The observation lounge car is great. The seats typically face away from the aisle for good outside views. This is especially true on the "Coast Starlight" train between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. In Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, much of the old Southern Pacific route is located immediately adjacent to the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day, one can see the Channel Islands from the train which heading north also passes by Point Conception and into Vandenberg Air Force Base. The SLC-6 ("Slick 6") launch pad is visible from the train as well. SLC-6 had been converted to launch the Space Shuttle from Vandenberg; however, following the Challenger disaster, the STS was never operated by USAF from the base. I believe SLC-6 is now used to launch Delta IV ELV rockets which deliver recon satellites into polar orbit. And the northwest threshold of the 15,000 foot runway at the base can also be seen from the train. This runway was designed for Space Shuttle landings which, of course, never happened although it has been used for autonomous landings of the Boeing-designed USAF X-37B unmanned space plane. I will once again travel on the "Coast Starlight" train this June to San Luis Obispo from the Burbank Airport stop and am looking forward to this trip up the coast.

And as for getting off briefly at stops, it was always interesting to watch the smokers leap off the "Coast Starlight" at Santa Barbara for a quick hit of nicotine....or was that little cigarette actually comprised of another substance?