Joshua Trees and Big GEs - Wanderings around California

[Minilad]

Just as an aside. All this rummaging around in country locations. Seen any good creepy crawlies?!!

 

[ac6000cw]

Just as an aside. All this rummaging around in country locations. Seen any good creepy crawlies?!!

I don't remember any - are you thinking about scorpions and the like ?

On Donner Pass there are some rattlesnakes, so don't go walking through long grass where you can't see what you might be about to step on...(but they are supposed to be shy and will avoid people generally).

I think my 'best' insect encounter was actually over in the eastern US. I was on a heritage railroad (in an open sided carriage) and a very large cricket landed on the floor almost with a 'thump' - I think it was bright orange and about 4 inches long...

Have you seen any any good creepy crawlies on your travels over there ?

 

[Minilad]

I was thinking snakes really. I know its not really their time of year now though.
I've never seen a thing. Most disappointing!

 

[ac6000cw]

No, no snakes - might have been a few geckos and lizards about, but that sort of thing is so common in warm climates that I wouldn't have taken much notice anyway.

(We did have a large - 3-4 feet long - grass snake sunning itself in our garden pond for one afternoon last summer, which was quite interesting - the only time I've seen a grass snake, I think).

 

[47403]

fantastic photo's and a thoroughly entertaining read, 100+ trains a day, I don't think I'd have left till they started doubling up.
Thank you for continuing to share.:grin::grin:

 

[Kristofferson]

I agree with Minilad - desktop wallpaper worthy, that one!

 

[ac6000cw]

fantastic photo's and a thoroughly entertaining read,

Thanks - a little bit more of Cajon to come, then it's the last day of the trip (but that was fun - lots of photos to sort through before I can put that part of the report together).

100+ trains a day, I don't think I'd have left till they started doubling up.

I know what you mean . I suspect 'Hill 582' (a little way down the pass from the summit - it's marked on the Trains map I linked to earlier) gets used for 'overnighters' sometimes. But I'd already had four nights in hotels very close to the tracks (Tehachapi and Truckee) so plenty of 'trains through the night'. I hadn't intended to spend so long at the summit overlook, but I like the 'grandstand view' from there and the trains just kept on coming...

To be honest, Cajon isn't my favourite place to watch trains in this part of the world. It has to be on anyone's 'must see' list (this was my third visit to it in 17 years), but for me Tehachapi beats it hands-down for atmosphere and variety of nice/interesting places to watch the trains go by. In the train-watching 'romance' stakes, I find Tehachapi to be a much more personal/intimate experience, without the background drone from the busy interstate highway and all the powerlines snaking over the landscape you get lower down the pass at Cajon - another reason I like the summit view.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Nothing to do with (or from) my trip

...but with someone earlier in the thread mentioning 'evocative' photos, and me saying I'm a sucker for 'head on' drama shots, this photo from a Trains magazine blog about a trip to Montana - http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/staff/ar...ut-west-part-1-montana-rail-link-at-last.aspx - has to be one of my all-time favourites in both categories:

The comment in the blog - "With a volcanic exhaust and deep voice of power, the train muscled its way across the pass" - says it all really, just look at that exhaust plume (and imagine the noise)

(It's a couple of older GE's at the front - probably where most of the smoke is coming from - with maybe a pair of EMD's behind them).

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Day 10 - Part 2, 'Get Your Kicks on Route 66'

After buying my usual (by now) 12 inch 'Italian Special' sub and what always seems like a huge vat of ice and fizzy drink at Subway, where next ?

While I was thinking about it, a BNSF mixed freight climbed the hill on Main 1 (Main 3 is the track in the foreground, the UP track is behind the train and a bit higher), pulled by a pair of GE's:



It was about 4 pm, so less than 3 hours to sunset - and as I'm in a north-south valley, the sun is going to drop behind the hills before then. I could try 'Hill 582', but it's kind of the same sort of views as from the summit (and I've visited it before on a earlier trip). One place I haven't tried before is the area near milepost 62.8, just down the road (on my previous visit in 2008 it was a construction site due to the ongoing 'triple-tracking' project) - OK, let's try there.

