Amtrak Trains in the Early 2000s

Amtrak began operations on May 1st, 1971, taking over services from most other railroads. 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of Amtrak and to celebrate, I’m going to be posting one Amtrak video every month for the rest of the year. To start out, I’d like to go back and look at some of my earlier videos of Amtrak. A lot has changed over Amtrak’s 50 year history, even in the 18 years since I began recording videos of trains. We'll see one of the last movements of express freight on a long distance train, some Dash-8 locomotives in passenger service, a P42DC painted in the short lived "Phase Va" paint scheme, and more!
CoasterFan2105 is the home of all sorts of train and railroad related video content. Stop by every Friday at 9 AM Pacific time for an all new railroading adventure and be sure to check out all of my social media pages @coasterfan2105 for even more great railroad content. Thanks, and I'll see you down the line!

[@Ferrocarril_Chicago]

The 90's and early 2000's were always my most favorite eras of Amtrak!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Mine too!

[@chevymontecarlo2488]

Me three!

[@ROTE]

Me Four!

[@chevymontecarlo2488]

Me six

[@cameronreason]

Me seven

[@Handlesarestoopid]

Love hearing the iconic "Whoop" air compressor noise on the P42s

[@CoasterFan2105]

It's a great sound

[@eclipsegaming_]

@@CoasterFan2105fr

[@TrainsDirectVictoria]

The good ol’ days

[@melbourneandregionaltrainv2103]

Very true

[@johntaeowens62]

Yep!

[@thealmightydoge5653]

Ah the nostalgia!!! I remember starting to watch these in 2012, thats when I was 5!! Look at where you are now. Reflecting on your 12-year past of railfanning! Keep up the great work, Mike!!!

[@thealmightydoge5653]

:D

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! Will do!

[@hmitchell8618]

14:49 before Amtrak 42 was repainted into the veterans scheme.

[@tomnook2612]

Wow

[@CoasterFan2105]

Yup!

[@Glacussia]

@@CoasterFan2105 yup

[@alexanderbanos8125]

A lot of things differ Amtrak trains back in the early 2000's to today. 1. Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains had their locomotives and cab cars facing the opposite direction. On the LA to San Diego route, locomotives faced north and cab cars faced south. On the LA to San Luis Obispo route, cab cars faced north and locomotives faced south. 2. Amtrak California's cab cars (8300 series) had their original headlight configuration in the shape of a square. Many train enthusiasts called them "dice lights", since the square headlight configuration resembled the four dots on a dice. Since 2005, all Amtrak California cab cars adapted the standard triangular headlight configuration, similar to the Amtrak Surfliner cab cars. 3. Some Amtrak California F59PHI locomotives still had their original look since the 90's, with corrugated sides and their front views minus the "thong" pattern and the Amtrak California "arrows" brandmark. 4. Most of Amtrak's national rolling stock still beared the old Amtrak logo in the Helvetica Bold typeface. 5. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and Cascades trains were led by F59PHI locomotives, with good sounding narrow font K5LA horns and equipped with their original EMD steel bells. Today, all Amtrak F59PHI's (Surfliner and Cascades) belong to Metra commuter trains of Chicago IL. They're now equipped with Graham White 373 Series electronic bells, along with raised letter K5LA horns on some of the units.

[@TrashBulldogProductions]

At 6:30, that is the most badass power lineup I have seen, it isn't often you see such engine diversity on Amtrak now a days. The Dash 8 engines are always nice to see running on the mainline especially when they are leading. As usual, you just got to love the sound of those 1990's K5LA's on a majority of the engines showcased, also all mechanical bells.

[@sotomanuel3]

P42dc+dash 8+f59phi+coast starlight=that rare train

[@northernvirginianrailfan2116]

Amtrak looked so much cooler back then

[@ShanHFernandes]

great ! looking forward to your next set of Amtrak videos :)

[@westmorelandcountyfiresire4947]

Same

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you :)

[@United1158]

Awww RIP most of these engines. My favorite was the Dash 8s because of their amazing 90s K5LA.

[@MSRTA_Productions]

I was born in 03. Why is this making me feel old already 😭

[@CoasterFan2105]

Well, that makes at least two of us haha

[@cameronreason]

👶🏽

[@user-my9zj3wu1w]

​@@CoasterFan2105 Make Tht 3 Of Us

[@hainescityrailfan9983]

Nothing beats the classic Amtrak from 80s, 90s and 2000s and the GE locomotives!!

[@thealmightydoge5653]

Talk about the K5LAs back then! Amazing right?

[@hainescityrailfan9983]

Of course it is, no matter how many years pass nothing will beat a 80s 90s and 2000s K5LA, Raised K5LAs? Come on they could done much better

[@CoasterFan2105]

It was a pretty neat time period for Amtrak!

