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California, USA – December, 2025

This was a work trip to the USA for a software release. 13 days were spent in the greater LA area, with most of that being locked-down in an office, getting software deployed, integrations piped and data flowing. When this wasn't happening, it was already dark'o'clock thanks to USA being in Winter and the sun setting around 4pm. Either way, I still managed to see a few trains and flea markets... even for a work trip!

San Clemente

Pronounced San Cle-me-nie, San Clemente is a cute little beach town is just south of the greater LA area. The southbound rail to San Diego runs right along the coast past a few restaurants with great train-watching capability. I made the team choose the San Clemente Pier a few times for dinner so I could see what was passing.

During the day you'll get Amtrak and Metrolink push-pull (both cab-control and actual double-ended-loco) sets stopping erratically or passing at speed. I do note that Amtrak only stops at the Pier and Metrolink only stops at San Clemente Station, so do be careful if you're actually wanting to catch a train and not just seen them.

I had a night free during the week I was there and dawdled down to San Clemente Station. There happens to be a 7-Eleven combini nearby, but don't try this:

It was awful... and I knew it would be after seeing the crust still in the packet... I still tried it anyway! They also have ridiculously oversized cans of beer... no one was around, so I enjoyed one at the station.

Excuse the random photos as I was just using my phone at this point... no need to lug the real camera out when it's dark and impossible to get a good shot.

Metrolink came and went, and so did I. There's a southbound freighter that passes somewhere between 8pm and 9pm in winter time, but it took a few days to be able to see it. I'd watch the San Juan Capistrano Station railcam on the odd night to see if I could see a freighter passing... in the vain attempt to then run from the hotel (way up near the highway) downhill to the station to see it. I tried it once and could already hear the level crossing active with wagons passing when I was still too far away... so that approach was never going to work.

On one of the last nights, I just loitered until a bloody train came... it happened to be at around 915pm and was the usual BNSF jumble of autorack and tanker/mixed.

I'd also caught a northbound amtrak on another night. Excuse the quality, but you can also see the double-ended locos here:

And actually, that last video above was taken after a random walk along the track beside the railway line from San Clemente towards the Pier. It's actually quite nice with ample level crossings to give you enough advance warning!

A final note about the Pier was that there's mutliple copies of this painting... and I love that it includes a ballast wagon? I assume the train was parked there during the work to rectify landslides?

San Juan Capistrano Station

Work had finally concluded and it was time to enjoy friday+saturday+sunday in LA, staying in Hollywood!? I hadn't chosen the hotel+location, but wasn't complaining as Loews Highland Bvd looked to be a nice spot! I had to get there first though... and it wasn't easy thanks to the train schedule through San Clemente favouring southbound passengers in the AM and northbound in the PM! So? I caught a bus, tapping on with my CommBank Travel Card. How bloody convenient!

This took me into San Juan Capistrano and, well, I felt guilty that it was still 8am and I was there to transit. The town looks adorable, with a lot of old-fashioned shops to check out. Nothing was open and I wanted the next northbound train.

Of course, two south-bounders would pass before a north-bound arrived to take me.

Note that you need to buy Amtrak tickets online, or via a shitty little kiosk that's hard to find at the station. Ask the friendly volunteers for help to find it, as there are no Amtrak staff to be seen and their office (contained in old louvre wagons!) is shut.

I jumped on the next northbound heading for Los Angeles Union Station.

LAX - Los Angeles Union Station

Not to be confused with the airport, this station shares the same code! Not much to mention except lots of walking! There's one long underpass with branching entrances to each platform via stairs and ramps. If you want to transfer to metro or buses then get ready to run!

I took the subway to the hotel on Highland in Hollywood and then ventured north to visit a model railway shop.

The Train Shack

Santa Fe on the outside? What a mural! Love it. The Train Shack is pretty easy to get to by public transport... just take the subway to North Hollywood and then any bus heading east along Magnolia Blvd.

Inside it was a perfect throw-back to what model railway shops used to be like in Canberra. I still miss Hobby World in Civic! Anyway, here? Lots of Lionel and a great mix of everything else...

Even Japanese N Scale! I only took mild offense to the Kiraras being called "trams".

I bought a junk 4-4-0 Bachmann Old Timer Steam loco... for display, for now.

It can be a challenge sometime in the distant future. Meanwhile as I unboxed the train from its tattered housing...

Check out those ads!

El Monte

Although the shots of the loco above were at night, I actually went on a mini train trip after visiting the The Train Shack. I caught the bus east from the model shop to Burbank MetroLink Station and then caught the next south-bound to Union.

I then took the next San Bernadino east-bound to check out El Monte Station. This station shares trackage with Union Pacific and I really wanted to see a freighter operating. The trip out to El Monte is pretty cool as the track also runs parallel to a highway where you get to race traffic.

Of course... no freighters... but a nice pass at the station loop thanks to it being single track either side. From here I went back to Hollywood, ate and slept.

Vineland Swapmeet

Something USA does different: flea markets (aka Swap Meets). These are seemingly more-permanent, operating every day of the week! Vineland Swapmeet is out east in City Of Industry (Yes, that's the actual suburb name) and was easy-enough to get to.