Onto the interstate, then I stupidly miss the (very close) junction turn-off, so I have to continue five miles down to the next junction...doh! I decide to back-track up the pass on the old 'Route 66' highway (Cajon Boulevard) - it's closer to the tracks and almost empty of traffic. So after a 10 mile and 15 minute detour I arrive at my destination about half a mile south of where I started (might have seen a train along the way though ) - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0!3m1!1s0x80c346ab1479dcb1:0xeb6047c0752ea4c4

After a short while, a mixed intermodal whines downgrade on the UP line:




The tracks in the foreground are the three BNSF lines (the steep Main 3 nearest). This is the point where (going upgrade/eastwards) Mains 1 & 2 curve away from Main 3 to take a two miles longer, lower-grade route to the summit via 'Sullivan's Curve' and 'Stein's Hill' (named after well known railroad photographers Herb Sullivan and Richard Steinheimer - if you want see how to tell a railway story with photographs, take a look at Steinheimer's work). Trains over a certain weight e.g. that UP coal train mentioned earlier, are not allowed down Main 3 to reduce the risk of runaways - getting heavy trains upgrade is the relatively easy part, getting them safely down long, steep gradients is when the person handling the power and brake handles really earns their money...

Twenty minutes later an eastbound BNSF intermodal climbs noisily past on Main 3, with three BNSF ES44DC and an AC4400CW in Canadian Pacific red livery (so that's one each of CSX, NS and CP 'foreign' locos on this trip so far - just need a Canadian National one to complete the set )




Then after another 25 minutes, a westbound rolls down Main 1 behind a quartet of GEs (it's getting a bit dark for even half-decent video by now, so I'm mainly recording it for the sound), The train has just traversed the U-shaped 'Sullivan's Curve' which is wrapped around the low hills in the background:



Not long after the westbound disappears under the signal gantry protecting the crossovers to the south, another eastbound climbs Main 1. As it enters the curve opposite me, another westbound slows to a halt on Main 2 and illuminates the eastbound locos:



After standing for a few minutes, the westbound train continues its journey (the very low-level white lights on the locos illuminate the crew steps at each end):



It was definitely getting too dark for video, and it also felt like time to move on somewhere else, so I folded up the tripod and rolled down old 'Route 66' towards 'Blue Cut'. I can hear an eastbound heading towards me, so I enjoy a coffee break with background music provided by GE . It's about 7 pm and dark now, but it feels a bit early to head for the hotel just yet. An idea forms - a few miles down the road, Cajon Boulevard runs right alongside the BNSF mainline as it heads towards the pass from downtown San Bernardino, and it's a well-known spot to 'pace' eastbound trains - sounds like nice way to round off the day.

I carry on slowly downhill, window down, and see a train or two lighting up the rock across the valley. To get to the next part of Cajon Boulevard, I have to go back on the interstate for a short distance - and of course, I miss the correct exit again (must have been too much 'California (day) Dreaming' going on...). A short detour from the next exit gets me to the correct place and I cruise down 'Route 66' and wait for train (or two, or three or more). BNSF was having a busy Saturday evening - I think I paced two or three trains upgrade and probably watched another two go past while recording the sound, in less than a hour. They were mostly doing about 15 mph in 'Run 8'

Back to the interstate and I head for the hotel (Holiday Inn Express, Colton-Riverside North). I wander up to the reception desk and ask if I can have a room facing the railroad (of course ) - it takes a bit of consultation with a colleague to work out which might be the 'correct' rooms, but the receptionist gets there in the end. I also discover the (heated) outdoor swimming pool is still open - yes, my first (and last) swim of the trip, and it comes complete with real train noise every so often!

After a good swim and a laze in the Jacuzzi, I re-pack things ready for the flight home tomorrow, and then I'm lulled off to sleep by train noises courtesy of BNSF - zzzz...

(But tomorrow also means a visit to the Orange Empire Railway Museum - lots to see there).

 

[47403]

Thanks - a little bit more of Cajon to come, then it's the last day of the trip (but that was fun - lots of photos to sort through before I can put that part of the report together).



I know what you mean . I suspect 'Hill 582' (a little way down the pass from the summit - it's marked on the Trains map I linked to earlier) gets used for 'overnighters' sometimes. But I'd already had four nights in hotels very close to the tracks (Tehachapi and Truckee) so plenty of 'trains through the night'. I hadn't intended to spend so long at the summit overlook, but I like the 'grandstand view' from there and the trains just kept on coming...

