August Picture Worth A Thousand Words

Here is a prime example of learning a lot after the fact. Due to my ignorance, I really believed I was looking at an EMD and a bunch of common commuter cars. The whole scene was a fun one to walk through but boy do I feel a bit silly now.

The picture above is a typical Metrolink commuter stop in Lancaster, CA. This is the end of the line so the train is readying to push back to L-A. This was on August 7th, which was a Friday, and early evening at that. The place was busy and there were three or four uniformed sheriffs at the doors of the cars and wandering around. The patrons were all as anxious as commuters everywhere but most seemed to have evening plans rather than work in mind. The station was reasonably clean, well organized and efficient. A nice visit overall, part of the previously posted trip to California.

Only one thing really stood out, equipment wise, at the time: The Front Runner car behind the locomotive. This got my attention and I mentioned it in a prior post. Sitting between the loco and three bi-level cars, it stood out well. I have ridden the light rail in Salt Lake City and knew that the Utah Transit Authority was expanding into heavier "commuter rail" with the Front Runner service. The link provides some detail. The car turns out to be an old NJT "Comet" car, one of five on loan to Metrolink.

Ignorance became apparent when I have since discovered that the locomotive is not an EMD. The DT&I fan and I were chatting about MPI commuter locomotives and how they had sneaked up on us. It turns out that they are getting down right common, at least in places far from here! A quick glance at the computer confirmed what I missed before. The locomotive above is not EMD but MPI! The links provide much information that I had not comprehended before. Yes, I probably saw all the news articles about the delivery of MPI units to the various roads, but the big picture failed me. Though not consisting of hundreds of locomotives, commuter rail is a growth area that apparently doesn't show up on the radar of the big builders. I would guess that MPI is doing well with their other locomotives as well, staying under the radar there too.

It's been fun to delve into all this stuff.

BC

California Finale

This last day was unique in a couple of ways for this trip. We would spend two consecutive nights in the same motel (Rocklin HoJo) and not drive too far, at least by the standard set to that point.

We spent the morning checking out Roseville again. The Fiddler missed this on the first day and the place was worth visiting again. We had the prior trip to lean on for directions and the Amtrak lot had one slot left for us. The yards were active, trains were moving and we encountered the eastbound California Zephyr. The lighting was different from the last trip but still not ideal. Oh well. Without the telephoto I was limited anyway. The video guys were happy because movement was everywhere. We saw a couple of trains come in from the east and went back to the motel to get our airline boarding passes.

Next was the California State Railroad Museum in "Old Town" Sacramento. This was worth the visit. We had until closing time at 5pm to roam and that turned out to be just right. The collection is excellent and geared toward the public as well as railroad buffs. Lots of emphasis on California history, which I particularly enjoyed. The exhibits were all top notch, including many artifacts and equipment from the earliest days. Fiddler was taken with the "Cab Forward", which was huge.

I enjoyed wandering through the passenger cars. The volunteers in those cars were very helpful and truly enjoyed sharing their knowledge. The guy in the sleeper car turned out to be a Maine native from New Sweden. He knew where Hebron Academy was and was still familiar with most of the state he left in the 1940's. He was also Swedish and Lutheran so when in the course of the conversation I said I went to school in Kansas he immediately asked if I went to Lindsborg (Bethany College)! Cool! He nailed that one. He was very busy with others passing through so I bid him good bye. I noticed that the car was set up to give you the sensation of motion and the windows had lights and sounds passing by. I could have conked out on one of those sleeper beds. What a neat encounter!

The Videoman was setting up a visit with his grandson for dinner so he had my phone. Fiddler and I wandered around the rest of the museum and then headed outside (into the dry heat) to see the tourist line. We also hoped to find Videoman. We found our way around the Sacramento Southern tourist line facilities and the river boardwalk. From there we could see Amtrak California cross the tracks to the depot next to the museum. We walked a wide loop, trying to stay in the shade. No sign of Videoman but we did see some interesting stuff. At 5pm we split up and I went to the front of the museum while Fiddler went to the depot. I quickly found Videoman by the front door and called Fiddler, but it was too noisy on his end. We walked over to the depot to get him and then on to the car to head west for dinner.