I wanted to get there early, so I took an express highway-bus (which also runs parallel to the MetroLink line!) to El Monte Bus Interchange (not to be confused with the MetroLink station) and then a bus south along Valley Boulevard. It was then a 15 minute walk up Vineland Ave to the outdoor drive-in cinema that hosts the swapmeet.

At the gate, proceed to the left and down the side to the ticket booth. There were many people waiting in the middle of the main gate, which was open, but they seemed to be waiting to be called to be allowed to open/pay-for their stalls? I watched for a bit but realised customers were just entering down the side.

Final note before the barrage of photos: bring cash! I didn't... cash-only for entry! But they let me go inside and use the (mildly dodgy) ATM ... I risked it because there was no other option in the vicinity and I used a travel-money card which I could easily limit if anyone were to try hack.

There was a nice amount of everything. Half of it dollar-shop-shite... and then the other half being absolute junk! WHoooo!

Also note that the MetroLink line runs along the northern fence... so do take note of the timetable so you can also take terrible videos like this!

Of course, it wouldn't be until the final corner where I find a stall with everything I could ever want. I ended up buying a sealed pack of sony floppies and two trackball mices for the grand sum of USD$10.

Fullerton Station

This was a blast. I took the express bus back to Union Station and then the next Oceanside-bound MetroLink. Amtrak is a lot harder with seats and ticketing! There's a great cafe at Fullerton Station and they served up a delicious chicken burger meal! I then realised an unusual amount of train-buffs hanging around and, upon speaking to a few, realised that I'd turned up on the same day as their annual christmas get together!

The fog/smog was thick, and it wasn't long before a freighter added to the pollution...

Of course, when you're looking in one direction... you miss what's coming in the other direction!

The UP I had wanted to see the day prior showed up in the middle of this consist?

Is that Bill Clinton? I had seen enough trains... it was time to find another model railway shop.

Norwalk Station

I took the next westbound to Norwalk Station. It's on a great curve... that actually lead me to think that the freighters through Fullerton may have looked nicer here?

I waaaalked to the bus connection, quite a ways from the station as I'd just missed the bus that departs the actual station. The connections weren't the best on a Saturday.

Railmaster Hobbies

Down middle-south in Bellflower is Railmaster Hobbies. Not as big as The Train Shack, but still a beautiful shop! Lots of G Scale in all conditions!

I bought up some Santa Fe boxcars, resisting the urge to buy O Scale stuff that would not have fit in my suitcase!

Bellflower ain't an easy place to get to... but you really just need to wait for buses to show up. I was starting to doubt Google but managed to get there after waiting a while past the bus' expected arrival time.

Rose Bowl Flea Market

This was just one of those holy-moly-it's-on-the-same-weekend-as-my-visit! The Rose Bowl Flea Market has been going for 50 years and is on every-so-often as the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. After visiting the lower suburbs of LA, I was pleasantly surprised by the clean and tidiness of the northern suburbs.

Anyway, Metro was taken to Memorial Park Station and then the bus to the stadium. A very pleasant trip and I happened to be the only passenger on the bus? It seems LA is definitely a 'driving' city.

Not much to say but... it's huge! 50% vintage clothing... no dollar-shop shit... but also not much tech or model railways...

That stall in the final shot above had a total random selection of Lionel O and other G scale stuff... but nothing I wanted to lug around. It was great to go and check the place out!

You'll Never Find A More Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villainy

I made my way back to the hotel and realised I'd be 8 hours early to the airport if I left straight away. Instead I got off at the east end of Hollywood Bvd to check out something random. After Popeye's for lunch, it was across the road to the Scum And Villainy Cantina!

It's perfect and you should go and visit if you're on the dreadful strip!

Animaniacs

I nearly forgot something. During the first day of travelling to The Train Shack and then Burbank Station, something was faintly memorable about the name 'Burbank'... why did that ring a bell? I then remembered... Wakko Warner always used to mention it in Animaniacs with the WB studios being somewhere in 'Downtown Burbank California'? A quick google showed that it was due south of The Train Shack down North Hollywood Way! I'd gotten within a kilometre and hadn't visited.

I changed that mishap... I went back as I still had time... and I also went back to The Train Shack, because, why not... but the main reason to go was for this:

Haha... it's perfect. That's the Animaniacs house... right there in front of me!

See Ya, Los Angeles

There were other things that were hilarious. Scientology XMAS anyone? Goodwill stores with nothing but junk. The Nickelodeon HQ? That's a nostalgia hit as well... as with seeing a rugrat doll above at Rose Bowl.

Delivery robots? New fire-fighters being sworn in? Electric motorbikes?

Denny's? (Love that shit!) Hilarious Hyundai number plates? Cyber Trucks? Lots of Cyber Trucks!

A subway that ... well ... attracted the wrong people and had a constant thick unbreathable atmosphere of urine?

But that was it... I then loitered my way back to the hotel, got my luggage and took the FlyAway Bus from LAX...

Well, I nearly did. The bus I was scheduled on failed in front of us. The driver, as he opened the luggage door, had a bolt sheer clean from the chassis, causing the door arm to fail when he tried to close it. He forced it as-closed-as-above and actually made us board... with everyone expecting their luggage to end up on the highway. Forfunately, another bus came to save us before this could occur. Before long we were off.. on the highway... as there's no quick rail connection.

If you look closely at the middle building in the shot above, it turns out a building in the middle of downtown ran outta cash and the artists got involved! A great note to end a trip to LA on!