LauraSBly:
Coast Starlight train attendant Eric Jose greets boarding sleeping car passengers with a smile - and sparking wine.
LauraSBly:
The Coast Starlight's first stop out of Los Angeles is the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.
LauraSBly:
Kathy Chalfant, a volunteer with Trails & Rails, gives passengers a cultural and historical insight into what they're seeing between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
LauraSBly:
One advantage of the Coast Starlight running late: catching sunrise along the Sacramento River in Redding, Calif.
LauraSBly:
Dawn serenade: Coast Starlight regular John Favors strums a tune in the train's lounge car.
LauraSBly:
Mount Shasta dominates the eastern skyline on a recent Coast Starlight trip between Los Angeles and Seattle.
LauraSBly:
North of Mount Shasta, the Coast Starlight route cuts through spectacular lava flows that show the region's volatile geological history.
LauraSBly:
Mount McLoughlin, part of the Cascades Range in Oregon, looms above Upper Klamath Lake.
LauraSBly:
In a game room on the Coast Starlight, broken machines are no deterrent to fun, thanks to an old-fashioned card game.
LauraSBly:
A vintage Union Pacific car greets passengers at Portland's Union Station as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's 150th anniversary.
LauraSBly:
One benefit of the northbound Coast Starlight running more than an hour late last month: this sunset view near Tacoma, Wash.
LauraSBly:
An Amtrak Superliner "roomette" is, according to TrainWeb.com, about the size of three phone booths: cozy for one person, a potential challenge for two.