4K - Amtrak's 2018 Del Mar Block on the Pacific Surfliner - 10 Car Amtrak Trains

Summer is not just known for the fun in the sun here in San Diego, but time for the Del Mar Horse Racing season! Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, thousands of fans make their way down to the Del Mar Racetrack from near and far. Not surprisingly, most of the attendees opt to take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service to the races! In order to provide ample room for the larger crowds on these days, Amtrak adds 3 or 4 additional cars and an extra locomotive to the rear of one of their trains. Trains 774 and 595 have the extra "block" on Friday's, while trains 768 and 591 have the "block" on Saturday and Sunday's. Known as the Del Mar Block, this extra equipment is added on the north end of these trains at Los Angeles. Upon arrival in San Diego, the "block" set is removed and stored at the Santa Fe Depot until later in the day. The process is then reversed for the northbound journey, where the block is added to the front of the normal 6 car Surfliner set in San Diego. With the end of the F59PHI locomotives approaching, I made it out to capture the block during the past few weeks throughout Orange and San Diego counties. Even Amtrak 505 made a rare appearance on the first day of the block in July! Also included at the end as a bonus, are the extra Comic Con trains! During the week of Comic Con festivities in San Diego, Amtrak ran an extra set round trip between LA and SD. Numbered as trains 568/593 respectively, this train used a low level horizon car set. You'll even see a rare occurrence with nothing on the rear, as NPCU 90208 had to be set out! All locations listed in video. Thanks for watching! Video and Content © 2018 MichaelLovesTrains