To be honest, Cajon isn't my favourite place to watch trains in this part of the world. It has to be on anyone's 'must see' list (this was my third visit to it in 17 years), but for me Tehachapi beats it hands-down for atmosphere and variety of nice/interesting places to watch the trains go by. In the train-watching 'romance' stakes, I find Tehachapi to be a much more personal/intimate experience, without the background drone from the busy interstate highway and all the powerlines snaking over the landscape you get lower down the pass at Cajon - another reason I like the summit view.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Nothing to do with (or from) my trip

...but with someone earlier in the thread mentioning 'evocative' photos, and me saying I'm a sucker for 'head on' drama shots, this photo from a Trains magazine blog about a trip to Montana - http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/staff/ar...ut-west-part-1-montana-rail-link-at-last.aspx - has to be one of my all-time favourites in both categories:

The comment in the blog - "With a volcanic exhaust and deep voice of power, the train muscled its way across the pass" - says it all really, just look at that exhaust plume (and imagine the noise)

(It's a couple of older GE's at the front - probably where most of the smoke is coming from - with maybe a pair of EMD's behind them).

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Day 10 - Part 2, 'Get Your Kicks on Route 66'

After buying my usual (by now) 12 inch 'Italian Special' sub and what always seems like a huge vat of ice and fizzy drink at Subway, where next ?

While I was thinking about it, a BNSF mixed freight climbed the hill on Main 1 (Main 3 is the track in the foreground, the UP track is behind the train and a bit higher), pulled by a pair of GE's:



It was about 4 pm, so less than 3 hours to sunset - and as I'm in a north-south valley, the sun is going to drop behind the hills before then. I could try 'Hill 582', but it's kind of the same sort of views as from the summit (and I've visited it before on a earlier trip). One place I haven't tried before is the area near milepost 62.8, just down the road (on my previous visit in 2008 it was a construction site due to the ongoing 'triple-tracking' project) - OK, let's try there.

Onto the interstate, then I stupidly miss the (very close) junction turn-off, so I have to continue five miles down to the next junction...doh! I decide to back-track up the pass on the old 'Route 66' highway (Cajon Boulevard) - it's closer to the tracks and almost empty of traffic. So after a 10 mile and 15 minute detour I arrive at my destination about half a mile south of where I started (might have seen a train along the way though ) - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0!3m1!1s0x80c346ab1479dcb1:0xeb6047c0752ea4c4

After a short while, a mixed intermodal whines downgrade on the UP line:




The tracks in the foreground are the three BNSF lines (the steep Main 3 nearest). This is the point where (going upgrade/eastwards) Mains 1 & 2 curve away from Main 3 to take a two miles longer, lower-grade route to the summit via 'Sullivan's Curve' and 'Stein's Hill' (named after well known railroad photographers Herb Sullivan and Richard Steinheimer - if you want see how to tell a railway story with photographs, take a look at Steinheimer's work). Trains over a certain weight e.g. that UP coal train mentioned earlier, are not allowed down Main 3 to reduce the risk of runaways - getting heavy trains upgrade is the relatively easy part, getting them safely down long, steep gradients is when the person handling the power and brake handles really earns their money...

Twenty minutes later an eastbound BNSF intermodal climbs noisily past on Main 3, with three BNSF ES44DC and an AC4400CW in Canadian Pacific red livery (so that's one each of CSX, NS and CP 'foreign' locos on this trip so far - just need a Canadian National one to complete the set )




Then after another 25 minutes, a westbound rolls down Main 1 behind a quartet of GEs (it's getting a bit dark for even half-decent video by now, so I'm mainly recording it for the sound), The train has just traversed the U-shaped 'Sullivan's Curve' which is wrapped around the low hills in the background:



Not long after the westbound disappears under the signal gantry protecting the crossovers to the south, another eastbound climbs Main 1. As it enters the curve opposite me, another westbound slows to a halt on Main 2 and illuminates the eastbound locos:



After standing for a few minutes, the westbound train continues its journey (the very low-level white lights on the locos illuminate the crew steps at each end):



It was definitely getting too dark for video, and it also felt like time to move on somewhere else, so I folded up the tripod and rolled down old 'Route 66' towards 'Blue Cut'. I can hear an eastbound heading towards me, so I enjoy a coffee break with background music provided by GE . It's about 7 pm and dark now, but it feels a bit early to head for the hotel just yet. An idea forms - a few miles down the road, Cajon Boulevard runs right alongside the BNSF mainline as it heads towards the pass from downtown San Bernardino, and it's a well-known spot to 'pace' eastbound trains - sounds like nice way to round off the day.

