Probably no other train in the world offers a surfboard rack, but in southern California that's one of the features travelers expect. The Pacific Surfliner plies Amtrak's second-busiest route, the 347 miles from San Luis Obispo to San Diego via Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, much of it just feet from the Pacific Ocean. Only Amtrak's Washington-to-Boston Northeast Corridor boasts more passengers.
Introduced in 2000 as a partnership between Amtrak and the State of California, Pacific Surfliner service is designed specifically to attract passengers away from other forms of transportation, by offering frequent service, roomy and comfortable accommodations, decent food, and panoramic views of the Pacific coastline. In an age when travelers often feel like sardines packed in a can, the Surfliner is a "back to the future" idea, offering the enjoyable travel that trains were once famous for.
This M.T.H. Surfliner set is headed by an accurate model of Amtrak's F59PHI diesel, built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. Our unique Proto-Speed ControlTM lets you start your train so smoothly you won't spill a drop of water in the café car, and run steadily at any speed from a crawl to over 100 mph. The F59PHI's sound system features an authentic diesel motor, horn and bell, crew conversations, Surfliner station announcements, and squealing brakes when you stop the train. Headlights and flashing "ditch lights" are provided for nighttime operation. Trailing the locomotive are high-level cars in accurate Surfliner colors with detailed, illuminated interiors. Day or night, this train is a beautiful thing to watch in action! For even more fun, add additional Surfliner cars; your twin-motored diesel has plenty of power to pull them.