ALLENSWORTH, Calif. — Amtrak will offer special train service on Oct. 9 for a celebration at Col. Allensworth State Historic Park, site of a former Black settlement in the San Joaquin Valley.
Four Amtrak San Joaquin trains in each direction will stop that day at the site of the former station in Allensworth, located near Delano in Tulare County and midway between regular stops in Corcoran and Wasco. Amtrak is offering half-price tickets for those attending the planned rededication of the park; more information, including the trains involved and their arrival times, is available at the San Joaquins website.
The Merced Sun-Star reports the rededication event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring games, storytelling, and arts and crafts. The park, at the site of a town established in 1908 by Allen Allensworth, an escaped slave who served in the Civil War and retired as an Army lieutenant colonel, is in the midst of a fundraising campaign to add a visitors center, amphitheater, and other amenities.
Where have you (Trains) been? I retired from Amtrak in 2020 and was a conductor on the San Joaquins, there was an anniversary celebration at Allensworth Park every year to honor the establishment of the settlement. And yes, we did have trains that stopped there, every year.
This is good. This is how to get customers. I hope a whole lot of people will take advantage of this half-off deal. If I lived in NorCal, hey, I might be one of those passengers!
Before California went “off the rails” with the inane HSR project, the state did a whole lot of good with its incremental service improvements like the Valley and Sacramento trains. Which I have ridden.