Train Trivia
1) There are 88 California Cars in the Amtrak California fleet. Each one is named after a California feature such as a mountain or river.
2) There are five types of rail cars in the California fleet:
- Dining Cars - These cars contain a galley for food preparation on the lower level, and table seating for passengers on the upper level. These are used primarily on the San Joaquin and Capitol Corridor routes.
- Cafe Coach Cars - These cars have coach seats on the upper level and a snack bar on the lower level. These are used primarily on the Pacific Surfliner route.
- Baggage Coach Cars - These cars have seating for passengers and storage space for luggage and packages.
- Coach Cars - These cars consist of passenger seating only
- Cab Cars - There are two types of cab cars: coach cabs and baggage cabs from which the train can be operated.
3) Locomotives are used to pull (or push) the train. When a train is being pushed, it looks as the though train is moving backwards.
4) California's fleet uses F59 locomotives built by General Motors, and can reach maximum speeds of 110 miles per hour.
5) Power for train lighting, heating and cooling comes from a separate power plant that is located on the train. This separate power plant generates 600 kilowatts of power.
6) The State of California owns 15 F59 locomotives and two General Electric Dash 8 locomotives (which were purchased from Amtrak in 1994).