We met Videoman's grandson and the other Grandfather at Chevy's Restaurant in Fairfield. Great Mexican food there! The other Grandfather brought photos from a trip on the White Pass and Yukon, plus a railroad book from the Yosemite area. What a fun time. This wasn't Taco Bell (even though there has been a corporate connection). Typical classy joint with all the staff constantly refilling chips or water glasses. They had the employees do the "happy birthday" routine too (3 times) but luckily none of us qualified.

When we left, the Fiddler got to work navigating to a point where we might see some Amtrak California as well as any freight in the area. We eventually got to the busy, modern and clean station at Davis. This was a well lit station on a wye. The platforms curved away from the depot and old tower. As we arrived we couldn't even see the mainline tracks through all the shrubs and other park like fixtures. Signals faced us in both directions and schedules were posted. We had trains within reasonable waiting times. It was too dark for stills but the tripods were set up for video under the plentiful lighting. The SD's to the left are similar to those once used to power the trains through here after the FM's were retired. (Photo from the WPRM on the previous day) That must have been noisy!

Once again the Wheelman's luck entered the picture. We got the Amtrak California trains we expected, but we also saw a 3 car UP inspection train sneak through behind a westbound. The depot was open late but we had our fill and called it a day. Other than getting misdirected down US50 for a while, getting back to Rocklin was okay and the day was over. Late as usual. The UP car at left is from the CSRM earlier in the day.

We made a quick run by Rocklin station in the morning but Davis was our last rail adventure in California. Off to "Sac Int'l" for the return voyage.

This adventure was navigated with good old paper maps courtesy of the state, along with brochures, booklets and magazine articles, but no DeLorme Atlas (too big to pack) and definitely no GPS unit! Yes we saw some "extra" sights as a result but there were no casualties and the car full of navigators got along just fine without arguing with a computer box on the dash. Besides, for most of the trip we had the Wheelman! He could have taught Henry the Navigator a thing or two.

To say this was quite an awesome trip would be an understatement! Many Thanks to the Wheelman for setting this up! The three of us were still pinching ourselves when we got home.

This will be hard for us to top!


BC

Day 6: Western Pacific Land

The interesting stay in the "Reno-vation" motel was mercifully over and we eventually figured out our plan for the day. We didn't have the Wheelman with us any more but he gave us a lot of tips on how to proceed. The night in Reno put us relatively close to the old Western Pacific route. We even followed their old Reno branch north out of town.

We started with a scenic tour of Reno. We plotted the route to the Amtrak station and headed out (no we didn't use GPS). This took us through the downtown casino district, which was kind of fun in the morning since there was no traffic. When we pulled up to the depot we figured we had 20-30 minutes before the wb California Zephyr showed up. The challenging "tunnel" location could be figured out in that time. As we were unloading our gear, a uniformed Amtrak employee came out and asked if we were railfans (gee, what gave that away?) and told us the Zephyr had a crossing accident near Winnemucca and was 2.5 hours behind schedule. He also told us the phone number for updates. We were suspicious at first but as we drove away, Fiddler called and sure enough it was true. Next we tried to find a store where we could buy a case of water and other supplies which turned out easy but not at first. Apparently the major street through town was not one of those chosen by major mall and Wally World builders. It did take us through all social classes of neighborhoods and through a university campus. Turning around in the desert we decided that that McCarran Parkway looked promising (McCarran is the name of the distant Las Vegas airport - must be historically important) and it took us right to the stores we wanted, conveniently next to the road we wanted. Look at the stuff we would have missed with a smart GPS unit.

Getting back into California was easy but the law enforcement community was heavily involved. Cops of all kinds were everywhere. We even went through a roadblock just over the border. Next we got off the road at Hallelujah Jct. so the Fiddler could record the name of the place. I guess the name fit our quest that morning too. This was also our exit to go over to the mainline finally. The old WP's Reno branch was full of old boxcars in storage up this way and it was a short hop to the old "Feather River Route" mainline.