I carry on slowly downhill, window down, and see a train or two lighting up the rock across the valley. To get to the next part of Cajon Boulevard, I have to go back on the interstate for a short distance - and of course, I miss the correct exit again (must have been too much 'California (day) Dreaming' going on...). A short detour from the next exit gets me to the correct place and I cruise down 'Route 66' and wait for train (or two, or three or more). BNSF was having a busy Saturday evening - I think I paced two or three trains upgrade and probably watched another two go past while recording the sound, in less than a hour. They were mostly doing about 15 mph in 'Run 8'

Back to the interstate and I head for the hotel (Holiday Inn Express, Colton-Riverside North). I wander up to the reception desk and ask if I can have a room facing the railroad (of course ) - it takes a bit of consultation with a colleague to work out which might be the 'correct' rooms, but the receptionist gets there in the end. I also discover the (heated) outdoor swimming pool is still open - yes, my first (and last) swim of the trip, and it comes complete with real train noise every so often!

After a good swim and a laze in the Jacuzzi, I re-pack things ready for the flight home tomorrow, and then I'm lulled off to sleep by train noises courtesy of BNSF - zzzz...

(But tomorrow also means a visit to the Orange Empire Railway Museum - lots to see there).

Another brilliant read, shame it'll end soon. Again many excellent photo's on there too.

 

[Techniquest]

Wow, just wow!

 

[ac6000cw]

Another brilliant read, shame it'll end soon. Again many excellent photo's on there too.

Thanks.

All good things come to an end (eventually)

(It's been quite interesting for me 're-living' the trip again while I've been writing about it - and sorting through the small mountain of video clips and photos I took along the way).

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Day 11 - Part 1, Beaumont Hill and a peek at the Orange Empire Railway Museum

Early breakfast again - I've only got hours, not days, to the end of the trip, so no time to waste (Californians seem to be very much 'early risers' - there is always someone in the breakfast room, irrespective of how early it is). I load up the car and checkout, then put the location of a level crossing near the foot of Beaumont Hill into the SatNav and set off via the backroads (I'll keep the freeway for later) - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/3...605672b1d5!2m2!1d-117.336476!2d34.0212631!3e0

Beaumont Hill is just east of Colton/San Bernardino on the UP (ex-SP) 'Sunset Route' from LA to New Orleans. This has become UP's primary route for traffic flowing between LA and the gulf coast/mid-west, and it also carries Amtrak's three-times-per-week 'Sunset Limited' passenger train. Eastbound it's roughly a 20 mile, 1.8% climb to Beaumont (it doesn't look like much of a gradient when you are 'on the ground' next to it, but the low speed and the noise the diesels are making tell you otherwise...)

As I approached the level crossing (BTW - these are called 'grade crossings' in the US) an eastbound UP double-stack train was also just arriving there - a good start to the morning! After waiting for it to go past, I hurry up San Timoteo Canyon Rd to just past the junction with Redlands Boulevard, where the line meets up with the road again and then runs alongside it for most of the next four miles. Just get there in time to get the camera out (looking west, down the hill, with an SD70ACe - C44/60AC - ES44AC loco combo. The GE C44/60AC is actually quite rare, only 112 built as 4400hp units which could be converted to 6000hp units in the future - becoming an 'AC6000CW' . This never happened, but they have larger radiators compared to a standard AC4400CW to allow for this):



I know there are no DPUs on the tail, so back in the car, wind the window down, catch up with the locos and pace it for a mile or so . I want to video it again at the next level crossing, so I pick up the pace and park up on the far side of the crossing. Out with the tripod, I just get things set up and then I'm surprised by a westbound coming up behind me (complete with a black NS ES44 as the second loco):



...and the rear DPU (a GE AC4400CW), with the headlights of the other train approaching on the right:



...then going over the crossing:



Last time I was here, I spent a couple of afternoons watching an almost non-stop stream of trains ('streetcar frequency' as the Americans might put it). Ever hopeful, I hang around for another 30 minutes or so, but it stays quiet so I decide to head over to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, where there really are streetcars in motion:



It's a 'PCC' (Presidents’ Conference Committee) car, built sometime between 1936 and 1952, with (I think) a 1918-vintage Birney-type car behind it - and there's a steamy grey smokebox peeking into the picture on the right

But more of 'Pumpkin Day' at the OERM in the next instalment...

