| A feature of the Monterey Peninsula Toy Box | ||
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The Del Monte Club Car"Dude, where's our train?" |
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| A feature of the Monterey Peninsula Toy Box | ||
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The Del Monte Club Car"Dude, where's our train?" |
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“You
get a real Show
your support for the _______________ The moving train
graphics in the Del Monte Club Car were provided through the courtesy
of _______________
_______________ |
America's passenger railroads played a
vital
role
in
the development of this country including the Monterey Peninsula. The
first passenger trains came to Monterey around 1880 and sparked the
local tourism industry, a vital part of our local economy. Other trains
hauled shipments of sardines from Cannery Row and sand from Spanish
Bay. For much of our history, trains were a routine sight in Monterey,
but the last one departed in 1971. Ever since, efforts have been made
to bring them back.
Regrettably, most people today don't know the first thing about train travel. Many express the desire to travel by train, but they are often not aware of the options that are available. Others are under the mistaken impression that passenger trains are simply quaint relics from the past, outmoded by today's modern airliners and freeways. But many people, including Mr. Toy, see rail service as an efficient and environmentally sound way to relieve our clogged transportation networks and provide the public with a greater variety of travel options. Unfortunately, U.S. transportation planners have ignored the passenger train's potential, leaving our nation's rail technology a good forty years behind the rest of the industrialized world. At one time the railroads ran scores of passenger trains connecting big cities with small towns all across the country. After WWII the airliner and automobile began luring passengers away. To aid the downfall of the great trains, our government began pouring billions of dollars into the construction of publicly owned airports and freeways - a process which continues to this day. As a result these services grew at an explosive rate. The railroads had no such government funding so their services were at a competitive disadvantage. By the mid 1960s, as Japan introduced the world's first high-speed "bullet train," most of America's passenger railroads were ready to give up. Train 14, Amtrak's northbound Coast Starlight, pulls into the Salinas depot. In 1971 Amtrak took over most of the nation's passenger services, and it continues to operate the only regularly-scheduled interstate rail service. Amtrak's route structure is but a mere skeleton compared to the lines that existed a half century ago, but it still provides a valuable service. Although trains are not currently seen on the shores of Monterey Bay, Amtrak's popular Coast Starlight, which runs between Los Angeles and Seattle, stops daily in Salinas. A dedicated Amtrak Thruway bus connection serves travelers to and from Monterey and Carmel. Monterey-Salinas Transit now provides three daily round trip Thruway bus connections to the San Jose Amtrak station where you can catch Capitol Corridor trains to east bay cities and Sacramento, or Caltrain service up the peninsula to San Francisco. Another Amtrak Thruway bus can take you from Monterey to Modesto to connect with Amtrak California's San Joaquins. Visit Amtrak.com for schedules. Within the pages of the Del Monte Club Car you will find information on existing and proposed rail services in Monterey County. For your amusement, Mr. Toy has also included some of his rail travelogues, some videos, and links to other rail sites. |
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"One
thing about trains. It doesn't matter where they're going. What matters
is deciding to get on." ______________ |
To
The Trains
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Visit our gift shop and ask the world Write to Mr. Toy
______________
Return
to the
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