Some So Cal Railroading

[Erie Lackawanna]

You can't get closer to the bridges nowadays than I am standing in the shot above, and I'll be honest, I've never been aware that there was a track in front of the truss. I guess I've never seen a train use that track, although it's pretty obvious it gets used a lot.

Issue with this spot is that there are homeless living under the bridge where you stand to take the photograph, so it's not a place to hang out waiting for a train. You want to get in and get out quickly (hence, all my shots there are of scheduled passenger trains).

I'd like to get a shot of a freight there one day. It will need to be movnig slowly and I'll need to have clear traffic. I have tried a couple of times to beat a freight there from San Pedro Jct (the old Hobart Tower) but have been skunked by traffic lights or trucks every time.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

 

 

Erie Lackawanna

. . . 1) The Redondo Flyover was built to keep passenger trains off of the through truss bridge in front of it. (It's hard to see the truss that is there as it's only on the right side and hidden by the truss work under the flyover now). It does curve to the righ there, carring trains down to join the River Sub for their run up to Union Station. Train on lower bridge are now headed for the Alameda Corridor and down to the LA and Long Beach Harbors. When it was orginally built it took trains down to Redondo Beach (hence the name of the location) but one can no longer get there by train (at least not this way).  [snip; emphasis added - PDN]

Yes - the through truss bridge is next to impossible to see in the photo above, but it is quite obvious in the 'Bing' image linked by ericsp above - thanks for that !    It can be seen that truss span extends only about halfway across the river - the support for that track is a deck girder (or similar) the rest of the way.  And what's really weird about all this - a second track was built parallel and next to the first track, also on deck-type structures - including next to the through truss - and then apparently all connected somehow so that a ballasted deck could be installed.  As a result, the through truss bridge's superstructure sticks up out of the ballasted deck kind of like an island, and only for half the distance across the river.  If someone had told me that something like this existed or had built a model of it on a scale RR layout, I would have said that no real railroad would ever do such a thing.  So, maybe there is a prototype for everything . . .

- Paul North.

 

[ericsp]

Here is a Bird's Eye View of the bridges at Redondo Junction. 

[Doublestack]

Slover Mtn, eh?   Interesting.  I've driven by there on I-10 on numerous occaissions and people have asked me what the heck that was.  I just said it was a pile of dirt that's getting used as part of the quarry / mine operations.   Now I know the real name.    Still an odd looking feature.

 Great pics - loved the fly over pic.   My company has an office about a mile from there, so I get to see it from time to time.   Interesting outcome of the Alameda Corridor work I guess.

[Erie Lackawanna]

Thanks, Bob.

 The lights came on before he crossed the road.

[Bob-Fryml]

All three photos are pretty darn good.  'Twas pretty amazing (to me at least) to see that much water flowing in the Los Angeles River. Of course, the national news has been reporting that So. Cal. has been hit recently by sequence of some pretty heavy rainstorms, so I suppose some serious drainage would be in order.

QUESTION:  The 2nd photograph features the Pacific Harbor Line no. 31 shoving a cut of cars.  Did anyone notice that the hoghead didn't have his ditch lights switched on?  I should think in hysterically litigious California that would be an "absolute no-no."  

[Erie Lackawanna]

Many thanks for all of the comments... Paul, Ted, and Tatans,

 To answer the questions out there...

 1) The Redondo Flyover was built to keep passenger trains off of the through truss bridge in front of it. (It's hard to see the truss that is there as it's only on the right side and hidden by the truss work under the flyover now). It does curve to the righ there, carring trains down to join the River Sub for their run up to Union Station. Train on lower bridge are now headed for the Alameda Corridor and down to the LA and Long Beach Harbors. When it was orginally built it took trains down to Redondo Beach (hence the name of the location) but one can no longer get there by train (at least not this way).

2) Slover Mountain in the background is a real mountain. It was formed naturally, but because it's made of limestone, it's been open mined now for quite some time. If you look at photographs over the years it's shrinking.

3) The SP (now UP) SD38-2s are hump duty only engines. They don't leave the confines of the hump yards. You can frankly stand at the throats of these major yards and still never see one of them. They are pretty elusive.

 

[tatans]

Nice photos, Is that what California Rivers look like ?? and what is that big heap of something in the background  above the track inspection car? ?? 

[Ted Marshall]

Erie Lackawanna

Couple recent shots to share --

First is of a Metrolink on the Redondo Junction Flyover in Vernon, heading over the LA River this past Saturday, with a Utah painted Diseliner in the consist (call that car whatever you want, Front Runner, Comet I, etc... I'm from NJ and old enough to remember when it was delivered as a Dieseliner from Pullman Standard and my dad took my brother and me to see them in Suffern, NY).

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=311794

Second is of a Pacific Harbor Line Genset at Wilmington Road junction (the one time junction of two Pacific Electric lines) in San Pedro, CA.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=311638

Third  is looking down at West Colton from Cedar at the EC-4 and an idled hump set, led by one of the SP's extra heavy SD38-2s, which have spent their entire lives in the confines of West Colton.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=311117

Thanks for looking, and corrections are welcome.

Charles

They're all excellent photos, Charles:

Photo #1 - The Redondo Jct. flyover bridge is quite intriguing. It appears to be bi-level and it's clearly curved. Does it carry rail traffic on the lower level? That PS Dieseliner is cool, but those Bombardier Bi-Level coaches really tickle my fancy.

Photo #2 - That PHL Genset was a very interesting catch... You sure it wasn't a movie prop? 

Photo #3 - I love yard shots and this one is easily among my favorites. Slover Mountain - is that a landfill or scrap pile? Also, that hump job lash up is really sweet... Until now, I thought EJ&E was the only railway to have SD38-2s. I just learned something new. Thanks!

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

 Interesting shot of the Track Inspection car EC-4 being resupplied.

Also, that's quite the string of retarders (?) in the track just in front of the locomotives.

Thanks for sharing all 3 of them !

- Paul North.

[Erie Lackawanna]

Couple recent shots to share --

First is of a Metrolink on the Redondo Junction Flyover in Vernon, heading over the LA River this past Saturday, with a Utah painted Diseliner in the consist (call that car whatever you want, Front Runner, Comet I, etc... I'm from NJ and old enough to remember when it was delivered as a Dieseliner from Pullman Standard and my dad took my brother and me to see them in Suffern, NY).

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=311794

Second is of a Pacific Harbor Line Genset at Wilmington Road junction (the one time junction of two Pacific Electric lines) in San Pedro, CA.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=311638

Third  is looking down at West Colton from Cedar at the EC-4 and an idled hump set, led by one of the SP's extra heavy SD38-2s, which have spent their entire lives in the confines of West Colton.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=311117

Thanks for looking, and corrections are welcome.

Charles