For whatever reason, a few years ago I had the goal to photograph every P42DC on the Amtrak roster as they made themselves available on trains in Southern California. While that goal quickly vanished after a few months, it was during that time I caught wind the that AMTK 1 was in Los Angeles and could possibly go out on any train. Having already photographed more than 100 of the higher-numbered units on the roster, it was a thrill at the time to hear such a low-numbered unit had made it out west. Rolling the dice a few days later, I decided to follow the northbound Coast Starlight up to Paso Robles where I'd be spending time with family...banking that maybe, just maybe, numero uno would be on the train. You can imagine my excitement as the train rounded the curve at Camarillo and I spotted a single digit on the lead unit's nose number board, and as it came into focus, it was none other than numero uno.