The first encounter we had with the line took us right over a long tunnel. We kept going and didn't see anything moving yet. We thought we heard a radio call from an MOW guy farther west who was told of an eastbound. Apparently, that was after the first eastbound because we got to see two eastbounds crossing the open desert plains from the highway. There were few places to cross the line and we were too far from the tunnel now to take a chance on returning. Those trains moved right along. Next time...

The train on the right features old TTX flats with four gondola containers each. They were full of old ties. We found out later that these travel to a nearby electric plant to be burned/recycled/properly disposed of.

Our first destination was Portola. This was a UP crew change point and home of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in the old Portola shops. We found a couple of great overlooks to photograph from as we explored the town and then headed to the museum. What a place! There was restored and unrestored equipment all over and most of it was something I wanted to see. The silver geep on the left was the reason I wanted to visit. Who can resist those barrel headlights! Real WP! A few samples of the variety of locos (all makes including an old IR boxcab) are scattered below on the left - especially where I ran out of photos to go with the text.

The facility contained lots of stuff in its original "as acquired" condition, which doesn't weather too rapidly in the dry climate. Here you can also drive a locomotive around for $150 an hour. The Sierra Pacific unit (above right) was doing the honors on this day. Fiddler was offered to split an hour, which probably still causes him some grief. It's a reasonable amount but not pocket change either. We also ran into a volunteer who works for the UP and was able to give us some estimates about the traffic due through the area (Thank You FRHS/WPRM!). We even got some good directions to the Williams Loop and some updates about the pull-offs at Keddie Wye. This gave us time to wander the museum and head out to our perches when trains were due.

We had time to get sandwiches from an old Red and White grocery store and walk over to a shaded picnic table overlooking the crew change building. A retired couple had the same idea and we ended up having a fun conversation with them as we ate and watched the trains to go by. We actually witnessed a meet at the shack. The line is single track but there is a long siding at Portola. The eastbound pulled up first to swap crews. Then the westbound pulled up. Both probably fouled the main of the other. The eastbound took off first and stopped when it was clear. Then the westbound headed out without stopping. The eastbound began to move shortly after the wb cleared. Quite fun to watch. Something was happening for quite a while during that crew change operation.

Another westbound was due so we waited that one out. The "dogcatcher" van was moving so it had to be close. Apparently the change took place to the east because the next train did not stop. We loaded up and headed west. Our goal was to capture this train as it went over the trestles at Keddie Wye. Had we known better we might have gotten it in at least one other place too. It was a good wait at Keddie and we didn't know for sure that we hadn't missed it. But, the wait was worth it. The sun was right for a westbound train (lower left).

Too bad BNSF didn't send us a wb too. They might have sneaked one by after the last westbound according to the prior estimate so we waited a bit in case another was hiding around the bend. The Fiddler also wanted to scout the area for future reference so he was looking over the area roads for alternate photo angles as we waited. Next time we'd allow more time, do more research and check out the Plumas County's "7 Wonders of the Railroad World" sites on their PDF's. At least we got a taste and there is never enough time anyway. As we headed back east to call it a day, we dropped in on the Quincy Railroad which serves a Sierra Pacific lumber mill in East Quincy (right). The switcher appeared to be tied up for the day, where we could see it but behind a fence. Log trucks headed here were constantly going by with their 40' logs as we sat around at Keddie. Further on we also walked in to the Williams loop to check it out. Nothing was moving but it was neat to see such an under-appreciated "marvel". This place was closed in by trees compared to the Tehachapi Loop but the engineering principles are similar. The area seemed to be less congested compared to other mountain resort areas we had seen, so that may explain the lower level of notoriety. It was a good road trip to get to this part of the state too.

We were done with the "Feather River Route" but not done railfanning for the day. Our hotel was reserved for the next two nights down in Rocklin, closer to Sacramento. We also wanted to see Donner Pass before it got too dark. The road we chose took us down to Truckee. True to our prior luck (the Wheelman was still with us in spirit) a wb train was waiting on the edge of town. We followed the tracks through the touristy part of town and parked next to the line by some signals. This guy had a green signal so he could leave any time. Little did we know that it had probably just changed from yellow as another train was ahead of him. It was getting dark and this guy didn't seem interested in moving. But, just as the daylight was about to quit for my camera, the train began to move. For something headed up the steep grade of Donner Pass this guy was moving along nicely. Modern locomotives are just less exciting to watch though (right). Far less drama in the form of smoke and noise. A set of SD40's would have put on quite a show.

