Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner - L.A. to San Diego

[bhk]

In 2005 a company by the name of Facing Point Media issued an add-on for MSTS callled "Pacific Surfliner."
The company folded very soon after, leaving a few creditors and a lot of buyers in the lurch.
Opinion is divided over the product, some saying that it was unfinished, others saying that it was just light on scenery. There was no argument over the quality of the track, locos and rolling stock - all excellent (from 3DTrains....who never got paid, apparently).
There are very few copies of this package still around but I managed to find one - plus the dual-DVD of the footage used as reference for the creation of the route for MSTS.

This is something special.
Three hours of high-definition, uninterrupted (no narration) footage taken using a fixed camera mounted at the centre window in the F59PHI cab, on a brilliant, sunny Californian day.
Communications between loco and central control are heard and the sounds of the train and environment are crisp, clear and excellent.

The scenery is superb........the run along the coast, so close to the beaches, is fascinating and I watched the whole thing without stopping, other than to replace Disc 1 with Disc 2.

Far better than any other head-end DVD I've seen and immensely enjoyable.

If you are interested, it is obtainable from Train Video Depot,
www.trainvideodepot.com

The MSTS version is due to arrive next week and I am looking forward to seeing how that stacks up.

Regards,
Bruce

[sgtmajor]

Yes Bruce.... I used to see the Pacific Surfliner come flying down the tracks each day. The tracks run through about 17-20 mile of Marine Base Camp Pendleton where I was stationed from 1985-1992 and again from 1996-2000 when I retired. Yes Sir.... the Surfliner was a familar sight indeed.

Cheers!

[bhk]

Oct 4, 2008 10:22:45 GMT -5 sgtmajor said:

Yes Bruce.... I used to see the Pacific Surfliner come flying down the tracks each day. The tracks run through about 17-20 mile of Marine Base Camp Pendleton where I was stationed from 1985-1992 and again from 1996-2000 when I retired. ....

It's a small world once again, Steve!

I had Google Maps open on my laptop so that I could follow the progress and familiarise myself with the location of the train and I certainly noticed Camp Pendleton on the map (it's a BIG place, for sure!).
When I looked back to the TV there, flying low across the tracks a hundred metres or so ahead, was a Marine Chinook!

You were stationed in a great location, Steve.

Bruce

[sgtmajor]

Oct 4, 2008 16:02:34 GMT -5 bhk said:

When I looked back to the TV there, flying low across the tracks a hundred metres or so ahead, was a Marine Chinook!

You were stationed in a great location, Steve.

Bruce

Yes Bruce I was...... I think I've pretty much hiked, jogged or traveled just about every square inch of the place. While it is a large Base...... it's not the largest. (smile) I think 29 Palms covers something like 100 square miles.... mostly live fire ranges. It too was another great base I was stationed.

BTW.... I'm pretty sure the aircraft you saw was most likely a CH-46 Sea Knight...... a smaller brother to the Chinook. Both were made by Boeing/Vertol however, the Army used the Chinook and the Navy/Marines used the Sea Knight.

I actually have worked on the CH-46 while stationed at HMX-1. Great work horse the Navy/Marine team REALLY got their money out of! Couldn't begin to guess how many hours I've flown in them over the years!

Cheers!!

[bhk]

Oct 4, 2008 18:05:46 GMT -5 sgtmajor said:

...BTW.... I'm pretty sure the aircraft you saw was most likely a CH-46 Sea Knight...... a smaller brother to the Chinook. Both were made by Boeing/Vertol however, the Army used the Chinook and the Navy/Marines used the Sea Knight. ....

I'm sure you're quite correct, Steve.
It had two rotors - one at the front, the other at the back.

I received the Facing Point MSTS Surfliner route today and have already run half-an-hour on it.
All I can say is that I think it is excellent, so far, and has a very close similarity with the real-life DVD of the route - or at least the bit I've seen (San Diego end). What a shame that it disappeared from sale.

Bruce