Named Trains: #19 – Coast Starlight

#19 – Coast Starlight

Railroad(s): Amtrak

Operated: 1971 – present

Route(s): Seattle – Los Angeles

While previous train titles included on this list have reinforced concepts such as speed, grandeur and history, the first named train on this list germane to Amtrak highlights a different notion: spectral wonder. Of course, it's not quite accurate to credit Amtrak solely with the Coast Starlight moniker, as the Southern Pacific operated its own Coast Daylight as well as separate Starlight trips – with its iconic red, orange and black color scheme – on most of the same route plied by Amtrak's version from 1937 until the formation of Amtrak in 1971. Regardless of who gets ultimate credit or which temporal period is more distinctive, the name calls to mind the remarkable vistas illuminated either by daylight or twilight along the Pacific shores. Amtrak's 1,300-plus mile trip may not exactly be speedy, but its routinely noted as possessing among the best customer service and scenery in the entire national network. For those reasons, the delightfully-named Coast Starlight seems poised to deliver the same coastal views to travelers between the West Coast's largest metropolitan regions as other similarly-titled trains have done for three quarters of a century.

#20 – Broadway Limited
#21 – Scout
#22 – Gulf Coast Rebel
#23 – Acadian
#24 – Azalean
#25 – Mark Twain Zephyr
#26 – Little Bear
#27 – Land O'Corn
#28 – Minute Man
#29 – Fast Mail
#30 – Lake Shore Limited

#31 – Comet