The Portola Railroad Museum Special led by UP DDA40X, Western Pacific GP20, and F7 B&A units is greeted by an ACF Centerflow train led by BNSF ES44DC, GP60M, and C44-9W. This is at Virgilia in the beautiful Feather River Canyon.
The bells audible in the background are from 2 nearby GP units switching, not from the stack train. The Geeps will show up at the end of this very long video which shows the entire double stack train from the 3 Dash 9's at the front to the 2 DPU's (Distributed Power Units) at the end. You're welcome to count the total number of containers. ;)
There are working wigwags along Niles Canyon Railway, two of them at a crossing just west of Brightside Yard. Excursion train pulled by Western Pacific F7 #918-D with a GP7 #713 on the end cruises on by with this scene reminiscent of railroading decades ago.
The big rig truck-like horn sounds are coming from the F7, and I'm not sure F units are supposed to sound like that!
I was out of town during Saturday's run, but wasn't going to miss the Memorial Day's run today!
2472 is one of three surviving Southern Pacific 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives. Enjoy.
Due to bridge repair near Santa Barbara on Union Pacific's Coast Subdivision, Amtrak had to detour the Coast Starlight through Tehachapi on June 22, 2008.
I chased the southbound #11 from Bakersfield to the Tehachapi Loop.
I saw a westbound Trailer On Flat Car (TOFC) train in Hesperia, followed by yet another one, so I chased both of them. I took this video somewhere between Lugo and Summit.
The first TOFC has an interesting consist with a GP60B. It passed the second one (with two Dash 9's, one a Warbonnet) near Lugo, so it must have been the hotter train.
This is a very long video, because it shows two long coal trains in their entirety.
I went to Moffat Tunnel East Portal in Colorado to see what was going on, and met two westbound empty coal trains charging into the 6.2 mile long tunnel.
I'm standing behind the recently installed video event recorder in the cab of the 6936. The turntable is turning, so you'll get to see the WP #2001 (first EMD GP20 ever built), 2 UP cupola cabooses, a passing train, and part of the Dunsmuir Railroad Days exhibits. You'll also get to see (and hear) Portola Railroad Museum volunteer Seth blow the horn of the Centennial.
The new tracks adjacent to BNSF Track 1 at Cajon Pass reflect the lights off the afternoon sun as trains pass by Hill 582 on a chilly and windy Sunday.
The BNSF doublestack is descending Track 1 minutes after 5 trains climbed up the same tracks in rapid succession.
A freight train pulled by Yellowbonnet Santa Fe GP30 #2442 and Burlington Northern green SD40-2 #8003 heads northbound through the street running section in Oakland's Jack London Square.
Note the pedestrian and vehicle traffic appearing right as the train leaves the scene.
U.S. Gypsum in Plaster City, California has a unique 3' narrow gauge railroad used to transport gypsum from its quarry.
I caught the ALCo DL535 #111 blowing its horn and crossing the street on its way to pick up empties. It's a six axle unit with a Canadian Safety Cab, typical of Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) built units.
There's always some railroad action at the BNSF Locomotive Facility in Commerce, CA. The classic EMD GP30 locomotives are still busy working here, doing mostly switching work in Southern California. With shiny new paint, they look refurbished and ready for many more years of service. I caught #2468 being fired up, billowing white smoke.
Portola Railroad Museum ran the ex-Southern Pacific rotary snowplow during the Railroad Days festivities. It is powered by traction motors, electricity provided by an F7B unit behind it which you can't see but hear notch up.
The Permanente Local originates in Milpitas, runs through San Jose via the Warm Springs Subdivision, then goes up the Vasona Branch to the Hanson Permanente Cement Plant in Cupertino. I chased it from San Jose.