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

...but if you need an earlier 'fix', the photos are here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/135999716@N08/albums/72157663255508721

 

[Techniquest]

An excellent last day so far!

 

[ac6000cw]

Day 11 - Part 2, Orange Empire Railway Museum

After a 25 mile drive - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/3...s0x80dca1036755d785:0xae1bf301df6ddf9!1m0!3e0 - I arrive at the OERM just in time to take the first steam train of the day along their roughly one mile running track towards downtown Perris. It's headed by a 1922 Baldwin-built 2-6-2 'Ventura County Railway No. 2' (as you can tell from the fat boiler and small drivers, this is a small freight-lugger steam loco):



They have an interesting collection of vintage railway signals here, like these 'magentic flagman' wig-wag level crossing signals (there is a bell which 'tings' each time the light swings across):



Those automatic signals replaced the 'flagman' in his 'shanty' (on the left):



After the steam ride, next a ride in a 1922-vintage Brill 'Interurban' electric car along the same track. Interubans were basically electric, medium-distance, 'heavy' tram systems - we might call them 'tram-trains' these days. Usually standard-gauge, and sometimes also offering freight services, they flourished from around 1900 to the 1920s, then went into decline as paved roads spread and improving road vehicles took their traffic base away. The greater LA area had a very extensive system under the 'Pacific Electric' company - the last services ran in 1961 on the line from LA to Long Beach (the first line of the present-day light rail system revived this route as the Blue Line):



A view of the driving controls (there is a wheel chock on the seat to the left):



At the end of the line, in the distance the cab of a Metrolink test train can be seen standing in the new station at Perris (the line from Riverside is due to open in Feb 2016):



Back at the museum, I have a walk around - all sorts of interesting stuff on the site. Another variation of the 'magnetic flagman':



The 'Signal Garden':



A close-up of a three-position power-operated semaphore, in the 'caution' position (horizontal = stop, vertical = clear). Many years ago, the Great Central had some of these in Lincolnshire:



Probably my favourite piece of equipment on the site - the 'Acme Traffic Regulator' (it makes a lovely whirring noise when it changes as the semaphore arms go up and down ). It looks and sounds like something straight out of a cartoon film, but there were nearly 1000 of these installed around LA by the late 1920s:




This is the sort of thing that an Interurban line might have used to haul freight - a 'steeplecab' GE electric loco from 1921 (in the background is probably a classic American bus - anyone recognise it, I've got no idea ?):



It's time to have a ride on one of the older streetcars, dating from the 1920s (central LA also had a 3'6" gauge streetcar system up to the end of the 1950s, as well as the interurban system):




They are very friendly at the OERM - during a lunchtime break, I realised that I could get the steam loco, the Interurban car, and the PCC streetcar all in the same photo. As I was taking a picture, some of the streetcar crew noticed what I was doing and - completely unprompted - posed for a picture:



Although it was hard to leave, time was moving on so I decided I'd better head to Fullerton - about half way to the airport, and a good place for that final bit of train-watching...

(The full set of OERM photos are here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsksrzCRg )

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Day 11 - Part 3, Fullerton and...the end

An hour's drive, mostly on congested Freeways complete with seemingly suicidal drivers on occasion (you just have to tell yourself to breath deeply and calm down...) gets me to Fullerton station. I park up next to the tracks and spend a bit of time sorting out the debris inside the car, ready for bailing out when I get to the airport. A westbound BNSF freight rolls by, then an Amtrak 'Surfliner' to San Diego arrives and departs behind (unusually) a GE P42DC:



This is followed by an eastbound double-stack. Having completed my car sorting (and added somewhat to the contents of a nearby trash can), I wander into the station and order something at the Cafe. A westbound Metrolink train arrives at the far platform behind an F59PHI:



Thirty minutes later, another westbound BNSF train rolls through on the centre track:



