San Luis Obispo is an ideal place to catch a train. Because it is the division point between L.A. and San Francisco, every train stops in SLO to change crews. This means that you will have plenty of time to survey each train for a personnal "pullman" that fits you.
There are generally two kinds of frieght that come through town: mixed and intermodal. Mixed freights are composed of a variety of cars including box cars, tank cars, grain cars, lumber cars, etc., while intermodal consists are almost all made up of container cars and piggybacks. Intermodal trains that run on a daily basis are known as BACIT's (Bay Area to City of Industry Intermodal) and CIBAT's (City of Industry to Bay Area Intermodal). These trains provide an excellent means of getting to Oakland, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and back! A common mixed freight is the WCKFM (West Colton to Klamath Falls, Oregon Mixed Freight). Knowing where your train is headed is extremely useful is deciding whether to take it or pass!
SLO Boes rail hoppin' train page
