Well I made it down here in time to catch the Amtrak detours much to my suprise. I left Hawthorne, Nv. about 7 am thinking I might catch the southbound #14 IF I was lucky and made good time. I arrived here in Mojave about 1:10 and got a room at the motel and just as I walked out of the lobby it came blasting through. So I gave chase. I got a few so-so shots as I followed but the first decent one was at Monolith.
Then I took a couple of grab shots in Tehachapi but they were not that great. I posted this (dang sineposts ) because it also sort of shows the work that has been done at the depot site (burned in June)
At this point I was on fumes (I was going to gas up at Mojave but #11 showed up and I chased). So I had to stop and throw a few gallons in. Then I decided there was no chance at beating it to the loop and figgured I'd try for Caliente. Then I spotted #14 on the loop while blasting by on hwy58 and took a couple grab shots that were not that great
Then with brake shoes smokeing I pulled in front of the post office (Caliente) and waited...and waited. It took longer then I thought but while I was waiting I met a gentleman that was also there for the train. After about 20 minuets a whole herd (for lack of a better word) of camera toteing railfans showed up to wait with us. Not long after it showed up high above and we all waited and picked our spots for photos as the train winded down the hill tward us. There was also a motercycle club passing by that stopped to see what was going on and joined us in our impromptu photo line up (in a very cooperative effort unlike the typical chaotic steam train photo lineups). And then it came down the hill.
Then came a following freight
After that I headded back to Mojave where I caught a nice sunset, and train
I'm impressed!
We saw the Loop last year, but didn't go to Caliente.
With all of these detours running, wouldn't it be something if UP responded to some arm-twisting and decided that it could run some Bakersfield-LA schedules after all? I understand that the Starlight makes better time on this route than it does on its normal route.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
....Enjoyed seeing Tehachapi up close.....Looks like a difficult place to get located and have a good view { and correct light direction}, to photograph.
Note what appears like a pretty good angle of the tracks as it rounds the peak of hills, which makes me wonder just what grade they were able to achieve by constructing this elaborate loop. I imagine their speed at this point is really quite slow which should help the photographer.
Thanks for sharing Chad....I'm too far away to see it in reality.
Quentin
Carl, That was the main topic while we were standing around waiting. That and they should add a stop in between Sac and LA for locals to ride.
Q, Yes it is difficult chaseing around the loop and finding spots with good lighting, but when it all comes together it's worth it.
chad thomas Carl, That was the main topic while we were standing around waiting. That and they should add a stop in between Sac and LA for locals to ride.Q, Yes it is difficult chaseing around the loop and finding spots with good lighting, but when it all comes together it's worth it.
Chad, I'm glad you didn't chase out Tehachapi-Woodford Road in that time frame, as you probably would have rolled your vehicle trying to make it. The spot above the loop where the ASCE and historical markers are has good view and light until about two in the afternoon; I wouldn't have been surprised to find a bunch of people waiting there either.
Count me among the many who would love to have a regular train connection LA to Bakersfield, as that would make train travel to family living in one of those ugly Valley towns reasonable.
Funny you should mention that spot Chuck, I was just there 45 min ago. Unfortuneatly its pouring rain up there right now. I'm back in Mojave now and the sun is shineing, even have a rainbow. I took this earlier
chad thomas Funny you should mention that spot Chuck, I was just there 45 min ago. Unfortuneatly its pouring rain up there right now. I'm back in Mojave now and the sun is shineing, even have a rainbow.
Funny you should mention that spot Chuck, I was just there 45 min ago. Unfortuneatly its pouring rain up there right now. I'm back in Mojave now and the sun is shineing, even have a rainbow.
Yeah, I've gotten there just in time for the rainfall a couple of times. It's really frustrating when you can only get there a couple of times a year and the wet stuff shows up!
Great rainbow shot, though. I can hear Kermit singing in the background.!
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