...followed 15 minutes later by another one (yes, it is a different train, even though it's a another double-stack full of J.B.Hunt containers ):



In between trains I had a chat with a local railfan - it was Sunday afternoon, so quite a few of them about on the station. At this point I thought I'd try a few photos from the footbridge - a Metrolink train arrives from LA:



...and departs, propelled by the usual smokey F59PH:




Note the green signal for the centre track - five minutes later an eastbound double-stack passes through (yet more J.B.Hunt and Swift 'domestic' containers):



Fifteen minutes later, another 'Surfliner' departs:



...and passes a BNSF train of empty double-stack 'well' cars heading west - my last train of the trip :



My flight home is at 22:35, and it's getting on for 18:00 now, so back to the car and LAX Terminal 2 beckons - not forgeting to drop off the car along the way, of course...

--------------

After an uneventful flight on another Virgin A340, I get through Heathrow arrivals reasonably quickly. A long ride on the Picadilly Line gets me to King's Cross, then GN to Cambridge and a finally a bus to home.

So that's 12 days, 10800 miles of flying, a few hundred miles of train travel, and probably around 1500 miles of driving - a very good trip all-round, I think

But all trips have to end sometime, so it's time to obey the signals:



--------------

Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed reading about my wanderings (and my written ramblings), and that you now have some idea of how railways operate across the Atlantic, and what it's like to train-watch over there.

Maybe I've inspired a few of you to go and take a look yourselves?

(***Health Warning*** - it's easy to get hooked, then it gets expensive )

 

[Minilad]

Brilliant thread. As I said before my favourite on this board. Sad It's over for you!

 

[Kristofferson]

Absolutely love that "diesels at dusk" shot, and the read of course.

A fantastic trip, and thanks for sharing the sights and sounds here in such an engaging way

 

[47403]

THANK YOU!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, by what Ive read and the pictures you've shared, it sounded and looked like a cracking rail holiday.

Shame it's over but many many thanks for sharing.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
In a gallery of staggering pictures, I have to agree, this is a fantastic picture.

and the east end of Woodford Siding (one of my favourite photos of the whole trip):

 

[ac6000cw]

THANK YOU!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, by what Ive read and the pictures you've shared, it sounded and looked like a cracking rail holiday.

Shame it's over but many many thanks for sharing.

In a gallery of staggering pictures, I have to agree, this is a fantastic picture.

and the east end of Woodford Siding (one of my favourite photos of the whole trip):

Thanks.

That photo was a classic case of right time/right place/pressing the shutter button at the right moment. I knew the location had potential because I'd been there on a previous trip, the rest of it was mostly luck...

Absolutely love that "diesels at dusk" shot, and the read of course.

Thanks.

Which photo do you mean (out of interest) ?

Brilliant thread. As I said before my favourite on this board. Sad It's over for you!

Thanks.

But I've got all the video, photos and memories to enjoy (as many times as I want ). I'll probably post some more of the video from the trip on YouTube eventually.

------------------------------------------------

Might think about doing a report on an 'Eastern' US trip sometime (I've done a couple of trips there in the last 10 years) - there's still some 'classic traction' in front-line service over on that side:



(It's four suitably smokey EMD SD40-2 in 'Run 8' pushing a long coal train upgrade at Cassandra, PA in 2007)

 

[Kristofferson]

This one

 

[Techniquest]

An absolutely fantastic read all the way through, loved it! And yes, I would love to go, now I've seen what it's like!

 

[47403]

An absolutely fantastic read all the way through, loved it! And yes, I would love to go, now I've seen what it's like!

I concur tech, after reading this, I think we all do.

 

[ac6000cw]

An absolutely fantastic read all the way through, loved it! And yes, I would love to go, now I've seen what it's like!

You're putting at least your feet in the water with your upcoming NYC trip

There is hardly any rail freight traffic in Manhattan itself (one mixed freight in and out in the early hours of the morning I think) - it's mostly across the other side of the Hudson River in New Jersey - but it does have plenty of commuter and long/medium distance Amtrak trains, EMU and loco-hauled.

Enjoy!

