I’m not sure if this is the correct forum to post this particular question, but here goes anyway.
We are curently planning a trip to California (centred around the LA area ) in October for 10 days and would like to do a couple of days ‘Rail Fanning’ whilst we’re there. A couple of friends here in the UK have told us that Tehachapi and San Bernadino are great places for a first time introduction, but how easy is to get to these places with an RV vehicle ? which is what we’ve hired for the duration of our holiday. Another place I thought about was Bakersfield. We are also planning to follow the coast road up towards San Luis Obispo, would we see much going on there. The reason I ask these questions is with so little time to devote to Rail Fanning I’d prefer not to waste too much time seeking out good vantage points.
Any help and advise would be greatfully appreciated
You wouldn’t have any problem driving anything in those areas… The Coast line is pretty slow though. If you’re going to Bakersfield anyway, you should just go up the 14 and through Tehachapi. The thing about the mountain areas is that the air is usually better than places in the lower areas like Bakersfield and SB. Those areas can sometimes be smoggy. Assuming you want to do all the typical mainline spots… If you want to do some inner city stuff, maybe try cruising through the Commerce area downtown and check out Hobart Yard and east L.A. yard. Just stick to the major streets. Or you can go down to the Harbor and drive around too, but you might get some negative attention in an RV there.
OK, here goes the quick tour. This itinerary can also be driven in reverse. US 101 is the road to take to get to San Luis Obispo. If you’re coming out of Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 north to where it intersects 101 (the Ventura Freeway) and head north toward Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is a nice spot to stop for lunch and make a quick visit to the Mission style Amtrak station. It’ll be on the left side of the highway as you’re going north. The station is pretty and there’s an enormous (banyan, I think) tree on the north side of the station. It has a span of over 180 feet. Continuing north along 101, you’ll parallel the Union Pacific (former Southern Pacific) for a while and turn inland, going through Buellton (also good for lunch at Pea Soup Andersen’s). There’s an interesting Danish community called Solvang that’s a quick side trip from Buellton. Beyond Buellton, you’ll pass Santa Maria and Pismo Beach. I don’t remember where the turn off is to get to San Luis Obispo’s Amtrak station, but
Be sure you have a somewhat detailed freeway map of the downtown LA area. Depending on where you stay, you might be able to go straight to the US 101 and skip the I-5. The highway numbering is a little bit confused where the 5 and 101 intersect (though the US 101 goes right past Los Angeles Union Station). Downtown roads can be/are busy for many hours of the day and night, not just in rush hour.
There are current plans to do a highway version of a “maintenance blitz” on the I-15 between Devore and Ontario, between mid September and late November. That segment will be completely closed 24/7 for rebuilding. This segment is several miles/km south of Cajon Pass, and is anticipated to result in long delays in getting through the Pass. (There are alternate routes but they will be busy). Just be forewarned! Since that is also the ‘preferred route’ for those in So Cal to drive to Las Vegas, I’ll let you know via this forum if I hear of any updates.