During the 1970s Amtrak operated the Coast Starlight, which departed Los Angeles every morning for Seattle, Washington.

The southbound Coast Starlight arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the morning and in Los Angeles by dinnertime, and at the time did not serve Sacramento, the state capital.

Caltrans held a naming contest, with the winner "Spirit of California" announced on December 24.

[3][4] The name was chosen over the objection of Caltrans director Adriana Gianturco, who preferred The Nightingale.

The Spirit of California was discontinued in 1983, running for the final time on the night of September 30 – October 1, 1983.