Railfanning Cajon Pass?

[spbed]

Oh yes if you need driving instructions to any spot that you see on my site that you wi***o visit let me know & I will be happy to furnish it for you. [:)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wp2006

Guys,
Thanks for your expertise. It is nice to be able to kind of get a forecast from folks who have been to some place before, a real help. Thanks for the links to the derailment photos. I also happened to see them before I saw SPBed's photos. The two photos I saw were on Railpictures.net and showed the two BNSF DPU's on the rear of the train that had derailed. Thanks again for your help.

Brad

[spbed]

Your welcome & enjoy IMHO it is one of my favorite train watching spots. I would suggest you consider a detour also to Commerce St in Riverside. Valley Blvd in Colton. Barstow & especially Daggett those places are also wonderful places to see many trains go by your eyes [:)]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wp2006

Guys,
Thanks for your expertise. It is nice to be able to kind of get a forecast from folks who have been to some place before, a real help. Thanks for the links to the derailment photos. I also happened to see them before I saw SPBed's photos. The two photos I saw were on Railpictures.net and showed the two BNSF DPU's on the rear of the train that had derailed. Thanks again for your help.

Brad

[Anonymous]

Guys,
Thanks for your expertise. It is nice to be able to kind of get a forecast from folks who have been to some place before, a real help. Thanks for the links to the derailment photos. I also happened to see them before I saw SPBed's photos. The two photos I saw were on Railpictures.net and showed the two BNSF DPU's on the rear of the train that had derailed. Thanks again for your help.

Brad

[spbed]

Hiya

I was just there a week or so ago. Look up this link to see the pix from there & other places I have been to on my train watching trips

http://vgalleries.com/members/railfan1/The+Trainfan.vrg

As I saw a derailment occur 1st hand I would recommend you stay at least 50 feet back from the ROW to insure your own safety. Other then that I would really doubt you would be bother as in all my trips I never was & I would say all the RR workers I met were extremely friendly just warning me not to get to close to the ROW which after the derailment I saw occur I am taking to heart [:p]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wp2006

Hi all,
I am a Northern California resident and am thinking about taking a trip to the other end of the state (Southern California) to visit the Cajon Pass area. I am aware that railroad security is on the rise for suspicious looking folks and trespassers on railroad properties. Was curious if any forum folks have made a trip to Cajon lately and what to expect from railroad personnel? I am an ex SP brakeman and understand the dangers of being around rail equipment, especially fast and close moving stuff. Lets say I use a common sense approach when around the rails (safety, my own) as I travel alone when railfanning.
I was in the Feather River Canyon last year watching some train action at the Keddie Wye. I decided to get down to the Wye itself and was hanging out waiting for some trains to come along when a UP track inspector driving a high rail truck pulled out of a tunnel at the west end of the wye and proceeded to stop. He asked me what I was doing? I told him that I was on vacation up in the area and was checking out the train action and that I used to fish under the wye as a child with my father. I also told him that I was an ex rail employee and I try to observe a great deal of safety and respect while around railroads. He said that I had been turned in by a westbound crew for looking suspicious. The inspector was very accomodating and did not run me off, but just told me to be careful. He even let me know after I asked if any westbounds were near by that there was a track crew working several miles away and that there would be no trains for awhile due to a work closure . It is people like that which make railfanning a good hobby, and a good practice for the UP to protect their rails. After all the crew and inspector were just doing their jobs and I was not treated or accused of being a criminal.

[chad thomas]

If you're asking about security on the pass I wouldn't worry about it. BNSF Summit is fenced in and patrolled by private security and is pretty much off limits (close to the tracks). The security guys patroll a few miles in either direction of summit every so often. They might stop and check you out but lately most of them are friendly and pleasent to deal with (unlike the late 90s when they were a bunch of jerks). They will ask you to move if you are parked too close to the BNSF tracks but other then that they will not run you off (unless of course you do something stupid). The roads along the UP tracks are forrest service roads and are public roads. And last summer they changed the bounds of the "wilderness" and you no longer need a wilderness permit like before.

[Anonymous]

Hi all,
I am a Northern California resident and am thinking about taking a trip to the other end of the state (Southern California) to visit the Cajon Pass area. I am aware that railroad security is on the rise for suspicious looking folks and trespassers on railroad properties. Was curious if any forum folks have made a trip to Cajon lately and what to expect from railroad personnel? I am an ex SP brakeman and understand the dangers of being around rail equipment, especially fast and close moving stuff. Lets say I use a common sense approach when around the rails (safety, my own) as I travel alone when railfanning.
I was in the Feather River Canyon last year watching some train action at the Keddie Wye. I decided to get down to the Wye itself and was hanging out waiting for some trains to come along when a UP track inspector driving a high rail truck pulled out of a tunnel at the west end of the wye and proceeded to stop. He asked me what I was doing? I told him that I was on vacation up in the area and was checking out the train action and that I used to fish under the wye as a child with my father. I also told him that I was an ex rail employee and I try to observe a great deal of safety and respect while around railroads. He said that I had been turned in by a westbound crew for looking suspicious. The inspector was very accomodating and did not run me off, but just told me to be careful. He even let me know after I asked if any westbounds were near by that there was a track crew working several miles away and that there would be no trains for awhile due to a work closure . It is people like that which make railfanning a good hobby, and a good practice for the UP to protect their rails. After all the crew and inspector were just doing their jobs and I was not treated or accused of being a criminal.