Needles, Cal. Terminal

[Anonymous]

Hello fellow rail buffs,

Would anyone know any information about the Needles terminal? I would like to know if a new hire runs out of there, what are the routes, is it a recall location, and is thre any switching done? Plus, any other activity that goes on there.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I'm A conductor out of LA. From what I know of Needles is that it's mainly A crew change point. They run from there to Barstow, lay over at the hotel then return. They run some helper units and I think A couple of locals. On the other side crews run from Winslow AZ to Needles and return. It is very high seniority. It takes at least five years to hold it year round. I doubt it is A primary recall location. If you hire out there you might hold it for two monthes this summer. As A side note the engineer and conductor on that BNSF train that hit the Metrolink train last year were from Needles. They each had over five years in and had to work out of LA. Hope this helps.