We had plans to catch this guy at some crossing down the road. As we went down I-80 to find that crossing we encountered another westbound with mid-train helpers. What we needed was a lit crossing ahead of both trains. Well, that's not as easy as it sounds when you don't have a local guide or a DeLorme Atlas. We tried 3 exits that took us to dead ends. Apparently they were pieces of the old highway that still had signs of life, but no crossings. Argh! We then decided on a likely town that we actually heard of (a rail magazine) - Colfax. This got us way ahead of the trains but there might be lights and a depot.

Colfax turned out to be a pretty good spot for our purposes. They had a depot, platform, benches, lighting and a park where we wouldn't draw much attention. We knew the trains were coming, it was just a matter of waiting them out. As the came closer we heard more radio chatter but nothing in sight. Meanwhile an eastbound rolled our way out of Roseville. Good start.

Once again, the Wheelman's luck was still with us. As we waited around, the radio came to life and the "dogcatcher/paddy wagon" van was sent to Colfax to re-crew both trains. Cool! Trouble was we didn't know where in town. The answer came soon as the van crossed over the tracks in front of us then drove along the line east and stopped. The taillights were sitting at the base of a curve just within sight. It took a while but both trains arrived at that spot, changed crews and then proceeded west in front of the video cameras. While this played out, several people walked their dogs in the park and wondered what we were up to. Their first guess was that we were looking for the meteor showers - too much light for that. No, we were watching trains. One gent had a dog similar to the Fiddler's so that invited conversation about many things, including how the town changed since I-80 bypassed the town center. Interesting. They disbanded their police force recently to cut back, but we saw a very busy sheriff several times. The last time he stopped by the Videoman to see what he was up to. Friendly enough in the end. This stop turned out to be pretty neat! No still photos but the videos will be fun to watch.

On to the HoJo's in Rocklin. We had Roseville and Sacramento to see on our last full day in California.

BC

Day 5: Road Trip North

(Above: The chase begins. A typical scene played out over the week.)

We had a relaxing Monday morning in Bakersfield. The Wheelman had to conduct business so the other three of us reviewed some of our pictures and did some internet hunts for a places to stay the night. The Wheelman had to leave us in Sacramento at a reasonable hour so that meant a new rental car in our future and we were on our own until we left on Thursday.

This day started with a quick trip to the train station in Bakersfield. It turned out to be a nice modern and attractive facility with bus platforms and plenty of parking. Amtrak California - San Joquin Service - had just a tad more rail service there than the Downeaster out of Portland but the facility was so much larger and far more spread out. They also had a much larger bus presence. Population density there is huge compared to Maine so busses head off in many directions. I had to add an Amtrak California bus photo for Skull (after Fiddler reminded me to).

We had to scoot along to make Sacramento, so we headed out to follow the old ATSF line north. The route took us through Shafter home of a small museum which the Wheelman featured in a previous post and slide shows a while back. The line is single track with many sidings. We saw a meet or two and managed to photograph a train or two.

This line also features Amtrak California. We managed to see one of them as we neared Corcoran - home of the state prison. Having the schedule helped. A northbound freight was in a siding waiting so Fiddler got dumped out at the switch (above photo MP940.9 Angiola) and the rest of us ventured back to the last crossing. I imagine the video will be better. My shots of the trains illustrate the flat agricultural land, but don't do much as a photos.

Videoman and Fiddler got out at a bridge overlooking Fresno yard. Those videos should show something. I didn't bother with stills. The light was all wrong and a yard is a yard unless you have a telephoto for closeups. We took this opportunity to get gas as we picked up Fiddler. Apparently the next southbound Amtrak went by during this time so Videoman got something.

We dined at Che Jack in the Box, Fiddler got some more video tape and off we went to Sacramento. The Wheelman tooks us by the docks in Stockton as we switched over to I-5. This proved interesting despite the lack of photos. Here were large ships taking on cargo in the middle of the previously flat valley surrounded by city. Quite a neat sight. Sacramento came up relatively quick and I made mental notes about the rental car return process as we turned in the Escape.

