Can't you just picture an Amtrak Surfliner beneath these bluffs?

Santa Monica, California circa 1890 with the North Beach Bathouse in the background.

Looking north, the Santa Monica Mountains in the background. Note the catenary poles on Ocean Ave.

Just the little matter of Southern California geography means that you can't see more surf from one of Amtrak's Pacific Surfliners. These sedimentary bluffs don't look very different from those at Seacliff, or San Clemente, but the little matter of the Santa Monica Mountains to the north, and Point Fermin to the south, would have precluded any thought of a through coastal route between San Diego and the north.