[@hainescityrailfan9983]

@@CoasterFan2105 Of course it was, back then the tickets were cheap but now is expensive, Amtrak used a lot the dash 8 and the horns were very good and well tuned

[@ROTE]

Engines that are now heritage units: 0:47 P42DC Veterans Unit 42 2:55 P42DC 50th Anniversary Unit 46 14:19 P42DC Veterans unit 42 20:20 P42DC Phase IV heritage unit 184 22:03 F40PH NPCU Veterans unit 90221 31:22 F40PH NPCU Veterans unit 90208

[@sotomanuel3]

Now rip the phase off the 184

[@Marontyne]

never

[@dapitrailfans2240]

Respect from Indonesia 🇮🇩

[@transitfanaviationfanrailf9249]

What a catch mike of the two dash 8 at each side's

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! I was pretty excited to see that!

[@F59PHI]

Love ur vids mike! I had no idea you had been railfanning so long, and I hope you do it for many more years on YT. Edit: Can someone leave the timestamp for the P42 in Phase Va in the replies

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! The P42 in Va is right around the 3:00 mark.

[@TommyPicklesFan]

Ah Yes, The Early 2000's Amtrak before The SC-44 Chargers came into the Picture.

[@GraniteRockRailfan]

I’ll Miss seeing those F59s on the Pacific Surfliner

[@CoasterFan2105]

They were neat looking locomotives

[@kameroncoulombe5209]

Metro requires the f59phi locomotives they repainted them to 73 to 93 and they painted their units into lighting bolt speed then they use one for Chicago and northwestern

[@kameroncoulombe5209]

Number 90 unit

[@kameroncoulombe5209]

No idea though

[@kameroncoulombe5209]

I got now

[@danielboone3770]

I love these Amtrak trains! The Talgo train-sets are awesome too.

[@andross51]

Mike, once again another great video! I was in my early teens living in SLO, and on the Surfline in the early to mid 00's! My god has Amtrak changed A LOT from those days! Great footage as usual man! :)

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks, Dean! I remember visiting the Central Coast a number of times during that period. It's a different railroad now.

[@railfan225svlogs6]

Nice love those k5las!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks! They're pretty great!

[@railfan225svlogs6]

@@CoasterFan2105 No problem! ;)

[@Zackman217]

Happy 50th anniversary to Amtrak.

[@johnhagan7742]

Love the footage. With the Genesis fleet, I can't get enough of that chugging type beat from their engines.

[@csxtrainfan319]

Nice videos from the 2000’s

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you!

[@csxtrainfan319]

@@CoasterFan2105 your welcome

[@Sheldon_Busologia_D]

14:59 when Amtrak 70 was alive!!❤

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

My Amtraks anniversary video will be uploaded in April and may. Stay tuned for that! Nice video by the way. I'm also planning on releasing one or possibly 2 amtrak videos a month because I love amtrak. Happy birthday amtrak

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@goldenstateaviation2861]

31:00 oh wow I haven’t seen a California Can Car with white marker lights in a log time

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

Those are Dice Lights, where the headlights are mounted next to the Marker Lights. They were moved below the vestibule in 2005 when engineers complained of low visibility in fog, and they were non-FRA compliant for a decade.

[@carlpeduzzi3780]

Another great video. Side note: While watching this video as compared to your newer videos, you can definitely see a difference in experience and quality. You are constantly getting better. Great work!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Haha, thank you, Carl! I have definitely improved over the years. It's fun sometimes to go back and see how much things have changed.

[@coppercruz3605]

Awesome Old School Footage:)

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you :)

[@System6VideoProductions]

I love these types of videos seeing the old side of amtrak, great video!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@harrisonofcolorado8886]

Now I want Amtrak to make it to the funi number, 69.

[@MSRTA_Productions]

It exists lol

[@Maunico0809]

Oh yes a P42DC has it’s road number of 69

[@Fullerton_Railfan7706]

Yeah do funni haha I’m laughing so hard rn lollolol

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

Just like the good ol days

[@ROTE]

Ahhh the great Nostalgia of watching this

[@CoasterFan2105]

Good memories!

[@dirtycamerarailfan3302]

Damn. The baggage cars, mail & express, the paint schemes like IV, Va, Vb.

[@TheAustinSubRailfan]

One of my favorite things about Amtrak in the late 90’s and early 2000’s has to be the great K5LA horns. Nice video and sorry for the late comment.

[@ParrotGaming123]

Man, back in the 2000s the F59PHis ruled the West Coast!

[@jojoreztorc0396]

I really love phases 3 and 4 for Amtrak, 3 (especially the newer version on the Viewliner 2’s) is fun, bright, and patriotic while 4 is sleek, mature, and professional, especially with the lettering on the Superliners.