 

[LAX54]

Thanks. This was my third visit to Tehachapi - first one was 'my' part of our honeymoon , it was mostly still SP black & red and ATSF red & silver 'Warbonnets' plus manned helper sets (banking engines) scooting about back then...(and I was shooting mushy video on a VHS-C camcorder instead of 'Full HD' 50fps video on a mirrorless camera now)



Completely agree - a wet afternoon at Barnetby or a breezy morning on the footbridge at Trimley don't have quite the same allure somehow

Trimley v Fullerton...Barnetby v Tehachapi.........mmmmm now let me think
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
ac6000cw........
Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed reading about my wanderings (and my written ramblings), and that you now have some idea of how railways operate across the Atlantic, and what it's like to train-watch over there.

Maybe I've inspired a few of you to go and take a look yourselves?

(***Health Warning*** - it's easy to get hooked, then it gets expensive )


Very true, just ask 'GB'

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I was thinking snakes really. I know its not really their time of year now though.
I've never seen a thing. Most disappointing!

Have to say - some years back in the Denver RR museum - towards Boulder - I was very aware of the potential of "rattlers" in the somewhat overgrown / desert- ish conditions.Nothing seen - thank heavens - but aware of the potential of these things.

 

[ac6000cw]

Trimley v Fullerton...Barnetby v Tehachapi.........mmmmm now let me think

C'mon - it's not that hard is it? - doesn't Barnetby win every time, it's got a big footbridge to shelter from the rain, the locos are pleasantly quiet, and there are DMUs to watch as well....

Actually, once you've got past the cost of the airfare (I paid about £475 return to LAX in October, Delta codeshare with Virgin), most things in the US are the same or cheaper than they are in the UK - petrol is a fraction of the cost it is here and car rental is fairly cheap too.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

An absolutely fantastic read all the way through, loved it! And yes, I would love to go, now I've seen what it's like!

Techniguest , Sir , if you are doing NYC - you have to hit the J,M,Z lines on the subway for the hard core 1964 R32 trains on the subway - real old school - and you can get the forward view.

I was there a few months ago - and really wanted to see the "car floats" from New Jersey to Brooklyn - which does run most days - but ran out of time. So some research.

NY will blow you away in any case - bit more to it than Hereford ! ...

 

[Techniquest]

I should hope it's better than Hereford!

Cheers for the subway gen, I must make notes on that!

 

[47403]

I thought Hereford was a suburb of NYC, if not, that poxy globe I got for Xmas is going in the bin

My brother went to NYC a few months back Lord Tram, he said it was excellent, plenty to do, there wasn't enough hours in the day according to him, so enjoy mate.

ac, I think you've done a great job promoting the US Railroad. You should start selling promotional DVD's, I think we'll all be sat on Techapi station, in about 3weeks time.

PS Your driving though

 

[GB]

[/B]

Very true, just ask 'GB'

Lol, you're one to talk!

 

[FQ]

I thoroughly enjoyed the read and there some some outrageous photos there too!

47403 - Correction. You lot will be sat at Tehachapi station in 3 weeks time. I'll be in nice Montana at the Isaak Walton Inn watching loads of BNSF stuff pass there from a nice warm caboose.

 

[ac6000cw]

I should hope it's better than Hereford!

Cheers for the subway gen, I must make notes on that!

As soon as you get off the plane it'll all be so interesting and new you won't be worrying too much about which subway cars you are riding in...

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

47403 - Correction. You lot will be sat at Tehachapi station in 3 weeks time. I'll be in nice Montana at the Isaak Walton Inn watching loads of BNSF stuff pass there from a nice warm caboose.

Coo - you want creature comforts and trains?

You have to do the 'camera in one hand, rain brolly in the other, cold coffee in the flask, wait three hours for train' initiation test to become a real railfan

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

New EMD F125 picture

Metrolink has 20 new EMD F125 locos on order - an all-new design using a 4700hp V20 Caterpillar four-stroke C175 engine with bodyshell and bogies supplied by Vossloh in Spain. So basically a larger, super power, single-cab class 68 - I suspect the local railfans are going to enjoy those...

I think this is the first picture I've seen of an almost complete F125 loco (presumably at the EMD factory) - I quite like the swoopy Metrolink paint scheme:

(Picture from the Metrolink Facebook page)

 

[47403]

A super powered 68, now theres a thought.
Looks like a cross beween a 68 and a pendolino, love to hear what it sounds like.