak train trip and while my Capitol Limited and Empire Builder in 2007 were each early, I knew my streak with that would end.  I thought the crews did a good job of keeping everyone informed of the delays, what was happening, how long things would take, and so on.  Although the 6 hour delay essentially killed my touring plans for that day in Los Angeles, I was able to squeeze what I had originally planned for that Friday across my remaining days. 

Next post (when I get to it), my time in Los Angeles...

And here are bus photos from my walks through the Loop that afternoon before my train departed.

For much of July, I was out and about, taking advantage of having an abundance of time off to travel, mostly by train.  My first destination was Los Angeles, and I was booked on the Southwest Chief to get there from Chicago.  However, having already taken the Capitol Limited back in 2007 and not wishing to spend a whole day on the Cardinal (I didn't have THAT much time), I opted for a morning flight from BWI to Midway on the morning my train departed, which gave me about 4 hours to take the Orange Line downtown and have lunch with a cousin who works in the Loop.  Here are some photos from my brief L ride, including my first photos of the 5000 Series cars.











Once I got to Union Station, I left my bag at the Metropolitan Lounge and then headed off to meet my cousin, taking bus photos along the way.  I'll post those here shortly.

I was in Kansas City back in May for two days to visit family.  Kansas City has more highway lane miles per capita than any other metro area in the US, and the investment in transit is reflective in that fact.  Many bus routes run about once an hour, but there are some new improvements for the better, namely, two BRT routes.  The older and more prominent of the two is the "Main Street MAX", which runs from downtown Kansas City to Country Club Plaza and beyond.  Another BRT route runs on Throost Avenue.  Neither route has exclusive lanes, but they each have large stop markers, limited stops, and real time arrival info at each stop served by the BRT routes.

There are also some suburban bus services that I was able to photograph.

Gilligs rule here, I saw no other bus models.

Here are some photos:



















I was in town while the APTA conference was ongoing but missed the bus lineup at the Kansas City Convention Center, it took place the afternoon I arrived in town.

And here are my bus photos from that trip.  Some of these were taken on my iPhone at times I didn't have my real camera handy.

I was in NYC at the beginning of this month for Shavuot and to visit family, but I was able to set aside a day for railfanning, with the primary purpose being to ride and photograph the R32s on the J, where I had yet to see them.  The weather that day was, in a word, perfect, both for being outside and for getting photos.  I share some of the results with you here:

Not sure, my guess is BRT hybrid.  I didn't ride it, just photographed it.

I was in Minneapolis visiting family last month and got transit photos from both of the Twin Cities.  Here are some of them.  As you'll see, Gilligs dominate the fleets not only of Metro Transit but some of the other agencies operating in the area, but there are some New Flyers and MCI over the road coaches. 

In honor of the opening of Metro Transit's new Green Line this weekend, connecting Minneapolis to St. Paul, here are some photos I took of the light rail in those cities back when I was there in early May.  My visit was not timed with the opening of the new line, obviously, so I only got to ride the Blue Line, which runs from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America.  It's a fairly efficient system that gets decent speeds between stations, and I was impressed at the loading speed at Target Field after a Twins game ended.  It also has an interesting mix of street running and separate ROW, including some elevated stretches near Fort Snelling, and a tunnel section near the airport.

I only witnessed Green Line trains being tested in downtown St. Paul.  Trains didn't carry passengers but made simulated stops.  Platforms were barricaded.  Some are upset that when the Green Line opens, bus service (and travel times) between the two cities will be impacted negatively, since the almost nonstop bus from downtown to downtown is faster than the light rail will be, and that service is being downgraded significantly.

Here are the photos:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/metro-takes-control-of-silver-line-service-could-start-late-summer/2014/05/27/6e13fb14-e2a1-11e3-810f-764fe508b82d_story.html

90 days from today is Monday, August 25.

Yes, based on my observations.

I saw a hybrid Gillig on the 23 on Friday, so I think we can safely put the 23 in the Silver Spring column.

This is helpful.  I find routes tend to stay constant and the buses themselves shift at most TAs, so it seems like we should collectively be able to figure this out.

I'm pretty sure the 23 is a Silver Spring route, at least on weekdays, I often see the 2001-2002 Orion Vs on it and am pretty sure the block numbers are starting with "1". 

Does anyone have a breakdown of who is operating what these days?  I'm curious since I know there was a huge shakeup a few years back (i.e. the 36 is now a Silver Spring route), but never got a sense of what all the fallout was.  A rough outline will do, but more specific details would be nice if anyone has them.  TIA!