[@sethmatthewc]

ah yes the good ol phase 5 in 3:24

[@GTKCF2023]

Phase 5a actually

[@aphotographerfromcaliforni2661]

0:36 Ahh the old Sacramento train station! Good times, growing up in the early 2000s. Was cool to see all the abandoned track that the SP later out in the former yard

[@PrincessAmtrakMinamoto]

Great catches. I know I still loves Amtrak. (:

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@BnuuyBoi2005]

Old memories

[@marylandrailfan2008]

20:42 184 in phase Vb!

[@Cutecinnalover]

This is the favourite video I like

[@drunicorn]

I love this

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@CN-dp1nk]

Thanks for the great video! More please.

[@CoasterFan2105]

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@massrailvideos]

Good old days

[@Anticountryhumansguy]

My dad has been on a Amtrak train when he was a kid and still uses Amtrak today

[@EvanEscher]

What a great shot at 32:52 with a plan coming in on reverse landing in the background as the Cap Corridor leaves Great America

[@skittlesland5964]

Train love

[@GreenbeanProductions]

man amtrak looks like kinda the same as now just as some paints sceme like the phase III on some baggage cars and coaches engines mostly in phase 4 or 5

[@CoasterFan2105]

Similar, yes. Some locomotives have been retired and a number of others will be replaced in the very near future.

[@GreenbeanProductions]

@@CoasterFan2105 oh i didnt know and as you have coment an ACS-64 is blowing is horn as we speak

[@CoasterFan2105]

@@GreenbeanProductions Awesome

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

Great video! (even if I haven't watched it yet)

[@synapse6304]

These are the Amtrak I grew up seeing! So many memories!

[@marylandrailfan2008]

Wow! It’s so cool you have these videos and you are very lucky to have seen all these trains back in the days of the f59phis and P42dcs being brand new

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm glad I saw some of these things when I did!

[@kennyt1674]

Amazing job Mike and Amtrak is my favorite railroad

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you, Kenny!

[@kennyt1674]

@@CoasterFan2105 no prob

[@alandvaemergencyresponses2883]

7:25 the best one

[@sikujacob4556]

Amtrak has changed over the years. The ones I've seen in Lancaster PA look like above ground sub way trains

[@Mason_jae208]

At 15:55 the train be looking pretty thick 🥵

[@AussieGunzel]

1980s to 2005 was my favourite era, shame time travel doesn't exist yet :(

[@superbaddy4]

Back in this time, I was a little kid living in Connecticut, next to the Northeast Corridor. The trains I saw were Metro North, with their Original Livery P32ACs and FL9s with Shoreliners, and Budd M2s. And then there was Amtrak, with the then-new Acela, and Northeast Regionals being hauled by AEM-7s and HHP-8s. The world was a better place without ACS-64s. Now i'm going to post what I consider all of the highlights in this video: 4:15 An Amtrak California Cab Car with its early "Dice Lights" and small plow. 6:49 and 7:51 Also, you got there some of the even more unique varieties of Heritage Baggage Cars. 10:18 You got there a unique name cresting on 182. 13:21 Mt. Adams, the Talgo Set that was originally the Las Vegas Talgo, and the same one that was later destroyed in the 2017 DuPont Wreck. 14:25 14:29 Double Unique Engines. 42 before it became what it is today, and the ill-fated 70, which was prematurely retired in 2011 after being destroyed by an engine fire. 18:13 There's the ill-fated 70 again! 20:32 184 also before it became what we know it as now. 21:44 Wrap Cars. Those were always a cool thing. 22:05 90221 before becoming the Midwest-Pool Veterans NPCU. 24:36 An Original Livery CDTX F59PHI. I personally think they looked so much better like that. 28:57 Another ill-fated P42, 1 itself, which wrecked in 2017. 30:49 Even more Dice Lights! Also, note how the horn was wired back in this time to where it could only play toots, and not full, long blasts. 31:21 90208 before becoming the SoCal-Pool Veterans NPCU... And before wrecking...

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

182 was in a hybrid Phase V at the time, with the Vb design, but Va lettering and colors.

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

Also, note that all the NorCal Surfliners and California Cars have an external air line as the originals were leaky at the time.

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

34:40 110 being allowed to run with that nose damage.

[@superbaddy4]

I don't exactly know.

[@CoasterFan2105]

That's a good list! Lots of different things you can't see anymore. Thanks for watching!

[@Glacussia]

*every amtrak:slow* *SURFLINER:WAIT AM SO FAST*

[@kameroncoulombe5209]

There was Amtrak car with wheel of fortune on it

[@CoasterFan2105]

Yes, that was a special promo they did in 2008.

[@F59PHI]

Timestamp?

[@kameroncoulombe5209]

My parents are a fan of wheel of fortune but I’m not I am a huge fan of star wars

[@DOTD7382]

nostalgia intensifies

[@RandomRailfan828]

This definitely brings back the old memories of Amtrak these were definitely good old times.