The Wheelman was going to drive 4+ hours back to work in another car but worked his Blackberry magic and got a flight instead. We'd worn him down over the last few days. Meanwhile I got our Chevy Impala lined up. We said our goodbyes and headed out. Someone left an exact copy of our now trashed cooler laying out for re-use (apparently). A good omen we hoped.

We wanted to drop in on Roseville and Rocklin but chose to limit ourselves to Rocklin. The Wheelman's famous luck was still with us since an eb train showed up as soon as we stopped. The day was getting late so we pretty much headed straight for Donner Pass and an interesting but free stay in Reno. It was too dark to see the east side of the pass but we saw a lot on the way up. The motel turned out to be under renovation so it was a mess. But we used points instead of money so it wasn't so bad once we got squared away.

This was a relatively light day for photos but heavy on travel. We covered a lot of ground. Portola and Keddie Wye were the next targets....

BC

Day 4: Desert Action at Cajon Pass

We started off our Sunday morning with about 5 trains going by in the time we were puttering around with bags and loading the car. No problem. This gave us a chance to shoot a few morning light shots from the motel just to show off the view. Once packed, we ventured up to a perch known as CP Silverwood. This is a point at which the south track diverges from the other two for the short but steep way down the pass. There is also a connection to the UP line as well - apparently built when the ATSF and SP wanted to merge in the 1980's. Silverwood is where my long lens met the ground suddenly, rendering it useless. But I still had the other zoom, though with less reach. After deciding that we might roast on this open spot, we moved on to the now daylighted Tunnels One and Two. The roads are apparently public lands and include some close brushes with the track ballast where the cuts merge with the road. We were on the way back to town when we saw an eastbound coming up the hill. Back to the former tunnels for some shots.

After this train passed we ventured west down through the canyons on the old Route 66. This was fun in places. We'd make two stops to drop off video cameras in two places and I'd join one of them. We headed back toward the local park with the unfortunate moniker of "Pickle Park" to catch two westbounds. The scenery there was great and no one bothered us, though one local apologized for the activities that go on there. We caught our trains and headed to lunch.

Lunch at the McDonalds at Cajon Pass gave us yet another view of the funnel into which Rt. 66, I-15 and the 4 sets of rails must fit. I managed to get a shot of a passing train from the dining room. It was a crowded place but a welcome bit of a/c and something to recharge us.

From McDonald's we ventured up to Summit. Trains magazine has had articles by the guy (Chard Walker?) who was a station operator there in the 1950's and kept a camp trailer nearby. This is the point where the pass meets the high desert. This is also the point at which BNSF tolerance of the roads ends. On the other side of the Summit station area the fencing topped with razor wire begins. We even had a friendly visit from a security guard warning us to stay back from the tracks. No harm done. We were off to the overlook above that spot anyway. The overlook was spectacular to say the least. It was a pull-off from the road to Lake Arrowhead, so the Sunday traffic was steady. Some people stopped to take a look and asked us if something special was coming.



Before long we met up with a genuine "West Colton Tower Thug" by the name of Alan. The Wheelman had chased trains with him before and we were now treated to his expertise in the area. From Summit we went through the maze of roads to Hill 582 because it offered shade and a place to sit. We watched about 5 trains go by there on all but the south track and decided to seek out Sullivan's Curve.






Sullivan's Curve is apparently named after a photographer who took many nationally published photos of this area. The "Mormon Rocks" and of course the huge curve figure prominently in the pictures. Even some scenes from Blazing Saddles come from this general area. It's quite scenic to put it mildly. We sat on an a large bump that overlooked the end of the UP's Canyon siding and all four tracks on Sullivan's curve. We got meets on both lines and of course meets between lines. The upper tracks are the old SP and the lower are the old ATSF.

Here the Wheelman realized he was missing his camera bag (lenses, not camera). They were not found after a search. Tough day for camera lenses!

Eventually the shadows got long and the scanner got quieter. We said goodbye to Alan and headed to Bakersfield via Boron. Dinner at Denny's outside of Victorville and old time radio shows on the satellite radio. It was pitch black when we went by Tehachapi this time.



BC