Southwest Trip - 10

Hi, As we approached the end of our trip we still needed to get to Tehachapi Loop and Barstow was a convenient jumping off point.  Union Pacific owns the track which it got through its merger with the SP and BNSF has trackage rights as a result of the the BN/ATSF merger.

We drove through Mojave, CA to see whether there had been any changes.  None were evident and the signal bridge just west of town (railroad direction) was still standing.  We decided it would be our first photo location.

From here we proceeded west toward the loop. A few miles west of the loop we shot this eastbound BNSF stack train at Keene, CA.

From here it was easy to get on CA Route 58 and beat the train to the tunnel at Cable.  Parking off the road was available.

We were able to race ahead as the train slowly climbed the grade to the summit of Tehachapi Pass and get one more photograph.

We then went into the town of Tehachapi and caught the train one last time passing a typical SP cantilever signal bridge.

Retracing our route back down the pass we encountered another BNSF eastbound stack train approaching Caliente, CA.

 

Our second shot was rounding the horseshoe curve at Caliente.

The tracks cover a much greater distance between Caliente and Bealville, CA whereas the road follows a straight line.  Therefore, it was easy to beat the train to Bealville.

We beat the train to Walong and photographed it as it transited Tehachapi Loop.

Next we caught a westbound exiting Tunnel #1.

The rear end of the train pictured above is still coming around the horseshoe at Caliente.

Shortly, a westbound UP train showed up and we went for the classic shot of the top of Tunnel #2.

The train had a DPU.

Catching the train at Woodford was easy.

Following closely behind was a UP auto rack train which we shot on the loop.

Our final train of the day was a westbound BNSF stack train shot from atop Tunnel #10.

We were fortunate to have the trains run steadily throughout the day so that we could move without missing much and there was very little dead time.  I hope you enjoyed the photos.