[@felixthetrainfan4819]

Wow old days :)

[@CoasterFan2105]

:)

[@AMPProductionsVideo]

very nice collection of videos

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you

[@AmtrakFan6905]

34:43 look at that P42’s large dent!

[@Jaytherailfan]

The 2000s were the best years in Amtrak you could see so many different paint schemes in 1 train like a phase 5 p42 with a phase 3 baggage car with phase 4 cars

[@LittlePwnageMusicFan]

I miss the early 2000's so much.

[@RailBrothersProductions]

GE vs Siemens

[@trainsandsirensofilinmiwi2080]

cool

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@trainsandsirensofilinmiwi2080]

@@CoasterFan2105 yw

[@Corry-be4kz]

I'm a kid but no trains well. Ive never seen something like this. Good job mike!

[@amtrakisveryepic]

I miss when the Missouri river runner not only had the p42's but had like 3 to 4 cars, now they stick buffer cars on the back due to Union Pacific's axle limit rule.

[@sherrcon]

beautiful!!!...such massive power...makes me want to take a train excursion ...

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@roxanasanz786]

... I I I love it

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@valeriebassett3107]

I always love to watch every train video you do. Thanks for sharing.

[@CoasterFan2105]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@rnrailproductions5049]

There just something about 1990s to early 2000s era railroading that I love so much.

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

Why did Amtrak sometimes use F59s on the Starlight?

[@railfangarrett6313]

I guess when their isn't a p42dc available

[@MSRTA_Productions]

Or if they are taking it somewhere like for example for to be worked on

[@CoasterFan2105]

Yes, either as backup power or shuttling between Seattle and Los Angeles, either to send extra power to Cascades or down to LA for work.

[@theamtrakfan568]

i Love Amtrak mike

[@auto9productions790]

Very cool love the vid Btw big fan I love trains I railfan the MBTA every Saturday

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks! And that's awesome!

[@VonWasHere13]

I Never Knew There Were GEVOs In The Phase 4 Livery!

[@Imptile765]

This makes me wish I was an early 2000s kid

[@peterdibble]

13:18 This is the Cascades trainset Mt. Adams that was destroyed in the 2017 DuPont wreck.

[@vincentcalvelli6452]

Another excellent video in your series of great informative video.

[@user-iz7oy8jn7q]

讚！耐操性強的亞美利堅客車組+不銹鋼車身！……🤩🤩🤩

[@natejackson8213]

Good video Mike. I love Amtrak. Question, I'm worried about Dash 8 locomotives, are they still in services or they retiring?

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

They'll stay in yard service, but more likely venture out with fewer Chargers (less backup pool), and reintroducing pooled power, as they started letting locomotives roam everywhere when the Corridor Routes got their own Chargers.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you, Nate! The Dash-8's are still here for now, mostly in yard service. We'll see what happens to them in the coming years.

[@Orcafilms]

I remember watching stuff like this when I was younger

[@NOVIDEOS67895]

Nice Amtrak is an awesome railroad

[@erikadelgaardnielsen9391]

Miss u 2001 year i was born 🥺🥺 thk u 4 this vid PS HEY FROM DENMARK

[@coolleo149]

Imagine if Amtrak fully restored all of their older baggage cars and brought them back. And oh gosh I didn’t know 458 was in the cascades paint before switching to Pacific Surfliner

[@CoasterFan2105]

I loved the old baggage cars. Sad to see them go but glad they have new ones now.

[@coolleo149]

@@CoasterFan2105 indeed, but due to the pandemic, it’s been switched to the back of the Superliners instead in front of the P42DC locomotives

[@GTKCF2023]

@@CoasterFan210535:34 164 new phase IV Heritage unit and 10:10 big game train 197

[@thebrummierailenthusiasts5329]

Wow 50 years that’s gone fast them years mike

[@EvanEscher]

What a video. I especially appreciated the shots at Sacramento, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Fullerton

[@MetxsightseerRailfan]

Nice

[@manueldeltoro8398]

Ah yes the one that started all

[@westernpacificrr]

Can we just appreciate this man hearting every comment? Thank you mike :)

[@CoasterFan2105]

And thank you!

[@J-rock-moto8230]

Wow that’s a old year ago of Amtrak trains in service.

[@iowarailfanner1013]

And ask people to send in videos that were shot before Amtrak’s creation

[@Surfliner450]

0:14 Santa Barbara!

[@portlandrailfanproductions1155]

Amtrak 1971: Yeah in fifty years we will have electric trains across the country Amtrak 2021: Yeah right

[@toyoprev]

Phase 3 and 4 are my favorite paint schemes for Amtrak

[@MetrolinkFoamer]

Trains will never be old